Bow Poundage Calculator
Calculate actual draw weight at your draw length, let-off percentage, and holding weight for compound, recurve, and longbows.
About this calculator
Bow poundage is only meaningful at a stated draw length -- a limb marked "60 lbs" is rated at the manufacturer's specified length, not at whatever length you actually draw to. This calculator handles compound bows very differently from recurve and longbow, and that split is the most important thing to understand about its results. Compound bows use cams that let the draw weight hit its peak early in the stroke and then "let off" -- typically to about 80% less at full draw -- so a compound's Weight at Your Draw and Holding Weight track the Rated Peak Weight directly and do not change with Rated Draw Length or Your Draw Length at all.
Recurve and longbow limbs have no let-off: their draw weight climbs roughly linearly as you pull past the rated length, at about 2.5 lbs per inch for recurves and 2.0 lbs per inch for longbows, so Weight at Your Draw shifts with both the rated and actual draw length for those bow types. Raising Rated Peak Weight never produces a lighter Weight at Your Draw or Holding Weight for any bow type -- for recurve and longbow at a low actual draw, both are floored at 0 and can stay flat there across a range of Rated Peak Weight values before climbing, so the rise is not always strictly immediate, but it is never reversed. This tool uses typical published let-off and stack-rate figures -- your specific bow's cam timing or limb design can shift the real numbers, so treat the result as a planning estimate rather than a certified draw-weight measurement.
Inputs
Results
Weight at Your Draw
60 lbs
≈ 7 gallons of milk
Holding Weight
12 lbs
≈ 3 bags of sugar
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the Rated Peak Weight and Rated Draw Length from your bow's limb specs.
- Set your actual Draw Length in inches.
- Select Bow Type (Compound, Recurve, or Longbow).
- Review the Weight at Your Draw Length and the compound Let-Off percentage.
- Use Holding Weight for compound bows to understand what you hold at full draw.
How the result changes with Rated Peak Weight
| Rated Peak Weight | Weight at Your Draw | Holding Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 30 lbs | 6 lbs |
| 45 | 45 lbs | 9 lbs |
| 90 | 90 lbs | 18 lbs |
| 100 | 100 lbs | 20 lbs |
What each input means
- Rated Peak Weight
- Bow's rated draw weight (marked on limb).
- Rated Draw Length
- Draw length the bow is rated at (usually 28" for recurve).
- Your Draw Length
- Your measured draw length.
- Bow Type
- Bow type determines how weight scales with draw length.
What each result means
- Weight at Your Draw
- Actual draw weight at your draw length.
- Let-Off
- Percentage of weight reduction at full draw (compound only).
- Holding Weight
- Weight you hold at full draw.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersRated Peak Weight = 60, Rated Draw Length = 30, Your Draw Length = 28, Bow Type = 1 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Weight at Your DrawWeight at Your Draw60 = 60
- Calculate Let-OffLet-Off80 = 80%
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't changing my draw length affect a compound bow's results?
Compound bows reach peak draw weight early in the pull and hold it flat through most of the stroke before letting off near full draw, so this calculator models a compound's Weight at Your Draw as equal to its Rated Peak Weight regardless of Rated Draw Length or Your Draw Length. Only Bow Type and Rated Peak Weight move the result for compounds.
What does Let-Off actually mean?
Let-off is the percentage reduction in holding weight a compound bow gives you at full draw compared to its peak weight. This calculator assumes a typical 80% let-off for modern compounds, meaning you hold roughly one-fifth of the peak weight at full draw -- recurves and longbows have 0% let-off since they have no cams.
Does raising the rated peak weight always increase my actual draw weight?
Yes, for every bow type this calculator supports. Weight at Your Draw and Holding Weight both rise whenever Rated Peak Weight rises, holding everything else constant -- there is no configuration where a heavier-rated limb produces a lighter actual draw weight.
Why do recurve and longbow results change with draw length but compound results don't?
Recurve and longbow limbs have no cam system, so their draw weight scales roughly linearly with how far past the rated length you pull -- about 2.5 lbs per inch for recurves and 2.0 lbs per inch for longbows. Compounds use a cam profile that flattens the weight curve near peak draw, which is why this calculator holds their result fixed to the rated peak weight instead.
What's the difference between Weight at Your Draw and Holding Weight?
Weight at Your Draw is the draw force at your actual draw length before any let-off is applied. Holding Weight is what you are actually holding back at full draw after let-off -- for a compound at 80% let-off, that's about 20% of Weight at Your Draw, while for recurves and longbows the two figures are the same since there is no let-off to subtract.
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