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Last Updated on May 5, 2024 by Paul Clayton
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3 Definitive Reasons Why You Need a Bow Scale
Once you start getting into archery, acquiring the gear and accessories can seem never-ending. The bow and arrow aren’t the only things that can make each shot perfect. Please keep reading to learn about the bow scale and why it’s necessary for archery.
Key Takeaway
A bow scale is a necessary tool for any archer. It helps measure the draw weight of a bow, contributing to accuracy, preventing injuries, and ensuring ethical hunting practices.
Summary
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- A bow scale is a device used to measure the draw weight of a bow, which is the force required to pull back the bowstring.
- There are two main types of bow scales: mechanical and digital.
- It is essential to calibrate a bow scale to ensure accurate readings.
- Using a bow scale helps prevent injuries by ensuring the archer uses a bow with a draw weight appropriate for their strength.
- Bow scale helps archers follow ethical hunting practices by ensuring they can take down their game quickly and humanely.
- A lighter draw weight is recommended for beginners to improve accuracy and prevent injuries.
What is a Bow Scale?
Before purchasing archery equipment, it’s essential to understand what the tool does and how it works. A bow scale is a device that attaches to your bowstring and measures a bow’s draw weight. Draw weight is sometimes called bow poundage and describes the force needed to pull back the bowstring a certain distance.
Measuring your bow draw weight is crucial because it will determine your shots’ power. At the local archery shop, bow scales can be found in mechanical and digital versions. Mechanical scales use a spring to transmit the force, while digital bow scales have a sturdy linkage.
Once you’ve purchased a good bow scale, it will typically last a long time. A high-quality bow scale will be accurate and consistent. It’s nice that some are even capable of higher poundage if you ever want to use it to measure tension on strings and cables, measure length, or redo a center serving.
To measure a bow’s draw weight, you must have a bow scale. You can find them in archery stores and online. Attach the scale to the bowstring, pull it back, and read the weight on the scale.
How to Use a Bow Scale
Now that you know why they’re important, let’s discover how to use your new archery accessory. The bow scale mechanism may differ depending on your bow type. Once you’ve got a bow scale, you’ll need to calibrate it to ensure the readings are accurate.
To calibrate your bow scale, find an item with a known weight, place it on the scale, and note the weight reading. Then, adjust the scale until it reads the same weight as the item. This step will allow you to use the scale with accurate measurements.
For compound bows, you need to attach the scale to the bowstring. Then, draw your bow to the point of let-off to get the actual draw weight. The draw length doesn’t matter in this situation since the draw weight is conditioned to be the same due to the mechanism built into it.
However, the case will differ if you’re an archer with a long or recurve bow. In that case, you’ll need to bring your bow to full draw (28 inches is the standard draw length for recurve bows) before taking your readings. However, if drawing that far is an issue, you can make do with your preferred draw length.
It’s essential to understand how to use this device before diving in. Read the instructions and check out reviews from the brand you purchase. You can’t reap the benefits of a bow scale without fully understanding how to operate the device.
Do you need a bow press to adjust the draw weight?
The answer is no; a bow press is unnecessary for adjusting your bow’s draw weight. In recurve bows, draw weight modifications can be accomplished by manipulating the weight adjustment bolt or limb bolt, also known as the tiller bolt.
By rotating these bolts clockwise, the draw weight increases while counter-clockwise rotation decreases the weight. You must adjust the top and bottom bolts in equal increments to maintain balance and ensure optimal bow performance.
How many pounds is a good bow?
Determining how many pounds a good bow weighs largely depends on the individual’s strength and experience level in archery. A lighter bow is typically recommended for beginners. Specifically, a draw weight of no more than 20lb for women and 25lb for men is advisable.
This consideration is paramount as the muscles engaged in archery are usually undeveloped at the onset. Consequently, an excessively heavy bow could lead to the formation of detrimental habits and potentially cause injury. As such, a gradual increase in bow weight is suggested as one gains strength and proficiency.
How hard is it to pull a 50-pound bow?
What pound bow should a 14-year-old use?
Reasons You Need a Bow Scale
Every archer needs a bow scale to improve their skill and create convenience. Most professionals recommend not using a bow without figuring out the right draw weight with a scale. Using a bow scale before shooting in archery lessons has plenty of benefits.
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Prevent Injuries
The worst thing that can happen is getting injured during your favorite sport. Pulling back the strings of a bow requires considerable force, which makes it possible to encounter some injuries when the draw weight is more than your physical capability.
Remember that you will do a long bow drawing as you go about your archery practice. If, for example, your physical stamina can only draw 40 pounds, a heavier weight of 45 pounds over a long period can cause injury. It can put a lot of pressure on your arms, which can lead to muscle fatigue or other severe injuries in the long term.
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Ethics
If you’re a bowhunter, there are certain ethics you need to adhere to that are considered crucial. There are even laws to guide them throughout each state. One of them has to do with a bow’s draw weight.
As we mentioned previously, your draw weight determines the power of your shots. While out hunting, you want to ensure your shots deliver enough power to take your game down without making it suffer. If your shots don’t have enough energy, you can risk injuring an animal without killing it.
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Accuracy
Your bow, stamina, and technique significantly affect your performance as an archer. Drawing a heavier archery bow weight than you should put your shoulders under a lot of stress, which can affect the stability and accuracy of your shots.
Therefore, it’s essential to adjust your poundage to your capacity. This will allow you to draw the archery bow more comfortably to achieve your best performance. With the bow scale in your archery gear kit, you’re bound to hit the target each time.
Where to Find Bow Scales
There are many different brands when it comes to finding a bow scale. Your local archery shop will likely bring you the most luck in finding one of high quality. That way, you can get professional help and test it before purchasing.
Bow scales are also available at other outdoor and sports stores. If you want to increase your accuracy without leaving the house, you can find them online. This archery accessory is affordable at around $30.
Hitting that target has never been easier with all your expert archery gear! Investing in a bow scale will improve your game and archery lessons.
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