The Best Archery Bow Scale Review

By Chris Woodburn

FUNCTIONALITY:  High                  WEIGHT: 2.72 oz

EASE OF USE:  High                        PRICE:   Affordable

PROS:

• Simple and fast to use
• Easy to transport
• Cheap battery
• Multiple uses

CONS:

• It can give different values, although in small margins
• It’s possible to slip out of your hands

REVIEW:

One of the things I’ve always needed after adjusting or tuning my bow, but never seemed to have in my toolkit was a simple way to check the draw poundage of my bow.  I usually would run to the local archery shop and ask the tech if I could borrow their scale.  Most of the shops generally had the standard, large metal scale hanging in the corner of the shop.  You had to hang the bow on a large metal hook from your nock point and push or pull the bow to the ground watching for it to break over.  If the scale was high class it would have a red marker that would show the max weight after breaking over.  Yep, that’s some high class, and a good way to check your bow’s draw weight.  Don’t get me wrong, these work, but if you were at an archery shoot, or in the field…it’s hard to transport the big hanging scale.

The Mechanical Scale

Needless to say, I’ve used many different types of scales over the years.  Some attach to the draw board cable and mark the max weight when you draw the string, others are handheld and require you to pull the string back, as if you were drawing your bow.  Most are pretty accurate and get the job done.  Example: The Digital Scale is another I’ve used in the past.

The Digital Scale

They’re very similar to the Mechanical Scale and they allow you to simply get your bow’s draw weight, but still there’s an issue.  Portability.  They are rather big and a pain to take to the shooting range.

The scale I really like is the Last Chance Archery HS3 Bow Scale.  It’s probably the most convenient tool I’ve encountered.  This tool is light weight, easy to transport, and simple to use.  I’ve taken it to the range to help friends do a few tweaks on their bows, and I’ve even taken it on travel trips to weigh my luggage.  This tool requires you to hold your bow, hook the attachment to your string and pull your bow back like you were getting ready to shoot your bow.  A word of advice, anytime you draw your bow back make sure you put an arrow on and draw your bow in a safe direction.  I’ve seen bows fail, releases fail, or guys just let it fly by mistake!  Also, make sure your hands are dry, so the tool won’t slip out of your hands.  Don’t be that person who accidentally shoots your wall or…freezer…ummmm…Who did that?

Here are a few samples of me using this new tool.  Although this isn’t a purely scientific test, it was something I was able to execute over and over again with great results.  Yes, I used some dumbbells I have in my gym.  The thing I noticed is that the scale would read pretty consistently within 2 tenths of a pound.  I felt that it would change depending on how fast I pulled the weight off of the ground.  In any case using this tool was, is and will be something I can trust to answer the question – how much the pull weight is on a bow, and as a bonus how much pull weight the bow is at at full draw.  This will allow you to know how much your bow is actually holding after it breaks over, and then you can calculate your percentage of let off.

Summary.  I’m very happy with this tool and will continue to use it for many years.  Again, it’s  simple to use, light weight, transportable, gives accurate measurements, and I can use it while traveling.  If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

COST:  $79.00

WHERE TO BUY: Last Chance Archery HS3 Bow Scale.