What is your actual draw weight on your bow?

At first glance, this seems both an easy question to answer and a common question especially if you have a draw below or over 28 inches. The truth is that unless you have had the bow weight measured at the archery shop when you buy your bow, you can’t be guaranteed to know what the draw weight is at your draw length. Yes, I know all bows or limbs will have a draw weight shown on them, but this is always measured at a 28-inch draw and we all know that not all archers have a 28-inch draw.

There is a theory I have heard countless times that for every inch past 28 inches you draw, you add 2 pounds to the draw weight. This can provide a rough guide, but should only be considered an estimate, as the true figure will depend on the bow length, limb materials, limb and bow design etc. To provide an insight into what I mean I’ll give an example of when this doesn’t work. A couple of years ago I took a newly signed off archer to a local archery store to buy their first bow.  The archer has a 30 inch draw and we tested out four sets of limbs from different manufacturers. All showed 26lbs at 28 inches. With his 30-inch draw,  you’d expect a draw weight of approximately 30lbs. However when tested they ranged from 30lb to 37lbs.

For this reason, I decided it was time to buy a digital bow scale. There are several on the market and the one I opted for was the Shocq Digital Archery Scales. I purchased mine from Merlin Archery for £11.99.

It’s very easy to use with a single button acting as the on/off switch, the same switch is used as a reset.

The display is clear and shows both the Peak load and Holding weight. This is really useful in my view as I know there are some archers who, in their draw sequence, draw past their anchor point and then settle back down to their anchor. This means it can show the maximum draw weight and the weight you are holding on your fingers at anchor.

The hook on the back of the device is designed to loop around your bowstring. Personally, I’d like to have something like a lock on this so there is no chance of drawing back and string slipping out (Something highly unlikely to happen but better safe than sorry in my view).

You will need to think carefully when you draw up using this. If you draw up to your anchor point with the analyser in hand, chances are you will effectively be short drawing.

Why? Chances are you will draw and stop when your hand reaches your face when in reality you need to draw a little further back so the string is actually at your normal anchor point.

I’ve recorded my thoughts on the digital scale, you can view here or on YouTube channel )if you find it useful hit the Like button)

In summary, it’s an inexpensive addition to my coaching kit that has already paid dividends in helping archers I’ve been coaching recently.

When I have the time, I plan to go through all mine and club coaching bows to check their actual draw weights.

This is the first in a series of equipment reviews I’m producing for this site and podcast.

Thanks for reading.