Limb draw weight

[NoIdea]

I am new to archery, (having only had one lesson so far), but the subject of draw weight would seem to be beyond me. Obviously, when the course is over, I want to get a bow. I will be getting the Winstar II riser, Challenger Carbon limbs but cannot work out the draw weight.

The bow I am shooting at the beginners course is 68". The bottom limb says that with a 68" bow the draw weight at 28" is 18#. Does this mean the total draw weight of both limbs is 18# or are both limbs 18# and I am actually drawing 36#

Thanks in anticipation.

[Schme1440]

The weight posted is the the weight you are holding at full draw.

18# 28" indicates the the draw weight is 18 pounds at 28 inches draw length. If you draw only 26 inches then it is likely you would be drawing about 15 pounds in draw weight. The limbs may indicate 18# draw weight but if you are not drawing the 28" mentioned on the limb then you will be pulling more or less than the posted wieght.

[Snarkhunter]

The draw weight given is for the bow as a whole. The 68" refers to the height of the bow. If a longer riser (the handle part) is used (e.g. making the bow 70" high) then the draw weight will decrease. Similarly, if a shorter riser is used then the draw weight will increase.

A final point: the draw weight is measured for the bow drawn to a standard 28". If your draw is longer (i.e. you have longer arms) then the draw weight will increase. I'll leave you to guess what happens if you draw the bow to less than 28"!

[napolienne]

Total draw weight at 28" is 18lbs. Although if you have a draw length longer than 28", you will be drawing more weight - I think the rule of thumb is that for every inch over 28" add 2lb. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Bear in mind that the poundage of the limbs is not guaranteed to be that written on them. Best way to find out what you're really pulling is to use a bowscale. These can be mechanical or electronic, and measure the draw weight of your bow at your drawlength.

[Flying Whale]

Finish the course, and listen to all the advice they give.

If possible get the club to loan you equipment for a few months while you really settle in to your draw length

Then, go to a good shop that will spend time with you, and not just sell you what they want to shift off the shelf.


Most of all....enjoy it!

[NoIdea]

Thanks for the answers, thought it would be 18# but had to check. Unfortunately, finishing the course could prove more expensive. The club I intend to join have their own beginners course starting in Jan (fully booked when I enquired) and there are no spare bows.

Looks like I will have to try some limbs on the Winstar II and then make my decision on the draw weight and then the arrow lengths. Seems every hobby these days involves lots of cash!

[Jumile]

Flying Whale has given good advice.

I'm near the end of my beginner's course and I now know enough to know that I shouldn't be thinking about buying a bow (more importantly - the limbs) for at least a few months yet. The important thing to realise is that your draw weight (as so ably explained by others above) will likely increase, possibly quite significantly, over the next few months. So although you're drawing 18lb now, you may well be drawing 24lb+ in a few months time. Most limbs are adjustable, but only a couple of pounds either way, so you'll either be stuck at a low draw weight (affects ability to shoot longer distances, etc) or you'll be upgrading those limbs in no time.

There's a phrase I learned many moons ago during my IPSC training course in Australia: All the gear and no idea. It wasn't something of which to aspire. While you may have the means to get all the kit you need for this fantastic sport, you don't know all of the ins and outs just yet. Neither do I. As with all such sports, there's nothing worse than still effectively being a novice and already having a lot of near-new obsolete kit.

I know exactly how you feel, though... I really want to get all the gear I know I need, but I'm forcing myself to wait a few months and am sticking to borrowing club gear until then.

Of course if you have shares in a limb manufacturer, ignore me.

[niceguy]

One way round this problem is to buy a decent riser that you intend to keep for a while (the Winstar11 is a good choice) and then buy used international fitting limbs than you can sell on when you want a higher poundage. There are always challenger craft limbs for sale on ebay from others doing just this. I have bought and sold several sets of limbs on ebay for my growing kids with out being out of pocket, some I've made a profit on. This way if you make a mistake you can sell on with little or no loss. Make sure you get the riser length correct to start with.

Regards

[darthTer]

I am one week away from finishing my beginners course.
At present I am planning on visiting my "local" shop the weekend after I finish to purchase my own kit. There are 2 main reasons for me pruchasing so quickly after my course:

1. The equipment the club has, while available to use after the course, is VERY basic (fibreglass bows) which aren't really suited for my draw length etc.

2. It looks like I will be starting off with a poundage of about 32/34# so I can't really see that needing to be increased for a good while.

I feel that using my own equipment, which suits my style/requirements will help me improve better that waiting for 2-3 months.

This is what I feel suits ME, but possibly not for everyone.

[Flying Whale]

Actually I didn't follow my own advice. The course I was on was run by the people who own my local shop. [For me it really is local, being less than 2 miles, which is really dangerous for the wallet!].

They advised waiting, but I didn't listen. However when it is clear that I was going to buy they were very good in their advice. In fact they had a 2nd hand setup which I bought. This allowed me to get a much better riser and limbs for my money than I would have done otherwise. I was also just about ready to shoot 36#.

I have now been shooting about 19 months, and still have the same kit. I did buy ACE's for outdoors this year, which allowed me to hit 100yds with relative ease, and I made it to Bowman.

I think the most important thing is finding a shop you feel happy with, and that will spend the time with you.