Choosing Your Poundage
How do you know what draw weight you should be using? Depending on your intended use, you may have a
few restrictions to follow. **
For the most part, however, your draw weight is entirely a personal preference.
In general, when you are starting out, you want to start with a lower draw weight. If your draw weight is too heavy, there is a higher likelihood that you will develop improper form, tire more quickly, and enjoy the process much less.
So how do you go about finding a good starting weight? Well, we’ve provided tables below that give you a ballpark starting point with age, gender, body type, and type of bow. This chart will help guide you towards a draw weight you can expect to pull when first starting out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt from an Archery Forum
20-25lbs is the appropriate starting weight for most adults, less for smaller and slimmer people. Don’t overestimate your strength with archery and go for too high a draw weight. The muscles you use for archery are in the center of your back, and they are typically supporting muscles, not the primary weight movers. If you do rowing machine etc it can help but the best muscle training for archery is to shoot a lot of arrows. With good form. To get good form you need lots of practice on a bow with easily manageable weight.
If you pick a heavy bow because you think of yourself as a strong guy, you’ll end up using your arms and shoulders to draw the bow (because those are the muscles you are used to working out) and train yourself into having garbage form. Go to any archery range, you’ll see guys doing this literally all the time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recurve Poundage:
ARCHER’S SIZE DRAW WEIGHT
Small Children 10 – 15 lbs
Large Children 15 – 25 lbs
Female & Youth 20 – 35 lbs
Male 35 – 45 lbs
Large Frame Male 45 – 60 lbs
** The general consensus is to not go over 24-25 lbs if you are a beginner, regardless of this chart.
The muscles you use for Archery are not used day to day, your size or mass, will not be much of an advantage.
Buy cheaper limbs that you can sell on when you want to go up in poundage!
Compound Poundage:
ARCHER’S SIZE DRAW WEIGHT
Small Children 10 – 15 lbs
Large Children 15 – 25 lbs
Female & Youth 25 – 40 lbs
Large Frame Females & Youth 40 – 50 lbs
Male 50 – 60 lbs
Large Frame Men 60 – 80 lbs **
** Warning! Most clubs along with World Archery and Archery Australia, Limit competition Compound Bow poundage to 60lbs
You cannot shoot under WA and AA rules, a bow over 60lbs Wind them down to 59.5lbs just to be sure
Many clubs don't like their target butts being destroyed by High poundage bows or broad-heads.
Do NOT use any compound bow over 60lbs or use Broad-Heads at any club without at least asking first!
The most likely answer will be no!
You are free of course to have bows over 60lbs when at your home etc Just not in competitions or at clubs