okiejaco

Thanks for all the help. I think we have chased a rabbit some. My main question was how a 10 year old bow set at 65 lbs. compares to a new bow set at 70 lbs. When I got this bow, I was 30 and shot a lot. Now at 40 I don't get to shoot that much. I do appreciate everyones opinion on this subject. Off topic a little. A friend of mine used to shoot an 80 lbs bow with fingers. Of course he was 6'8" tall and weighed over 300 lbs. How many people have you heard of that could shoot over 80 lbs and how much did they shoot? Just thought it would be interesting to hear of the strong guys out there.

SouthDakotaHunter

I went from a 60-70lb bow a couple of years ago to a 50-60lb bow and am REALLY glad I made the switch...

It's not quite apples to apples but my current setup set at 53 lbs shoots around 245 FPS which is what my other bow shot at 63lbs...

davepjr71

It depends on the bow. Some bows just draw so much smoother now and the weight increase is gradual and then lets off. If you are only holdingpulling the heavy weight for a short period it will not feel as heavy. Plus, if there is less friction in the cam bearings themselves it helps. My 20 yr old Whitetail legend feels so much heavier but is only 5 lbs different. Using a release to take the pressure off the fingers also helps tremendously.

There used to be a lot of guys that shot fingers with heavy bows. Manufacturers just don't seem to be making bows that high. Hoyt is the only one that comes to mind that still makes them and I'm sure there have to be others. A brother of a friend of mine used to shoot a 90# bow in the 80's. The guy was short but very stocky and very strong. I have mine at 75#'s during the summer and to be honest if it went higher I'd shoot it higher. I'm not 6'8" 300 lbs though. Just 6'3" and around 200. The guys I shoot with draw 70#'s with ease. Both are shorter than me but weight 220 and 270 or so respectively.

Using the large back muscles to draw instead of your arm and shoulder will go a long way in helping to drawhigher poundages. That's why Bob said about the smaller guys that could draw more weight than thebody builder type. The big guy probablywas using mostly his shoulder muscles instead of letting the back do the work. While the smaller guy knows how to draw properly. However, if the big guy had good form he could draw a lot more weight due to strength.If you had two guys with good form but one wasstrongerthe stronger guy will be able to draw a higher weight longer.

BobCo19-65

If you look into the traditional world, you'll find a lot of people who shoot over that amount. My highest poundage bow is a 75# Howard Hill Longbow which I plan on using on Moose in a few years. How many times I can shoot it depends on how long I hold at full draw. If I shoot as soon as I get to anchor which is normal, I can get about 20 shots in before my bow arm starts to shake. But if I hold a few second on each shot, then maybe 12 or so.

Howard Hill used bows up to 150 pounds or so. You can get cleaner releaseswith higher poundages. Howard shot bows well over 70 pounds into his seventies. John Schulz and Byron Ferguson also use higher poundages. If you saw John Schulz's actual body size though, you'd never expect it. I believe Byron's stage bow is 70#'s and if you ever saw him shoot, you'd know that he shoots it a lot. I saw Byron shoot a life saver and a baby aspirin out of the air.

GRIZZLYMAN

I shoot a 50-60 set at 60# and can pull it easily straight back with no hesitation or strain. I can pull a 70# also pretty easily. I guess after I have sat in the cold for a while, my arms and shoulders get kind of stiff (getting older), so the 60# becomes a little tougher to pull. I thought about getting a 70# on my next bow, but after seeing what my 60# bow did to two deer this season, I may not.

bigcountry

When I have talked to Bryron before, he said he never practices more than 4 arrows at a time. Usually 2-3. He said he can't hold the concentration needed to make those shots with more arrows than that. But he said he has his range right behind his shop, and goes out and fires off arrows thru the day.

BobCo19-65

Yup, that what he does. Said the same thing to me. Can't concentrate on shooting more then 3 at a time (I think it's in his book also). Then takes a small break to get the arrows and regroup.

bigcountry

Point I am making is, thats fine for Bryon who has decades of experience and extremely clean release. But sure don't recommend it for a new shooter to be so overbowed.I guess IMO, its best for a trad shooter to be able to hold thier bow for 20sec and still have a clean releaseand accurate shot.When they get some experience and develop a few back muscles, maybe then move up to a bow where they can't hold it for 20-30sec at full draw.

BobCo19-65

I totally agree with you big.

But I didn't think we were talking about setting up beginners. My reply was in response to this:

davepjr71

If he said he can't hold the concentration how does that relate tohavingthe strength?Sounds to me it's more of a case ofburning himself out on high degree of difficulty shots.

Trying to make high degree of difficulty shots like he does wouldrequire the type of concentration that would burn you out fast if you tried to do it over and over 20-30 times. It doesn't sound likeand issue of his shoulder getting tired

I'd never recommend that anyone shot more than they can handle. I'm just stating that you can't use lack of concetration to mean that a person is tired or overbowed.