guidance on recurve draw weight

[kpk]

I had a bunch of money tied up in an Amazon return credit. So, I impulsively ordered a TopArchery 60" takedown in 40lb draw weight as I've been thinking of trying a recurve for awhile. On my compounds I shoot a 27" draw. This recurve just "feels" like I'm not really pulling much weight? Is that typical, or am I not seeing the full 40 lb due to a short draw? I went with 40 thinking it'd be enough to learn on and possibly shoot some whitetails in the future. I don't really know anyone in the area that shoots traditional so I'm totally in the dark on this.

 

[nevadabugle]

Possibly pulling less than 40 because of draw length. Poundage is measured at 28" on recurves, and will typically lose/gain 2-3 pounds for draw lengths shorter or longer than that. Also, if you are just starting I bet you are pulling a full inch or two less than your compound drawlength. That's just a guess however.

Best way to determine is draw an arrow to anchor, have a friend mark the arrow at the front of the shelf with a sharpie. This will tell you your drawlenght. Then go to a bow shop and have them check the poundage at that draw length.

It's not unheard of for a cheap bow to be mismarked on the weight either.

 

[dlee56]

When you buy a trad bow the poundage usually is measured at 28” draw so since you’re an inch shorter it will be less than 40lb.
Still should be fine for white tails if you’re accurate and your arrow setup is heavy.

 

[Hoodie]

How long are you holding at anchor? Are you anchoring, transferring the weight to your back muscles, and expanding until release? Or just touching anchor and letting it rip?

Measure your draw length using a marked arrow. AMO draw length for recurves and long bows is from the nock throat to the deepest part of the grip + 1.75 inches. It's very common for people not to get into full alignment when they first start shooting traditional. If you want to learn to shoot consistently it's a really good idea to learn about alignment, back tension, etc. early on.

Highly recommend Tom Clum's online course. Or Youtube videos from Jake Kaminski.

I would actually recommend beginners start with closer to 30lbs. You want a bow that you can totally dominate so you don't fall into snap shooting. A properly set-up clicker will do wonders for teaching expansion through the release.

 

[nevadabugle]

In my post above, I should have said lose/gain 2-3 pounds PER INCH.

 

[oldgoat]

Don't worry too much about draw length unless the bow starts stacking on you which it doesn't sound like it is since you don't feel like you're drawing that much weight, worry about getting into alignment at full draw to reach your full draw potential, once you do that, then measure your draw length, here's a video from an Olympic archer that actually has good form, he has a whole host of videos.