Any one else get a muscle strain from drawing back a bow .

[Hunter007]

Took a few weeks off from shooting my bow . Next day after shooting it for the first time in  6 weeks  I get a pain right under my arm that I hold my bow with . Anyone else have this happen  .most of pulled something. 

 

[wolc123]

Sell it and get a crossbow.  A lighter, symmetric pull is a lot easier on you muscles and joints as you get older.  

[Hunter007]

21 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Sell it and get a crossbow.  A lighter, symmetric pull is a lot easier on you muscles and joints as you get older.  

Yea, was thinking it is age and maybe I should just get into crossbows .

[Robhuntandfish]

I bought a new bow 2years ago and the first time I pulled it back did the same thing.  Couldn't even set it up for over a month.  But haven't had a problem since.  

[rob-c]

You can turn your bow down also. I used to shoot 76 lbs like it was nothing now I am down to 65. When I bought  my new bow in 2014 I speciffacly went with a 55-65 pound draw bow so as I age I can turn it down. 

[Hunter007]

23 minutes ago, rob-c said:

You can turn your bow down also. I used to shoot 76 lbs like it was nothing now I am down to 65. When I bought  my new bow in 2014 I speciffacly went with a 55-65 pound draw bow so as I age I can turn it down. 

Yea I may do that right now its turned all the way up to 70 ib 

[nybuckboy]

I shoota 60# bow. I'm shooting weekly in a league and turned my bow down to 54# and about 2 weeks, after 9 weeks of shooting, turned back up to 56#.  I am drawing back 60 times in less athn 2 hours and if I do a makeup shoot it's not much over and hour.  I will turn it back up to 60 in September as the season gets closer.

Edited April 5, 2018 by nybuckboy

[G-Man]

I only draw 50 lbs.. i can do a lot more but it is unnecessary todays bows are very fast and effecient. I know way to many friends and relatives that have blown out a shoulder pulling big weights 65lbs and up.. only.to get a few fps more.. and then lose a season or two in surgery and recovery.. not worth it to me

You can turn down your bow but you lose the efficiency. If you do and like it your better off switching to lighter limbs and keeping the lbs near the max..it's better for efficiency and the bow  as well as quietier.

Edited April 5, 2018 by G-Man

[moog5050]

13 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I only draw 50 lbs.. i can do a lot more but it is unnecessary todays bows are very fast and effecient. I know way to many friends and relatives that have blown out a shoulder pulling big weights 65lbs and up.. only.to get a few fps more.. and then lose a season or two in surgery and recovery.. not worth it to me

You can turn down your bow but you lose the efficiency. If you do and like it your better off switching to lighter limbs and keeping the lbs near the max..it's better for efficiency and the bow  as well as quietier.

When I was playing around with tuning compounds quite a bit several years ago, I tested this theory.  For several bows I had both 60-70lb limbs and 50-60lb limbs.  I chronoed the 60-70 set at 60lbs and then the 50-60lb limbs set at 60 - everything else the same.  There was almost no difference and a I recall at least one bow shot faster with heavier limbs turned down.  My conclusion was that this myth was started by the limb makers to encourage more limb purchases.  Lol.  

[G-Man]

8 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

When I was playing around with tuning compounds quite a bit several years ago, I tested this theory.  For several bows I had both 60-70lb limbs and 50-60lb limbs.  I chronoed the 60-70 set at 60lbs and then the 50-60lb limbs set at 60 - everything else the same.  There was almost no difference and a I recall at least one bow shot faster with heavier limbs turned down.  My conclusion was that this myth was started by the limb makers to encourage more limb purchases.  Lol.  

Though the preload on today's bow limbs will make up the difference. Turning a bow down will increase the drawlegnth which is why you heavier limb bow actually shot faster as the cam rolled over more. Again the cam roll and drawlegnth change will effect efficiency. Now is it enough to make a difference to the individual..that is the question

[Hunter007]

My mistake I  think was I took to many shots all at once should have eased back  into slowely only take 5 or six shots daily for a week or 2 stretch out those muscles before taking a lot of shots all at once .

I got to remind myself of this .

This is not the first time I had this happen  When I dont shoot for a long time i get this  problem .

But it seems like it is taking longer to recover  lately 

That Is age  kicking in 

I guess .

Edited April 5, 2018 by Storm914

[moog5050]

2 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Though the preload on today's bow limbs will make up the difference. Turning a bow down will increase the drawlegnth which is why you heavier limb bow actually shot faster as the cam rolled over more. Again the cam roll and drawlegnth change will effect efficiency. Now is it enough to make a difference to the individual..that is the question

G man, no offense but I know how to tune a compound including readjusting for same DL.  You need twist cables and string when dropping weight if you want exact same DL. I have tuned many bows and was anal on DL.   But if you want to buy new limbs for essentially the same result, it’s your call. 

[Hunter007]

8 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

G man, no offense but I know how to tune a compound including readjusting for same DL.  You need twist cables and string when dropping weight if you want exact same DL. I have tuned many bows and was anal on DL.   But if you want to buy new limbs for essentially the same result, it’s your call. 

You probably both are right depending on the bow design It may or may not be the case .

[rob-c]

21 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

My mistake I  think was I took to many shots all at once should have eased back  into slowely only take 5 or six shots daily for a week or 2 stretch out those muscles before taking a lot of shots all at once .

I got to remind myself of this .

This is not the first time I had this happen  When I dont shoot for a long time i get this  problem .

But it seems like it is taking longer to recover  lately 

That Is age  kicking in 

I guess .

Ones got to remember,  archery muscles are like swimming muscles . you don’t know you have them till you use them ...

[Jeremy K]

My AC joint of my bow arm throbs after I shoot , my release elbow has some kind of tendonitis going on lately.  I'm falling apart.

[nybuckboy]

I don't know how true this statement is but once heard this: The determine your proper draw weight, sit on the ground with your legs out in front of you in a V. Draw your bow back while looking at your target and settle the pin on the bullseye without lifting the bow up toward the sky. Increase or decrease the poundage until it's the desired draw weight.

[The_Real_TCIII]

I don't think there is such a thing as a proper draw weight. I shoot 60 because it's very comfortable and enjoyable. I could shoot a lot more but see no need

[nybuckboy]

1 hour ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

I don't think there is such a thing as a proper draw weight. 

Not sure I agree with this statement nor do I necessarily agree with mine above.

If you are looking for a good draw weight and your sole purpose is for hunting then keeping your movement down to a minimum would make sense with I had heard.

I see many people at shoots raising their bow up and pulling down so they can draw back more pounds. I can tell they are drawing more than they should. In a hunting situation being able to draw back with as little motion as possible can be the difference of being busted or not. Also, I suspect that the reason for sitting on the ground and pulling your bow back is because after hours in a stand and being cold it makes sense to not have to pull more than you are comfortable with.

Just for the hell of it I'm gonna try sitting and see just how well I can pull my bow back. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

26 minutes ago, nybuckboy said:

Not sure I agree with this statement nor do I necessarily agree with mine above.

If you are looking for a good draw weight and your sole purpose is for hunting then keeping your movement down to a minimum would make sense with I had heard.

I see many people at shoots raising their bow up and pulling down so they can draw back more pounds. I can tell they are drawing more than they should. In a hunting situation being able to draw back with as little motion as possible can be the difference of being busted or not. Also, I suspect that the reason for sitting on the ground and pulling your bow back is because after hours in a stand and being cold it makes sense to not have to pull more than you are comfortable with.

Just for the hell of it I'm gonna try sitting and see just how well I can pull my bow back. 

I agree you can be over bowed, I see that all the time

[mlammerhirt]

Dropping a bow from 70 to 60 lbs ....how much would that increase the draw length without adding twists? Would it change your peep alghtment?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Merlot]

I do recall some muscle strain the day after shooting bow early on, but solved my problems with consistent workouts at the local YMCA, not only for bow shooting, but overall fitness. Easier to draw and hold on target now.

[airedale]

 

Any time muscles go for extended periods of time without being used and then when some serious stress is put on them pulls and strains can result especially when you get some age on you, as the old saying goes "use em or lose em"! If you are an archer that shoots your bows on a regular basis the muscles you use for drawing your bow will stay in decent shape and the chances of getting "stove up" are kept to a minimum. 

Now if you do not shoot every day there is a device that will keep those muscles in top condition without having to shoot every day and in fact even make them measurably stronger. The old tried and true Bullworker which has been around since I was a kid, this thing is no joke, it works and works well. I ain't no spring chicken but I can draw my old Bear Alaskan which has always been set at 75 lbs with no problems, I believe it is the use of the Bullworker for a few minutes several times a week that makes it possible and keeps me hanging in there without sprains,strains and pulled ligaments and muscles. The benefits are not only seen when drawing a bow, a little exercise goes a long way in preventing injury any time something physical is required from your body doing every day chores. Works for me.

 

 

[dbHunterNY]

On 4/5/2018 at 7:33 AM, moog5050 said:

When I was playing around with tuning compounds quite a bit several years ago, I tested this theory.  For several bows I had both 60-70lb limbs and 50-60lb limbs.  I chronoed the 60-70 set at 60lbs and then the 50-60lb limbs set at 60 - everything else the same.  There was almost no difference and a I recall at least one bow shot faster with heavier limbs turned down.  My conclusion was that this myth was started by the limb makers to encourage more limb purchases.  Lol.  

i do think this is a myth from way back when before limbs were so parallel and limbs were less efficient.  with modern bows i agree.  i think a person would have more success shooting at anything not being over bowed and fatigued then trying to squeeze every last bit of fps out of a bow.

[dbHunterNY]

1 hour ago, mlammerhirt said:

Dropping a bow from 70 to 60 lbs ....how much would that increase the draw length without adding twists? Would it change your peep alghtment?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 

i've noticed peep alignment changes a little if your strands (individual not just splitting colors) aren't balanced on either side of peep, even on a new string. draw length might change. not sure but i haven't noticed any significant difference to where it effected my shooting.

[dbHunterNY]

On 4/5/2018 at 7:49 AM, moog5050 said:

G man, no offense but I know how to tune a compound including readjusting for same DL.  You need twist cables and string when dropping weight if you want exact same DL. I have tuned many bows and was anal on DL.   But if you want to buy new limbs for essentially the same result, it’s your call. 

i've realized crap i can see that's off or whatever say a slightly rotated peep, effects my shooting more than a slight change in draw length. pretty sure it's a mental thing that most people seem to deal with.

Edited April 6, 2018 by dbHunterNY