Again, I am just getting into bows, and am going to try a bunch out tomarrow. I'm a little concerned with draw weight. if it is a 70 lb. draw, is that actually like taking a 70 lb. weight and lifting it back untill the relief sets in? Thanks


Patrick Dougherty

well sort of, with a compound its like taking that weight and pulling back with gradual decreases in weight until you get to the holding weight which should be somewhere aroung 8 lbs on a 70 lbs bow

Yea at some point in the draw cycle you will be pulling 70 lbs if you are all the way cranked down. But with 80% letoff you'll be holding around 14 lbs at full draw.

I put a bunch of weight on a single hand dumbell thing, and i could only get 50 lbs. on it. Now not to toot my own horn or anything, but im a fairly big guy at 6'4, 250. I believe that i am stronger than a lot of men out there. However, just lifting this 50 lbs and repeating it 20x was not easy, and to add 20 more lbs, I don't know if I could see myself being able to comfortably shoot a 70 lb bow 5 times without my arm being fatigued. O well, we'll see tomarrow!

Thanks for the help

Just because your a big guy doesnt mean your shoulder can handle it though.
If I was you i would go with a bow maxed out a 60 and you'll be able to kill any big game species in north america with no problems.

To expand on what Ite siad---I think he means that it may be wiser to choose a bow that CAN be maxed out at 60#----50-60. 60# or so is enough for anything in North America with a well placed shot.

You may be a big guy, but don't let testosterone get in the way of common sense. The muscles you use for shooting are not what you use in everyday living and working. It'll take some time to develope proper technique and you don't need to strain muscles doing so. Also those muscles will develope memory over time and you want that memory to be doing the right thing---not struggling.

Good luck to you.