Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: solodesperado81 on August 30, 2012, 12:38:30 pm
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Can anyone give me a good idea what draw weights work for hunting certain game?
Like, 30-40lbs good for turkey?
What works well for Mule deer, elk , bear etc.
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40 would probably be OK for Turkey,but they are pretty tough to penetrate the feathers,I use around 50lb for Turkey and White tail deer,not sure on Elk/Muleys/bear but I would say about the same with good shot placement. :)
I tell folk to shoot all you can handle good in cold weather and most accurate with. :) :) That's the main thing. :) Good sharp head and well tuned arrow. :)
Pappy
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I like to say that anything 50-60 is what I like for most game. With properly matched arras and a keen eye and good form, you can drop big game with less, but a little extra insurance never hurt. Just don't overbow yourself.
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I have hunted traditionaly my whole life and my whole life up until about 3 years ago I always believed that it would be best to hunt with the heaviest draw I could handle. I have become wiser the past few years and now perfer 45 to 55 depending on the critter and bow design. I like to have a performance design with heavy arrows. What I have learned it that a 45 pound bow will still go straight through a deer with proper design and arrow but yet I can be twice as consistant and accurate. Accuracy is the key not power. you do need enough power to get good penetration but accuracy kills quicker than an over powered bow. my light weight bow are producing anywhere from 150 to 165 fps with 550 grain total weight cane arrows. just my two sense.
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Shoot as much weight as you can,
50's for tukeys and deer.
60's for elk size.
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Its been said many times that 50 lbs is enough to kill any animal in north america.
Ishi hunted deer with a bow in the low 40s.
Gabe
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my point exactally. really it comes down to what you are most accurate with. If you can not hit the heart or lungs than you are in trouble or in for a long day of tracking. The new law on it now for big game hunting is 40 pounds Used to be 45 but now is 40 many tribes used bows as light as 30 to 35 pounds to take deer.
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I believe it really boils down to distance. I personally wouldnt shoot a 40# bow at a deer from 20 yards. I would take the same shot with 10-15#'s added to that bow. I shoot pretty much every day year round with all kinds of bows. Lighter bows are great, but you can REALLY see a target penetration difference between them and say a 50# bow, almost half in some cases. Use nothing under 40# and be responsible with your trigger finger.
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45#-55# out to 20yds if you pick your shot and don't panic. Forty to 45# if within 12-15 yards.
BUT.....you have to only attempt what you know you can do. Any doubt do without. When I am
too old to pull more than 30# I will only shoot at the heads of fly over doves.
Within range of course.
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40 and up.... :)
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50-60 for everything I hunt.
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I like about 55# for everything.
I believe 40# is the minimum in some states for traditional equipment.
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Too much attention paid to bow poundage.Many other factors to determine and equate into the situation as well.
The most reliable and best hunter i ever knew,growing up,used 40 lbs at 28" draw to take more deer than anyone could remember exactly.When he was younger,he was a subsistance hunter.In his elder years,he filled the freezers of his as well as 2 other families regularly.The kicker was,he only drew to 26" so he was shooting about 35 lbs.He was a true hunter,that knew when and where to shoot em and never compromised his limitations.He never lost an animal,that i ever heard of.
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Also,Larry Hatfield,
Some of you may have heard of him,Has killed more black bear,Bark peelers as he calls em,than anyone i have ever known.He took em regularly,with a 40 lb bow.I doubt,that Larry,draws any more than 28" and id bet its 26 or 27" at most.
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I like about 55# for everything.
I believe 40# is the minimum in some states for traditional equipment.
It's the minimum for all bow hunting here where I live, here in ohio.
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ah don't worry bout draw weight just use a 20# bow and poison the tips :laugh: >:D j/k
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Here in SC we have no restrictions on archery equipment whatsoever.
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Accuracy > power
Every time.
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I agree with Pearl Drums - the distance to your target is the big factor for me. I have forty lb bows that I know are absolutely fine on deer out to about twelve to fifteen yards. I shoot a lot, and I have to say that I shoot my lighter bows straighter than my sixty lb plus bows, and they are easier to draw on a cold stiff morning. That said, I wouldn't take a shot over 15 yards with my lighter weight bows. It comes down to what my stand set up looks like, and how far I will probably have to shoot. I usually hunt with one in the 50 -55 lb range. With a good heavy arrow and a razor sharp head, a fifty lb bow will kill anything in the woods. Turkeys and hogs can be lots tougher to kill, so I would use more bow for them. My 2 cents.
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To me big game hunting with 40# bows is like the ol', "My grandpa smoked very day til he died at 92!". Sure it can happen here and there, but strong odds are ya' aint gonna live to 92 if you smoke everyday.
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yea 40 is pushing it they made that law mostly so youth and ladies could enjoy bow hunting but I still think 45 to 55 is ideal as long as you are getting the performance needed. I used to hunt with 70 pound and 75 pound bows and took many deer and a few hogs with them but 50 is where I base my weight around now.
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LOL!!!!!
I couldnt disagree more.I find it amuseing, that this notion,of 40 lb hunting bows,being ineficient for the job on deer size critters,seems to be touted by people,in recent years,yet folks did it quite often,prior to the invention of the internet.In fact,there are a few of the "Icons" of the sport,who would dissagree as well,such as Howard Hill,Ron Laclair and Tim Meigs.It also seems to me,that most often,those that proclaim,40 lb bows as ineficient for the job,are those that most likely,have really never used them for the purpose.If someone,wants to use heavier and can REALLY handle more,thats great,more power to ya,but to say that less is ineficient and even unethical,is foolish,when there is plenty evidence to the contrary.I guess if a person,is recklessly out there flingin arrows,then you might have an argument,but i contend,that in that case,that it doesnt really matter what poundage a person uses,would it?The ONLY insurance in bowhunting,is well placed sharp broadheads,from an archer,who has self controll and the maturity to know when to drop the string and when to let em walk.PERIOD.
My question to some of the posts,
This under 15 yrd shots from 40 lb bows.Is that a personal limitation,you put on yourself,or a declaration,of the inability of the equiptment,beyond that distance?
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Not really getting into the debate here, but didn't Howard Hill hunt with 100# bow? Or was that just his big-game bow? That's the only one i've read about him using. Not that I'm suggesting at all that we should be hunting with 100# sticks, mind you ;)
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Howard,Did hunt with heavy bows and even as heavy as 100# when in Africa.
When howard was asked his input,concerning Establishing Bow weights for Regulations,he stated that 40 lbs and a 450 grn arrow was not only sufficent for dear and Elk,but for Moose as well.
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A well designed 40 pound bow will get the job done on whitetails around here, you just have to know your limits. I probably wouldnt take a shot over 20 yards with a bow that light though. I usually hunt with 50 pound bows for whitetails and 60 pounders for hogs.