I recently acquired a B mag takedown and the limbs I have on it are 38# number 1s. I usually hunt with 40-45# bows. My question is should I be apprehensive about hunting with 38# limbs? Am I gonna see a drastic difference in penetration/performance dropping down below 40#? Any pictures or words of wisdom or encouragement are appreciated. As a side note, I have a partially torn labrum so saying shoot as much as possible is already in effect

My arrow weight is 492-502 giving me 12.9-13.2 GPP and I’ll be using a Bear razorhead without the bleeders

Nope. I have done it

Bill - I'm "on my way down" the weight scale as well so this comes from a place of empathy.

"Are you gonna see" a difference?" That's hard to say. I do think if it's on your mind... there's something telling you "maybe."

I'd say the lighter you go... you're margin for error starts to get smaller and smaller. With a 65# bow you can take an quartering to shot and all is gonna end well. With a 40 and below that's NOT a Super Curve or some other really efficient bow - you need to pay more attention to your shot selection... and your shot placement becomes more critical. This the voice of experience. For a while - all the deer I've killed were with a 40# bow... I hit them perfect... they died. I shot a really nice buck and hit high/forward (from tree stand) and the arrow didn't go in very far and I lost that buck. I can't help but think a better set-up despite my poor shot placement would have gotten it done. I stopped hunting with that bow because I'm not a great shot.

You're projectile is where you're making your money. Heavy arrow, cut on contact broadhead. A 38# bow will easily kill a deer... but things have to be just right. Best wishes - Al

I am no expert but I believe your still good to go. I have 43# limbs on my B Mag riser. Right now my favorite arrow is a Axis 500 spine with 100 grain insert and 125 grain point. About 12 gpp. At 20 yards I don’t see that much drop. I have already after 2 shooing session “adjusted” for any. Of course a super sharp broadhead helps as well. I am also a “skinny” shaft fan that’s why the Axis shaft.

Thank you brother

Jarhead x 2

Jarhead X3

I will ad, besides the tips Jarhead gave. For lower momentum setups. Shooting from the same elevation as the animal where the arrow hits at 90 degrees helps instead of steep angles. Shooting when the animal can’t hear the shot or is distracted helps so it isn’t moving as the arrow is still trying to penetrate.

The pig in this picture was spinning as the arrow was still penetrating so that robbed a lot of energy.

If you think about it, deer aren't small targets and they have a relatively large kill area, and you should never take chances with any weight bow, even 70# bows won't make up for lousy shooting or a bad shot placement. For me, I like dead onside shots, not quartering since that can lead to just one hole. If you collapse the lungs, they aren't going far, and it's generally a short blood trail.

I also try to stay above the heart because if the heart stops working right away, it takes longer for blood to immerge from the wound. Center lungs, easy to penetrate and you can get that spray effect from the pumping station. I've shot through them with 40# bows. YMMV.

The average Elk has a 12" rib cage. That's less than 1/2 an arrow, what are you hunting?

40# Bear Grizzly, bought this bow a couple of months ago. I'm pounding the kill zone out to 20 yards plus. Shooting 450 gr. Cedars with Bear and Zwickeys Eskolites. Plenty of bow for Pa. hunting.

@BT I came to the realization you describe a few years ago after always trying to hit the heart. That has caused me to hit scapula or leg bone if not perfect. Why it took so long to to occur to me I don't know. Punch the lungs and let the heart pump dry and stop. SPOT ON SIR!

Sorry meant @ GEORGE

Stick Hippie, like you I’ve had to drop down in weight. Right now 35# is as much as I’m able and allowed to shoot. I’m hoping to get to 40-42 by deer season but I’ve come to realize that the arrows from my 35# bow are penetrating my target more than enough to penetrate a deer’s chest. I’ll be careful of my shot selection but I have no doubt that a 38# bow and the right broad head will do the job.

It’s taken me 58 years to get back to the draw weight I started hunting with.

Call up the old thread " 35lbs enough for hunting ".

my only ?? is it legal in your state ?

Jarhead a high and forward shot leads me to believe you hit the scapular spine with that shot. I've see guys shooting 55-60# bow not penetrate through that. So you don't always hit them perfect, there are things you can't control. A quartering shot through the guts with a 40#-100# bow will have the same results. If you are lucky and hit high and back you might hit the artery that runs under the spine (seen 3 of those) or the kidneys. A chest shot, liver, or disrupting the spinal chord (which also isn't intentional) are shots that kill deer the quickest. A good shot is a good shot, a bad shot is just that, it doesn't matter what poundage you are pulling for either. A 35# pound bow with an arrow that is tuned to it, so the arrow is spinning in its axis in flight, will put the broadhead in one side and out the other of a deer. Once the broadhead exits the off side it has done all the damage it can do in an animal. The whole arrow does not need to exit. You should ALWAYS pay attention to shot selection and be critical of the shot you are going to take, no matter the poundage you are shooting. Your margin of error does not change shooting an animal, whether shooting light or heavy poundage, you only think it does. The kill zone doesn't change shape or size, it is a constant. The amount of that kill zone you see does, when the animal presents it to you. The real question is are you good enough to place that arrow into the chest cavity when you release, with what the animal has presented to you? It doesn't matter the poundage of the bow as long as it is legal. People were killing deer with 40# selfbows or less, long before you and I were ever thought of. A friend of mine years ago, put an arrow through a deer using and Ax Handle bow he made, and was only getting 140fps out of it. DANNY

Stick Hippie Go over to Denny Sturgis Jr FB his wife Marie has killed a bunch of big game animals with #35 pounds and a heavy arrow and sharp broadhead.

Danny - maybe. More poundage (all else being equal) = more penetration... CAN reduce your margin of error. I can think of very few scenarios where more penetration was less lethal.

I disagree with your assertion that "A good shot is a good shot, a bad shot is just that, it doesn't matter what poundage you are pulling for either."

The tried and true "As much bow as you can shoot accurately" is irrefutable.

Another Jarhead X2

Enough bow and arrow weight, flying well with the proper broadhead and there isn’t a bone or angle on a whitetail to fear.

Shawn, We politely agree to have different opinions on this one point. :>)))) I very respectfully am saying.

A well designed 75# bow, a heavy straight flying arrow with a fair amount FOC and proper broadhead that doesn’t bend or have tip roll over. And I personally would not worry about that relatively small bone.

You can kill anything on the North American continent with 38 pounds. Maybe.

Hmmm

I as many have shot heavier bows, but opted to go lighter. I hunt with bows in the 43#-48# range, and haven't experienced any bad outcomes. I like the way Jarhead described, and explained things. I have always kept my shots close, using two blade heads, and try my best to wait until the animal isn't quartering steeply. I have had to pass on many deer because in my heart, and mind I felt things just weren't right, and I passed. Lower poundage has really been a blessing for me because although I can still shoot much heavier poundages I cannot do it for long due to osteoarthritis in my right hand. Keeping my poundage in the 45# range has been great as I age, and I'm able to keep shooting. I put my 70# limbs on one of my take downs I used to hunt hard with. Holy carpe was that a tell tale sign I'm getting old. I'll stick with my lower poundage, and keep my shots close, and selective. To the OP---you'll be just fine--keep your shots within 20 yards, and use two blade heads, don't take steep quartering shots, and you'll be fine.

Jarhead "The tried and true "As much bow as you can shoot accuratly" is irrefutable.", this is true but if it is only 35-40 pounds of draw weight, that is what you have to use. You are correct more poundage does equal more penetration, but it doesn't make it more lethal on deer size game. As I mention previously once the broadhead (not the whole arrow) exits the off side it has done all the damage it can inside the animal. The only time where I can think of where more poundage would/might help is if you have a steep quartering away shot you hit far back and the arrow has to be driven through the abdominal cavity into the chest cavity. On the other hand that is not a shot you should be taking anyway with a bow, to much can go wrong. So my questions to you are: When can/does more poundage decrease the margin of error? So why do you disagree with my comment "A good shot is a good shot, a bad shot is just that, it doesn't matter what poundage you are pulling for either." ? You can get lucky on a bad shot, as I mentioned hitting the artery that runs under the spine, or hitting femoral artery that runs down the back leg, but that is just luck, not your intended target. A bad shot is just that, a bad shot. Doesn't matter what causes it. If you don't like the word "shot", substitute the word "hit" for it. Poundage shot, does not compensate for a bad shot. 3D targets show it all the time. If you hit outside the 8 ring which is basically the lungs and liver area, technically on a live animal that is a bad shot, no matter what poundage bow you are shooting heavy or light. DANNY

The scapula thing….

It’s a Box O Chocklits.

Parts of it are nearly transparent on a younger animal, or you can hit the T-beam on a mature, heavy one.

And the scap isn’t attached to the axial skeleton, so it can be moved around more or less, depending on the muscular tension pn ot at impact. If you hit it quartered or from a steep downward angle, a lot of your arrow’s momentum goes into sliding the scap across the surface of the rib cage. It’s a soft catch. Square-on from ground level, it has nowhere to go. So in some cases, a heavier bow could make a difference and put the deer on the ground; in others, it might turn a relatively minor wounding hit into a horror show.

Best to avoid it unless you’re packing a rife

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