Guys, I have seen the light
 

These forums have taught me alot. One of my biggest facts that I have learned from forums and proshops is that you gain no speed ,or very little with a 70# setup over a 60# setup, due to the heavier arrow weight required from the heavier spined arrow. You only gain more kinetic energy from the 70# arrow but with a 60# setup you are still over 15 ft pounds of the recommended kinetic energy needed for bear, elk, or caribou and over 25 ft pounds of the recommended kinetic energy for a whitetail deer. A 60# bow will kill anything that walks the North American continent. Considering that 90% of all bowhunters will never shoot anything larger than a whitetail deer, these heavy poundage bows are just not necessary. Years ago when bows were not efficient at delivering and producing energy, maybe 70# was a great merit in a bow; but not with these new modern bows. I have been shooting my Bowtech Tribute peaked at 61# and it is just a joy to shoot all day compared to the Hoyt Vectrix peaked at 72#. I can pull back 70# with ease but in cold weather with stiff muscles, a persons body may not perform as well. Well, I traded my Vectrix for a 60# Bowtech Guardian friday and couldn't be happier!!!!!! My 29" Guardian peaked at 62# is shooting my 28" 394 grain A/C/C arrow at 273 fps. Since noise travels at 1128 fps it is way more important to have a bow as quiet as possible IMO. I have never heard a 70# bow shoot as quiet as a 60# bow. Bows also perform the best at their peak weight and so many guys have a 70# bow and have it turned down in poundage and are not getting the full performance from their bow like they could. I have seen the light with these 60# bows and will never go back
[/align][/align][/align]My Tribute and Guardian[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align]I equipped my Guardian with a Trophy Taker pronghorndrop [/align]away, a Black Gold Radiant sight, anda Doinker stabilizer.[/align][/align][/align]Free Shirt my Dealer Boyd of Buck Hollow Sports in Pella, IA gave me.[/align]

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

ok.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

LMAO!! How's the racing?

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I like my 70# bow.

Glad you like your 60# bow.

:)

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I figured out sometime ago that heavy poundage is overkill for deer.I am hunting at 58#'s and have been for some time.Heck,I even use expandables and have no problems with complete passthroughs and that is only with a 28 1/2" draw.Of course I use small cut Rocket Steelheads.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I still think I'll keep my 70#er. Maybe when I get as old as you I will have to drop down to 60#s too. Just Kidding Don:D:D:D

I just like to have a little insurance built into my shot. Same reason I use a 12 ga 3 1/2"instead of a 20ga when I ues a shotgun on turkeys.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Like the bows, and also shoot a 60# tribute.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Like the rigs...I split the difference and shoot at 66. Good luck this season.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I've noticed that my own preference towards peak weight seems to get less and less every season. Even just a few years ago I was convinced that I had to have a 70# rig but these days I really like a 63# to 65# rig, especially during a cold Midwest winter! I have plenty of speed and KE, can shoot it with impressive accuracy after drawing and holding in any shooting position and it's nearly silent at the shot. I'm with ya man

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I still think I want the extra "oomph" to give me the best possibly chance to blow through a shoulder bone if I hit a touch forward; but I make sure as well I'm not over-bowed in that thought process -- I can pull my bow easily, smoothly, without "skying" it while sitting cross-legged on the ground.

I did just get in a brand-new Constitution for my venture into 3D shooting... and I got it in 60 lbs. I figure there'll be days and courses where I'm shooting her a lot, and the combination of 60 plus the smoothness of the Constitution is really gonna make this a pleasureable bow!!

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Greg how many bows is that for younow? Since you are on the Bowtech staff do you just call them up and say..."Hey canyou send me a Constitution." If so, consider me jealous :). I guess we all know why you haven't been posting as much....too many toys to play with.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

My favorite tournament bow back in the dark ages (late 80's) was an 80# Hoyt ProVantage with Carbon+ limbs and E-wheels. My last Hoyt was a 60# ProTec with LXPro limbs and Accuwheels. Very similar setups. Same axle to axle length but the ProTec has a 2" lower brace height. The newer, more advanced and more efficient ProTec shot the same exact arrow the same exact speed as my old ProVantage.

I would have hunted anything in North America and most of Africa with my old ProVantage. Why would I not do the same with my ProTec, considering it gives me identical performance at 20 lbs less draw weight?

To those who say "If you can pull it, shoot it"... I used to shoot longbows and recurves up to 120 lbs. I had a Martin Cougar XRG that peaked out at 110 lbs. They got the sap shot out of 'em because I could draw them fairly easily and I shot them quite well. Now, though, my shoulders are paying the price for my idiocy. I can barely lift my arms over my head and can hardly draw any bow any longer. Even sleeping is a hassle because my shoulders hurt and throb when I get into a 'wrong' position.

I wish now I'd never shot anything pulling more than 65 lbs.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

when I saw the title of this thread, I thought maybe you had traded bows again and got a Mathews or a Ross:D

I say, shoot the poundage you are happy with.
I usually shoot anywhere from 65-70 myself. Depends on the bow and what "feels" right for that setup for me.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

After experiencing what pulling too much weight can do to your shoulders and back I don't buy any bows over 60# either. I thought I could pull 70# easy too and did. That is until one day out of nowhere I was sidelined and missed most of deer season beacuse I wanted to be Hercules and draw 70 lbs. It overkill htese days like Don said. But shoot what you want pay later.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I used to shoot cranked up to 70 but over the last few years Ive backed off to 62 #s. The older I get the more my old injuries seem to hurt every morning. My buddies son shoots a 50# pull and he has taken several deer since he was strong enough to draw it back.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

go to a 52# recurve shooting a 550 grain arrow 170 fps - generating in the neightborhood of 28-30 footpounds and kill a few animals with it and you quickly realize almost all compounds are high poundage overkilling machines

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

hch, very proud of you. artp - very sorry to hear about your shoulder issues buddy. i'm 40 now, quit pulling 70# a bit over a year ago - and its thanks to you and a couple others arthur, and i really appreciate how candid you've been about your shoulders.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Glad you like the 60# and it works for you. You make a valid point on speeds and such but too each their own.


By comparison:
65 mph on a 883CC Harley is the same as 65 MPH on a 1600cc Harley......[8D]

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Yep, they too would both kill a deer and the rider equally dead when they meet each other.[8D]

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Quote:

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but with a 60# setup you are still over 15 ft pounds of the recommended kinetic energy needed for bear, elk, or caribou and over 25 ft pounds of the recommended kinetic energy for a whitetail deer

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Don, forgive me for not understanding your stated numbers here. Are you really telling me that it takes more KE for a deer than it does an Elk or Caribou?

I am glad you like that new setup of yours. Earlier this year, that Guardian was calling my name!! But I resisted temptation and will wait a couple of years before I upgrade.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

No. A Deers' recommended kineteic setup is 40 ft pounds. A black bear, a brown bear, elk, or caribou is 50 ft pounds. My 60# set up exceeds the deer requirements by 25 ft pounds and the brown bear, black bear, elk, cariboubig game setup by 15 ft pounds. Here is a kinetic calculator that figures your setup for you.
http://www.archeryexchange.com/information/info_pages/kinetic/kinteic-calculator.shtml

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Guys on the corporate Bowtech shooting staff are suppossed to shoot behind the shoulder, not through it.;)You can hit a dime at 60 yds but shoot forward at the average 15 yd or less bowkill on a whitetail??

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

LOL, Don... It's not a dime; it's a quarter. It's a dime for Matt... ;)

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Ahh...I see what you are saying.

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

Ive been shooting 70lbs for the last4 years with my bowtech patriot. It doesnt seem like its hard to pull for me, however I have lost some accuracy since I have started using this bow compared to my previous bow which was at 63lbs and was a sniper with. ( With my old bow,XIMilesKeller Impact Plus, I never missed or wounded an animalin 16 kills, since I got my Bowtech I have missed 2 and wounded atrophy buck last year-front shoulder). I havekilled some nice deerwith the Bowtech, but in the times I have missed I cant figure out why and have noticed a change while target shooting. Iwas wondering this year if I should have the poundage reduced. I do hunt in temps around 0degrees here in MN late season and it makes it different to draw a bow. I think your post is convincing me totry this change.:D

RE: Guys, I have seen the light
 

I know this may sound condescending. However, if you stretch regularly and work out your shoulders will thank you no matter what you do.

It seems like the only workout that is done is drawing a bow and then guys wonder why their shoulders are shot. You are only working certain muscle groups while others are ignored. Plus repetative motion lifting isn't good for the joints that are used. This can cause as much or more problems to the shoulders than drawing heavy weight.

Stretch regularly and at least do push ups and the shoulders will last a long time. Even if you shoot 40#'s all the time this is a good idea.