Paul L Mohr

bows are rated at thier peak weight, and can normally be adjusted 10 lbs down. So yes you can turn down the poundage on a bow. I suggest if you don't know what you are doing have the shop do it where you are buying the bow, then have them explain how to do it incase you want to change it.

I would also suggest that when you buy the bow you have them work with you on finding a comfortable draw weight for you. Then set the bow up accordingy and just shoot it. If you shoot a lot, maybe next season try turning it up. One of the two worst things you can do is shoot too much poundage, and use too long of a draw. If 60 feels like it's a bit much, you won't be able to shoot well, especially after you get tired, which will be quickly. And it will be much harder to pull when you have been sitting in a stand for a few hours and your muscles are tired and you are excited. I've been there, turned my bow up to like 65 or so pounds because I didn't have any trouble shooting it in my yard at 70 lbs. A deer walks in front me and guess what, I can't draw the freakin' bow back! I would have been better off shooting a slower bow at 55 lbs, but having it easier to draw and hold. Lessons learned I guess, I was told about it and didn't listen. Had to have that extra 25 FPS, kind of stupid when you think about it.

I wouldn't even worry about what the poundage is set it to begin with, I also wouldn't bother checking to see how fast it is. Every bow on the market right now is plenty fast enough to kill a deer with. Don't worry if your buddies bow is 40 fps faster than yours. Chances are yours will be quieter and more pleasant to shoot.

Another thing to consider is arrows. You can't just go changing your bow weight by any large margins, or you arrows will change spine in relationship to your bow. Then you will either have to retune your bow, or possibly get new arrows. Discuss this with the pro shop you are buying your bow from. If you are really intent on turning the poundage up, they may want to set you up with arrows a bit on the stiff side.

Again my advice is to set the bow up at the correct draw length, a draw weight that is comfortable for you to shoot and with the proper arrows. Then practice good form and follow through for a while, like say a year. Don't make a bunch of changes to your set up, just shoot it and be confident in your equipment. Take some advice from someone that went the other route and played a lot changing his set up all the time (I still do actually?). Changing things makes shooting consistantly much harder to do.

Well let us know what kind of bow you are thinking about getting, or when you get it. We love to hear about new equipment, and like to hear about new archers even more.

Good luck,
Paul