rfoley

I'm looking to get a new bow for my wife who wants to go bow hunting for the first time this year. I've only been shooting for about a year-and-a-half (this fall was my first bow hunting and I was lucky enough to get a nice doe in the freezer), But I'm not sure about variable draw lengths. If a 50# bow is advertised with a 24-28" adjustable draw length, what will be the likely # @ 24" ?My wife is short and has "dino-like" little arms that we measured at a 24" draw. She is practicing with a 40# youth bow now, but will be able to pull 50# for hunting. Would it be better to get a bow that is a maximum 60# draw and set it down towards 50#s? I am hesitant to do that, as I have seen it written that bows are most efficient/accurate at or near maximum draw weights. Please excuse my inexperience and ignorance, but I want my wife to get something that fits her small frame but will still put a whitetail on the ground if she gets the chance. Thanks for all the help everybody, I am new to this site and it sure is a blessing.

Kanga

There might be a drop of a pound or two but you can twist the cable to get that weight back.

All being said the bow should still be at 50lb or very close to it when you adjust the draw lenght.

If she is shooting 40 now then I would not get a 60lb bow and back it off to 50lb for the simple reason she might be able to draw back 50 when her muscles are warm and free but after a few hours of sitting in a stand or blind when it is cold she might not be able to draw 50lb.
With a 60lb you can only safely drop to 50lb but if you get a 50lb you can safely go to 40lb for those cold days when drawing 50 for her is impossible.

BruceW63

Have you actually located a quality bow which has a 24" DL and can go up to 60#?

If she's got a small frame, I'm betting she's like most women and will struggle enough pulling 50#, let alone more. And yes, the challenge is to be able to do it in the cold, after sitting for hours, experiencing the nervous shaking and shortness of breath she'll be having when that wall-hanger drifts into range.

It's my opinion that a well-placed shot is going to put a whitetail on the ground a lot more times than an almost-well-placed shot will, even if the "almost" has slightly more energy behind it.

MeanV2

I'd get her the 50# bow. My wife actually shot her doe with 40# and got a complete pass through. It's better to be accurate and comfortable than struggle with any additional weight unless she is really comfortable with it

Dan

BGfisher

And when looking at bows, to get the best peformance you should try to find sone that she'll be shooting at the upper end of the draw length range. Just an example, but something like the Martin Leopard with the mini-MPro cam. Any bow that changes draw length with a module or rotating module should not change draw weight to any extent so a 50# bow should be plenty. If after getting it set up it only draws 48#----who cares? Certainly no deer.

How much weight she'll ultimately be able to shoot is also dependent on how aggressive the cam is. The more aggressive the faster the bow, but the harder it is to draw. Drawing and shooting a bow is supposed to be: #1-easy, and #2-fun.