# #s for 70 meters



## gary royce (Feb 5, 2009)

What pound limbs do you guys recommend for shooting 70 meters. I see a lot of really low poundage limbs on here and I'm just curious what is preferred? I bought a used bow with 34# limbs but I see where a lot of the top shooters are in the upper 40's and I'm wondering if I need to invest in something heavier for outdoors


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

gary -

What can you handle? 

Viper1 over.


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

In the 40s is great, 30s is doable. 20s can be possible but you wont do yourself any favors.

Personally i wouldnt want to shoot lower than 35lbs.

Most people i would assume to be in the 30-48 lb range.


Chris


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Recommend the heaviest draw weight *that you can handle to the last shot of the day*, with some in reserve.


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## curisu (Nov 30, 2015)

37lbs on the fingers, if i pace myself, i can shoot for hours. with an average of 3-4 (12 arrow) ends per hour, i can hit 150-200 in a long afternoon.

this is with a bum shoulder and being relatively new to the sport, so there is that.


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## gary royce (Feb 5, 2009)

Ok..Well I shoot 55# regularly with my longbow. So i'm thinking mid 40's would be ideal for me. Thanks guys..Viper, I bought your book probably 6-7 years ago..loaned it to a friend 7 months ago and now cant seem to get it back..


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

Required weight varies based on a lot of variable, but one big one is do you want to have your sight on the yellow? Not everybody who shoots 70, has that. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Depends on how often you shoot 70 and how competitive you are. Then it comes down to draw weight, limb efficiency, arrow weight, arrow diameter, vane type and drag, draw length/power stroke, foc, etc. In the end, as said in one of the posts above, whatever the max weight you can *truly* dominate, trumps anything as the limiting factor imho, after that you adapt the rest of the variables to get you to your goals.


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## ButchD (Nov 11, 2006)

Stash said:


> Recommend the heaviest draw weight *that you can handle to the last shot of the day*, with some in reserve.


I am holding 31#@30.5" DL , and can shoot 90-100 arrows. With carbon shafts, I comfortably reach 70M.
However, the wind is not my friend. LOL. Hence Stash's quote.
If I go to 33.5#, I am presently unstable past 30-40 arrows.
So, practice in the wind whenever possible!


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## baller (Oct 4, 2006)

My first full year of competition after college in 2012 saw me shooting approx 32# on my fingers at 28.8-29".using carbon Ones I was able to comfortably reach 70 with my sight on the yellow and all the way out but as ButchD stated the wind was not my friend. I remember my first 70m round was in about a 20-25mph crossing headwind. Aiming black/white at 1-o'clock can be a scary proposition for any archer, not to mention newer competitors. 

I'm currently shooting 46# at almost 30" now. I've played with anything from 38 up to 52 and several different arrows. I've settled on 46 because I can dominate it for more than 200 shots and it shoots well with a middle weight shaft and gives me a cleaner release than the low 40s does. Your milage may vary. 

If you're at 55 with a longbow I'd say 40-44 on your fingers at your clicker would be more than doable. Start at the bottom of that range and don't feel the need to rush to 45+ just because everyone else is. It's more fun to dominate your bow and shoot well than it is to get a workout and tire out.


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## c365 (May 15, 2013)

Viper1 said:


> gary -
> 
> What can you handle?
> 
> Viper1 over.


Yes. 
60# if can* handle* it.

One good thing about heavier draw weights is you don't have to be so finicky about arrow weight.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

gary royce said:


> Ok..Well I shoot 55# regularly with my longbow. So i'm thinking mid 40's would be ideal for me. Thanks guys..Viper, I bought your book probably 6-7 years ago..loaned it to a friend 7 months ago and now cant seem to get it back..


I see a lot of 1.5second-hold high weight longbowman completely fail with a 7-8-9second OlyRecurve setup because they're way overbowed and thus cannot deal with the clicker's demand for subtle/relaxed control. 

Why not shoot the 34#limbs, get all stretched out into Oly Recurve alignment, and master the clicker? After having done those things, then if you still want to push upward on poundage, you'll have a great form foundation from which to do so. But 34/35lbs limbs/draw weight won't be the thing that keeps you from shooting 300+ 36arrow scores at 70meters.


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## beefstew27 (Mar 18, 2008)

You need a minimum of about 28 lbs to REACH 70m. shoot the heaviest that you can, and still maintain good form. For me, sometimes that's about 40, other times it's less. speed is nice, but a slow X is better than a fast miss. If you build your arrows correctly, you can make up for the lack of speed with a heavier point to track better in the wind.


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## OlyShoot (Feb 10, 2013)

FWIW There's something else to consider ... Your stabilization system and total mass of your kit. 

I'm becoming more aware that the total mass of your kit has a relationship to your draw weight. 

I found that just having a basic long rod,v-bar, extender setup (small suppressors and 4 oz of weights) was magnifying any of my shakes. Making it harder to aim and fatiguing earlier. Getting under the TOTAL MASS=OTF/6.5 has made my shooting more fun and lasts longer without changing draw weight. 

That formula may not be perfect but it's a place to start, and something to also consider when selecting bits for your kit that also hits on your strength. 


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

40ish is where you should aim, to be comfortable low to mid 40's. If you can't handle that, just do the proper conditioning (and start with 30# ish limbs) to get there if there's no physical issues.

Overbowing recurve is easy. I shoot (or shot when I actually trained properly) generally closer to 50# to get the feel that I like. I also own a historically correct longbow which draws 110# to my 32 and bit inches. Fact that I can shoot that longbow (when the hand shock doesn't rattle my teeth out) doesn't mean that I can comfortably aim and perform with olympic recurve unless I train properly, also other things than just shoot.


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## beefstew27 (Mar 18, 2008)

OlyShoot said:


> Getting under the TOTAL MASS=OTF/6.5 .



What do you mean by OTF? I've been in this game a while and never heard of this...explain please


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

Off The Fingers. Your draw weight at your draw length.


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## beefstew27 (Mar 18, 2008)

Thank you!


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

bobnikon said:


> Off The Fingers. Your draw weight at your draw length.


beefstew: people often make this OTF distinction because depending on how you tighten or loosen the bolts, how deep your draw is, and other factors, you may get a different poundage in practice than what is stamped on the limbs. OTF is usually like you pull to your draw length with your bow set up as desired, using a scale, and get a specific number.

That would also relate to the question at hand because with a longer draw length you might be able to reach 70 with different weight. Before I got ill last summer I could get there aiming on with as little as 22 (with bolts turned, so probably more in reality), where smaller people might need more like 30 just to reach the bale. At those weights you are very wind-prone and you need light carbons light tips and drop the sight down to the bottom. But that is the bottom of the bandwidth. You can get out there and score low 200s. I think you need more like 30# for a solid archer to put up truly competitive numbers that would advance in a USAT event on the RM side, or to handle a howling wind. I know there are some exceptions including USAA's former Olympian president but I am going by how I did at my number versus the weights used by local archers who scored better. I know when I was more fit I could get to 70 easily with my brother's 35# Sage shooting aluminums. Like someone was saying, you get up to a higher number and you are less concerned with just getting there and aiming off for wind in any breeze (and hoping the wind stays steady) and can do equipment choices to improve your chances that would cost others making the bale.


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## Mr. Roboto (Jul 13, 2012)

And here I was thinking I was being a woose when I dropped from 50# to 45#


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Simply _reaching_ 70M depends not only on the draw weight and length, but the arrow weight and especially the anchor point. A long face and high shelf tab help a lot.

Going back to the days before carbon arrows, I can think of 2 good archers from my own club, one man, one woman, who could on occasion produce good scores at the maximum FITA distances with light bows. The woman (one a national team member and still well known as a coach on the international scene) used to shoot 31# limbs with a 26" 1618 aluminum arrow and reached 70M comfortably. The man after some physical problems went down to 32# limbs at 27" with 1716 aluminum, and had no trouble getting 90M.

But both were screwed on windy days. 

Inevitably someone will bring up Denise Parker....


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## Bigjono (Apr 21, 2009)

Is speed more of a factor if you don't use sights? With really low poundage my point gets way over the butt at 70 and 80m.


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## jmvargas (Oct 21, 2004)

IIRC denise parker won a lot of her medals and shot her highest scores with poundages in the high 20s and low 30s..


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## gary royce (Feb 5, 2009)

*70m*



jmvargas said:


> IIRC denise parker won a lot of her medals and shot her highest scores with poundages in the high 20s and low 30s..


Thanks for all the responses. I think as suggested I will stay with 34# right now. I can definitely tell I have to drop my anchor point to under chin and that is really gonna take some getting used to. I shot indoors tonight trying that with a sight on the bow and boy does it feel weird. Also think I need to drop my sight to the bottom holes. Once I get all those kinks worked out maybe I will look for some40#limbs just to be able to have a little more flexibility with sight/arrows/etc... I can see my bank account getting weaker..I have shot a longbow for years now but this recurve/oly stuff is getting addictive


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## ryan b. (Sep 1, 2005)

It's probably a moot point because if you're asking this question you're not likely to be able to keep arrows on the bail, regardless of weight used, at 70m. I'm not trying to be mean. By the time you are shooting well enough to shoot decent at 70m then you'll know the answer to your question. Enjoy shooting and build technique at 18 and 30. Try some shots at 50 THEN start concerning yourself with what it takes to shoot well at 70.


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## gary royce (Feb 5, 2009)

You are right Ryan..And boy am I'm learning how critical form is..I mean every little thing makes a huge difference..Whether its grip pressure, complete follow thru, or just getting that 1/4 in of expansion before release..if everything isn't perfect you can sure tell it


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

gary royce said:


> Thanks for all the responses. I think as suggested I will stay with 34# right now. I can definitely tell I have to drop my anchor point to under chin and that is really gonna take some getting used to. I shot indoors tonight trying that with a sight on the bow and boy does it feel weird. Also think I need to drop my sight to the bottom holes. Once I get all those kinks worked out maybe I will look for some40#limbs just to be able to have a little more flexibility with sight/arrows/etc... I can see my bank account getting weaker..I have shot a longbow for years now but this recurve/oly stuff is getting addictive


If you are just going to an under chin anchor you'd be better served going indoors at 20 and getting that down than seriously trying to get out to 70 this year. It sounds like you are still learning basic Olympic form in which case work on that a while before trying 70. 70 is going to expose every form glitch you have. Leave that for playtime for now. But there is room for playtime.....

Not quite sure what you mean, but this "I need to drop my sight" sounds familiar, I did barebow over the winter, be sure you are split fingering the string. My first few arrows back I was like why is my sight mark so low and I realized I was still 3 undering the string still. If you're shooting 30s you shouldn't be way down the slide indoors at 20. You should have more the opposite problem, being near the top of the slide.

To answer more directly your OP, at your weight you will make 70 easy, you really instead have the question of what is best, are you at your draw weight sweet spot. If you hand back the benefits of increased draw weight by being exhausted and a form mess as the round progresses it's not a good trade off. Find what works, worry about that, and if you want to go up work on strength to the point that the higher weight becomes the sweet spot. I'd separate out "this is what gets me the best score now (and encourages best form)" from "this is my goal."


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## c365 (May 15, 2013)

gary royce said:


> Thanks for all the responses. I think as suggested I will stay with 34# right now. I can definitely tell* I have to drop my anchor point to under chin and that is really gonna take some getting used to*. I shot indoors tonight trying that with a sight on the bow and boy does it feel weird. Also think I need to drop my sight to the bottom holes. Once I get all those kinks worked out maybe I will look for some40#limbs just to be able to have a little more flexibility with sight/arrows/etc... I can see my bank account getting weaker..I have shot a longbow for years now but this recurve/oly stuff is getting addictive


Of course gary, archery form doesn't come overnight, or over week, or month for that matter. Just relegate yourself to putting in the time and effort. Forget about long distances and built from square one.


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