Large game lite longbow?

[T-Bone]

Due to a shoulder injury, I am resticted to shooting my 50# longbow instead of my 65# bow of previous years.  I am still planning on my annual elk and mule trip out west but I am not overly convinced that the performance is quite there for elk size game.  My 50# bow shoots a 525 grain cedar with 125 grain zwickey eskimos a whopping 165 fps.  If there is anyone out there with any experiences with this situation it sure would be helpful.  On peteward.com I read one example on their bow reviews where Shannon Kuzik shot a 50" moose with a 41# at 28" with a 497 grain arrow and 2 blade magnus.  He attained excellent penetration with that set up and only had 145 fps speed.

Any examples would be greatly appreciated!
God Bless!

[Apex Predator]

I don't think you will have any trouble with a well placed two blade head.  I think most will agree.

[Jesse Minish]

I agree that your set up is plenty good for elk.

[Bowmania]

Your probably OK where you are.  I'm faced with a simular problem, but using a very fast bow.  If I were you I'd switch to a 130 gr STOS.  They have penetration written all over them and 5 gr won't make much difference.

Call up Treadway and ask him what he shot an elk with - it was much lighter than 50.

Bowmania

[jon]

Due to an old neck injury, I have been shooting lite poundage for the last 7 years. Have hunted everything except the big bears with a 52# Palmer recurve. I shoot 640gr arrows with a 2 bladed broadhead. When I go for the really big stuff like elk, I use a 160gr grizzly head(for the 3x1 ratio)Otherwise, I use a 160gr Stos. According to my chrono, I'm getting 166fps.  Haven't had any problems with penetration yet. Stay under 20 yards and get the arrow flying perfectly. You might also want to consider trying carbons. The arrows I'm shooting are 75/95 Gold Tips cut to 30" with 400gr total on the front end. They fly like darts and penetrate way out of proportion to what you might expect. Another option, I've recently picked up an Adcock ACS/CX. I'm getting  11fps more than my recurve with less poundage. The lighter limbs(45#@28") shoot a 560 gr arrow at 168fps. The heavier (54#) limbs are getting me close to 180 with a 685gr arrow. Shoots good too.
Good luck and have fun.

[LBR]

I have a lady on my site that killed a record book gemsbok pulling either 46@27 or 47@26 (never can remember)on her longbow.  Broadhead stuck out the far side, animal went maybe 65 yds before piling up.  I have heard from folks I know in AK and Canada about moose being taken regularly with bows 50# and less.

Chad

[Whip]

I don't have personal stories to relate, but if it were me I would sure go ahead with an elk hunt using that bow.  Do all the other little things that you can.  Arrow weight sounds good, and as suggested two blade broadhead, carbon arrows, tuned as good as you can get them.  Limit shot selection, and take lots of pics!!

[Goatpacker]

When I first talked with Mark Horne about him building me a bow I thought I wanted a 60lb bow for the reason of killing game up to elk size. He showed me his personal bows. He told me that he built all of them for elk and used them all for everything from squirels to elk. The lightest was 47lbs and the heaviest was 54lbs. I decided on 51lbs. He should know what works for elk.

[T-Bone]

Thanks a bunch guys for all the input!!  If I connect, I will definitely include pics and another word of thanks.  For me, Confidence is 90% of the battle.  On Peteward.com on his trad reviews section there is a really cool story with pictures where a guy named Shannon Kuzik killed a 50" moose with a 41# at 28".  He also recorded the performance of his set up(145 fps with a 497 grain magnus tipped carbon).