As I mentioned in another post that due to my weak ass shoulders I have decided to keep my bow at 58#'s draw weight.

My bow came with a let off set at 80%. I can hold it drawn on target for a long long time. Basically as long as I want.

Is there any benifits to backing that let off to 65%? Would I gain arrow speed? Would I get better performance out of a heavier arrow/broadhead? Better down range velocity?

Basically other then fatigue what is gained by an 80% letoff?

Thanks!!

Gregg, shoot your bow for a couple weeks and your weak ass shoulder will muscle up, it actually happens really fast. I have never heard of anyone having to mess with there let off. Keep in mind wdfw does have rules about minimum letoff.

Leave the letoff alone.

huntncoug made a great point, with practice it will become much easier.

My son went from 45 lb draw weight to 65 lbs in under a month. He now has it turned back to 60 lbs, simply because he is a lot more accurate at the draw weight.

But remember, we both shoot at least 10 arrows a day, rain or shine. Once you build the muscles up that are required to shoot your bow, you will become more accurate with less stress.

Well said.

I joined bow hunting 2 years ago, even at 6'2" and 200 pounds at the very beginning I found it very difficult to shoot 70lb draw more than 8 or 10 times in a row. After about 2 months of shooting I was shooting 70lb draw 30 times a night with ease. It's amazing how fast those muscles learn...

I now have my bow set at 67 pounds as it shoots best there....

Keith

Nothing gained,your bow will perform the same whether you have it at 80% or 65% letoff.
If your wanting to get more speed or a heavier arrow etc. now your talking about draw wieght and once you start increasing or lowering your draw weight your now buying new arrows or you can change vanes tips, arrow length, draw length etc.

Thanks All!

Cameron,
Let off is no longer in the regs. Might still keep it out of Pope and Young though???

Cranked her up to 61#'s and feel pretty good so I think I'll be ok around 68-70# come July or so.

Keith,
I'm told most bows shoot best at 80% draw weight so that makes sense where yours is set to be best tuned.

From the Pope & Young website..............

D. Let-Off for Compound Bows:

1. Definition of let-off: That characteristic of a bow that results in a reduction of the force necessary to increase the draw length after the highest level of draw force has been reached. This is characteristic generally associated with, but not restricted to, compound bows.
2. The maximum let-off on a compound bow shall be measured at a point in the draw cycle after the peak draw weight has been attained. It shall be measured near the end of the draw cycle where the minimum holding force is reached. This point in the draw cycle on a compound bow is known as "the bottom of the valley."
3. Determination of the percent of let-off: The values of the peak draw force and the let-off force shall be used to calculate the percent of let-off. The peak force is the maximum force obtained during the draw cycle. The let-off force is the lowest force reached following the peak force during a single uninterrupted draw cycle. In all cases, both the highest and lowest force shall be read from a scale during a single and continual pull condition, without relaxation. This technique eliminates the introduction of hysteresis, which can distort the reading.
% Let-off = 100 X [(Peak Draw Force) - (Minimum Holding Force)] / (Peak Draw Force)
4. Effective January 1, 2004, animals taken with bows have nominal percent of let-off greater than 65 percent shall be listed with an asterisk (*) in the Records. It is recognized that variations in draw length and/or draw weight can affect the percent of let-off on compound bows. For these reasons minor variations in let-off are acceptable.

So I think the 65% rule was due to downrange velocity issue's but with today's bows screaming ~300 FPS @ 80% letoff both the state and P&Y now recognize the 80% as ethical.

personally, i think that it's more ethical to have greater let off. it enables you to relax, take your time and make a clean kill shot. it's a good thing.



willy