# Bow Mass weight vs Bow draw weight ratio



## dylpickleeeeeee (Jun 6, 2013)

I know this question may seems ridiculous to ask.
Maybe the answer is always up to individual archer and there is no rule of thumb.

Is there any recommend ratio between bow mass weight vs bow draw weight?
Any pro/cons with heavy bow weight beside more stable? (More stable is probably in relative term.)

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If we watched some youtube video for professional archers, we can see that
(The observation may be not correct. I did not watch 100% of youtube video.)
1. Most women shoot around high 30 to low 40 pounds. They do not add too much weight on side rod (1 ounce) / long rod weight (2-4 ounces). Sometimes they have 3-5 ounces top damper but not bottom damper.
2. Most men shoot around low 40 to high 40 pounds. Their setup is very similar to woman setup.
3. Most American archers shoots with NTS style, they have huge (5-10 ounces my guess) amount of weights on side rod, long rod. Some of them have top/bottom dampers too. It make the bow weight probably close to 1 pound heavier than rest of archers.


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## Sandford98 (Apr 14, 2013)

if you have a heavier bow lets say 4.5 pounds or more (just the bow) I wouldn't think you would want a 40 pound draw just because you wont be that stable but other than stability I don't see any downsides or upsides of it... I don't think I would want carbon night or Mathews helim at 3.2 and 3.5 pounds and 80 pound draw just because doesn't seem as stable and I don't know if they can handle it


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Interesting question I've not seen asked before...

I know personally that my competition bows nearly always weighed right at 7 lbs. mass weight, with a draw weight between 47-49#.

That's a 1:6.8 ratio. 

If you consider most women shooting around 35 lbs., would their bows weigh around 5 lbs? Probably so.

So maybe a 1:7 ratio is going to be close? Or at least some place to begin.

John


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

there was a previous post that said divide the bow draw weight by 6.5 and you will get the approx appropriate bow mass weight. 


works for me. My bows are always 7.2 lbs or so and i usually shoot 46-48# at clicker


Chris


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## Sandford98 (Apr 14, 2013)

Thought we were talking about hunting my bad


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## w8lon (Jun 2, 2012)

Found this stored away in my favorites folder, well written useful stuff. The main link:http://https://sites.google.com/site/archerybibliography/recuve-bow-setup

Setup link with stabilizer weight information:http://https://30f7f6fa-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/archerybibliography/documents-1/RecurveBowSetUp.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpZ30LrnOj7OztCfiA9Zssf0BPmMl08bzeznDys0MQX1eIKARzq4kXJUFXLEHuRkAuu0gzDDIvbQ104EyP1mNdvw3m6Di8q5k1ygjtF6L1F1dU4jNFwLb4TU3ZhZqY1jadr2E7djRawXesjJYewAm6B8sylKl_-g-mNMD5cvpvYyKUhIRqYxKSbpS9IcwPjuprL0UA6G1SNROhy8GDsJACS355wB7tjoB_Kw7aLRdg2itg9K7fxl56LUy47eaBk4r2GzIhG&attredirects=0


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## Dacer (Jun 10, 2013)

Neither of those links work for me however I have this bookmarked by last spring. 

http://www.tenzone.u-net.com/Equipment/stabilisation/pdfs/stab4a4.pdf


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## w8lon (Jun 2, 2012)

Oops too many http's! See page eight under Recurve Bow Setup, he mentions the 6.5 ratio.
http://sites.google.com/site/archerybibliography/recuve-bow-setup


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## Joe T (Apr 5, 2003)

w8lon said:


> Oops too many http's! See page eight under Recurve Bow Setup, he mentions the 6.5 ratio.
> http://sites.google.com/site/archerybibliography/recuve-bow-setup



Original discussion of topic is here Bow hand Loading. A draw weight to bow weight ratio of 6 - 7:1 seems to work reasonably well for most people. The best approach, as ever, is by practical testing rather than armchair theory. The only write up I know of describing how to weight balance a bow is the one in The Heretic Archer.


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## Dacer (Jun 10, 2013)

The apptitune app discusses stabilizer tuning with respect to how it actually helps you aim not just for bow reaction.


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## Joe T (Apr 5, 2003)

Dacer said:


> The apptitune app discusses stabilizer tuning with respect to how it actually helps you aim not just for bow reaction.


This whole issue about bow weight (balancing) *is* about helping you aim and nothing to do do with bow reaction. The idea is to put the loading directly down the bow arm (bone on bone) and minimize the work needed to be done by the bow shoulder muscles.

A simple illustration of this idea is to use a stretch band. Hold one end on top of your head with your draw hand; with your arm straight and sloping upwards hold the other end with the bow hand (also useful to hold some sort of weight in the bow hand). Let your bow hand drop slowly until you reach equilibrium where the tension in the stretch band is holding the vertical weight at the bow hand. At this equilibrium point the bow shoulder muscles are doing nothing as resultant force of the stretch band and the bow hand weight runs straight down the bow arm. For a bow the draw force plays the same role as the stretch band.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

d - 

Interesting. I just use weights that feel comfortable, using as much weight (physical and draw) as can be handled. 
Oddly enough, the theory works exactly same for both physical and draw weights consideration. 

There are benefits to increasing both, up to a point where they both become unmanageable, and leading to muscle and postural compensation (read form). 

The danger I see with these threads is that there will always be people trying to follow some magic formula (ie What's "Brady" using") whether it's right for them or not (usually not).

Viper1 out.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Joe T - you always have the most insightful posts. Great stuff to think about there.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

Completely agree about Joe T's posts - I always grin in anticipation when I see that he's posted something.

When asked by a friend of mine about what's the right amount of stabilizer weight, Brady told him "I just keep hanging weight on it till it feels right."

Something about that response makes me love the guy.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Sounds like something Brady would say. The great ones don't always know why they do the things they do. They just do it because it feels right... Must be one of those "talent" things.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

limbwalker said:


> Sounds like something Brady would say. The great ones don't always know why they do the things they do. They just do it because it feels right... *Must be one of those "talent" things.*


Oh, no! Don't get _that_ argument started again. ha ha ha


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