I have been faithfully loooking at the Bows for Sale listings every day. I see something that I would be interested in and WHOA it is a 64# bow. If you look at the listings today in the first 9 listings 7 are between 54# and 64#. I couldn't draw those bows with the help of a winch.
Is there a trend that everyone is using a higher draw weight, or am I a wimp? :confused:
I think they are selling the heavy ones because they finally realize that they aren't needed. :)
Bob, funny you posted this - I almost made the same post just yesterday.
Call me a "wimp" among gorillas...I'm down in the low 40's now.
I thought I was light at 56 & 59 @ 32".....
I feel your pain. I am new to trad archery and have considered buying used for my first bow. I also look at the listings everyday. I am looking for something in th mid 40#s. Oh and I am also a lefty.
I reckon everyone is different. I see alot more ads for lighter weight bows than heavy, which can be frustrating if you are looking for something heavier.
Light or heavy either way it seems we are in the pre-season buying slow down. Lots of bows listed and it seems fewer and fewer being sold.
Barry, whatcha taking with you to hunt with Ray in the spring?
maybe bows are more efficient these days and we know more.....maybe they don't make men like they used to?
does seem lighter bows are more common or more sought after now.
I thought it would be fun to pick up a bow in the #75-80 range but they are hard to find. Never considered myself a gorilla before but my wife my think so. First bow I purchased was #65 and I have never shot anything other than that weight. Over time I have picked about a couple Bear recurces in the 45#-50 range but they seem sooo slow ;-) Then I have to start thinking more about trajectory and distance. gorillas can't handle that much thinking.
oxnam
oxnam, but can you read philosophy? :)
The pendulum swings. Back in the 60's most bows were in the 40-50# range and that was considered plenty for hunting North American game. Then thinking went the other way and suddenly anything lighter than 60# was thought to be marginal. I think opinion is swinging back the other way again. If enough of us blow shoulders or just plain get older, we will rethink what is "adequate". Personally, I shoot two bows. One pulls 50# and the other 45#. I shoot the lighter one better.
John
I've been overbowed somewhat since day one, buying a bow in ignorance. One day I'll get (or better yet, make) a 45# @ 28". I had no idea that people thought this was a marginal draw wt. - the only reason I bought 55# @ 28" was because it was available.
Sometimes I wish I'd heard a little bit less. I'm going back to ignorance, once I get a 45lb. draw!
QuoteOriginally posted by BobW:
I thought I was light at 56 & 59 @ 32".....
Gee, at 28" I guess I am..... :saywhat:
My hunting bows tend to be in the 50# range. Primarily because I needed 48#+ in Canada where I had a bear hunt last year, and will return to next year.
For target shooting and just playing around I sometimes use use lighter bows.
I think some of it has to do with folks getting older. Not many newbies in the ranks, and as we older folks age, we're dropping down in weight. I sold most of my heavier bows over the past few years. In my 30s, 40s and 50s, I shot 60-65# bows. Now I'm in my 60s, and I've dropped to bows in the mid to upper 50s, though I still have one Hill that's 62#. In another 10 years, I'll probably go down another 10 pounds.
I will be 53 next month and I have been shooting 55-65# for the better part of 20 year. This summer I have been suffering from neck and shoulder problems from some pinched nerves. I had to drop down to 48# and I am up to shooting 20-25 arrows every other day. The 48#@28" Rose Oak Tomcat I am shooting seems to be delivering my 590 grain arrows to the same spot that my 57# longbow was. I will keep an upper 50# bow around in case it ever works out that I get to hunt Moose, but the performance of this 48#er has got me to thinkin'........Mike
How do you get to the "Bows for Sale" area?
I found it!
41 this year and shooting 45#. Last year had a 55# that made me feel like a wimp. Sorta glad that thing blew apart on me as it made me get a bow (2) that better suited my level.
b.glass: I was just about to recommend you not look. It's a very dangerous place.
:bigsmyl:
Does the 10 second rule still apply? In other words, after 10 seconds at full draw if you don't feel the strain, maybe you are underbowed.
Blame it on power steering, lazyboy recliners, self-propelled lawn mowers, and all the other gadgets that do everything but wipe our noses.
Not trying to rub salt but I'm shootin 55# at 28" and I've been thinkin of goin to 65# cause I'm not good at the trajectory thing... I failed geometry :banghead:
I want to try and stay in this game as long as possible.Shooting a bow that makes me think about getting it back to my anchor is usually to heavy (for me)to shoot well.I like to be able to put 100% concentration onto the target.For me that is mid 50s down.
Good Shooting,
Craig
QuoteOriginally posted by Dozer:
been thinkin of goin to 65#
:notworthy:
QuoteOriginally posted by Dozer:
been thinkin of goin to 65#
:knothead:
I'm a 42 year old gorilla and I shoot a 60# bow (up from 55#). Gee, it feels good to admit that.
:cool:
I'm 53 and have been shooting traditional since I was 5 years old. First bow was a 15# hickory flatbow, shot it for 2 years. Then Dad bought me a 45# Bear Kodiak,(still have it, believe it is a 1955.) Yes, this is heavy for a 7 year old; But Dad said,"Shoot it, Your not getting another one till you can shoot this one." (Found out years later he got it for free and couldn't afford to buy another one.)
Well I did learn to shoot it, and buy the time I was eighteen I was hunting with bows from 50 to 90#s. I most commonly used 75-80#s.
After 48 years of bowhunting I still hunt mostly with 65-75# bows. They just feel right.
Never have and never will own a cable gun. I was shooting Trad when everyone was aiming cable guns. That's how I got the name Bawana Bowman. Been called that since about 1975. I believe the movement to lighter weights is related to the fact that so many shooters are returning from or have always shot wheels. The majority of them don't have the ability to shoot a heavy weight trad bow. Thought they were really something when they drew that 70 or 80# wheelie, then found out how it feels to hold a real bow at full draw!
Got to admit one thing though: If it were possible to snap shoot a wheelie I may have moved that way when they first came on the market. Glad I had better judgement, even back when I was young and knew everything! :thumbsup:
Well, sorry I'm so long winded That I forgot to mention in the above post, I'm not a gorilla. Just 5'9" and 190lbs. Don't stand out in a crowd and can blend in easily with any group. I'm just an average size guy! With 48 years of developed shooting muscles.
I definitely got a cleaner release with bows over 50LBs @ my 29" for many years but at 53 I can't do a dozen flights with mid-50's to low 60#'s anymore. So now I am learning all to focus on a clean release with light bows in the mid to low 40's.
I'm certainly not a gorrila. I weigh 135# after lunch and shoot my 62#@28" better than my 51#@28". Trajectory does not seem to be a factor, but the feel does. May be psychological. The heavier wt. seems like serious business while the lighter seems like a toy.
Even after my best cycle crash ever, which included a broken collar bone and rotator cuff tear on my bow arm side, I still prefer the heavier bow.
I just like the way a heavier 55-65# bow shoots. I draw 31" and the heavier draw weight and long power stroke combined with a heavy arrow just gives me a lot of confidence. To me, confidence in my gear more important than most anything else in terms of shooting well.
Physically I am 6'4" and 235#. I am 48 years old and I do some daily weight training to fight the inevitable strength loss that comes with growing older.
QuoteOriginally posted by pdk25:
Barry, whatcha taking with you to hunt with Ray in the spring?
Hey Pat I'll probably take the Horne again unless my Brack non-typical is done by then. Can't wait to go chase more piggies.
Been shooting bows for about 20yrs. (44yrs old now)and am not a big guy 5'7" 155#,but all my bows but 1 are 60#s and can draw and hold at anchor still with no problem...And it is very comfortable..I know you use a different group of muscles to draw and hold,so all i can think is that my muscle group that I use must still be O.K..Not looking foreward to the day when I have to go lighter...but I'll paddle that stream when I get there..Jamie