Trad Gang
Main Boards => Dangerous Game => Topic started by: bayhunter on September 28, 2011, 09:10:00 PM
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what would you recommend as the minimum draw weight for hunting black bears? Thanks in advance
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My 2010 black bear took 25" of arrow from a recurve I draw to 48lb.
My buddy killed a really nice black bear on the same trip with a recurve he draws to 40lb.
Both bear were taken with a 125 grain 2-blade head.
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I saw an old black and white film which showed Fred Bear shooting an arrow 'through' a black bear in brush with a 40 lb. recurve. Me...I'd want at least 50lbs. 60 better!
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50 will do it with ooomph to spare.
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In this video Tracy was shooting 40#@25".Although if you can shoot more accurately, I would.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEbxXTw2pRs&feature=player_embedded
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The minimum,thats legal in the state you hunt.
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Forgot to add,that Larry Hatfield has taken numerous Bear,with a 40 lb bow.
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Kinda depends on the size of bear you're shooting at! Bears have thin skin and small ribs so you don't have much to worry about. They have sharp teeth and claws though.
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most places have minimum weight requirements of 45 pounds. Any bow that will take a whitetail will take a blackbear.
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Ontario, min is 48.5# AT or BEFORE 27.5" of draw.
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40 will do the job. Shoot the heaviest weight bow you can shoot straight. Accuracy is a lot more important than bow weight. If you going after Grizzly I would up to at least 50 lbs and preferably 60.
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You can comfortably kill any north american big game animal with 55 pounds.
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Originally posted by Trad-Man:
You can comfortably kill any north american big game animal with 55 pounds.
I agree I shoot a 55 pound Tomahawk longbow with a 620 grain arrow that is tipped with a VPA Terminator 175 grain flying at 170 fps. You can't tell me this won't shoot through any animal on this continent.
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60" Big Jim Buffalo Bow 43@27... pass thru 29 paces...
(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/2010%20Bear%20Hunt%20Idaho/2010BearhuntIdaho008-1.jpg)
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coaster500...At what moment, did the ole booger bear enlighten you that your set-up was too light?
Whatever your set-up happens to be, you must command realistic confidence.
Great work!!!
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Just bought my first trad bow: 55@ 28 and I draw more like 30. All my arrows from my compound don't really work for my new bow but after I get the setup I'm hoping to go do some bear hunting this spring. Glad to hear that it's bow enough for anything I'll need it for. Hopefully I'm man enough to shoot it :)
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That's plenty of bow Shane.It will work on much larger game too.Black bears ribs over the vital area are relatively thin,not much bigger around than a pencil.When properly double lunged,they don't go far at all.
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Thanks Jim, I'm not too familiar with hunting bears.this will be my first go at it. Just noticed you are from Montana too, where abouts?
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I'm in Whitehall.
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Nice. I'm in Bozeman
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48lbs and an arrow around 600 grain
Worked like a charm.
That setup worked awesome had pass through on bear, whitetail and mule deer. had a bad shoulder so lowered my bow weight that year.
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American Indians were killing all North American big game with 45 lb. draw weight bows. It worked for them then and will work for you now. Even though I personally prefer at least 60 lbs. That's just my preference and two cents. Happy hunting sir.
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All my hunting bows are from 50 to 55# in draw weight. I hunt deer almost exclusively but would not hesitate to shoot bear with it. Many have confidence in lighter draw weights, and they have the results to back up their beliefs. So, this, like so many of these discussions, comes down to the performance of the archer more than the potential performance of the equipment.
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Killed one in Idaho in 2015. 44# at my 26" draw. Boiler room at 15 yards. He fell dead in sight at 40 yards. 2 blade single bevel Helix.
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Bears are easy to penetrate and die really easy so just make sure you're above a state requirement and shoot within your effective range.