mininum draw weight

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by collofthewild:
Look at the thread with animals shot with 45# set-ups, that should alleviate any doubts with "lighter weight" and somewhat larger animals....

Atleast it did in my mind.

very subjective, personal stuff that must be looked at on an individual basis.  there is no one blanket "rule" that sez light or heavy bows are ok for *everyone*.  only you can provide the right answers, if yer honest with yerself.

do you really know what yer doing when it comes to hunting bunnies, deer, speed goats, hogs, bear and elk?  

will you use tackle that you are confident will get the job done under hunt venue conditions?

i've never chased bear or elk, but i'd do my homework before going hunting for those critters and make sure the tackle chosen was up to the task and that i was confident and accurate in its use.  if i could only be consistently accurate with a 42# holding weight bow, i'd stick to bunnies and deer, and pass on the rest.  ymmv.

[DeerSpotter]

I think it's a matter of being in tune with your equipment .Sharp ,Balanced, matched arrow to bow go's a long ways before poundage.


It also makes a big difference when you lose something ,you find much more .

When you're not willing to give up anything you have to find a way to make it work. some of us have lost the ability to use heavier bows. Therefore ,You have to find what works ethically. In turn when you lose something ,You gain so much more because it makes you search for the right equipment for the right reason .


Carl

[Canyon]

I think it is easy to make an argument for a heavy bow when dealing with bears. I wanna get up to at least 70# before I go after a big bear on Prince of Wales Island

[kawika b]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000380;p=2

Then it could be all about which deer or which bear. My son shot a deer that was 264 pound dressed weight. After the deer went down 20 yards from him, he shot one more arrow at it.  The arrow hit high on the rib and bounced right over. If that would have been the first hit, everyone could say not enough power.  If one would only judge the Hill single bevel that broke the deers spine, everyone would say that 50 pound longbow must be really powerful.  I saw a blacky in Quetico two years ago that was as big as grizzly, no hunting in Quetico.  He was a jolly old fart intent on eating a moose calf.  Compare him to the average hundred pounder that is shot in Minnesota and you will be looking for a bigger bow and a taller tree.

[ChuckC]

I worry that we always seem to generate questions about minimums. . .   what is the least I can get away with.  We as people tend to do that a lot.

The askers truly want to know, however, I personally feel we do a disservice to many others of those reading the thread with much less experience.

Deer and bear have been killed successfully using .22 rifles and handguns, sure enough, but most certainly wouldn't recomend that as an adequate cartridge.  Same with bows.  

There is plenty of talk on this site for an active viewer to get a good idea what is considered by most to be "typical" equipment.

I think we need to be a bit careful espousing super light equipment because a few experienced folks do it.  There is usually a large difference in capability between someone with a ton of experience and someone just starting out.

This response is meant to be general in nature, not pointing to or toward anybody in particular.

Maybe I just worry too much.
ChuckC

[JamesKerr]

I would say it is all up to you. If you feel you can hit a bear in the goody box every time with a 40# bow than I think you should try it. I myself would prefer the bow be around 50# or so. But, then again it all comes down to what you feel confident with. For instance I can shoot a 65# bow pretty darn good, but I feel more comfortable with my 55# bow so that is what I shoot. Could I work up to the 60#-65# bow sure, but I feel comfortable that my bow and arrow setup are more than adequate for any game animal on this continent. I guess to answer your question a 40# bow will work but probably not everytime. However a bad shot into a bear's A** won't do you any good if you are shooting an 80# bow.

What is worse than someone using a light bow is using one that they cannot handle, which quite often is accompanied with arrows that do not fly well. Not to mention that anyone using light weight equipment needs to consider the performance of the bow, they need to be really fussy about the performance of the arrow.  It would be better to say something like a 425 grain arrow that flies perfect, that has a sharp and easy penetrating broadhead and is traveling at perhaps 145 pfs and most important, the shooter is accurate at reasonable ranges.  Not all bows are created equal for speed, the numbers don't mean all that much.  The best thing is still for someone to find out their limits and use high performance equipment. Saying all of that, I shot a deer with a 36 pound at my 26 plus draw Hill the year that I injured my arm, a radical change at a time when I was normally hunting with 90 pound bows and Microflite arrows stuffed with wood dowels.  I was surprised by the penetration and the effectiveness of a shaving sharp 140 grain Hill broadhead.  For anyone else that is approaching those specs I would recommend the fastest shooting bow they could find and perhaps a broadhead that is easier to get to that shaving sharpness mounted on shaft that would give them over 400 gains total weight.