36#@25"

[LittleBen]

Thinking of hunting with one of my bows, a wood laminate longbow, 60" 36#@25". Tuned in really well with both a 440gr arrow and a 610gr arrow.

I'd say realistically the bow performs about as well as a typical straight limb hill longbow in terms of speed. So faster than your average selfbow, but nothing incredible either.

Have I lost it? Bot arrows would be tipped with 2 blade COC heads, Zwickey eskilite or Magnus 125.

Obviously I'm thinking of hunting this bow due to how well I'm shooting it lately. I have numerous heavier bows, but no other bow lets me stack as many arrows in the bullseye.

Point on is ~30yds so I would restrict shots to that distance or less.

Is this enough stink to put down deer? Any thought appreciated.

[LBR]

Be sure it's legal, then be sure everything is tuned.  Then it's just a matter of shot placement for whitetails or anything smaller.

[Pine]

It's far better to have s slow bullseye than a fast miss .
I wouldn't shoot over 15 yards at a deer sized animal , just for the energy reasons . If you get a well placed shot , it should work .
I would also keep it a broad side shot only . No quartering shots .

[Schmidty3]

Let us know how it works! As long as its legal I guess???

I tested my 45#ish selfbow with a 425-450 grain arrow on a dead buck. Penetrated to the feathers. That bow was terribly designed. 135 fps!!! But it would do the job.

I've got a 43# spirit longbow bow that I shot a doe with. I used a Doug fir with a tuffhead at 650 grains. Hit her at the back if the ribs angling slightly forward, only a 5 yd shot. Liver at best. I DID NOT get two holes. Maybe 6-8" of penetration. I tuned out  500 grain skinny carbon this year. I think the 650 grain arrow was way past the point of diminishing returns. I'd lean toward your 440 grain arrow if it was me. And maybe keep your shots under 15 yards. You are on the very bottom end and most would consider that a very marginal setup.

So I do have some experience with light weight, both good and bad. But not a ton. Stay legal. Get close. Put it in the heart and you'll have venison most likely. (But get better with a heavier weight if possible!!!!    )

[Schmidty3]

FYI...I'm hunting with a 50# ish bow this year. The 43# bow is a backup. I do shoot it well though. I may use it in situations such as super close range, maybe on the ground. Where I need to hold my draw for awhile.

[Shadowhnter]

With the right combination of broadhead and arrow, it'll do it easy enough. Get the combo wrong and you'll have some sleepless nights. Stay under 20 yards.

[LittleBen]

I appreciate the response guys.

NY has 35# minimum so it is legal.

Based on some rough estimation I think the bow probably shoots the 440gr arrow at around 140fps.

I will report back when I connect.

[KeganM]

After seeing the photos and hearing the stories about big game killed by lady archers and younger children, it seems that there's a lot more going on than just draw weight can indicate.

There was a video of a young man killing his first deer (self filmed) with a selfbow he built. It was a good hit and the deer didn't go far, but his bow was not super-well tillered so it likely wasn't putting out nearly the energy. Goes to show!

[wapiti]

Hunt with the maximum amount of weight you can draw and hit your spot with, Hunting is not a trick or stunt but an activity that results in the death of an animal.

[Friend]

*Have no experience testing  nor shooting medium sized game with below- moderate setups.

*Am a firm believer in personally thoroughly testing the effectiveness and highly suggested lethality of a setup prior to use.

*Always view that the quarry deserves nothing less than our best effort.

*Shoot competitively and competent at longer ranges yet have never taken a shot at a whitetail beyond 18 yards(less than half my effective target range)

*Prep and hunt year around....likely close to 70 whitetail hunts this season...still doesn't qualify that I have a clue, just gained personal experience

THE REAL ADVANTAGE WIL BE GAINED IN CHOOSING A SETUP THAT YOU CAN READILY MANAGE AND FOCUS ON LEARNING TO HUNT CLOSER.

[reddogge]

Originally posted by LittleBen:
Point on is ~30yds so I would restrict shots to that distance or less.

Ben, think 15 yards or less. Don't even consider 30. It's not the weight, but at 30 yards it will be a very difficult shot in a live deer.

[KeganM]

Originally posted by reddogge:
 

Originally posted by LittleBen:
Point on is ~30yds so I would restrict shots to that distance or less.

Ben, think 15 yards or less. Don't even consider 30. It's not the weight, but at 30 yards it will be a very difficult shot in a live deer. [/b]

[LBR]

Only if he can't place the arrow at 30.  The young lady I've referred to several times who was pulling around 25@25 shot at least one of her deer at 26 paces.  Not a pass-through, but buried the arrow and the deer didn't go far.

[KeganM]

Excellent point!

[YosemiteSam]

I wouldn't recommend that setup for deer.  Not saying it couldn't be done.  But if the point is to just get it done, grab a rifle.  If I had to, sure.  But you likely have other options, I'm guessing.

30 yard target shot is not the same thing as 30 yard hunting shot.  Even when you can make the shot, you can still miss the kill or the recovery.  Every animal is a moving bullseye that is only temporarily stationary and offering a temporary opportunity of unknown duration to get an arrow there before the next movement.  Unless I am confident that I can make the shot, the kill AND the recovery, I don't feel that it's right to try.

Also, that kind of point-on distance from that bow and those arrows is likely from shooting split-finger, I'm guessing?  If you're talking POD, you're probably gap shooting?  If so, that puts your 10-20 yard gaps at around 36"+?  That's a lot of estimation to make inside of more reasonable ranges.  Lots of reasons to look for better options for a hunting setup.  Switch to 3-under with a middle-finger anchor.  Limit your hunting ranges to whatever is point-on with this anchoring setup, maybe 5 yards inside of that as a margin or error.  Again, making the shot is not the same thing as making the kill or the recovery.

Accuracy with a bow is a function of practice time and effort.  You can be just as good a shot, if not better, with any other setup if you dedicate the time to practice with it.  3 months ago, I couldn't reliably hit a stack of straw bales at 15 yards shooting left-handed.  Now I'm almost as good left handed as I am right-handed (probably only because I use a clicker when shooting right handed).  Practice makes all the difference in the world.  At any rate, you don't need to be accurate to 30 yards.  You only need to be accurate 0-20.  Those 30+ yard shots are just for practice and proficiency.  Given enough time and practice, you'll be able to make 50+ yard shots with whatever setup you desire.  But hunting with traditional gear is largely a 0-20 yard game.

[Friend]

Could only support hovering around the minimum if physically limited.

My 74 year old long time close friend "Medicare Bhtr" just scored on an extremely solid book 10 pointer from the ground. He has, by no means, retained his former strength yet shoots far more than the proposed setup.

The game we pursue deserve nothing short of our best effort.

[Holm-Made]

My son is determined to shot deer with a recurve.  

He is 12 this Fall.  He shoots a 44 pound at 28" river runner but only draws it to about 24" so he is only shooting about 34# @24".  I have limited his shots to 10 yards, gotten a matched 1718 aluminum that flys like a dart, and mounted razor sharp Zwickey eskilites.   This is a high performance bow and the skinny arrows make a big difference.  We have found that  the skinny 1716s out penetrate 1816 even though they weigh less.

Last year he shot through an adult doe's ribs and stuck in the ground.  This year he shot a small doe and the broad head  was sticking out the other side 5 inches.  

If you do go with light weight then increase your odds by doing everything else right, imho.  Chad

[BWD]

All I can tell you is last year I killed two with a Kanati I draw 37# @26" on. One with a 514gr. arrow tipped with a tigershark, and the other with a 520gr. arrow tipped with a Abowyer Wapiti.

I have a female friend who has killed a slew of critters with a 31# at her DL recurve!

Bisch

[LBR]

There was an article in Primitive Archer some time back where the author experimented with a...I think it was 40# self bow, and in his words a lousy one at that (poor performer).  He shot a fresh whitetail carcass with stone  points, and the penetration was more than adequate for a clean kill.

Shot placement is crucial.  One of the Wensels is credited for saying "that deer doesn't care how fast the arrow is moving when it flies over his back".  Well, the deer doesn't care how far the arrow travels after it penetrates it's lungs either.