Over 55-60 pounds for western hunting?

[StickMark]

Glued up a hickory backing on a dense hickory old bow.  I mean it dense; it doesn't want to give up poundage. Right now it will come out near 63-65#, if I leave as is. It is 55.5 ttt, for 23.5, 24" draw.
 
Any advantage on higher draw weight for hunting? On another bow, I glued a second course of sinew, and it is at 51#, so I calculate.  The bows I have below 45 start feeling "weak", and I think I can go up in draw weight.  I'd like my bows to be close to each other, for ease of arrow making and trajectory. 

What are your thoughts?

[sleek]

Unless it has a slow cast for its draw weight, anything over 40# is just extra in my opinion. 400 grains scooting at 150 fps with a sharp cut on contact point has done the job many many times. I'd prefer 160 fps and higher really. Aim, hold time, finger pinch and accuracy all work against you at higher draw weights...

[Pat B]

I agree with sleek but I'd go as high in weight as I comfortably can. You still have to remember the excitement of the hunt and cold weather, both make it difficult to draw and shoot accurately.

[Hawkdancer]

The legal draw weight in Colorado for big game is 35# with steel points required.  My bows are 45-50#, but I won't hunt big game in the archery season this year(bum knee).  I agree with Sleek and Pat B on comfort and weight.  Weather wise, we can get 90 degree days or blizzards in September!
Hawkdancer

[StickMark]

To be honest, I expected some comments such as "Man up!" and "men are weaklings nowadays." 

I am in the final last few inches, and I am at 48-51# after final sanding, tillering check.  Going to glue some rawhhide on the back. 

Appreciate the thoughts.  I get to thinking and my thinking can over ride my common sense. Keeping the general draw weight of my hunting bows around 47-51 will work.

[sleek]

To be honest, I expected some comments such as "Man up!" and "men are weaklings nowadays." 

I am in the final last few inches, and I am at 48-51# after final sanding, tillering check.  Going to glue some rawhhide on the back. 

Appreciate the thoughts.  I get to thinking and my thinking can over ride my common sense. Keeping the general draw weight of my hunting bows around 47-51 will work.

That's a perfect weight range.

[Pat B]

 Don't worry about what people think, just put a deadly arrow through the boiler room. 

[StickMark]

Yea, I am comfortable with 46-50# range.  I just get curious about the higher weights.  That article on the Mogollon bow in PA had me thinking, with the author's replica pulling 60# at 24". But, when in the gym, those 60 dumbbells are unused by me, and the 45 pounders seem pretty heavy.

Got shot placement?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I wouldn't take a pound under 55 out west, nothing under 50# for whitetails on farmland settings. I've shot quite a few large game critters with bows the last 30 years and have seen lots of "things" happen. What Ive learned is draw all the weight you can comfortably pull. I wouldn't hunt anything with a 40# bow except small game. Yes, I've heard of several people who took big game with 35-40 bows, so I don't need examples cited. I have created dozens of my own by hunting big game.

[PEARL DRUMS]

What I said goes double for a 23-24" draw. You lose a TON of power at such a short draw. 

[StickMark]

Pearl Drums,

That power advantage of longer draws vs shorter draws needing more draw is something I also have been thinking about.
I shifted a few things in my personal archery form, and I drew my sinew bow 25". Got 52# out of it.  The arrows really zip!  I am impressed, and the trajectory flattens as well.  For higher desert and desert mulie deer, I have the power and trajectory that I want.    

I anticipate that bow will gain a pound or two before January, as humidity drops. 

My preferred shafting is a plant called mulefat.  A narrowed handle and over 47-51# allows me to utilize thicker shafts.  This climate can lead to brittle shafts if too thin, so thicker heavier shafts have an advantage here.

I read that the Finns used higher draws because they had to make the shafts from conifers heavy. Heavier shafts just feel right, and confidence is there for me.
  Arrow weight was a big part of my posting this question.

[bradsmith2010]

    a well designed 24 inche draw bow can shoot really hard,, a bow designed for 28 and drawn to 24 will not,,
    I totally agree,, the extra poundage gives you an advantage,,especially if you can shoot the weight accurately,,guys argue about this all the time,,I cant shoot 60 65 like I used to ,, so I just intend to get closer,
I won 3rd place Tenn State, shooting a 60 65 long time ago,, getting ready for a moose hunt,, but I was in shape,, and the heavier bow was not an issuse,, so I think it just depends on the person,, keep in mind,
the bows being made now, are effecient,, 50# bow now,,  probably out shoot my 60# from back then,,

[Hawkdancer]

If you can get the shot place in the vital, I don't think it makes a heck of a lot of difference, but if you can pull 60#+, go for it.  Regardless, get good shot placement!  A lot of us don't have 60# shoulders.
Hawkdancer

[bjrogg]

Man up. Just kidding.
I'm in the shoot as high as your comfortable gang. I do think the high weight is an advantage if your shooting accurately with it. I also tend to agree with Brad. Maybe I can't get everything a 28" draw bow at 60 lbs can but if I build the right design 60 lbs at 24" bow it's pretty wicked. For myself at that draw it's natural. I like recurves with a little Reflex through the whole bow and about 24" of limb top and bottom. Lots of early string tension. Cut as much physical weight as I safely can.
Bjrogg

[StickMark]

I looked at Pope's list of Native American draw weights, agreeing with the article by Comstock in PA that many were probably overdrawn.  Nonetheless, take out the 5 bows above 45#, and the average is 40.6#.  Add the five heavy bows back in and the average is 49.5#.  Take out the Alaskan and Esquimoux bows, 80#'s, and the average is 45.5#. 

On another site, trad, I cranked some numbers, and the most common reported at "older age" was the venerable 45#. 65% preferred 39 to 50#. For what it is worth.  Draw weights clustered weakly at the 45#; 46, 50, and 56-60# were popular.  Again, for what it is worth.

Released three arrows this Summer season.  All clean misses. One did not smoothly get through the window of grass, one hit a juniper branch I simply did not see, and one must have gone a bit high, and the buck might have went a bit low. The last arrow, I wonder, did it go high as my bow was stronger than I have been used to, 55-56# pounds at 24"?

If Arizona allowed does, I could have nailed a dozen of the little coues deer, and had data to share.  Hawkdancer, I probably no loner have 60# shoulders.  Going to do some retraining, continue building bows, and see where I land.