What poundage for a starter?

[g_r]

Hi,

this is just out of curiosity, no actual case;

what poundage would you recommend for the following person:

total archery starter, wants to learn to shoot, no actual hunting plans for now;
30 years, no health issues;
6 foot tall, average body frame;
28 " draw;

Please answer with a poundage in numbers, maker it easier to evaluate.

Thanks for playing
Axell

P.S. For those wondering, i posted the same question on Tradgang and two german forums to create a national comparison because the subject recently came up and im curious.

[Guy Layton]

45 #

[ppofandt]

Yeah. I'd have said 40# to 45# too. Lower range for trad or recurve, higher for compound.

HOWEVER. The poundage you can pull as a raw starter and the poundage you can pull a few weeks later are very different things. You will tone up rapidly and the weight that was only just able to be pulled will probably be easy in comparison after a few weeks.

If you're looking to buy a bow, either get a cheap one that you don't mind replacing soon or a good one that has a relatively good resale value.

Personally I'm a fan of starting with usable but cheap equipment. That way you can skill up, learn and practice your form. Once you've developed to the point of making your cheap bow perform the best it possibly can, trade up to a new, good bow. You'll develop a great deal of respect for the difference good equipment can make and have an understanding of what part of the results are you, and what parts are your gear.

[excelpoint]

35 to 40# for my liking.

[Chase N. Nocks]

I'll probably be out on a limb here but I think 35lb-40lb is an upper starting weight for a tradbow. Ego must play absolutely no role in a starting draw weight.

Better still would be to start them on a 35lber long limbed bow that uses ILF fittings so that they can start on a set of cheap limbs and then if the riser is of good enough quality they could progress as high as carbon or carbon foam limbs.

This option is the next best thing to starting with a compound which is what I usually recommend to the beginner. I believe that my years as a compound shooter put me in very good stead as an archer overall.

It is absolutely crucial to begin their ongoing enjoyment of archery with a bow that is comfortable and easy enough for them to concentrate completely on form...in my humble opinion anyway.

Cheers
Troy

[Chase N. Nocks]

Nope, wasn't out on a limb. Exelpoint and I are of a similar mind.

He may disagree about the compound comment though.

[Gringa Bows]

I'll be different and say if he's a big healthy lad ,i'd say 50lb and make sure he warms up before he draws it,wont take long and he''ll be shooting it no worries

[Steven J]

40lb.

It will still shoot relatively flat, and may just be a little on the heavy side, but only for the first week.

Steve

[kerrille]

agree with rod 50 to 55# ive started 14 and 15 yr olds on 45# with no probs a 6'er would have no probs what so ever

...nev..

[hazard]

Yep 40-45lb, if the poundage is too high it could encourage bad form or habbits.

[Gringa Bows]

Better still mate,if a few of you guys have bows of different poundages let him draw a few bows and see what he can comfortably handle, work it out from there ,if he's as big and healthy as you say he may pull a 50lb bow without any probs,if not feed him more weeties

[WOLF]

I started out with a 55# and had no probs with it
But Im a big sort of guy

[Nephew]

I started at 20#, but I'm a woosy

[kerrille]

hay mort i started out with a 20# too but i was 8

..nev..

[Gringa Bows]

[Nephew]

hay mort i started out with a 20# too but i was 8

..nev..

You were probably stronger then, than I am now, Nev!

[Dennis La Varenne]

My opinion, and this may go against the grain, but I am reluctant to recommend any draw weight of bow for anybody. I prefer to have them draw some bows of increasing draw weight WITHOUT ANY WARMUP until they cannot reach a reasonable anchor without their bowarm shoulder starting to collapse and starting to struggle. At that draw weight, the new archer is at their upper limit of control.

The reason for the lack of warmup is simple. If the person can easily draw a bow without warmup, there will not be any problem with control. If the person needs to warmup, they are at the limit of what they can handle and control will the most pressing problem when achieving a good form should be the primary consideration at this level. You cannot do both.

Arrow speed and flat trajectory are not issues at this stage. Practice should/will be a very short ranges while a personally suitable form is being developed. If the person prefers to begin with a bow at the upper limit of their strength level, then they should spend a week or two just drawing the bow to build up strength BEFORE beginning to work on a form FIRSTLY and SECONDLY, before trying to hit anything.

[Chase N. Nocks]

Actually Dennis beat me to it. Rather than an arbitrary figure some testing is the best guide as suggested.

Lighter is better than heavy at this stage and if growing out of the bow too quickly is a consideration then pick something a little heavier but they must exercise and develope good drawing and holding strength AND good endurance. BEFORE they ever start loosing arrows from the bow.

ILF is still a good option I think and look at the Trad Tech Pinnacle riser. I have shot recurve and longbow limbs with this riser and like it very much.

Cost however should not be too much of an option for you guys Axell, your home grown BearPaw bows are pretty well priced. We pay almost $200 extra just to import them.

Cheers
Troy

[GrahameA]

Hi Troy

ILF is still a good option I think ...

Not for you at the moment. You have just joined AA and the suggestion is that ILF Longbows do not comply.

Have a read : http://www.archery-forum.com/showthread ... n-Longbows

[Chase N. Nocks]

Hi Troy

ILF is still a good option I think ...

Not for you at the moment. You have just joined AA and the suggestion is that ILF Longbows do not comply.

Have a read : http://www.archery-forum.com/showthread ... n-Longbows

Of course. To quote Lord Black Adder

.."The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the devil's own satanic herd"

I'll just have to make do with the 55lb Martin Viper in the mean time. I just hope that my shoulder will put up with 240 arrows a day for 4 days. I'm just not sure it will as I have not done enough shooting..I'll be there so we will just have to see.

Cheers
Troy

[excelpoint]

I'll probably be out on a limb here but I think 35lb-40lb is an upper starting weight for a tradbow. Ego must play absolutely no role in a starting draw weight.

Better still would be to start them on a 35lber long limbed bow that uses ILF fittings so that they can start on a set of cheap limbs and then if the riser is of good enough quality they could progress as high as carbon or carbon foam limbs.

This option is the next best thing to starting with a compound which is what I usually recommend to the beginner. I believe that my years as a compound shooter put me in very good stead as an archer overall.

It is absolutely crucial to begin their ongoing enjoyment of archery with a bow that is comfortable and easy enough for them to concentrate completely on form...in my humble opinion anyway.

Cheers
Troy

I really cant say too much as i used to shoot compound before seeing the light

As for the ILF comment I whole heartedly agree. As in the Jan_Feb issue of the mag this year I built a very handy shooting ILF recurve for under $300AUS with brand new Trad Tech limbs. It would be absolutley ideal as a first and last bow for anyone. I have some cheap carbon foams for it and also some reasonably expensive carbon foams as well as the Trad tech wood glass limbs.

The beauty is it also has 5-7# of weight adjustment as well as every other adjustment to really dial it in to any shooter, split finger or 3 under. As a matter of fact I may just do another one

[aroadik]

I started 16 yrs ago pulling 65-70lb and able to draw to anchor 100lb, WRONG !!! I wish I knew people like Matt (excellpoint) and chase'n'nocs at the time. I agree 100% with them and would not have wasted so much time and money in the meantime. As for ILF Sooo miss/undertood especially for new comers, what a great system to expand from, and relatively cheap. Learn to shoot then pick your style. Just my 2 cents worth !

[jonow]

I have just started myself around Christmas time with a 40# bow I am a fair sized bloke so am probably pulling more than 40. It is a great weight form me and would not like to have started with heavier. Tried one of long bow steves bows at 47# the other week and this was a bit heavy for me at this stage. I imagine it all depends on the individual shooting though