Type in bird point penetration test on youtube. I just watched a penetration test on a fresh deer carcass with a 40# self bow shooting flint bird points on 300 grain reed arrows. Most shots completely penetrated a broadside deer carcass. all shots would have double lung shot that deer. A modern 35# bow shooting a heavier arrow faster with steal braodheads is even more effective.

A real man will shoot a bow that can kill a pachyderm. However, a straight flying cedar arrow with a 3 to 1 broadhead will shoot through a deer shot from a 35 pound bow as long as the arrow has recovered from the S curve and does not hit a large bone.

If someone doesn't believe it maybe they would like to volunteer to take a shot from a 35 pound bow,sharp broadhead and well placed straight flying arrow.

Shot placement (aka 'accuracy') kills. You don't need pass-throughs, although they are fine to achieve. A broadhead in both lungs, or severing the aorta, will kill.

Back in the early days of the compound, a magazine ad showed a woman archer who killed an eland with a 42 pound compound. The eland is elk size, and the compounds of those days were hardly faster than the recurves of the day.

The guy who makes crappy shots with 60 pounds is not as deadly as the guy who makes great shots with 40.

Actually, an adult bull Eland is a lot bigger than an elk.

Why do people have to come up with stupidity ever time this type thread starts. No I don't wannna get shot with 35lbs, or 20 lbs. A 22 isn't good for hunting cape buff either, and no I don't wanna stand in front of a 22,lol.

And yes 35lbs will work part of the time, probably most of the time. But yes heavier works better as an all around hunting bow. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 600gns doing 195 fps is more deadly that 400ggn's doing 195fps. That doesn't mean everone should be shooting heavier bows tho. As for heavy, 60 lbs has always been mid range bow, not heavy. If you feel so embarrassed that you shoot light weight bow that you feel the need to put down anyone who doesn't then shoot heavier. Oh and a dead animal is no indication as to what would happen with a live animal. You're shooting all relaxed muscle than cannot move. We've had threads about that too over the years.

"The guy who makes crappy shots with 60 pounds is not as deadly as the guy who makes great shots with 40"

Here we go again, compare guys with one weight that are bad shots with guys who are good shots with another weight,lmao. No and a guy who makes crappy shots with 40 lbs isn't as deadly as aa guy who makes great shots with 60lbs. All being even a guy who shoots great with 40 stil isn't as deadly as a guy who shoots great with 60 on all shots. But on average on deer size animals they're even.

Field point will kill a deer in the lungs so whats the issue and point to stress again I wonder. Just a different spin. We herd it all us old timers.

Any sharpened point for that matter.

A common eland is on average smaller then most moose but a Giant Eland is as big or bigger then most moose. Dead is dead no matter what you kill it with. I started out shooting 40#s at 12 then by the time I was 25 I was shooting 70-90#s and then settled on 55-65#s for a long time. I now shoot 40-48#s and I would hunt anything in North America with the weights I shoot today. Accuracy kills not high poundage! Shawn

Bows don't do the killing.

deerhunt51, Billy Berber did that #40 selfbow-flint tip selfarrow p test into a freshly killed deer in that video. Berber regularly has article in TBM if you are interested in paleo. All articles are good because all are hands on paleo. Good stuff.

In a TBM issue from early 2010, a guy was hunting with a self bow and knapped heads that he had made. The first deer that he hit, the arrow bounced off, didn't penetrate. He finally killed one with his set up. I don't recall the guy's name but he did admit that he wasn't the best at knapping heads. bvd

I'm just relieved that KPC was able to set us all straight on that lethality index thing… Most people are blissfully unaware of those important facts. REAL News!!!

" Here we go again, compare guys with one weight that are bad shots with guys who are good shots with another weight,lmao. No and a guy who makes crappy shots with 40 lbs isn't as deadly as aa guy who makes great shots with 60lbs. All being even a guy who shoots great with 40 stil isn't as deadly as a guy who shoots great with 60 on all shots. But on average on deer size animals they're even. "

The flaw in that argument is that there are few who can master 60 pounds. Mastering accuracy with 40 pounds is within the reach of many more archers.

No? Go to a typical 3D and see how many over-bowed archers there are, vs.'under-bowed'.

Being able to draw it isn't the same as being able to control it.

ALL generalizations are false.

And yes, often the comparisons around here are inane.

My buddy came up 2 years ago and was shooting with me. He had a Hoyt Compound. I had a 55 pound Kanati. He remarked that it was slow in comparison. I agreed. He kept picking about it. Said he wasn't sure it'd kill a deer. I told him to walk down there and stand in front of the target and I'd test it out on him. He declined. God Bless men

"I don't get pass throughs and you don't either." That was stated to my wife a couple of years back, by a total Ahole that thinks he controls public land by virtue of the number of tree stands that he puts out. The problem was that my wife had a dead deer and a broadhead arrow with mud packed into the Bear head and matted down bloody feathers, while he had a recurve bow that he could not draw and super heavy arrows that flew like crooked fence posts and no deer. Some folks can handle heavy bows and some can not. They maybe fool themselves into thinking that they are doing everything superior, but if they cannot make the shot, none of it matters.

One thing that gets beat to death in these threads is that somehow shooting a bow of 50-60# makes you inaccurate compared to shooting 35-40. Go watch Rick Barbee shoot his bows which most draw 60+. There are many folks who shoot bows of those weights very accurately.

The shoots I go to you'd be hard pressed to find a 60lb bow so yes more master light weight because more shoot light bows. Guys this thread started on an argument and if you go up and read light now guys were arguing the point and no one had said anything about light bows not killing. Another complex thread.lol

Yeah, but Rick Barbee is not a real person. A robot from another planet.

Who cares you can throw rocks if you want I couldn't care less.What is true is my bow does it's job if I do.It in conjunction with my (sharp arrows )it will kill efficiently 90% of the time.I do place my own limits on how low I will go but I have seen 30# bows kill large hogs.I do however think one should shoot a bow that is heavy enough to kill an animal as quick and clean as it can.Yeah 30 can do it but the average guy or girl could comfortably shoot a heavier bow.It for me is showing respect for the game I hunt.Its up to you???? OSR

In a country the size of the United states, you can find at least two examples of anything.

From the recent threads I've read on here, lightweight bows are the way to go, because, according to the reports of those who use them, they never miss nor fail to kill, whereas heavy bow shooters always miss. Not my opinion. Just what' I've read.

" It's a simple matter of math.

If your states legal minimum draw weight is 30#, that is what is known as the "lethality index" or the "lethality baseline" (depending on the state).

If you kill a deer using 45# of draw weight, which is 50% more draw weight than the baseline, the deer will actually be 50% more dead than the one shot with 30#.

If you kill a deer using 60# of draw weight, the deer will actually be 100% more dead than the one killed with 30#.

It's a linear equation.

Now, if you think it doesn't matter, talk to the folks who process deer for a living. They'll set you strait. Just try processing a deer that is half as dead as another.

KPC "

I always enjoy your wacky and irreverent humor.

I must call and apologize to my son. In 1981 when he was 12 I wouldn't let him hunt deer with his 35# compound and made him wait until he was 15 and could pull 45#. I know it scarred him for life.

I have been at both ends of the spectrum, I mastered bows that were 80 plus pounds and then shot 60 plus pounds for years. I have slowly decreased the poundage and I dare say I kill a lot more deer then most folks. I have now settled on 40-47#s and I still kill a lot more deer then most. It has everything to do with where you put a razor sharp head with it flying true, not the weight you shoot. We are talking whitetails and most any game in NA, even big bears are no big deal nor are moose. Ken Beck killed a few moose with 45-47#s. Shawn

A sharp edge is damn lethal. Most Mongol and Hun bows were 35ish# killing armored men. A girl in my '87 graduating class fell off a step ladder while hanging pictures in her bedroom, put her elbow through the window, cut the artery under her arm and bled out in a minute. A manual stab with a knife is about 9 ft/lbs. Put a sharp edge through the windbags, and it's over.

A sharp edge is damn lethal. Most Mongol and Hun bows were 35ish# killing armored men. A girl in my '87 graduating class fell off a step ladder while hanging pictures in her bedroom, put her elbow through the window, cut the artery under her arm and bled out in a minute. A manual stab with a knife is about 9 ft/lbs. Put a sharp edge through the windbags, and it's over.

wow. I didn't know we had so many eland experts among us.

Scooby Doo, why did you change your screen name from Shawn to deerman, to Scooby doo? God Bless men

"In a country the size of the United states, you can find at least two examples of anything."

Unless you are looking for a Qualified, Rational and Pragmatic candidate for POTUS.

Then, my friend, you are SCREWED.

Wow. Channeling Henry Standing Bear... Too much Longmire....

Yep, it's a feel-good show, alright. Walt's supposed to be just about my age, and I dare say I'm holding up a bit better. Must be all of the archery-related Clean Living.

Just a shame I can't enjoy it with the wife & kids... You get a late start like I do and next thing you know it's hardly worth taking your boots off...

Why argue about this or form opinions either? One way to find out is test it for yourself then you will know and won't have to dream up stuff either.

This mute point has been gone over a lot to no resolution in the minds of those who just don't know. LOL

How many times do we have to go over light weight bows when its not the bow its shot placement and the sharpness of heads that cut through things.

Some of you should learn how arrow hit animals die and study that end of things rather than the deliverance of the arrow and broad head.

Think about this one. Takes killers to know the difference of things when it comes to the harvest just what it will take to get him.LOL

Good question Justin. I wondered that myself.

My wife has a big jim buffalo longbow that I gave her as a wedding present. ( I still hear about THAT). Her bow Is 35@26. I draw 27ish. This fall I will tune that bow to me and kill a deer with it. Then- whenever this topic arises I can just post that picture along with the equipment specifics. ***IF I'm still breathing, and IF I don't forget****

When states started adding deer archery seasons, many of them had a 40 or 45 pound minimum. I have always been curious as to how arrived at those numbers and what bows and shooters they used to decide.

I'll tell ya what lighter draw bows won't kill - your shoulders

You hit the nail on the head with that comment. I, for one, do not wish to see myself operated on for bow-related shoulder problems.

Dean some use the imput from guys at the game hearings and any research they can find and some just do what makes em the most money. When I hunted Colorado the most the limit was 40 for bear and deer and 48 for elk. When compounds got to be so powerful they decided to change it to a straight 40 lbs. At the hearings they decided that in order to get more women and kids to buy licenses they would drop it to 35. No stats were used whatsoever in that decision. I had a friend in CPW is how I know. On the other hand Pennsylvania had to make a decision about elk for the first time. From what I am told they did a ton of research before they chose to use 45 for elk and leave their deer at 35. I have no clue for the rest of the states. The sad part of it all is in a lot of states the guys who make the rules and regs aren't even hunters like Colorados CPW board that is regular people appointed by the governor.

these threads -- and there is a new One every day -- I have decided are cries for validation>

get Over it>

if you want to shoot 35 pounds shoot it>

if you want to shoot something a little heavier, practice, lift weights, do drawing exercises>

Dean, back when those regs were set, there were no cams. 40 pounds was a good balance between 'light' target bows and heavy longbows & such. A lot of folks shot 40-45 for both.

Nowadays you have 35 pound bows that will smoke an old 40+ bow, but unless you want to quantify draw weight, arrow weight, arrow velocity etc. at the shooters' draw length, it's easier to just draw a line *somewhere*. In a word, inertia.

The most sensible minimum I ever saw was also the least enforceable - MN used to require that the bow should be able to launch a 350 grain arrow to some minimum distance, which now escapes me. The number 150 sticks in my mind, but feet would not be far enough and yards might be a bit optimistic.....??

Anyway, that's basically requiring the equivalent of a reasonably efficient #35 recurve, isn't it? And 10 GPP minimum at that weight.

Made sense to me.

Now they'd just have to equip the COs with 350-grain arrows with a pinger in 'em - mark a GPS point, launch the arrow, and take a second reading where it lands.

Accurate to within a few paces....

For 50 years, or more, you had to be able to shoot a hunting arrow 150 yards, in NY state. I never knew anyone that had been asked to do this. Around 2000, or so, the law changed to greater than 35#. Not sure of the why of it but it may have had to do with getting more women and kids into hunting. When I started in '62, you had to be 16 to hunt deer. The hunting age changed to 12 about the same time that yardage changed to poundage. bvd

I started deer hunting in the mid 60s. I had a 55 pound Pearson Gamester and shot Microflite 9s. Another guy that hunted the same property had a 44 pound lemon wood recurve, he shot wood arrows and Hi-Precision three blades that he barely sharpened. The worst head ever made right here in this town. Another on that property was shooting a nearly 60 pound Pearson made Hill longbow with Pearson made Hill heads. Most everyone else in the area was shooting either Bear, Herters or Root recurves. The common thing was 'you don't want to shoot all the way through them, that's what makes the Hi- Precision so deadly' They guy with the 44 pound lemon wood hit a deer and got no penetration andcould find the deer. the longbow guy blew through his deer and everyone was surprised that he found it. Another nearby with a 55 pound recurve had one run off with a Hi-Precsion sticking out both sides, they could not find either the deer or one drop of blood. An older guy that had a short draw, he anchored at his wrist with a forty pound at 28 bow, stuck a deer with a Zwickey that was file sharpened, he hit a rib and the arrow still was just sticking out the other side when he found the deer. I shot over the back of four deer that year, really really bad buck fever, but I did get a pheasant, several rabbits and a fox that year. Those old hickory and lemon wood bows of the past killed deer for some, they sold them by the barrel full at the local hardware store, but compared to the faster recurves of today, they were super duds.

GF said...

"Now they'd just have to equip the COs with 350-grain arrows with a pinger in 'em - mark a GPS point, launch the arrow, and take a second reading where it lands.

Accurate to within a few paces...."

If...the CO could find the arrow. LOL

I would assume that all of my bows could launch an arrow 150 yards although I've never actually tried it. I sure can't think of anyplace I hunt where there's an open spot with room for that.

My guess is that the CO would reach retirement age before finding the arrow...or it would be stuck up in a tree just a few yards away.

I think it's best that the state and the CO find something better to do and let me worry about what sort of equipment to use.

I recently had a game warden give me crap about my dual shooter Berry. My deer tag was done and I was after pheasants. He took one look and said, "You are going have to explain this. You sure this thing will kill a deer?" It already had, but he was not convinced and wanted to test it himself. He was a natural. When I asked if he wanted to see my license, he said, "What for? I know what they look like."

WV Mountaineer, if ya must know. I registered under Shawn on my smart phone and still have that username when I use my smart phone. I bought a new computer and when I tried to enter my info to use my username deerman it would not let me do it no matter what I did. Said error and username already existed. I had to re-register using Scooby. Shawn

Woodeye neither will heavy bows if you stay in shape to shoot em. I shot mid 70lb bows for about 40 of my 52 years shooting. Usually 100 arrows per day 5 days most weeks. Well working on number 52. Anyhow my shoulders are fine as are a lot of my friends shoulders. Archery gets the blame but lots of things mess up shoulders but not usually archery bow weight.

I agree wuth GLF, my shoulders are shot from playing football for 25 years. Had both of them repaired at least 3 times each. I now pay for it and I am shooting lighter bows, but they do get the job done for sure. Shawn

So you're saying that tossing back 64 1-ounce shotglasses of beer will get you just as drunk as draining a whole pitcher one glass at a time???

NO WAY, DUDE!!!!

But seriously… I have spent enough time shooting my #55 recurves that I've developed a bit of scoliosis And I have some kind of a bone spur in my left shoulder. But my shoulders don't bother me from archery, and to be honest, I think I am better off because of the archery than I would have been without it.

A lot of people don't believe it, but the people who are really good will always tell you that technique matters. If you pull it wrong, a #25 bow can probably wreck you. That's not to say that every individual doesn't have slightly different geometry in their muscles and bones which may make it easier or harder to pull heavy, but like most things, if you do it wrong… You're in for a world of hurt.

GOOD LORD!!!!!!

A knitting needle will kill a deer. The only question that should concern hunters is, How quickly will something kill a deer, and will there be enough of a blood trail for me to find it?

I have actually shot a deer with a 50# compound bow (15 years ago), with a field tipped Easton 2117 arrow at approximately 10 feet. The arrow bounced off that bucks rid cage. The deer was mortally shot in the spine, by me with a cut on contact broadhead attached to the same Easton shaft size. I was just going to finish off the Buck. I finished him with a hunting arrow no problem. I know from experience that a 40# bow shooting an arrow tipped with a cut on contact broadhead does penetrate a deer's rib cage easily. Its the hunters ability to place the proper arrow where it needs to be that kills game. A modern 40# longbow, or 40# recurve is proven effective on thin skinned Game such as Deer reasonable distances.

Meant to say RIB Cage!

I think more guys who shoot light bows are getting on in age. Periodically one doesn't make it to the next rendezvous, but I would start blaming the bows.

I am really Shocked to See So Many Folks Trying To Rationalize "why I cannot shoot a Real Bow"

I know People Like myself and a few others that advocate "HEAVY Equipment " is 100-130# for Hunting ,Just Like Howard Hill Did ,do you think all those amazing shots were taken with a 35# Bow? NO they were made with a Bee Line Straight Shooting Arrow out of a 100 Plus Bow even into his later years .

Speed Kills , Stronger Limbs Propel Arrows Faster ,Given they are Stout enough to recover from paradox and Oscillation delivering the Energy to the intended target ...

I Hunt With Nothing I cannot take Shots with Smoothly and Comfortably for an Hour a Day sometime much more lol

I just ordered a Wesley Special 125#@ 27" , I may never order Heavier ,but then again if my strength keeps up so will my Shooting and Videos .. Keep them in the 10 Ring , But Under 50 Please leave them at home when hunting, Ethical Kills need to be paramount on our minds .

I recently gave a 50 pound Big River to a friend. He shot it fine, but he was drawing funny. I tried to tell him that he was putting rotational torque on his drawing shoulder. He went home and shot for 3 hours. The next day on his way to the his chiropractor, his nose itched and he couldn't reach it. Yes, it is possible to hurt your shoulder shooting a bow.

MagnumHuntingAdvent....

Are you aware,that the same Howard Hill you like to Pattern yourself after is quoted as testifying in print,that a 40 lb bow and 450 grn arrow is not only sufficient enough for deer,but elk and moose as well?

But Under 50 Please leave them at home when hunting, Ethical Kills need to be paramount on our minds .

Seriously!!! I love it when people talk ethics when speaking of putting sharp sticks into live animals.There are many who would argue that our weapon of choice is outdated and unethical,when there are other more advanced weapons to use.So,be careful of forking that high horse,as it may just buck you off. If you think you need x amount of poundage to be ethical,then have at it,but dont tell others what they should believe and use as long as they are within the confines of the law.

Two years ago, a 50 pound no sight window longbow drawn, I hope it was close to 26". A well worn Hill head with a total cedar arrow weight of 490 grains, that I was saving for a flying pheasant. 42 yards, dead center horizontal through a rib, a slash across the back of the heart, broke a rib exiting, then the arrow broke on an oak sampling. The buck ran 62 paces and poured blood the entire trip and went down skidding. Lucky? maybe. But I have practiced thousands of shots at my deer targets at that distance. The deer was looking directly away from me when I drew and shot. There is no way that anyone needs to shoot a heavy bow to pass through a whitetail deer. Choosing the right head may be important, and getting an arrow to fly perfect is important. I don't care, Mag, if your bows were personally blessed by Hill, talking down to people that cannot shoot bows that do not meet your magic number does not fly. If someone shoots a 40 pond bow better than me, he is a better shot than me. If I were to miss a deer that he or she could easily shoot with a 40 pound bow, that person, for the day, is also a better hunter than me. Any time lesser weight equipment is discussed on this forum, people that have experience do just that get run over by big posers talking down to the little people. Okay, we all get it you are big tough guys. Go admire yourselves on another thread.

Mag, you have also proven that you know very little about Howard Hill.

My guess is that traxx, dean, and many others actually know what they are talking about. As far as "Mag", goes, please shoot your heavy bows. That's why they make them, it really does show a lack of knowledge when you post that 35# and 40# bows are not real bows. Every year I take deer at 8-25 yards with these so called not real bows. I certainly am not the first to do so. I have posted a couple of times that my Buddy's Dad harvested over 100 MI whitetails with a 35# Ben Pearson recurve and wood arrows tipped with Bear Razor heads. He fed nine kids, Himself, and His wife with the meat. I'm thinking, good luck to "Mag" if he thinks he can match that during his lifetime. I know I will not.

My daughter arrowed her first deer with a 29# compound shot instinctively. Not sure how that equates to a recurve. The doe went less than 50yds. Sharp 2 blade head and heavy arrows.

Put it in the boiler with a 35 lb or a 75 lb, its dead. Make a bad hit with either, you won't recover the deer unless u get lucky.

I'm actually really glad that "Magnum" posted what he did.

Makes people realize how stupid THEY sound when they claim that a bow that draws NORTH of #50 cannot possibly be shot accurately....

GF.....

When was that claim ever made?

Ive never seen it made and if it was,id be right there with you.

What i have heard,is that there are many people who try to shoot more bow than they can truly handle and therefore are not accurate with.A claim that has merit,as ive witnessed it more often than not. If a person can actually draw a heavy weight bow and has complete control over it and can shoot it with reasonable accuracy,they get nothing but respect from me.

I wish Swinestalker was here to post up. He's killed a running ton of animals with bows under 45#. All from the ground. Big deer and big hogs too. It's about accuracy, a well tuned set up and a sharp broadhead. Preferably a 3 or 4 blade. Lol

The assumption about heavy bow shooters being criticized for not ever being good shots is always made by heavy bow shooters. Being over bowed has been a common problem for as long as i can remember. Like I said, some can shoot heavy bows and some cannot. It makes me wonder how over bowed those that get way defensive about it really are. The first year I went to a heavy bow, I had to admit that bow was too stiff for me. The next year and a lot of hard work later it was not. I shot extra heavy bows most of my life, 72 to 96 pounds at my draw. I never encouraged others to do the same, but I would help them if they wanted to increase their draw weights. I will admit to being pretty ruthless about other behaviors of hunters. Like one year when I was about 19 or 20, an older guy with a solid fiberglass Pearson semi longbow and cheap arrows with Bodkin heads hunted the same place I was. he had not sharpened his broadheads, ever. I did not think that he had enough poundage in that cheap green thing, but I insisted that he let me sharpen his arrows or else. A few hours later he was waiting by my car. "I shot a buck and I don't know what to do next. It ran away with my arrow." It didn't run very far, the Bodkin head was just poking out the other side. It was the area dominate buck. I gave him instructions on field dressing and helped him drag it out. I was hunting with an 85 pound Schulz built Tembo that day and the lucky bugger out did me. Later that season I shot a little 6 pointer just to fill my tag and have some deer meat.

Magnum, you are joking right?? If you are not then you really have a lot too learn. Unreal!! Shawn

Dean -

If you haven't gotten the impression that a highly vocal portion of the Light Bow crowd is convinced that anybody shooting #60 & up is over-bowed.... I'd say that you haven't been following many of these threads.

But bigger, stronger men than I - and with thicker hides, I'd expect - have grown weary of being told that "nobody" can shoot [pick a number over #50], and IMHO they're not just making this *%!#¥$!@ up.

Light draw weight bows will not kill any thing. They require a sharp broad head tipped arrow just the same as a heavy draw weight bow. :<) >>>-------> Ken

I see heavy bow shooters getting jumpy. I do not see the 45 pounder guys picking on anybody. I have been deer hunting for 52 years, I have seen many more people that could not control the bow weight than people that could go up in bow weight, many of them struggling with 45 pound bows, others with heavy bows. The question remains the same, will a lighter weight bow kill a deer. someone brought out a good point. Nope, but a straight flying arrow with the proper broadhead, as long as no large bones are contacted, will. When my wife dropped down to a 38 at her draw bow, I was a bit skeptical myself, but she has proven capable on numerous occasions so I must say that a 38 pound at 26.5" with a straight flying arrow tipped with a Bear or Eskimo will shoot through a deer and it will go down in the same distance that my heavy bows would with the same hit. One thing that I most definitely saw in the 60s was that guys with the heavy Herters recurves were wrecking more bows getting into wrestling matches with them when trying to string them than the guys with 45 pound Herters recurves. It got to the point that I was scared of Herters recurves. Nobody used bow loaders in those days. I think it is a bit funny with every light bow thread that it always turns into heavy bow guys getting defensive and claiming that light bow guys are picking on them. I don't understand why anyone that can shoot a heavy bow should care, when it is not about them in the first place.

So how does the warden know how far a hunter draws the bow? If a bow is marked 45 I guess that means at a certain draw length.

eland are in the 1500lb range theyre huge, theyre the largest antelope. theyre ak moose huge. ive taken two so i have some experience with them. im amazed a 40lb compound could take one. not doubting it just amazed.

As long as you aren't wearing a pair of Nikes, just do it.

I installed carpet for 20 years & it trashed my shoulders. at one time I was shooting 80+ # compounds & 65-70# trad bows. heavy bows alow for more shot placement options & heavy bows definitely get off the fingers more cleanly upon release. that said it's 50#s & less for me these days & I kill a lot of deer

I know too many guys here in Utah that get pass-throughs on cow elk with bows in the 45 lb range.... they tell me, perfect arrow flight, cut-on-contact broadhead, SHARP, skinny shaft, and well-placed shot is the key. I can argue with my friends, but I can't argue with the elk they've killed with their set-ups.

Hello last year

Kinda curious as to why Saph brought this back up....

???

Starting to think he’s taken up trolling..

Yep no need for another draw weight thread, just bring this one back up every time.

I love it Kevin, They are more dead with a heavier weight bow, Ha!Ha!

Now this is the leatherwall...LOL!

If your state has a minimum of 30# then obviously a 40# will do the trick.

As said many times get proficient at what you do before shooting a live animal.

I just received a new Dryad 'Orion' recurve bow with the ACS static limbs. The bow came in a little bit light - it's 43 lb at 28", and I measured it to be about 46.5 lb at my 30" draw. It is now the lightest bow I own. I can shoot a 555gr arrow at 177 fps (measured with a LabRadar) - I would feel confident shooting an elk with that bow all day long! That ACS is no joke.....

I can shoot a 60lb bow very accurately. For about 15 shot. After that my shoulder gives out. I like to shoot a lot, so my tournament bow/playing around bow is 47lbs. because I can shoot that all day long.

The only reason I like heavier bows is to move a heavier arrow with some authority.

I don’t know for a fact that I could launch 555 grains at an honest 177 fps with a #55 recurve and a tail-wind, but maybe I just ought to stay away from chronos altogether!

For sure not all 35,40,45,50,etc pound bows are created equal.That Dryad Orion at 46.5 lbs.555 gr arrow at 177 fps. is a very fast bow.My Damon Howatt Bandido at 45 lb,27 inch draw with a 450 gr arrow is 164 fps at my draw.105 more grs.of arrow and 13 fps faster is the Dryad than my bow.Know your ,and your bows limits, and hunt with what you want. They will all kill. My shots are 20, and in with my recurves, and 15 and in with my self bow.Chronys are a great learning tool, also.Many guys do not like them,but for sure they will teach you a lot about your bow,s performance.

"Chronys are a great learning tool, also.Many guys do not like them,but for sure they will teach you a lot about your bow,s performance."

I agree Bassman. Total arrow weight and speed are a better indicator of performance than the effort it takes to draw the bow back. We see many discussions relating to draw weight, but not so much centering around weight/speed.

Well although this thread was started in 2017 it was a 'interesting' thread for a Saturday morning off from work and drinking my entire cup of coffee. lol

Longbows and Recurves are too fast for me.....I'm lobbing 6' darts with my Atlatl

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