bow/arrow/broadhead setup for black bears

[Labs4me]

Guys,

Going to give it another whirl for black bear this fall. I've tried twice before without so much as seeing a bear. But that's why it's called hunting, right?

I have my choice of the following bow/arrow cobinations to use- all Widow bows: a 51# recurve shooting 590 grain GoldTips; a 51# longbow shooting 630 grain Goldtips, and a 57# pound recurve shooting 570 grain 2216s. I shoot all bows equally well and all my arrows are tipped with Wensel Woodsmans. In that I am presently battling a very serious longbow addiction, I was thinking of using the longbow and the 630 grain arrows come fall.

For those who have had the good fortune to harvest a black bear, could you please share with me what your equipment setup was? Specifically, what bow weight; what arrow weight, and what type of broadhead did you use?

The last two times I pursued bears, I was shooting 2-blade Zwickey Eskimos. I have a slight reservation about shooting Woodsmans from my 51# longbow. Although I've never used a chronograph, I'm guessing my longbow is pushing the 630 grain GTs around 165-170 fps.

Your opinions and advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Labs

[PV]

The last two bows I used were a 61# longbow with a 450 gr arrow @ 200 fps,two blade magnus.53# recurve,450 gr arrow @ 185 fps two blade  magnus
Pass thrus on both.Any of your bows will do just fine. As always shot placement is the key. Bears are not a thick skinned animal but they do have heavy shoulder blades.A well hit bear expires quickly and doesn't travel far.

[Gordon martiniuk]

Bears are not hard to take place your shot behind the shoulder and your set you have plenty of bow and woodsmans are excellent as are snuffers it you want large blood trails good luck  

[longbowben]

Black bear dont have the will power to live like deer do we shoot 6 all didnt make it more than 130 yards.That was the gut shot bear.Most went 40 yards.Snuffers are the best for blood trails.

[Labs4me]

Up.

[tippit]

Anyone of your set ups is fine.  I've shot five black bears with:

Massie Longhorn longbow 52#@28/Magnus head
Griffin longbow 49#@28/Woodsman head
LDB bow/Magnus head
Osage selfbow 50#@27/Woody Blackwell stone point

I have a 27" draw.  Just wait for the shot, bears are spooky if shooting over bait...Doc

[Bill Carlsen]

I've killed 5 bears with a bow, four of them with trad gear and my wife has killed one. She shoots a 45# DAS recurve and 500 grain Beman Max4 shafts with 100 grain inserts and 100 grain four blade Phantom broadheads. She got a pass thru on her bear. My bear were shot with a 70# Black Widow, 2219 aluminum tipped with a 160 grain Snuffer. The penetration I got was OK but not great. I shot it quartering away at 5 yards, hit the next to last rib, took out two lungs but that heavy arrow did not make it out the other side. It went down in about 80 yards and I heard it go down so finding it was easy but there was no blood trail. The other 3 I got I shot with my DAS recurve at 60#. I was shooting Beman Max4 shafts, 100 grain insets and 125 grain four blade Phantom heads...total arrow weight is 600 grians. All these bear were pass thrus and blood trails were adequate and one bear only made it 20 yards...the other two about 50. Shot placement is key and sharp broadheads are a must. I have a friend that shoots only Wensel Woodsman heads. He's killed 3 bear with them and all have died within sight. Hope this helps.

[Deadsmple]

Feed the addiction! Use your longbow. Like the others have said any one of those setups will do the job. So since you have a choice I say feed your addiction, go longbow.   :D

[Mike Bolin]

My biggest bear was killed with a 55#@28" Widow. I used a Magnus 4 blade on a 2216 and got complete penetration and a profuse short bloodtrail. I would use whichever bow you feel the most confident with. I have switched over to using Snuffers for most of my hunting now that I have learned hot to get them shaving sharp. I know that this next comment my raise some controversy, but my experience from the bears I have killed and those that I have helped track/drag out (well over a dozen between me and my friends), I would wait for a broadside shot with the near leg forward. From my experience and I am not claiming to be an expert, the broadside shot with a 500+ grain cut on contact broadhead will most likely leave a hole in both sides of the bear. Hope this helped you some! Mike

[Tater]

Question, spot and stalk,or tree stand?
 Spot and stalk or still hunting stay with the Longbow. Tree stand I might think about the lighter Widow in case of an awkward shot.
    As others said any one will do the job just fine.
              Good Luck!

[Labs4me]

Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. Unless someone can give me an example of a bowhunter being mauled and/or eaten alive while hunting with a 51# longbow and 630 grain arrows, I think I'm leaning towards hunting with my longbow (the darn thing really is addicting).

Tater, to answer your question this will be my third attempt from a tree stand for bears. I reserve my spot and stalk skills for Oreo flavored Bryer's ice cream in the grocery store.

Labs