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Years ago on our honeymoon my wife and I picked up 2 beginner compound bows that were fitted to us. I used to play around with a recurve and thought I was good with it but when pulling back the compound I had muscles that I didn't know were there sore the next day. If you practise with your bow enough you will develop these little hidden bow muscles and you will get stronger.
If after a while you still can't utilise the bow you could always bring it to a shop and trade it in for something better fitted for you.
Have fun.
Hang on to it but get yourself a 30 or 35 pound bow to learn with and develop your arm/shoulder muscles. Get arrows as closely matched as you can, as they will fly better. Shoot a few months with the lighter bow and then try the 50 again.
You can easily find inexpensive fiberglass recurves for well under $50 on E Bay.
She will never work up to a 50lb recurve, a compound maybe, recurve or long bow no. It is one thing to say you shoot a particular bow it is another to shoot it well.
My wife is a big fan of "The Dukes of Hazard". She seen Bo Duke using a Howatt Warthog compound bow and had to have one. We bought her one and it does have a 50 pound pull. She can barely pull it back but not enough to the easy spot on a compound. I can fire it, it is a handful. I understand the pull on a compound is adjustable. I have my crossbow for my hunting use.
This is a great opportuinty for you to begin raising your level of physical fitness. 50# is a very reasonable weight for the average person. Know that 50# is within the realm of achievable possibilities. 45# was a popular hunting weight. This bow may well have saved your life by improving your health!
It takes a bit to get the muscles in shape to shoot a bow. If you begin to lift some weights for your upper body in conjunction with drawing the bow each day you will be in charge of your body and enjoy the art of archery. Shouldn't be just military style lifting...go for all angles and musculature aspects. Complimentry exercise is canoeing.
String the bow and leave it strung....when you walk past it draw it back a couple of times and set it down.
Learn about the history of archery to psyche yourself into wanting desperately to shoot your bow. Stay away from paper targets and go roaming the fields and woods to take hundred pace shots or shoot to see how far your arrow can fly. Shoot for distance and watch the flight of the arrow and let your spirit ride along with it!
When you get your muscles in shape and muscle memory planted then go to an excelsior or hay bale or straw round target or whatever and begin to shoot for accuracy. Try milk bottles or fallen apples old film canister tops, whatever 3 dimensional objects you have around.
Your consistency and groups will dramatically tighten the smaller the target. Measure the groups shat at a canister top vs a paper pie plate. You realize something is going on behind the scenes whether it be spatial awareness, eyesight, mind over matter, muscle memory, wwhatever..... you will get glimpses of a ZEN experience and begin to chase that..... then you are hooked on archery and might even consider hunting with that old recurve.
Muscles respond to exercise in a 20 yr old as well as an 80 yr old. Don't get sucked in by 'getting old' stories....
Only with a lifetime of practice could the longbow men use their weapons.
According to what many historians believe, the vaunted English archer of the 13th thru 16th centuries may have drawn a bow in battle of close to 100 pounds, or even a bit more. Archers were chosen for their size and strength as well as their skill, and as noted, a lifetime of practice starting in childhood was required to perfect their craft. It took an arrow driven at a very great force to pierce the armor of that era, which became increasingly effective in the late Medieval period in keeping the wearer safe from the missiles of the day.
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