How To Choose A Draw Weight For Your Recurve Bow 14 Steps

This is more common among people who want to look impressive and show off. Do not do this if you ever want to get good at archery.

Some of this inaccurate information comes from compound archers. Compounds have a let-off feature where at full draw, you are only holding about 15-20% of the weight. If you have a 70# compound bow, you are only holding 11# at full draw. If you have a 70# recurve, you will be holding 70# the whole time. If a person or a chart suggests a draw weight to you solely based on age, do not trust them/it. Your age makes no difference to your ability to pull back a bow.

If you are a beginner adult archer, start off at 15-25# depending on your physicality and how often you will shoot. Beginning children are typically a bit weaker (not always) and should start at 10-20#.

The increase or decrease in poundage is typically estimated at about 2. 5# per inch over or under 28 in. However, a bow scale will provide more accuracy. For example, if your draw length is 25 inches, you will draw about 24# on a 30# bow. If your draw length is over 30 inches, get a taller bow around 68-72 inches to prevent stacking, or an exponential increase in draw weight.

In a shop, if the seller tries their best to convince you that a bow they have will be perfect for you, even if it’s not what you’re looking for, they are most likely just trying to make a sale. If you are looking for a takedown recurve, for example, do not let a salesperson push you into buying a compound bow. You might find the bow easy to draw back once, but how would you feel doing it dozens of times? Make sure to not overestimate yourself.

You don’t need a high-end set of limbs to start, since you will probably move up in a couple of months. However, a quality riser at about $300-$500 will last you forever and you won’t grow out of it unless you decide to compete in tournaments.

A test for this is to bend your waist and point the bow at the ground with your bow hand near the side of your knee. Draw the bow to your anchor point and if you can’t do this, you are over-bowed. You will want to either buy a new bow or limbs if it is a takedown recurve. If you started at about 30# and it’s too high, you can recover from this (although not recommended) with practice and exercises.

Get someone else’s opinion such as a coach or experienced recurve archer. (Not compound, not longbow, and not horse-bow). Try sitting on a chair and lifting your feet off the ground. If you can pull the string to your anchor point, you are probably good to move up some weight.

35# is more than enough for a hobby or backyard shooting. In some areas, you will need a 35-45# for hunting deer. If you would like to hunt elk or bear, you will need up to 55# to ensure a clean, ethical kill. Higher draw weights give you flatter trajectories and less adjustment of your sight when you shoot longer distances. You won’t have to aim way over the target to account for your arrow’s arc.

A club may have a system to trade out limbs, cutting costs if you want to move up 2# at a time. They are also good to get general advice about your form and have good targets to shoot at.

You may sometimes need a new riser because the old one has its limits on how much draw weight it can take. Commonly, cheaper risers max out at 35#. Consider keeping your old limbs/bow as a practice set so you can relax and practice form on that set or warm-up using a lower draw weight.

Build shoulder muscles to help you draw your bow back. Try single arm dumbbell rows, dumbbell side lifts, and forearm planks. [7] X Research source Use back tension. Pretend like you are pulling back the string without a bow. Squeeze your shoulder blades as if you were trying to hold a tennis ball between them. Now do this with a bow, taking most of the weight with your back to make it easier on your arms.