What bow weight?

[russm86]

I'm going to be looking at getting into bow hunting after this hunting season, this season I'm taking the intermediate step with a crossbow to see how I like it, and was wondering how one chooses draw weight on a compound bow? Is it based more on the animals your will be persuing with it or on your physical strength and ability? Keep in mind I will be a complete beginner and I'm probably an average size. 6' and about 170ish pounds fairly athletic build.

[Bow Walker]

Draw weight is usually a consideration of the shooters ability to comfortably draw the bow in many different hunting scenarios, or shoot your bow all day long (at a 3D competition) without any tiredness during the late afternoon.

A good trial for a person is to take the bow and sit down in a chair. Now draw the bow and aim with it. Do you have to "sky" the bow to draw it? Do you have to standup a bit to draw the bow? If you answered yes to either question - you are over-bowed.

Another way is to try drawing the bow when you are stiff and cold. If you can't then you need to drop the bow weight.

On average, for hunting purposes, a bow with a peak weight of 60 lbs will kill anything. It's all a matter of how you place the arrow. Hit the heart/lungs and it's a dead critter. If you can't do that then you need to practice until it becomes second nature.