Some recent discussion about the mary rose and the bow poundage of the old English warbows. Got me curious.

What is the heaviest draw weight you've ever hunted with? Better yet actually killed a game animal with?

I can't really add much here other than a question. My heaviest was 74# And I'm sure there are many of you that have shot heavier.

Even at 74# I used 30.5" 2219's penetration was pretty impressive. Even with an arrow that probably only weighed around 600 gr with zwickey screw in.

So I'm interested in hearing about the heavyweights.

Please don't turn this into a "it only takes 40# to kill a deer" debate.

we all know that but its not the topic here

I hunted and killed stuff with a 65# longbow for a long time.

I'm shooting about 45# now but I have a 55# bow that I'd like to use again...just because I like the bow so much.

64 lb Quillian recurve when I was younger.

83#@28 Black Widow PLX

65@28" BW PSA Hog killing machine back when I was younger. Also the reason I can only shoot around 45 these days. Shoulders craped out.

80# Martin Mountaineer Longbow back in the early 1990s. Here is a picture of a small hog I killed with it.

75#, full penetration on an elk at 35 yds, shooting 2219`s @ 30·5", 620 grains with a 2bld Zwicky Delta up front.

98# Martin Firecat for close to 20 years.

I used 2413's, 2514,s, and later on 7595 GT's all weighing in the low 600gr areas.

Most of that time was using Zephyr Sasquatch broadheads.

Only once did I have an arrow stop in an animal. All the rest, the arrows hardly even slowed down much less stop before exiting completely.

I have few pictures from back in those days, and then only those that someone else took, and gave me. Here's a little desert mullie I shot at 55 yards with that bow. Complete skipping on the ground pass through.

The one arrow that stopped was also on a mullie, that decided to lick himself just before the arrow got there from 50 yards. Went through the neck muscle, through the entry side lung, and just barely poked the offside lung.

Rick

65# recurve.

63# at my draw Now days i hunt with 50#

66# Quillian Canebrake. Fastest bow I ever shot....man it shot a rocket! Of course it did....but it didn't feel like it dropped at all at 30 yards shooting a hunting weight arrow. Regards.

62# @ 26" Robertson Purist. That was in the early 90's and it killed quite a few whitetails.

65# Bushmaster long bow, back before my shoulder went bad.

I hunted and killed several deer and lots of small game with a 72# Robertson Buffalo bow. That was 25 years ago. I then went to 61-63 # and now I hunt with a 53# Caribow Featherhorn

94#@27” Osage Hill style, 900 grain ramin arrows, Snuffers. Killed a few deer with it. I use 45#@28” now, and shoot through just as well as with the heavy bow.

70# at 29" 3pc Bighorn. Hickory or ash shafts, 165 Ace standard. Knocks the block over if I dont prop it up well.

My target bows were 75-80#, hunting bows 85-90#, workout bows 100 -120#. This is a small buck I killed with my 90# Osage bow made by Brian Pridgon. I'm shooting half that weight now.

Side Note:

I still have that bow, and can still shoot it accurately.

Wish I still had that body. LOL

Rick

63 lb Blacktail recurve

58# recurve for me but now I've settled down to around 50#

same boat here Rick

I've hunted with 73-76lbs most my life. But one year i got stuck with a 78lb bear grizzly and ended up hunting with it. I draw 32" so not sure of the weight but I'd imagine around 90. Someone saw it at a shoot n bought it, thank goodness.

77 Pound Widow.

Bowmania

60 pound Widow

70# Kodiak Hunter. Now I use a 65# longbow.

71# my Brakenberry.

94# Hill. Lovely bow!

63@28 had hair then and it was brown. Terry

I had a 68# Bear takedown from around 1981/82 until I traded it for a Border takedown that was 57#, that was about 1986 or so..not exactly sure of the date. I could shoot it okay but I was also in my mid 30's at the time. I made the trade at the W.V. Bowhunters Festival to a guy named George Sevitch. Don't know if he still has the bow, but I know where the Border is...about fifteen miles from me. In the 90's I never went about 60# and finally moved down to mid to high 40's where I started out in 1964.

68# longbow I made several years ago. Hit a big bull elk while using it, but just a fraction too low.....brisket. Only 2 drops of blood.....looked for him for 7 hours....no trace. Put many grouse in the pot with that bow! Richard

81# Groves Prestige Magnum T/D 1980's now shooting lil more than half that# now

62x31, r&d longbow, Liberty Edge...... Hogs & deer.

1993...Wyoming. 60# original Bill Stewart Multi Cam recurve. All my hunting bows now are 52-57#.

dennis in Virginia....your set up sounds about identical to mine back in the 80's...with the exception that I used zwickey eskimo's.

I shot an average sized doe through both shoulders the 2219 did a heck of a job penetrating.

Ron La clair...That's impressive. I imagine penetration was not an issue for you! LOL

Shot a couple of deer with a 67lb Skyhawk years ago and hunted moose 2 years ago with a 65lb Widow .I pulled back another fellows 83lb Howatt at camp a couple times and thought " Too much for me when I get cold ! ". I doubt I will ever go above high 50s again.

I shoot 65# at my 31" draw Chastain Wapiti Recurve. Smokes and arrow and smooth to draw.

Mine was a 67# Green mountain reverse handle longbow. I was young and over bowed big time but made a lucky shot on a 5 point for my first ever bow kill. Now I mostly shoot 40# bows but would like to be in the lower 50’s by fall if possible.

Hunted Alaskan Yukon moose with 70# and 66# longbows. No shots when I was carrying the 70#er. Killed a nice bull with the 66# bow. That was nearly 20 years ago.

Damon Howatt sinew backed yew longbow, quite a few pounds north of 100#. Damon gave me the bow because I could string and draw it. Shot my first bow killed deer with it. Arrow went through both shoulder blades and stuck the Ace head so deep in a pine tree, it's still there. Bloodshot the meat like an .06 with noslers. Just used it for archery golf after that. Was in Martins Museum at Walla Walla. Don't know where it is now.

It's an old pic, but I killed this buck on my grandfather's farm in Maine with a 66# Black Widow. He was running on a trail that would take him directly under my stand after a dogleg in the trail slowed him down a tad. My determination caused me to shut down conscious thought early and I centered his spine right between the shoulders. He skidded to a stop directly beneath me and I climbed down to finish him off. I was shooting Magnus 125 grain, 2 blade broadheads on cedar arrows. The broadhead penetrated the spinal column and bent on the far side of the spine.

I never should have taken the shot. At least I was "in the zone" and the arrow went exactly where I was looking. I'm glad I had enough bow. - John

Still wish I could shoot the heavy weights I shot 25 years ago, but with the little wisdom I gained over the years.I would still be shooting higher weights these days if I need to.But due to youth factor mistakes I can no longer shoot heavy weights.Regardless of strength and fitness , a body can only take so much over the years.

80# Martin Mountaineer with ash shafts. Now I shoot exactly half that weight and still get the same results.

71 lbs at 30in Bighorn one piece recurve, shot 2219's with zwickey delta's complete pass thru on a Bison. took a lot of deer and a few bear with it! still have it but struggle to shoot it now days! I should try Rick Barbees penetration test with it, but its gonna have to warm up a little first! - 20 this morning!!

68@29 Howatt Hunter. 30in 2219 with SS razorhead, went thru and stuck in a pine so far I had to cut it out. Shot a buck with a 2317 and a 2 bld Eskimo. Went thru both shoulders with the tip just sticking out the far side. Still shoot that bow occasionally but haven’t hunted with it in a long time.

MP

70# Martin Lynx TD. It honestly was a bit heavy for me so I went down to 55#. Been going down, down, down ever since. :-)

Started bowhunting 1971 with a 54 lb Wing "Chaparral". Later, my heaviest draw weight bows were a 58 lb Assenheimer recurve and a 57 lb Sovereign Archery "Ballistic" recurve. Today I am most comfortable with bows in the 43 to 48 lb draw weights, as I have each the age of 70.

70# Bear t/d

Killed several animals with 74-77lb longbows and 600-650 grain wood arrows with 160 gr Elburg grizzly heads. Most memorable was a large Florida hog that turned just as I released; penetrated diagonaly lengthwise breaking the right pelvis and left shoulder blade before stopping in the left upper leg bone; hog went 20 yards. On the other hand, when I dropped to 65 lbs, then to 60 lbs, I continued getting pass-throughs on everything including elk and large mule deer.

65# Bighorn, back in the day. My shoulders would get up and run away if I even thought about shooting that weight today!

I hunted two seasons ago with a 62# Browning Explorer...heaviest bow I ever used but it was easy to draw even in the cold.

Last season my main bow was a 57# Chek-Mate Hunter II.

I shot a 66#@27" Robertson Vision for years. Took a lot of deer and small game with it. Killed this big guy with it in 2004. Last few years I've been shooting a 1953 K-4, my birth year bow, 59#@28".

Most weight, 80# Black Widow. Then went to 70#, then 65#. Now at 72 years old 55#’s.

63# the heaviest. 60# now I'm 65 yrs old

65# recurve when I was a whole lot younger, mainly 55lb longbows most of my life never hunted with less than 55Lbs.

Now that I'm in my seventies I went to a 40lb. now I am back shooting a 53 lb. longbow, plan on hunting hogs this year.

Seventy-two pound was my go to bow for quite a few years. Killed quite a few deer with it. Now I'm at fifty five and it works also.

82# recurve, one season, 75# felt better. 60# feels good now that I'm 72.

A few years back I was layed up due to injury atthe end of which I could no longer shoot my mid 70's bows so dropped to the 60lb range. My bow now run from 58lbs to 62lbs. Some day when I need to I'll drop again but not yet. I'm 64.

64#s Bear Mag. t/d

76# Recurve and 95# compound

70# Robertson Stykbow Mystical that was 60".

I always shot 65# Bighorn for many many years. Took quite a few animals with that bow. I still hunt at 55 - 60# and can handle it. George, I remember that guy George Sevitch I knew him from back in the 1990's I think he was big into Border Bows back then. I have not seen him for years. Don't know what happen to him.

Tundra

Here's a couple of anecdotes: Way back in the early 90s, I went for the first time to the Texas State Longbow Championship. The winner that year was a very fine archer named Dante Biassante, shooting a 55lb longbow. There was a lot of discussion among the other shooters as to whether a bow that light was an ethical hunting weapon, and therefore an appropriate bow for the shoot. I think it was the lightest bow in the men's division at the time.

BTW, a few years ago, after two shoulder surgeries, I made myself a 52lb bow. I was proud of myself for being so reasonable and progressive and taking care of my shoulders. I went to the same TX state longbow shoot and learned to my annoyance that I had the second heaviest bow in the mens' divisions.

No point, just stories.

#80 Bear Grizzlies, I had a pair of black supers with the red strips. I still get chills thinking about the hours we would shoot that kind of weight! Now, I'm really comfortable with #45.

70lb Widow recurve, and 76lb Hill longbow.

But not anymore...lol. down to 53lb, which gets er done.

65# recurve by Doug Knight. A very smooth bow.

#65@28" Damon Howatt Hunter. I had a tree stand consisting of a 10" piece of 2"x4" jammed in the "Y" split of the trunk. It was on an island in the middle of a small river and that tree was the only cover on the island, the rest was all blackberry bushes with the nastiest thorns I've ever seen and the tree was in a little gully and put me at eye level to deer on a trail skirting the gulley. I was 16 and hunting alone for the first time - in PA if you were under 16 you had to have an older hunter with you. At exactly legal hunting hour a doe ambled by on the trail and I took the shot, couldn't see if it was a hit, but took off and I could hear her crashing through the brambles, but didn't hear her go in the river - on that said they had to jump off a bank about 4' high when spooked and you could always hear them so I figured it was a hit. Just as I was going to climb down and my pulse went back to normal a 6 point comes up the gully and was going to bed down for the day. Not being 100% sure of the doe I was so tempted to take the 10' or so straight down shot but made what was probably the wisest decision to that point, and passed. I did hit him with the hat I dropped on him after a few acorns didn't work - and I knew I made the right decision when I heard him splash into the river - which meant my doe didn't. Arrow went straight thru, don't think it even slow down. I still have that bow 35 years later but after 5 back surgeries, I can't pull it. I shoot 44lbs now.

65# Wing Competition II slide lock TD as well as a 65# DH Super Diablo. Have dropped down over the years. Now at 70, I shoot 55# max but enjoy some 53#s as well. Still just glad I am able to hunt, shoot and enjoy and hopefully it will continue.

A good friend became a Bear Archery dealer in the late 1950's. One day, in the early 1960's, I was at his shop with some friends when the Bear Archery Rep. stopped by to take bow orders and show my friend a Bear bow that was set up for testing as a flight bow. It was 64 inches long and pulled 140 pounds at 28 inches. We all took turns attempting to bring that bow to full draw, but to no avail. Upon getting the bow to just beyond 1/2 draw, it was absolutely like having no strength left to continue the draw. It was a humbling feeling and made me appreciate my 43 pound Kodiak Special!

Highest poundage recurve I have killed deer with is 45# Samick Sage.

72# Zebra longbow

The heaviest bow I ever hunted with is 53#.

Heaviest hunted with was a 80lb Super Kodiak- the riser cracked so never took an animal. The heaviest I have harvested with is a 70lb Martin Hatfield that I shot a Wyoming black bear at 5 yards

80# Great Northern Bushbow. Only thing I ever killed with it was a Fox Squirrel! .......OVERKILL! I DID miss one deer.....and I NEVER miss!

76# Osage Selfbow. I killed one whitetail and a raccoon with it. Now it is just a wall hanger.

55#

65#ers for me...

I hunted with 71# longbow for years and shot several deer with it. Now I stay 45- 60# range.

95lb Northern Mist Classic

I'm my 20's, living in AK, I had a 70# TD recurve. Those days are long gone, 60# my heaviest now.

55 #

70# DH Super Diablo in the 80's. Now I shoot half that weight:) Nimrod

Killed my first traditional buck with a Quillion Canebreak recurve that that comes in around 65lbs at my draw length. I shoot heavier now and then, but it's the heaviest bow I've ever killed big game with.

Killed with 64# Sterling Jenson recurve, hunted with with 74# Damon Howatt Hunter recurve.

75# Doug Knight recurve. Now I'm down to my 63# Jack Harrison longbow.

94@28 deflex/reflex longbow drawn 29 inches 1220 grain rock maple arrow with a magnum rubber blunt weighted with a worm weight. 3 yard shot to the head of a squirrel. The right side of his head met the left side of his head nearly instantly. It was a test to see if such a heavy bow could be shot quickly and accurately. It was I did dear hunt with the bow until it blew up at full draw. That was exciting; but that's another story.

63# Robertson Montana Falcon in my younger days.

I sometimes post things merely to allow the results to manifest themselves in truth.

There is this underlying theory about draw weight and how much you can handle.

My thought is....everyone is different, different body's, different ages...ect..ect.

many of you have posted bow weights above what I would be comfortable with. I'm not sure what the limit would be for me I've never tested that. but I have a hunch that if I would get to far above 70# or 75#.... problems would surface due to a lifelong construction trade..Which is the thrust of my "fatigue and injury" thread. Its not the heavier bow that is the problem, its beating myself up lifting to heavy ect..in the masonry and concrete trade.

I'm currently going back up in draw weight I will probably shoot 60# or 65# this year. I shot 55# for years certainly more than enough, but for hunting I have always believed you should hunt with the heaviest bow you can handle and still be accurate.

There is a general consensus that very few men can handle 60# bows...I'd like to clarify that. most men cannot win a competition match with 60# bows, but this thread is about hunting and the fact is there are quite a few that hunt with heavier weights.

I may not keep every arrow in a heart, sized fist sized group, every single time, every single arrow, every day....but I can keep every arrow in the lung heart area. I shoot a lot and I go through targets. I normally just buy the bag targets....and they will always get shot out in the lung area.

When I stop wearing out the heart and lung area of a deer....i'll stop going up in bow weight.

83# @28"

Kodiak T/D...70lb limbs...2216 gamegetters with Zwickey Delta 4blds...4finger

Quick story on the above pictured Buck...I had placed my treestand where 3 trails came together to take advantage of the Opening day Folks who push the basins below my stand. A few minutes after daylight I heard a noise and looked down to see this buck trotting almost under my stand. I quickly shot as he passed almost straight under me and the Big Zwickey Delta went in at his jaw/neck juncture, traveled length wise thru his neck then thru his chest cavity, out his brisket between his front legs and buried the arrow into the ground deep enough that when he bolted after hit, he bent the Gamegetter shaft...Heavy Bows pack a Punch...That was the Shortest Bowhunt I've ever had and was the longest year until the next hunt came around...I've tried since then, to make them last longer...In Fact My Sweetie says that since that day..."I stretch filling my tag, until the Last Rays of the Last Day"...I agree ;)...4finger

Hi C2/Curtis Cardinal, long time buddy, how've you been?

75# homemade recurve was my main hunting bow for 30 years. Still get it out once in a while, but shooting mid 60's now.

Good story 4finger...nice to see you post, ive always enjoyed your stories and pictures

In the late seventies I ordered and finished a Bingham takedown that was 61#. I really liked that bow until a limb blew up a number of years later. Wish they still offered those glued up bows.

1957 Kodiak 60#, loved the bow, but got to heavy to shoot accurate , killed my # 2 buck of all time, 15 years ago !

In the '80's I used a 65# Asbell Bighorn. Killed a lot with that. And, now that I am 65, I shoot around 46-48#.

84# takedown recurve of my own making. I shoot a whole lot less now days.

#78@26" Morrison Shawnee

78# Heritage recurve and 80# Monarch longbow.

66#@29" Kohannah Kurve, shot my 1st multipoint WT w/ it, and many hogs. Great bow - 64"amo, smooth and quiet. Wish I still had it! At 71, will be hunting w/ my 61#@27" snakey osage selfbow this year! Should be lots of fun!

Almost thirty years ago I shot a 65# Brackenbury recurve and a 65# Martin longbow. Today, all my bows are 42-47#.

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