Longbow Elk weight??

[JOKER]

String cutter, Just remember that bow weight is just a small part of good penatration! Other big factors are, Type of bow, Draw length, Arrow weight, Arrow diamiter, Arrow FOC, Broadhead type, Arrow and broadhead integrate, ... Some of these factors you don't have any control over or can not change others you do. Dr. Ashby's reports are a must read for anyone looking for more penatration. Just for an example, Ashby found that on buffalow rib shots a 54# longbow with a 723gr extreme FOC arrow and 190 gr griz broadhead out penatrated a 82# longbow with normal FOC 792gr arrow and 190gr griz.

[String Cutter]

Hummm??? Tell me more of this DOCTOUR???? I tried readin his stuff but some how lose focus very fast...

[JOKER]

You can find all you want and then some on the Dr. Ashby section of the forum home page. Yes, it is sometimes hard to focus and keep reading, however there is alot of useful info there. One other major penatration factor that I forgot to mention is to make sure you setup is in tune. If your arrow is not properly tuned it will rob lots of penatration from your setup.  Steve

[Dave2old]

SC -- that's because there really is no clear-cut answer. The logical and statistical answer is that you are very marginally geared ... everything, including your self-restraint, will have to be perfect. Optimistically, get as close to Dr. Ashby's advice as you can manage, hold your shots to 15 yards or so (which I now do with mid- and high-50s bows that shoot 700 grains at least 160 fps, and you can pull it off. Self-restraint in the clinch are darn hard to come by, at least for me even after half a century of working on it. That's why I "over-gear" as much as possible. Then if I fail I have only myself to blame it on, which is how it should be. I love these animals. I recognize my place as a predator and theirs as prey. But damn if I could keep hunting, after all the personal moral tragedies I've suffered across the decades, with a "If everything goes right" attitude. We can't all do everything. Far more important is to strive to do everything we do absulutely the best it can be done. Thanks for asking, dave

[String Cutter]

Dave?? Do you still think I'm still marginal shooting a 55-60# bow??? OMG!! guys I just want to hunt elk?? Don't want to go after water buff,rhino or a hippo??? Maybe a moose??? some day???,

[Dave2old]

SC -- Absolutely not underbowed! My bad. I read your original post and somehow 45# stuck in my mind; you didn't say what you are shooting there so that stuck. And as so often happens with these long threads, I didn't read anything in between (both to avoid the temptation to argue, and to try and keep my job, way too much of which time I already divert to TG!) I just posted my reaction to your original post. Sorry. You are shooting what I shoot, and following Ashby's advice I get plumb pass-throughs on broadside elk even with ribs in and out. Scapula is another matter, and that's what the good Dock is trying to prepare us for. You're set, except for the fun part ... finding a willing wapiti! Dave

[Gator1]

Bow performance varies widely, one 46lb bow can shoot the same weight arrow as fast or faster than another 50lb bow
Isn't the real question about arrow weight abd FPS?????

If.

itdoesn't spit out a reasonable hunting weight arrow

Rather than getting hung up on draw weight it should be based on performance

Imo

[Dave2old]

Gator -- I agree, so long as you're talking about speed at heavy arrow weights. Problem with the trend in the past decade is the tendency, and industry encouragement, to get arrow weight down to improve speed. Decide the weight arrow you need, the compare bow speeds. My personal example is when, a few years ago, a shoulder injury from too much shooting forced me to drop from mid-60s to mid-50s bow weight, yet the newer bow, even 10 pounds lighter, pushed the same arrows 10 fps faster! So, yes, I agree: arrow weight plus speed is what we're after, but most of the emphasis on weight. Thanks for the clarification.dave

[String Cutter]

Didn't even think of that??? So if I go with a highR/d longbow??? Instead of an older type d shaped long bow??? I might be able to shave off a few more pounds and get away with it???/
Only thinking this cause I have a 60# Dwyer longbow on order and it's D shaped.... But, he also has one that has alot of R/D the dauntless... Think I could change it to the high R/D drop down let's say 3-4#s and get the same preformance???  My shoulders might thank me for it??

[Jesse Minish]

Hill said you could kill any thing in North America with a 40# bow and a 400 grain arrow. I am sure he knew what he was talking about.

[String Cutter]

Jesse what he said is true. I also can kill any game animal in the world with a .22 long rifle but I don't think it would be a very good idea to try?????

[dan ferguson]

My advise would be to listen to the guide, 28 yrs and 200 elk should be worth alot, and I know what hes talking about liking the snuffers or woodsmans. The eastern hunters I have hunted with are darn good hunters, you,ve hunted whitetails alot probably, If you can get up on them you darn sure can get up them elk, practise alot with what you have and you,ll get r done.

[Horne Shooter]

String Cutter, I've killed a couple of elk and a couple of hundred other animals.  If I had any advice, I would go back to the posts here from the fellows who have actually killed or at least SEEN an elk and go with what they say.  The rest are nice but (much like college professors) they are all theory and no practice.
Oh yea, and my opinion is that I would much rather see an elk shot in the armpit with a 47#er than shot in the guts with a 55.  If you can shoot your current setup with comfort and great accuracy then stay with it.  Oh yea and have fun!

[Bjorn]

To underscore what others have said my 49# ACS CX shoots a 650 grain arrow at the same speed as my previous 58# recurve did. Set yourself some objectives like: this weight arrow, at this speed, with this kind of accuracy. Rather than just reading the numbers written by bowyers and others.