# Target bow draw weight optimization



## etack (7 mo ago)

Assume you have a bow for indoor target use and want to set it for 40 pounds. Is it better to get a 40 lb. bow and set it at the max or get a 50 lb. bow and drop it to the lowest setting (based on a 10 lb. adjustment range)? Does a compound bow perform better at a maximum or a minimum setting, or at some middle setting, or is the bow neutral in performance, as to this particular variable, regardless of the draw weight setting? A guy at our club with tons of competition experience says it is a personal preference, in that the weight setting is purely a function of what feels right to you, and that the weight setting does not have a preferred point of adjustment, unlike brace height or nocking point location.


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## ehainey (May 30, 2018)

Hi - When I started in target archery, I worked up to 40 lbs, then bought a bough at 40-50lbs because I knew I'd increase my draw weight. I'm now at 47 lbs, and I'm a small women in her sixties, so no worries about increasing your draw weight past 40 lbs. IMO, you don't want to limit yourself to 40 lbs because you will most likely improve.


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## etack (7 mo ago)

Let's restate the question. The poundage of the bow is immaterial. Assume you want a draw weight of 50 lbs. Is there a bow efficiency advantage to getting a 50 lb. bow and cranking it to the max or a 60 lb. bow and uncranking it down to 50 lbs? Does a compound bow perform any better at one extreme as opposed to the other? Or is there no "right" setting on draw weight within manufacturer's specs?


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## BuChi (Jul 22, 2021)

From what I read in various post in AT. Most bow would would shoot the same speed at the same poundage whether its 50-60# or 60-70# if shot at 60#.


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## ukxbow (Aug 17, 2018)

There are no significant differences in efficiency between a modern higher poundage bow backed down and a lower max poundage bow at max, if the peak weight of both is set to the same.

The only difference worth noting is that the bow backed out will have a longer draw length. Depending on bow design it could be small, but with some bow designs it is really quite significant. Therefore a 60lb max bow at 50lb will not feel the same as a 50lb bow at 50lb, as the former will have a noticeably longer DL and therefore will feel different at full draw.

I have a 70lb TRX at 69.5, a 60lb one at 62.5 and a 60lb one at 58lb (for World Archery). Consequently, I have to monkey around with strings and cables to get them all feeling the way I want them to. The 62.5lb bow is cranked all the way in. The 58lb has a turn and a half or so taken out and therefore needed some twisting up of the string and messing with cables to get it to feel the same DL.


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## malcolmbarr (5 mo ago)

Where a bow has a cable stop my suspicion is that the back wall will feel harder with the bow at maximum poundage compared to a bow that has been backed off. For the box at maximum poundage the selection of the limbs, cable lengths, etc will be such that there is maximal tension in the system. When the draw stop hits the cable, the latter will be at maximum tension. For the bow at minimum poundage, the cable system will not be subject to the maximum tension it has been designed to bear, so there may be more 'give' in the cable when the draw stop hits it.


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## "TheBlindArcher" (Jan 27, 2015)

It's one of those things that if you were good enough to notice the difference, you wouldn't need to ask the question... Is there a difference- yeah, draw length and brace height may change slightly; easily adjusted for with a minor cable/string adjustment, as for the "performance," probably will only matter if you are well within the top 5% of archers in the world.


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## Mrsmith63 (4 mo ago)

I’m going to lower my draw weight this year , probably 50-55 lb just for comfort


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## 1/2 Bubble Off (Dec 29, 2016)

etack said:


> Assume you have a bow for indoor target use and want to set it for 40 pounds. Is it better to get a 40 lb. bow and set it at the max or get a 50 lb. bow and drop it to the lowest setting (based on a 10 lb. adjustment range)? Does a compound bow perform better at a maximum or a minimum setting, or at some middle setting, or is the bow neutral in performance, as to this particular variable, regardless of the draw weight setting? A guy at our club with tons of competition experience says it is a personal preference, in that the weight setting is purely a function of what feels right to you, and that the weight setting does not have a preferred point of adjustment, unlike brace height or nocking point location.


In the hands of 99.9999% of shooters, there is ZERO measurable difference in the bows ability to routinely put the arrow in the middle.


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## dg03041 (2 mo ago)

If you wanted to be extremely technical, then you would likely want the bow to have a peak weight at your preferred weight. Most bows have some overhead on peak weight (a 40 pound bow may actually go up to 42 when turned all the way in) and it isn't a stretch of the imagination to think that bow manufacturers intend for you to eventually shoot the bow with the limbs turned all the way in and design a bow to perform at peak efficiency when in that configuration. I would say for the most part, it makes no difference unless you are just an extremely talented shooter. You may notice some issues with arrow tuning and determining proper arrow spine if you choose to shoot with the limbs turned down. If you get a 50 lb set of limbs and turn them down to 40, I would just personally deal with shooting arrows spined for 50 pounds so if you decide to turn the poundage up, they are still safe to shoot.


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## gsteve (Sep 5, 2016)

it doesnt matter 40 is 40... the stories that it isnt are old and immaterial


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## OhWell (Aug 21, 2013)

I prefer to shoot a bow with the limbs bottomed out. If that is not possible I like to have the option of locking the limb bolts in position with set screws.

I make enough mistakes when shooting, I don't need my bow making any for me.


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