Heavy poundage - Get off string better?

[Pinelander]

I've heard this many times. But frankly, after tonight's shooting session, I'm not entirely convinced this is true, even beginning to believe it's nothing but B.S.

Was shooting a 34# bow through a Chrony. Six shots and only two results were different, others were all DUPS. Seems to me, that shows I was getting off the string fairly well. Also, shooting 300 indoor... groups were just as good and maybe a bit better with this bow compared to my 42#er. Maybe the difference of bow length is attributable?... 34# 67" vs. 42# 64".

Whatchya all think?

[Torsten]

Pinelander,

archery has so much individual, personal and habit related aspects that it is often not easy to reduce them to pure mathematical facts and rules.

Just look at the preferred arrows. Everyone has his ideal arrow and most likely most are right.

My heavier bow does shoot better but there are many other issues affecting it than just weight: position of the grip, layout of the grip are just a few, friction of the glove....

Until now I have not tried any bigger series of tests with a tab, but I feel that the string 'escapes' too early during the release.

Will be tried more seriously soon

[Desert Archer]

Piney,

I would say the longer bow, with less finger pinch, is bound to contribute to a smoother release. I was surprised to find there is a difference between a 68" recurve and a 70" recurve that I can actually feel (at my non-standard draw).

As for the weight, I think you are right there too. If you have good form and a decent release I don't think the heavier weight is going to make it better. What more weight on the fingers may do is make a bad or sloppy release a little cleaner. My $.02 worth.

Dave

[James Wrenn]

I have more trouble with a bow lighter than I normally shoot.I don't think it is the weight as much as what you get use to.I shoot through the crony a lot because it is so good for working on your anchor and release.I also find that some bows(for me anyway) will shoot more duplicates than others.I don't know if it is in the design of the bow or just that everything feels better to me.I do factor it in while trying out a new bow or when building my own. :)

[swampy]

I,m not sure but I thought ya really needed to go up in weight to have it have any effect on how it came off your fingers.I,m talkin 70+#,s here.Again I don,t know that for sure that is just what I,ve heard about the heavy wieghts.It,s not somethin I,d wanna shoot a 300 round with but I wouldn,t mind shootin a 70+#er just to see how it feels for ME. Not so sure I,d wanna hafta pull it after sitting still in single digit temps for a few hrs either LOL but it would be kinda neet to shoot for the FUN of it just the same.It might also make my 58#er feel more like a 48#er LOL

[Glynn Sluder]

I have heard that a heavier weight bow throws a cleaner release and even suspected that it was part of my problem with lighter bows.

I posted on here before about my large fingers, I have alot of strength in my hands and figured I couldn't relax as quickly with 40 and under bows.

Here in the last few weeks though, experimenting with different hooks and cutting my tabs back, I think my problem with lighter bows is arrow tuning and draw consistency.

I'm used to shooting my 63# bow and hundreds of shots a day from my 50# warf and when I go to the 42# or my bosses 33# it is easy to pull a 1/2 to 3/4 inch more without noticing my anchor isn't right. I am much more comfortable feeling a medium amount of back tension than hardly any at all.

Anyway, I was going to say with a deep hook my hand is relaxed from the get-go and even 33# is enough to throw my meat puppets out of the way. I just need to get my arrows and form straightened up with the lighter stuff. Of course, that's all there is to any of it, Huh?
Glynn

[Viper]

Piney -

Yes it does, but within reason. If you have good backtension that is maintained throughout the release and follow through, then the weight won't matter much. If your release is "ok", a little extra weight will help to pull the string out of your fingers faster. If you go too heavy, then, as fatigue sets is, (usually quicker), you start having more release problems as correct tension is harder to maintain throughout the shot.

Given what you've been up to lately, I think you fall into the first catagory. That being the case, the lighter weight "should" allow you a little more control.

Viper out.