Are we drawing too much?
 

I currently draw 67lbs with my bow. Ive offten wondered would I be better off drawing 55lbs and getting the same results on game as opposed to the higher weight. Id think with the more efficent cams and sharper broadheads of today the higher draw isnt needed. What do you think?

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I for one have dropped from a 70# bow down to a 60# bow.
My shouldsers are thankfull for the decrease.;)

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I for one will keep my bow turned up. My Mathews is set at 66 right now, it' s a 70 pound bow. The cables or something have stretched, cuz 66 is all it will do. After the season is over, I' m haveing a new cam put on and new strings and such, hope to get back to 70.........where it will stay.:D

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I' m shooting 70 lbs and I' m comfortable with that. I' m thinking about dropping my target bow down in weight so I can battle this target panic, but I' m comfortable in drawing 70 lbs.

One lesson I learned very early in my career, shoot near the top of the range for the bow that you' re using. I had a 65 lb bow but was only shooting it at 55 lbs. Sucker was noisy and I had 3 deer (1 at 30 yards, and 2 at 15 yards) in one day duck arrows. When I got home, I cranked it up to 65 lbs, retuned the set up and resighted it in. Next day, nailed a nice doe that never heard a sound.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

High draw weights certainly aren' t needed to make efficient kills on big game. Very sharp broadheads, well tuned bows and accurate shooting is what takes down game easiest.

I set my draw weight to match the arrow' s spine that I' m shooting. I have found that getting a perfect spine match gives me better flying broadheads. My current 70 lb draw bow is set at 63 lbs, because that matches the spine of my 55/75 gold tips very closely.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

With the right arrow weight, right broadhead and sensible shot selection, a 40 - 45 pound recurve will do the trick on a deer. That' s what I used before I caught the magnumitis affliction and wound up shooting 80 - 100+ pounds. I' m closing in on being back to 40 - 45 pounds again.

My opinion about these new cams though... There are going to be a lot of people with severe shoulder problems a few years down the road. When you' ve got bad shoulders to start with, you can darn sure feel the strain they put on those joints. The smart choice would be to drop down in weight and accept the performance of your old style bows at 10-20 pounds less draw weight.

Not that anyone' s going to listen to THAT advice.:)

But, for someone that insists on using ultra light arrows and mechanical heads, then they need that extra poundage. It takes a lot of speed to get the momentum up to where it needs to be with ultra light arrows.

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RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

You may want to research that a little !! You probably just need your existing cable twisted a few turns !!

A cam will not change anything regarding your poundage !! And with a quality string set your bow may stay set longer......but it will change!! If your bow is fairly old or has had a lot of shots through it , you may need the cable bushings checked.....they will change your poundage some, but are an easy and cheap fix $5 last time I replaced any!!

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

Overall, I would say “yes”. I think most guys are drawing too much weight, but I think the underlying major problem is that they are not drawing the correct LENGTH with the proper form (using the back instead of the shoulders and arms), which causes instability in form and the shooting process no matter what the draw weight. Just a change of ¼” can make a bow that feels like a total bear to hold steady, suddenly lock in with no holding problems. And I don’t necessarily mean everyone needs to shorten their draw length, for some folks a ¼” the other way can make a positive difference too. With the older designs with very wide valleys, this was not too much of a problem, but rare is the bow today that doesn’t have a pretty narrow/critical valley. And because of that one needs to address the issue and be critical about draw length.

I know that over the past several years I have experimented over and over again w/ my draw length going down as low as 27.5” all the way through 29.5” (AMO). I’ve found that too short is just as detrimental as too long as far as accuracy goes. If your drawing arm/shoulder does not make it back far enough to allow your back muscles to take up the tension, you won’t hold steady enough to shoot ‘em down the middle. And if it’s too long and you have no “back” left you will not get a clean release and torque the bow: again making accuracy difficult to achieve on a consistent basis.

Being overdrawn/underdrawn automatically sets you up for being “overbowed”. You’ll notice the pro-shooters fiddle with their draw length until they get it absolutely perfect so they are holding steady as they can. I think more hunters need to do that (and more pro-shops need to be willing to take the time to help archers do so). Luckily we have more adjustable cams these days than we used to. One reason I love the Bowtech Infinity cam so much is that I can really fine-tune my draw length without going to the trouble of fiddling with string and cable length. I wish more cam systems provided a “micro-adjust” such as this (and it’s even better now with the ½” modules).

I think a large percentage (perhaps even a majority) of archers would have little problem with their current draw weights if they were to learn the proper from, and fine-tune their draw lengths. I see a lot more guys at the shop/on the range who can manhandle their bows than guys who have to point it skyward to get it back. But most of them also don’t have the correct draw length, so their shooting suffers anyway.

All that said, A 50 pound longbow is more than enough to cleanly zip an arrow through a deer. And most 45 to 60 pound compounds are also. My problem is holding weight. I shoot poorly if I don’t have enough holding weight, and even @ 65% letoff, 60 pound bows don’t quite provide enough holding weight for me. In addition, I’m a pretty big guy and I can handle 70 pounds on most hard cams w/ no problems. I generally don’t shoot hundreds of arrows at a time, so it doesn’t bother me. But I’m getting older too, and the days when I pounded my body lifting weights are catching up with me, fast! I eventually will need to work around the holding weight issue for the sake of my health. Smoother/easier draw force curves are fast becoming a priority for my bow selection if I wish to keep drawing 70 pounds.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I can only speak for myself when I say that I know I am not drawing too much weight. I currently shoot 70 lbs but I can set down in a chair and pick my feet up off of the floor and still draw 100lbs, so I don' t think 70 lbs is over doing it in my case.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

Looking back after I have developing tendonitis from shooting radical cam bows, I am now only able to shoot about 15 arrows twice a week on my compound. This is down from shooting about 150 arrows. Since, I am so limited now in my shooting the compound, I only practice with my hunting setutp including broadheads for practice, and I will not change the setup often. I now have to take medicine before I shoot, and ice the shoulder on a daily basis whether I shoot or not. I have now come full circle, from recurve/longbow to eccentric wheel bows, to radical cam bows, to eccentric wheel bows, and I' m sure that I will be back to my longbow only soon (which is 100% fine with me). My only regret in the circle was ever going to the radical cams. Mainly because archery is something that I want to enjoy for the rest of my life. One thing that I have learned over the years that I will pass along is: what partical bow you shoot, what cams you use, what broadheads or arrows you use, blah, blah blah, is not what makes you an archer.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I recently picked up a 60# bow so I could decide for myself which way my body likes better. I will fool with it more after deer season.

I found myself shooting cut on contact heads accurately even though my arrows are zinging at 272 w/ 70 ft/lbs ke. I originally set this bow up so I could shoot large mechanicals (and still may), but I feel more confident with 4 sharp blades leading the way. (muzzy phantom 100' s)
That got me to thinking, if I' m gonna shoot cut on contact heads, why do I need so much ke?

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I at one time hunted at 72lbs. Im ok with my draw weight at 67, but after the season I plan on experementing with lighter draw weights. say 58 to 60lbs. With a cut on contact head like steelforce i think Ill be ok..

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I am shooting about 63 lbs and I have not had any problems with it. It shoots very good for me.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

There is more to this than just the draw weight itself. Bobco tended to touch on it with his post. A 70 lb draw weight round wheel bow is not the same thing as a 70 lb draw weight perimeter weighted single cam bow or hatchet cam bow. The archer is forced to hold set peak draw weight for a longer percentage of the time on some of the more radically designed bows. This has to be considered in addition to the actual set draw weight of the bow.

Case in point, several of the bows I have been shooting in recent years have required me to turn the draw weight down from 70 to 65 lbs in order for me to feel comfortable while using them in a hunting situatioin. My last two bows have had a slightly more rounded draw cycle which allows me to again pull 70 lbs.

However, I set up a PSE Nova with Synergy " soft cams" the other day and decided to put a few arrows through it. The bottom limb had a listed peak weight of 70 lbs but the limbs were not bottomed out. But, when I drew it back I knew the draw weight was definitely over 70 lbs. Up on the scale it went.....84 lbs! My point is that though I did feel that it was over 70 lbs I did not have as much trouble as I thought I would pulling a bow of that weight back. The draw cycle definitely had a big part to play in it.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I didn' t say I was changing the cam to try to get my poundage back. I know that doesn' t change the weight.

The cam that' s on it is about half inch too short..........someone put a 29 1/2 on it before I bought it........I put on a string loop thinking it would be ok. But it' s still too short.

I bought a 30" cam and after the season is over, I' m gonna change it out and make sure my cables and string are ok, if not change them out. I' m thinking the loss of poundage is in the them.

I have a 70% cam on the bow and the shop I told to said that if it was setup for an 80% cam, that' s the problem. They also said that most MQ1' s came with an 80% cam or 85% I can' t remember what they said.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

If I wanted to change the poundage, Is it one turn for each pound?

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

One complete clockwise turn on both your top and bottom limb bolts will get you an increase of approximately 3 lbs on most adult bows.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I was. I went from 80 lbs (hatchet cams) to 70 lbs this year and the accuracy improvement was amazing. My shoulders appreciate it, too.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I have an old PSE that I have been shooting that has a 50# draw. I just killed a deer with it at 30 yards this week. I was using a mechanical broadhead that performed superbly. The arrow went right through. I have just ordered a new Parker bow for next season with a 60# draw. While looking at bows, I tried different draw weights. I am 52 years old and not as strong as I was in my younger days. After playing with a 70# draw, I decided that I didn' t want to grunt on that thing! Anyway, I don' t see my physical condition improving in the future, so I setled on the 60# draw. For you younger guys, I say go for the high draw if you can handle it. Damn, I like this forum! Appreciate all your thoughts!
Clint

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

The main reason I want to keep my draw weight up is because of FEAR.
I' m afraid that from my tree stand hieghts(24' ),I won' t get a pass through.My draw is only 27" , on my SQ2,,so the bows not generating a whole lot of KE.
Right now I' m drawing 72lbs.My Bemans are doing 265,,giving me 60 ftpds.KE.
Thats not a whole lot[:@]

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I almost forgot !,,This topic makes think of something I was going to look onto LAST YEAR[:o]
Because of a shoulder injury,I had to turn my bow down to 65 lbs.Not too big a deal.That 65 felt RREEAAALLL nice.After shooting higher poundage,,drawing 5 or 10 pounds less,feels like a BIG differance.
My thoughts where," why not drop to a lower poundage ?" .Just shoot a bow that generates a good deal of speed and power.If you went from shooting 70+,I would think you could shoot a more radical set up,(shorter BH and more agressive cam)pretty good,because it would draw and hold that much easyer.Yes,No,,,maybe ????.Hell,,,a Black Max 2 @ 60 lbs.and 50% let off ??.It might work;)

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I think we are...for some reason this year I' ve been reading lots of posts of guys having to get lower range draw weights because of shoulder injuries. I' m only 20 and I can easily handle my Razortec at 72#. However, a couple of weeks ago I broke out the old PSE Baby-G with only a 5.5 inch brace hieght. I cranked it down to 63#, tuned it with some old carobns I had laying around(CX Terminator 4560) and couldn' t believe how accurate I was shooting. It drew back so easy and I was able to hold on target far more easier. I have no idea how fast it' s shooting or how much my arrows for it weigh, but I sighted it in from an elevated platform at 23 yards...This is right on from 15-30 yards for this setup. It was raining all day here in MI on Friday evening so I decided to take the old PSE out and leave the new razortec in the case. I threaded on some rocket sidewinder 100' s onto two arrows and proceeded to my stand. While in stand I made a nicely placed shot on a doe at 28 yards with a near full passthrough in which the arrow was just dangling by the fletch on the exit side. The blood trail was massive and the tracking job was easy. Upon further inspection, I hit a rib going in and sliced two on the way out...Now if I would missed that first rib on penetration then I would most likely have been digging my arrow out of the molic epipedon of the soil profile below.

These recent events have persuaded me to change my Hoyt setup after this season. I don' t have to get new limbs because of those nice limb pocket lockdowns, and I' m getting a new set of aftermarket strings and cables which should add a few fps just for insurance.

So I figured, might as well draw low now instead of being forced draw low a few years down the road. I enjoy bowhunting and shooting and I want to continue doing it for a long time.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

you can be the biggest studbuck in the woods drawing a ton of weight and generating 100' s of ft lbs of ke. if you can' t hit with it. so what?

if you can accurately draw enough to generate 50 lbs or so of ke thats really all you need. get something you can draw easily with proper form. anything else is gravy. if it hurts to draw and shoot then why do it.

my 2 cents worth.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

62 lbs. on my HavocTec and it suits me just fine.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

droptines,

That would depend on who you talk to. Don' t let folks with high KE setups fool you (myself included). Shot placement and a sharp broadhead are more important than KE, provided we aren' t talking about expandable heads. Then I would say that all three are equally important.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I think that is dependant on the person pulling the bow. If you can do 70 lbs with no problems then by all means do so.

Personally i am drawing 58 lbs. Sure i could draw more, but i had shoulder problems in the past from a weight lifting incident and i dont want to have problems in the future.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I can' t agree more with Frank when he says don' t be fooled by the high powered setups, Droptines.

As long as you make sensible choices in your arrow weight and broadheads, matching them to the size and toughness of the game you' re after, then 60 ft lbs of energy is enough to take care of any critter in North America and most of Africa as well. Don' t go expecting your bow to blow a 2 1/5" wide 3-blade mechanical through a moose on a 350 grain arrow. At the same time a 600 grain arrow and a 1 1/4" wide 2-blade probably wouldn' t even slow down.

My main compound puts out about the same energy as your bow does. I shoot 580 grain arrows with 125 grain heads or 615 grain arrows with 160 grainers, 2-blade broadheads. I shoot the setup VERY well, fingers/barebow and I wouldn' t hesitate to take it on any hunt, for anything. Another 10 pounds of draw weight would give me another 10 pounds of KE, and a bit extra penetration that might come in handy in a worst case scenario - but only if I could hit what I shoot at with it.

Shooting a draw weight that you can handle accurately in a field situation will keep you from getting faced with a LOT of worst case scenarios.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

My theory has ALWAYS been that if you can' t draw your bow STRAIGHT back (not up in the air) from a sitting, kneeling or contorted position, then you are drawing too much weight.

If you really want to test yourself, lie on flat on your back and try to draw your bow. Once again, if you don' t even come close, you should back off of the poundage.

Now include 10 degrees to -10 degree temperatures into the equation and you have a 70 lbs bow that will now draw more like 80 lbs.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

After enduring a 3rd degree shoulder separation (Mt. Biking) to my bow arm shoulder, and an operation which partially repaired it, plus tendonitis in my draw shoulder, I am only getting 60# bows anymore. Two of my listed 60# bows will peak @ 65 anyway. The Bowtech gives me plenty of performance at 60. After 3 hours sitting in a cold rain on Saturday, I could pull it easily and smoothly back to full draw while sitting still and not moving my body around. Works for me.

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

I' ve switched from 70 to 60 lbs in the last year , it makes drawing in the cold weather much easyer . Malard I' ve found that shooting a bow dead on your draw length to about 3/8 over easer to hold than one thats 1/2 short . I know the minet I try to shoot a bow thats too short , I cant hold worth a darn .

RE: Are we drawing too much?
 

hi

i am shooting about 72 lbs and i am generating the results i want, but if you can get a fast arrow speed at a lower poundage go for it. because i for 1 would not like to be sitting in my treestand and have my bow cranks up all th way and not be able to get my bow back when that buck of a life time comes by. this hasnt happened to me yet..(knock on wood) but i will keep with my 72 lbs untill i can find a bow to match the speed at a lower poundage with a reasonable price.



for all those seekers of rocket speed arrows check out the bowtech line. the are a little pricey but fast as H@ll..... 350fps+

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