LONG BOW POUNDAGE

[BEAST]

Hey guys I've fairly new to trad shooting I have a border black Douglas ultra #55 pounds and love it
And I've been talking to a few bowyers about a long bow I am now going to bite the bullet and get one I've spoken to a bowyer and I've seen his bows plus he very well respected from what I see so I'm just wondering what everyone thoughts are on bow lenght and poundage I'm around 27-27.5 inches
And 55# recurve was hard at first but I shoot it easy now I was thinking 65# @28 so it be around 62-63 at my draw cheers
It will manly be a hunting bow but I would still like to shoot at trad comps but

[little arrows]

g'day mate,

It's pretty hard to define an answer re a suitable poundage. If you are happy with your current poundage do you need to increase. The different bow designs may feel different to shoot. You may find you're more accurate with the lighter poundage. It is really up to you. Perhaps if you could shoot a bow of higher poundage and see how you pull up, then you could make a better informed decision.
Happy shooting either way.

cheers
sue

[bigbob]

I might be a person of senior years and rapidly going downhill but a few years ago was using one of my heavier bows at about 60# for trad shoots. Ended up using a 45# bow for the same thing , not because the first one was too heavy but the 45# bow did all that I needed and never gave me any fatigue or poor shot execution from repeated shots. Unless you plan on hunting big game like buff, then I feel something around 55# at your draw length would be ample, depending on your build etc.

[Trad Bound]

I might be a person of senior years and rapidly going downhill but a few years ago was using one of my heavier bows at about 60# for trad shoots. Ended up using a 45# bow for the same thing , not because the first one was too heavy but the 45# bow did all that I needed and never gave me any fatigue or poor shot execution from repeated shots. Unless you plan on hunting big game like buff, then I feel something around 55# at your draw length would be ample, depending on your build etc.

Wise words from a senior , yes you can go to many a shoot and see a heavy bow but you can go to the same shoots and see what experience has shown a lot more bows of lower poundage and many a more happier archer.
Cheers
TonyJ

[BEAST]

Cheers guys
And no buff for me I won't hunt the poor fellas
I only hunt at the moment rusa pigs goats foxes rabits and I have gained access for reds deer up at esk but haven had a chance to get up there yet
And yep I was thinking 55# as well only thing that throws me is I think I'll get heavy limbs for my border as it's a bit easy now

And it's hard for me to write what I'm trying to mean but I guess what I'm trying to ask is say a 55# longbow is that similar to pulling back a 55# recurve ?
Or is the long bow easer or harder
I had a go at my mates 45# hybrid long bow and it was so very easy it confused me lol

But thanks anyway guys I'm heading down to wyong to get fitted out I'll just have to have a few draws of diffrent poundage and have a good chat with nick about it
Thanks for all ur advice

[Antonio]

I should get honest here and say for me and just me right here right now .40lbs to 45lbs for practice and maybe 50 lbs for hunting 55lbs max .
I say this because I used to practice a lot and built myself up to shoot 113lbs longbow not a weely .but it was a lot of work .I recon if you are going to practice a lot regular .
working on you're form even a 30lbs is ok to practice with .if you are thinking of hunting you want something you might have to hold for a while yet still have some power .
so for me 45 to 50 pounds really .but I don't have the answers for you .you might have the time or commitment to work at it build up .

I really think the higher the lbs the more regular some one has to be in bow shape fit for using a heavy bow .

I use to make a 80lbs bow look easy to shoot even use to pass it to some weely bow users saying try this one only to have laugh.
what I am trying to say is you can shoot 100lbs like some one that shoots a 40lbs but to do that you really have to work at it .

I like a bow these days that you can pick up and put down without having to work up to it .


so I don't have the answers for you there is a lot of variables you put questions out there and from people answering
them and giving their opinions you just have more to think about

[littlejohn59]

hey there Beast
Some things for you to consider.
To hunt, your bow must be a minimum of 50 pounds.
Hunting you will most likely only shoot 3 or more so arrows in the day. So tiredness shouldn't be a problem.
Competition or shooting say 100 arrows a day will take its toll on your body.
Ideally you would want to comfortably be able to hold the bow for 2-3 seconds at full draw.
An increase of 1 or 2 pounds may not sound much but requires a lot more effort to pull back and hold. So 65 pound is a marked increase. I hope you have eaten your weet-bix.
Age is something worth thinking about. If you are young, a higher bow poundage is not too much of a problem. However if you are in your (dare i say it,50s+) our muscles are on the deteriorating side. SO what you can manage today might not be possible tomorrow
I would suggest you try out some bows of different poundage either from other archers or ask the bowyer whom you are intending to buy from if he has some you could trial.
You are about to spend good money, so the last thing you want is to be overbowed and disappointed and having to sell and reduce to a lower poundage.
I hope this steers you in the right selection.

[whitey222]

Hunting you will most likely only shoot 3 or more so arrows in the day. So tiredness shouldn't be a problem.
Competition or shooting say 100 arrows a day will take its toll on your body.

I'll second that ! If you also want to use this bow for competitions, you be best to compromise on the weight.
I have done ABA rounds with my 61# hunting recurve and fatigue definitely becomes a factor towards the end of the day.

Check out the DVD 'Traditional Harvests 5'. In that, Fred Eichler downs everything from rabbits to deer to water buffalo with a 50# Hoyt recurve. After seeing that myself, I realised its not all about poundage.

[Jim]

To hunt, your bow must be a minimum of 50 pounds. .

Littlejohn,

What makes you say that?

[littlejohn59]

In Victoria DSE rule with a bow

[kerrille]

50# is minimum for deer only.why i dont know but thats the rule made up by people who have no idea what they're on about,when hunting i often stump shoot to keep my muscles warm,i shoot a hell of a lot more than 3 arras.so do all my mates i shoot with.

...nev...

[little arrows]

You may have 3 x 55#ers, so you'd think, 55 should be the same as the next 55. Limb construction materials, limb designs, core material, bow length can all make the first 55# bow feel stiffer or harder or even easier than the other 55#.
Even then you may not "feel" it when you draw, but you will when you release - some bow stack, some are smooth, some jar your back teeth.
clear as mud really.....

cheers
sue

[Jim]

In Victoria DSE rule with a bow

Well, you learn something new every day I went and checked Vic's regs and that's true for all deer except hog, chital and fallow. which is minimum 45#. It's funny that they demand that bow weight but have a really low minimum arrow weight... I wonder if they know it's the arrow that does the killing?

PS

That being said, Victoria is the best in Australia, so I'm not really complaining