I have often heard you can kill any game in NA with a 45# recurve. I am thinking that is a bit underbowed for the big bears, moose, buffalo and musk ox. Anyone out there taken any of these animals with a 45# recurve? And I don't mean a 45# bow that you draw 30". 45# at your natural draw length. Thanks!

I've killed em all but muskox

My guess is a large percentage of 50# to 60# bows are only drawn to 45#. I have seen it with my own eyes!

Still kills big game.

Some of those animals have a 50 pound minimum, depending on where you hunt them.

Bowmania

babysaph lets seee some pics??

In a country the size of the United States, you can find a couple examples of almost anything.

"babysaph lets seee some pics??"

Yes indeed.

Yup step up Jackie. And that's exactly right some provinces out of US do have a minimal's.

In all reality you can kill any animal with a field point if in vitals.

There's reasons why we have to use broad heads that field points are outlawed on big game animals.

Gun back up that's on dangerous game only. Even with gun back up you can get hurt as well many guys have been hurt.

A friend of mine shot a polar years ago with wheeled bow and a heavy bow too. Killer shot on bear and bear attacked any gun then shot bear and the bear fell on both guide and bowman and broke a couple ribs on my buddy. This guy had shot another polar before and not any issues but this bear was. The guide would not of had to shoot unless it was necessary to stop bear. This bowman had been all over the world on dangerous game. He wasn't new to big bad animals.

Len Cardinale killed his Grizzly (and a pretty big one) with a 45lb. recurve. When soemone asked him why he used a 45lb. bow he said it was because he new he could the bear right in the eye with that bow if he wanted to.

44@28

Same bow/arrow set up for all. 500 gr aluminum arrow with 2 bald broadheads. Complete pass through or poking out far side for all. One I only pulled it back about 25” and it still was poking out the far side. Don’t underestimate what even 35# can do, never mind 45#!!!

Great job Tucker!

I’d hunt anything with 45#, (if legal) knowing that I can actually get that 45# at my full 28” draw, with confidence.

Sorry for the typo: 2 blade broadheads IMO- elk are pretty tough compared to a deer and rank up there with a big bear. I’ve got a bunch of photos of deceased elk that were shot with this same bow, but the photos are not on this phone I’m using.

When I was killing bark peelers, I used a 35# kids bow because it was short, and weighed practically nothing. Killed a lot of black bear. Some pretty big ones. Bear are the easiest animal to put an arrow though I have ever shot, no matter the size.

Nice pictures Tucker. Lets see some pictures from other members that used 45# or less.

Congrats Tucker! I'd love to see some more pics!

Larry what heads where you using, weight arrow and FOC % were you running? Particularly interested in the big black bear harvests?

Why is there always these discussions with lighter bows? Most of us who hunt know whats necessary to drive an arrow its a sharp head and the weight doesn't factor in as mush as the BH does and is sharp to cut on contact.

What does more is how close to the animal you are more as well. The heavier bow with heavy cloths is harder to shoot at times than a lighter bow also.

You always shoot the heaviest bow your the most accurate with that you can handle.

There are thinner skinned animals such as a bear but then the bear has a lot of fat and mussel. You don't want to shoot that fat and mussel you want the vitals that's whats needed the vitals.

Also study the animals anatomy to know your kill areas.

Its what is necessary for success not bow weight per say.

I think it is good that we get these questions because it likely means that we have new people entering the fold. There are tons of misinformation our there and a new shooter needs to benefit from our experiences, and we all have different views.

I agree .

Well said Roadrunner.

Bow weight is just one of many factors that determines whether a given bow can do the job. Not all bows are created equal, some are a lot more efficient than others. Not all arrow/broadhead combos are equal. Some will penetrate a lot deeper than others.

Numbers never tell the story but they are what everyone wants to fall back on. The old dead horse still twitches now and then.

Tucker has shown his kills on here for years, and he even told us on one thread he was going to kill a moose and then an elk, or vice versa, with a 44 pound bow. He then did it and posted photos. Our history is rich with such evidence. Bear Archery put out 60% of their hunting bows in 45#, and for awhile you had to special order anything over 55#.

George ,

I think State mandated minimum draw weights spur these discussions . So many factors involved in having an effective hunting setup.

Shoot what's legal in your state for the game animal your after. And shoot what bow weight you can handle and shoot accurately. Know the limitations of the equipment you use and your limitations.

Tucker, How far was your shots ?

Close- all under 20 yds, broadside

Thanks for the info Tucker.

By the way, the OP is primarily a wheel gunner from the other site who is having a hard time believing a lighter bow will get the job done.

I'd say Tucker's posts and photos should make him a believer!

Hey George: I agree that numbers never tell the whole story but there are not a lot of options for describing an effective..or legal hunting bow so draw weight is it. Wyoming used to have a requirement of shooting a certain weight hunting arrow a minimum distance, something like 500gr arrow shot 160 yards (I don't remember the details). I wonder how many game wardens were stepping off into the sage brush looking for an arrow.

To answer Juspassin, I do most of my hunting now days with a compound. But I have been shooting traditional for 53 years. In my early years I gravitated to heavier bows because they shot faster and flatter. I have never killed anything larger than a crow with less than 57#.

I hear often that 45# will kill anything in NA. So I asked to see pictures or first hand reports of BIG critters being killed with a 45# bow. I put it out there so I could be proved wrong. I have/had my doubts 45# would do it, considering I have watched plenty of videos of trad kills using much heavier bows with arrow penetration only 1/2 to 3/4 of the arrow, including Fred Bear using 65# bows. So I wanted to know who has done it.

Congrats to those of you that have accomplished it. My hat is off to you. I personally would feel very underbowed hunting at that weight, but as my shoulders age I might someday be doing it. I watched my youngest daughter shoot a broadside large doe at 15 yds this past fall get a passthrough with a 38# bow, 350 grain arrow and Stinger out of her compound. I was surprised and learned something.

Thanks to those that shared. The Wheelgunner (who still shoots trad)

I killed a very large domestic bull buffalo that turned mean and blew through the fence and out into the neighboring cornfields. They got it wound up when they tried to corral it to take it away to butcher it. A 64@26&1/4 Schulz Legend, a 2018 with a file sharpened Hill 140. Pass through, he went down in about 70 yards. Equate that to a deer, I have every confidence that a straight flying arrow with a proper broad head would perform the the same out of 35 pound bow. I got one of the back straps and the inside tenderloins , they were a bit stringy and tough.

We should make sure we start a new "light bow kill thread" every couple-three days or so. Come on fellas, what do you say?

love these threads.

Brad- the pictures are of at least 3 different moose, but I think 4 different. I’ve shot a few more with other bows(of greater draw weight) that I didn’t post photos of, problem is all my bows look alike more or less and I can’t always remember which moose was shot with which bow. For certain though , I’ve shot 4 bulls with the same 44# bow.

News flash..#45 Traditional bows are not light. #35 is light and #55 is heavy. #45 is the traditional standard weight hunting bow.

Brad- problem with being an ATBA member is that your whole Tshirt wardrobe seems to be made up of tan Heritage Classic Jamboree shirts. I almost always wear green Carhartts when packing meat. Ha!

Shoot as much weight as you can shoot accurately and consistently.

When Howard Hill wrote Hunting the Hard Way he stated that an archer should be able to kill big game at a distance of 1 yard for every pound of draw weight. That would mean a 45lb. would be good to 45 yards. And he was talking about bows that were a lot less efficient then most bows used today.

ive killed several white tail with bows 45@28 drawn to about 29.5....everyone was a pass through buried into the ground from 10-20yds elevated

fdp,

As much respect as I have for Howard Hill; that seems like a pretty arbitrary scale.

Must’ve poked a nerve. My apologies.

Tucker and bluesman nice pictures. Thanks for posting them.

I always enjoy these threads. for those that don't like these so called light weight threads, just don't read them. And I agree with the above statement. 45 is not a light weight bow.

?

Thanks to those who've shared picks so far, enjoyed them.

I enjoy these treads also on 45 and less

Yep, these threads are great!! Always amazes me what others accomplish and i always enjoy seeing what their set ups are.

Also amazes me how some will whine about these and other threads, find something offbase to argue about, or always begin with something like " nothing new here, this has been done since 1920..."

As others have said, if you don't like a thread, don't read it.

https://forums2.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=477525&messages=47&forum=4#4632618

https://forums2.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=483233&messages=66&forum=2

Spike elk, standing belly deep in a pond at 27 yards. 45ish lb bow, 425 grain arrow. Split a rib going in and split a rib on the opposite side. Dead in 75 yards.

They were 45lb medium limbs on my titan ll riser. I was at the medium setting and drew about 27” maybe.

35 yard smaller cow elk. Zwickey 4bld Eskimo, Cedar arrow, 530 grains. Toelke whip, I was only pulling 45lbs. Dead elk in less than 50 yards.

Pass through on the cow, found the arrow 10 yards past in the dirt.

I have shoulder issues and so for me to enjoy archery at age 34, I shoot and hunt with “lightwieight” bows 43-47lbs. Most my arrows are 9gpp. I understand that heavier bows and heavier arrows have great benefits. But for me, I hunt with what I can shoot comfortably and accurately. Hopefully the stuff I’ve posted qualifies as “large game.” 45 ish pound bows have kept my freezers full and kids happy eating wild game for a long time. It’s not a macho thing, these draw weights do what why were designed to do.

I love these threads, and hope they keep coming up. Archery is supposed to be fun and inclusive, no matter the draw weight. Some hunters that I’ve never met, but, after reading their posts and insights I’ve come to greatly respect, shoot “lightweight” bows. And they have no issues or concern with their equipment. Look at Wayne Depperschmidt, Tucker, Jim Casto Jr... and many others. I watched a documentary the other day about an African tribesman who was hunting in whatever clothes he had on his back, zero camouflage and a light weight homemade longbow, broadheads that were roughly half an inch wide and no fletching on the shaft. He shot right through a female kudu, no issues. He went home smiling and has no clue about these threads on lightweight bows.

"Archery is supposed to be fun and inclusive, no matter the draw weight"

Agreed.

100% agreement

Traditional bowhunter magazine had an article years ago on bow kills that were under 40 lbs.They used somewhere between 35 & 38 lb bows,and kept shots under 20 yards. Maybe someone else remembers reading this article also,and can give a title to the article.

Great posts Conner.

In the old days when there were no compound bows Bow Hunter Mag had many articles on ladies that shot all kinds of large game with 35lb bows. I have a 36lb longbow that shoots 1916's/125 grain pt. with a lot of authority. Never hunted with it but I believe it could drive a sharp broadhead through a deer rib cage at distances considerably beyond 20 yards.

FWIW...

Maine state archery hunting minimum draw weights:

Deer / Bear = 35#

Moose. = 45#

Where’s Pairie Drifter? He’s killed a lot with his Maddog 40ish pound bows.

Ain't that the truth Mark. And he's killed them virtually all over the world.

I've enjoyed this thread. Congratulations to those who were successful and willing to share. As I side note, I asked Tucker about his bow. Turns out it is one he made.

I think a fellow has to have thick skin to post hunting stories on the internet. I don’t, and am usually a reader and rarely post. For some reason, I wanted to chime in.

I hunted with an older fellow a couple of times at Shiloh ranch was from Texas. they have no minimum draw weight. This fellow had used a 38 pound recurve for many years and told me of the many deer he had killed in Texas over the years. And I don't doubt it a bit. Both hunts at Shiloh he was using his 38 pound bow, and both trips he killed a hog with no problem. Dead is dead.

The broadhead is the most important part of the equation for killing big animals. It needs to puncture both lungs in order to quickly incapacitate the animal. A sharp 2 blade broadhead does this most easily, especially when encountering big ribs going in. Success on large animals is less about draw weight than it is getting that sharp broadhead in the right location.

Much better now with the faster traditional bows. A good #40 bow made with today’s designs and materials is much more like a #50+ bow of the past. I have 15 year old #55 longbows that outshoot #65 recurves. My #51 ACS smokes the #55 pounder.

I remember reading an article in the 60s that I think was about a hunt on Aransas Refuge. Anyway, what I remember about it was their story about an older hunter that had killed beaucoup deer with his bow, and he did it with a 35# bow. For the first 34 years I shot 50 to 65#, because "more is better", and I could. After a surgery I had to drop in the 40s and was impressed with their performance. Just last week I tuned and shot a 35# Wing made in the early 70s, and was again impressed.

Low 40s gets er dun!

I thought the OP was asking about big bears, moose, buffalo and musk ox size game.

I think he was, but can’t ever pass up a good hunting photo

That was a 43 ish lb bow

All day long pilgrim.

I have done this recurve thing a very long time. Lots of whitetails bac east all with 45-50 lbs bear's. Then moved west and Elk was my thing. everything was killed with 60-65 Lbs bows/ bighorns then Blacktails. Now we have FF and bamboo cores shooting skinny carbons. My new blacktail arriving in two weeks is 55/56 lbs. We shall see

Is a 45# draw weight a light bow? Depends on what era you are from. Today, no it is not. It is probably close to the median weight. Back in the 1980's you might get ridiculed for hunting big game with a 45# draw weight. Back in those days people tried to shoot 60+# draw weight. Many of us have messed up shoulders to remind us of those days. Getting an MRI done on my drawing shoulder later this week. It hurts shooting my 49# ACS longbow even though I now shoot left handed.

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