The Girl With the 85-lb Bow

bowhunting dot net ^

[damondonion]

Mainly upper back muscles.

[diogenes ghost]

Damn, Geronimo, pay attention.

BOTH the 85# recurve AND the 85# compound require a pull of 85# to get to full draw.

The diffference being that the recurve still requires 85# to hold at full draw, the compound does not, therefore making it more comfortable to hold at full draw.

[mamelukesabre]

I don’t hunt with a bow, but as I recall it pulls quite a bit on the muscles of the backside of your shoulder and a little bit on the backside of your upper arm.

Most hunters use 50-60 pound compound bows. The reason is that you rarely get any additional performance from draw weights above 50 pounds in a compound bow. Look in a catalog of hunting bows and check the advertised arrow speed versus the draw weight of the bow. A seventy pound bow and a 50 pound bow give approximately the same arrow speed. The only advantage to the heavier bows is you can send heavy arrows at a pretty good speed, whereas the lighter draw weight bows send heavy arrows at a much slower speed.

Arrow speed is a function of the tip speed of the bow. A bow is a spring. The faster the bow straightens out when you let go of the string, the faster the arrow goes. One would assume that the stiffer the spring, the faster it straightens out...or in other words, the heavier the draw weight, the faster it straightens out and thus the faster the arrow goes. But this is not the case. What the layman typically forgets to consider is inertia. The heavier or more massive the limbs of the bow are, the slower the bow straightens out. Well, to make a bow stiffer, you have to make it thicker and thus more massive and that slows down the rate at which the bow straightens out. It’s a catch 22 situation.

[rfreedom4u]

I saw on the History Channel that the arrows didn’t penetrate the French armor. They tested armor and arrows from that time period and it didn’t penetrate. They theorize that the arrows hit the horses and the knights were thrown into the mud and crushed or suffocated under the weight of following attacks. Those who weren’t the English killed when they went out to retrieve arrows.

[mamelukesabre]

I agree with you. I don’t care what these know it alls say. Sure 85 pounds is 85 pounds, I understand that principle, it’s very simple. But I’ve used both compound and recurves. I say there is a difference. It feels like there is a difference. The recurve is much more difficult to shoot. I’ll tell you what though, I much rather lug around an old recurve on a hike than a compound bow. And don’t accidentally drop your compound bow while scrambling up a rock. But dropping a recurve wont hurt it.

I think these know it alls have probably never used old fashioned wooden bows before.

[mamelukesabre]

I think that was the battle of crecy, not agincourt.

[damondonion]

The reason is that you rarely get any additional performance from draw weights above 50 pounds in a compound bow.

Don't know where you got that but that's totally wrong. African governments will not allow anybody to hunt large animals with anything less than 80-lb pull and they'd not have such rules if there were no difference.

[mamelukesabre]

You must’ve missed the part in my post about the heavier arrows.

[fish hawk]

You pay attention!!! I’m not disagreeing with that. I’m saying that you , or anyone, can JERK the first pull without any trouble, it’s holding it there that is the problem. Are you listening??? A girl or I , can jerk the string with one powerful pull. With a compound you can hold it for a long time, with a recurve or regular bow you would have to let fly the arrow quickly. I know I’m right on this so just don’t answer if you are going to repeat the same crap.

[fish hawk]

You couldn’t give me a Compound (well, if you were going to give it to me, maybe) too many things to break or get screwed up out in the woods. I’ll take the old fashioned but beautiful recurve. Or, I’ve always wanted to try an English Long Bow.

[mamelukesabre]

I think the penobscot bow looks very interesting. I’ve only seen pictures of them though.

[MarkL]

If your division has a minimum trigger pull requirement it’s five pounds. I can’t believe a safety officer would let you on the line with a pound and a half.

Nope... USPSA rules, Open Division, no minimum trigger pull in that class. And it's perfectly safe. With many thousands of rounds fired, no ADs. The Production Division has a minimum 5# pull.

Mark

[Doc91678]

The bow you see in the hands of that woman has a 60% let-off. The bow is what is called a compound bow.
She can easily hold on target once she is at full draw.

[damondonion]

I don't think anybody makes a 60% letoff bow any more; probably more like 75 ot 80.

The main thing a compound bow does is invert the power stroke of the bow so that an 85-lb compound bow behaves like a longbow with 85 lbs at mid draw, which would be a much heavier bow, probably about 120 lbs. With an 80-lb longbow, the 80 lbs breaks the arrows inertia and after the arrow is moving, there's no more than about 50 lbs acting on it. With an 80-lb compound, the 25 lbs or whatever the shooter is holding b reaks the arrows inertia and then, when the arrow is already moving, the 85 lbs acts on it. Weight at mid draw is the most major factor.

Robin Hood would have given his ***, Maid Marian, Maid Marian's mamma and two sisters, and whatever else you might have asked for a bow like that lady is shooting.

[Doc91678]

Your right.
I was a bare bare bow shooter back in the 50’s, 60’s and in the 70’s I bought a Jennings T.
Shot that for many years. At this point in time, I can’t passed the break point anymore. Guess old age caught up to me.

[Doc91678]

Your right.
I was a bare bare bow shooter back in the 50’s, 60’s and in the 70’s I bought a Jennings T.
Shot that for many years. At this point in time, I can’t passed the break point anymore. Guess old age caught up to me.

[damondonion]

A 45-lb compound bow and an arrow with one of those Aftershock mechanicals appears to be enough to kill most American game animals...

[Doc91678]

Yeah, I was just speaking to my stepson this weekend and I’m thinking about going to Gander Mountain to check out the new bows.

[Borderline]

"I don't think anybody makes a 60% letoff bow any more; probably more like 75 ot 80.

The main thing a compound bow does is invert the power stroke of the bow so that an 85-lb compound bow behaves like a longbow with 85 lbs at mid draw, which would be a much heavier bow, probably about 120 lbs. With an 80-lb longbow, the 80 lbs breaks the arrows inertia and after the arrow is moving, there's no more than about 50 lbs acting on it. With an 80-lb compound, the 25 lbs or whatever the shooter is holding b reaks the arrows inertia and then, when the arrow is already moving, the 85 lbs acts on it. Weight at mid draw is the most major factor."


Best description I have heard in a long time. In Idaho you cannot use a bow with a letoff greater than 65 percent. The Hoyt Trykon can be configured for either 65% or 75% by adjusting the cams. No way to know the letoff on that 85 pound bow without asking how it is set up.

Shot a turkey just this afternoon. Great way to hunt, lots quieter than my partner.

[damondonion]

In Idaho you cannot use a bow with a letoff greater than 65 percent...

Bad law in my estimation. That'll force people to use lighter bows than they might and could result in more injured animals and fewer clean kills.

As to turkeys, have you seen the guillotine broadhead?