Body Weight vs Draw Weight

[Wilderlife]

175lbs and 77# draw weight.

 

[Beendare]

I suppose these threads are fun….

I doubt I’m the only longtime Bowhunter that thinks its silly. The guys that think bowhunting is a strength contest are off base.

Kids and women blowing arrows through critters with light equipment….bowhunting is about shooting skill and technique….but I suppose no one wants to talk about that.

 

[Bigborealaska]

200 pds draw a 70 pound bow all day. Its not your weight that matters its the muscles you properly use to draw the bow.

I used to draw 80 and found I could not draw my bow while taking a knee for a shot one year and it opened my eyes to alot of things. We rarely get a perfect shot and were not always standing in perfect form. I've had to cant my body to get out of the way of a limb for a shot and drawing 80 was near impossible at that angle. I draw 70 now and would go 60 if I needed to. put yourself behind some brush and trees and draw from different angles and scenarios and if you can do so with an 80 pound bow sweet then do it.

 

[whoami-72]

I could pull 70 when I weighed 120lbs in high school. Maybe you need some protein powder.

Ha thankfully I grow muscles just fine with a normal heavy meat diet. No protein powder needed.

 

[Yoder]

Ha thankfully I grow muscles just fine with a normal heavy meat diet. No protein powder needed.

Then you should be able to shoot at least 80lbs

 

[Douglasr]

Your draw weight should always be 50% of your body weight.
The animals deserve it.

 

[Yoder]

Your draw weight should always be 50% of your body weight.
The animals deserve it.

There is no way my old fat ass could draw a 90lb bow. I think 35-40% would be more realistic.

 

[Douglasr]

There is no way my old fat ass could draw a 90lb bow. I think 35-40% would be more realistic.

I’m completely joking.
My bow has 70# limbs and is set at 62#’s.
I wish I would’ve gone with 60# limbs.
Modern bows haul ass.
I don’t think going from 60#’s to 90 makes that much of a difference.

 

[MallardSX2]

170/70

My next bow will max out at 60.

 

[socoalt]

165 pulling 78 currently. Really considering dropping to 65 after shooting trad an not pulling over 53’s.

 

[Mxracer532]

If you are in the mindset that the heavier you weigh the more you can draw that is complete BS to look at it that way.

Started at 16 shooting my dads LH Cougar 2000 @ 72lbs I was maybe 140lbs. I am RH but legally blind in my right eye so LH was my only option. I bought that bow from my dad the night I tried it the first time and shot it for several years. I have shot as much as 74lbs at maybe 165lbs but now shoot 65lbs and weigh 200lbs. Todays bows are so efficient there really is no reason to shoot a heavy draw weight.

 

[GuiltyHammer]

I'm 43 at 29.5 draw length. 215lbs. Shooting a 34inch bow, I need some more FPS with my 465gr arrows. I'm shooting 78# and with the efficiency of todays bows, it honestly feels like 65# max. Like I said, I wanted a certain speed for my arrow (290fps) and to get it with my measurements, I had to go close to the dreaded 80#'s. I like the flat trajectory I get though, more forgiving for yardage variation. With proper form, I can shoot all day.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

My bow right now is at 70ish pounds. After a season of awkward draw angles and cold stiff muscles contributing to a few blown opportunities, I’m thinking about dropping the weight to 60 or 65 pounds for white tail hunting where the distances are shorter and the positions tend to be more awkward for me.

It isn’t about draw weight and body mass for me….. I can pull a lot more than 70, but hunting is a different story.

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

I've seen some silly questions that would not yield a shred of useable information, but you win the day.

 

[S.Clancy]

6'1" 187BW/83 lb draw.

 

[Ho5tile1]

5’11” 195 pounds pull 79#s

Seen a bow tech at the shop who is a bean pole maybe 115 pounds pull a 90 pound bow like it was a kid bow. Same day in there there was a huge body builder guy who couldn’t pull 60 pounds back he was just getting started in shooting a bow.


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[Stalker69]

61 yo, 185 lb, 5’11”, 73 lb ( compound) 60 lb at 28” on long bow.

 

[roosiebull]

Your draw weight should always be 50% of your body weight.
The animals deserve it.

The real secret is lengthening your draw length. Contraptions that used to be used for torture are now helping archers peak

 

[roosiebull]

It certainly doesn’t matter much these days. I have always shot 70# bows maxed out that have landed between 71-74# my normal weight is around 160, but by late October, I always drop below 150# for a bit. Of course zero issues shooting through elk

I got a good deal on a 60# bow for my current bow, and it is 63# maxed out, and it’s fun to shoot, and way plenty for anything in this country

My sis in law just killed an elk about a week ago, 45# and 25” draw, 480gr arrow (4mm shaft) and a 100gr kudu with bleeders. Arrow went in behind the last rib and went all the way through the whole thing, and went through the meat of the shoulder… impressive with really any setup… outside of the offside shoulder was all bloodshot, and sliced through the edge of the scapula.

Grass bag, liver, lungs, 4” of meat, scapula

 

[Valkyrie]

I seen someone else did a post on draw weight vs age, and thought it'd be interesting to see what everyone's body weight vs your draw weight is.

Mine is somewhere around 95# body and 55lbs draw.

I’m 6’4” 245ish and draw 70lbs at 52 years old. Might bring it down to 65lbs. Crushed my right wrist in a bicycling crash last spring and it’s not 100% now even after 6 months of rehab. I’ll have to live with it. But at 85% let off I’m holding ten pounds so see what the next six months brings.