I am thinking about upgrading my bow. My question is, does an 80 lb bow really give you a noticeable increase in speed? I'm not asking for a sermon about using a bow with a comfortable weight. I am very confident that I can get used to an 80 lb pull. I'm 200 lbs and I can bench press my weight for over ten reps, do over 15 pull ups, etc. If anyone can manage it, then I'm sure I can. My question is whether their is enough benefit in speed/energy to justify it. For instance, how many fps am I adding on a hoyt vector turbo at 65 lbs as compared to 80 lbs? Does anyone here shoot an 80 lb bow? Or are they mainly just sideshow attractions? Thanks.
There is really no benefit in speed/energy to using a 70# bow but we do. If you want to use an 80# bow, go ahead, but there is zero benefit in speed/energy or any actual reason to use one other than you just want to. If that is the case, then that is a good enough reason.
Thanks Bruce, but can you please explain? It seems to me that if it takes more energy to pull the bow back, the bow will put more energy into the arrow, assuming all other variables are equal. I understand that terminal performance might not improve. For instance, if you are getting a pass through with a 65 lb bow and an 80 lb bow, the extra energy might just be expended after the arrow exits the animal. However, the speed should go up, correct?
Your gains as you understand are going to be penetration in dirt. Not needed for whitetail, however, the gains in energy would be substantial and might be advantages on some large african species. I won't lecture so i'll make it short and sweet. Even though you can handle it easy, it still puts wear and tear on your shoulders. I wouldn't have it as an every day shooter. Now moving on to speed. Speed will not increase substantially or any. 80# minimum arrow weight is 400 grains. 70# arrow weight is 350 grain. The 80# bow MIGHT be slightly more efficient but the speeds of both will be within a few fps. Your issue might be getting a properly spined arrow in the lighter 400 grain. You will most likely have to go to some of the really heavy, stiff arrows to properly spine so there will be no speed gain but energy will increase. This will be dictated by your draw length and arrow length. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
A 50# bow delivers enough speed and energy to kill everything in North America. There are plenty of young people, some female, that use less than 50#'s. Speed is really the smallest part of the equation but a certain amount is needed, for sure. The one thing, IMO, that the extra pounds will give that you can't get at lower pounds is more forgiveness on bad shots, bone shots. You can negate that gained forgiveness, though, by opting for a fast, light arrow, speed, over a heavier, slower arrow, momentum. If I were to use an 80# bow I would opt for a heavy arrow over a fast arrow but I would also be going to Africa to hunt water buffalos.
I would like to add that one of the things that never gets discussed in these converations is letting down. It is my opinion that if you cannot let down as slow or slower than than when you draw then a person is overbowed. Being able to let down slowly can mean the difference between taking an iffy shot because you don't want to spook the game with a fast erratic letdown now that you are drawn or letting down slowly with minimal movement in order to wait for an optimal shot. I can probably draw an 80# bow but the letting down would be a new adventure LOL.
Just out of curiousity what bow are you doing this with? Everything these guys have mentioned above it true, a good example is if you look at the monster safari bow, the poundage goes up, but the speed of the bow itself actually went down. Main guess is due to having to have the bigger arrow for the bow. I would honestly just cap it at 70#, because what Tfox said about the shoulder is definitely true, ones you blow that puppy its nothin but trouble from there on out. I would say the 70# or less would do just fine for ya man
I shoot a 80lb MR5, I am 30 years old had shoulder surgery when I was 19 and a complete reconstruction on same shoulder at 20. It give my shoulder absolutely no problems what so ever! I shoot 80lbs 28 inch draw, 7595 GT hunter pro's. They hit hard, fly flat and get there in a hurry! love this set up!
I shoot an 80lb mathews MR6 myself and love it. Now, ive never shot the 70 pound model with the same set up so can't speak for how much gain I got going to 80lbs. But, I can say this, my bow is a beast. I'm shooting 340 FMJs that weight a total of 484g at 299 fps, for a total of over 96 ft/lbs of KE. Now, I'm a deer hunter, so do I need that? Not at all. Like said before, you can do it with help the bow i have. But, I'm shooting a crazy heavy arrow at even crazier speeds, and its hitting its mark as well as I can hold it on the mark. And, it feels good knowing my bow is strong enough that if I take a 50 yard shot and happen to hit a bit forward and hit bone, ill still have a good chance of blowing through that deer and having a great blood trail leading to the venison. I'm young and strong and will shoot 80lbs as long as I can. Also gives me a work out while shooting lol. Do it man, I think youll be happy!
Honestly if you think your body can handle it, I don't see any down side to shooting 80#. Maybe 99 times out of 100 you aren't going to need most of that for a deer, but when you hit a shoulder at long range that extra power could be the difference between a 50 yard track job and a lost deer. I shoot 55# because of a bad shoulder, but if I was capable I would shoot as heavy as my body would safely allow while still being accurate.
I shot a 80lb bow for a few years and had no problem. In most cases, going from 65lbs to 80 lbs will be a noticeabe increase in arrow speed. I am guessing between 30-35fps. Like Drop_Tine5214 said it will make a big difference on a longer shots. I say go for it if you want to. You will get A LOT of pass throughs when you do.
I have been reading on the internet how the Romans were pulling 180 -200 pounds and the Mongolian army had bows that would go up to 200 pounds draw weight. 80 pounds doesn’t sound like much when you think in those terms. Have we all turned into whimps ?
They were shooting through armor. Big difference between that and deer skin. I would say we have gotten a lot smarter, not wimpier. That is part of the problem, though. Too many think there is a direct correlation between draw weight and size of balls when that idea could not be further from reality.
if you do it make sure you could practice with it. I mean be able to shoot a bunch of arrows one after the other. Also if the buck of a lifetime is under your tree would you be able to pull the bow back. if yes you could do it but i dont think it is recommended
sounds like a a blown up shoulder to me....why struggle when 50-70lbs works just fine. shooting mathews drealin 27"draw 62lb with 370grs easton axis with montec cs (last year) lumenok's.blew thru my 265lb buck at 30 yards and could not recover my montec out of tree 8yards past where deer was...
Here's a few thoughts and yes ive shot over 80# on a bow, but i dont, a mate does though and wants 90#. 1) Its got nothing to do with how many bench press reps or push ups you can do, its a different type of strength, but im sure you can pull it. 2) Jumping 10# as a quick thought should give you 20fps increase, but not always. Here's an online archery calculator to give you a gestimate, but dont always trust it it can only give you a general and may not always be totally right. http://backcountrybowhunting.com/articles/calc/ 3) Im over your weight, fit and strong and can pull over 80# very easily, but i dont like it. Youll notice that a lot of people shoot target bows at a lower poundage than their hunting rigs, this is because generally youll shoot better. This is something to take into consideration re shot placement accuracy for a quick clean kill. On the flip side, depending on what your hunting 80# might be a good draw weight for ethical shots on big game, so its a matter of what your hunting. 4) A lot of older archers used to shoot 80#+ and now complain about shoulder probs, you may not feel it now as they describe, but later on. 5) Have fun finding your arrows lol 6) I have a mate that shoots 80# and loves it, he wont change, he says it feels better for him, so i believe him, this might be you, but remember, when your at full draw, you are holding more poundage and that can mean the difference between getting an animal down or needing to let down. just a few thoughts for you, hope that helps, straight arrows mate
Seems like there are alot of you that aren't fans of eighty pound bows... I've been toying with the idea of getting a new bow, but the ol' PSE nova i have actually really nice. I haven't shot any new bows and I'm sure they're really nice, but if I'm gonna barf up $600+ For a new bow, i want a little more than just having a "new, pretty bow". I've been eying the rampage XT, and i like the idea of getting the 70-80 lb model. Any one else shot one of these?
Sounds like a good idea to me, i can still shoot 70lbs if 80 starts hurting my shoulder, but i still have the option of going faster if i want...
