My 10 year old and I were recently gifted bows. His has a listed weight of 25-40#, mine is 55-70#. What does it mean that it’s a range?
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A compound bow has letoff. When fully drawn the draw weight is much less than the full draw weight of the bow. The lower number is the pressure you will feel at full draw. The higher number is the pressure the arrow will get right before it leaves the bow.
This is not correct. The range of 55-70# is because the draw weight on the bow is adjustable via the tiller bolts. The letoff is expressed as a percentage. If the bow is set to 60# and has a 75% letoff then the peak draw weight is 60# and the holding weight at full draw is 15# (60# - 75%).
I hope this is the right answer because then maybe it will be ill be able to use it. I can barely draw it at all.
I assure you this is the correct answer. I am a recently retired international competitor in target archery, so I do know a thing or two about the equipment.
But the bad news is 55# peak draw weight on a compound is still quite high for a completely untrained beginner archer. It’s much more attainable than the 70# your bow is probably set to from the factory, but jumping straight to 55# is potentially hazardous for your shoulders. Even on a compound with letoff, it’s better to learn on a starter bow around 30# or 40# for an adult male, and then ramp up to 50-55# once the technique is learned and settled.
Well, the “good” news is that my son’s bow let’s off about an inch behind a comfortable anchor so I can use his, while he uses his old banshee.
It turns out it was at 66#. I took it to a local were able to lower it to 55, which is much more comfortable.
I pulled out my son’s bow first and the owner got real serious and asked where I got it. It turns out it was originally his daughter’s. When I pulled mine out he started laughing because my view had been his and the two bows have been passed around together to a parent and child for the past twenty years.
Think of it in reverse, how much weight you can pull in pounds. You should be able to pull that much weight on the bow string between that range to get a good draw, the range means someone who pulls 55 pounds of force or 70 pounds of force can both get a good draw on that bow.