Hunting Elk& Moose under 50lbs

[straitera]

If you're a seasoned hunter, you know borderline equipment for reasons mentioned above. Simple enough to respect the animal your after. That means chosing the right shot with the right equipment. Newbes are here to learn from our experience. I sure wouldn't want to see a newbe after a record moose with minimal tools & technique. There'll always be exceptions to the rule. Doesn't mean they need to be promoted. Total respect for the animal will reduce likelihood of wounding w/o recovery. Great analogy...killing w/.22. Good input here.

[brackshooter]

I cant figure out why guys are always trying to find the minimum required to kill an animal?  There are just to many "what ifs" in hunting.  What if the animal steps when you shoot?  What about that limb you didnt see?  What if you misjudge the distance?  Nobody will say that you cant kill an elk with a perfect shot and a 40# bow, but there is a big difference between that and actually hunting with one.  I have had numerous shoulder injuries in the last few years from weight lifting and jiu jitsu, but I shoot everyday and have been able to get my poundage back up to an acceptable level.  I didnt do that for any macho reason, but to help make sure that an errant shot has a better chance of still resulting in a recovered animal. I think just about anyone can get to 55# with work and practice.  Do all you can for the animals you hunt, we owe it to them.

[buckeye_hunter]

I think threads like this are interesting. I'm planning on going up to 50-52 pounds because my elbow & shoulder are feeling much better. I don't, however, think I can go above that. I was hoping that 50-52 lbs and shooting accurately would leave me WELL within the "safe" perameters for hunting elk and moose someday. I do want to hunt both.

-Charlie

[Richie Nell]

As a wildlife biologist and whitetail bowhunting guide at bowhunting only Willow Point Island a few years back..I am speaking from a little experience.  I have mentioned this before, but I have seen countless bowhunters from all over North America come in with the fast, light, flat shooting arrow philosophy with no regard to mass or momentum.  This was simply due to not knowing.
The penetration of these arrows was consistently terrible.  It was terrible because they used light weight arrows. I know because I tracked these deer with dogs nearly everyday.  Some of the deer we would later find dead only because of dogs.  Some of the deer were found and killed by the dogs otherwise would not have died due to not receiving fatal penetration.  It was amazing the high percentage of shots that would not get good penetration.  
But hey...ya gotta have that fast arrow.
The other guides, however, used the same type high performance bows with heavier arrows and heavy broadheads.  They destroyed deer.

"While some think that someone shooting a lighter bow weight than they use is unethical"

I am currently pulling 69-70 lbs. because I want to use all the personal potential possible to harvest the animal even if the arrow hits the "not so perfect" spot.  If I practiced proficiently with 75 lbs. that is what I would hunt with.

James..I think your quote is usually the other way around.  It seems that the bow holders that physically can't pull the heavy bow are the ones that think and say it is not important for others to use heavy arrows or bows.  
Read the post..everyone has an example of how there light weight arrows passed through the soft tissue of (lung,heart,gut) of animals which I agree with.  Where are the examples of what their light arrows did when it didn't "hit the boiler room".  
There is some good real life research on this subject but that research doesn't come from a bow holder that can't a heavy bow.

"Some people always assume the bigger gun is always best when in reality it is not always the case."

If you are referring to bows..then yes I think generally speaking the bigger bow practiced with proficiently is better than the smaller bow practiced with proficiently.

[larryh]

orion, i wasn't comparing elephant to elk or moose and wasn't comparing moose to elk. i have killed around 45 elk, more than that of deer, and over 200 black bear from 250-500+ pounds.
elk hide is elk hide, elk ribs are elk ribs. never had any trouble killing cows or bulls with legal for wa. state bows. a 250# black bear is easy to zip an arrow through. so is one over 500#.
been there, done that, many many times.

[buckeye_hunter]

The original question:

"How many hunt elk/moose with under 50# and why?"

I am trying to get up to 50-52lbs comfortably. If that hurts, then I won't do it. I'm fairly sure I will be able to shoot 50# without pain. I'm not sure I would want to hunt a big animal with less than 50# and that is why my goal is 50-52 lbs.

That being said, I'm hoping that 50lbs, a sharp 2 blade head and a 600 grain arrow will get me out of the category of shooting a "questionable" set up.

I really never want to have that arguement.

-Charlie

[brackshooter]

Buckeye-

You may have already stated this, but what is your draw length?  That can make a huge difference by itself.  If I were you and had NO choice but to shoot 50#, I would make sure I had a razor sharp broadhead on about a 700 grain arrow, and keep the shots within 15 yards or so.  I think the momentum carried by that setup would move you a little closer to where you want to be.  Also, what type of bow?  A really effecient and fast setup can really change things as well.  Big difference between a 50# selfbow and a 50# ACS, Black Swan, etc...

[Orion]

Larry:  I wasn't comparing elk or moose to elephants either, just pointing out the speciousness in the statement that size of the animal doesn't matter regarding penetration.  It does.  The original question asked about hunting elk or moose with less than 50# (trad) bows.  There's a big difference between the size of a deer and an elk, and likewise between the size of an elk and a moose.  They get successively bigger, with thicker,tougher hide, more muscle, bigger bones, more body mass to penetrate, etc.   This isn't a matter of opinion.  It's fact.  Moving from deer to elk to moose, the arrow needs to become more efficient, pack more energy or momentum, whatever you want to call it, to get the same level of penetration.

[buckeye_hunter]

Brack,

I don't think I woud go under 50lbs for big animals and my elbow/shoulder can't handle much more. That is why I set my goal there. With a good comfortable long limbed recurve, I draw 28 and a half. I don't shoot an ACS, but a good modern recurve none-the-less.

-Charlie

[fireball31]

i have killed around 45 elk, more than that of deer, and over 200 black bear from 250-500+ pounds.  

[James Wrenn]

I doubt if anyone has ever killed as many bear with a bow as Larry.He does it the hard way too.Finds a track and follows it untill he gets to the bear and shoots an arrow through it.  

[Steve B.]

Brack finally said what I was hoping someone would bring up, the issue of bow efficiency.  This idea that there is some certain bow weight for such and such an animal is really flawed.  This should be as obvious as the point that  continues to be labored here that different draw lengths on the same bow changes the weight.

I know for sure that a big FOC, low weight, Black Widow recurve shooting carbons will be every bit as deadly as a heavy weight, but inefficient, selfbow shooting low FOC wood arrows.

I've also gotten bad penetration and lost a big  buck when my big FOC carbon flipped sideways mid-flight out of a 55# BW.  I later killed two elk with the same setup.  The first was with the controversial front quartering shot.  That arrow passed diagonally through the elk from behind the front shoulder and stuck in the far opposite rear leg.
The other elk jumped the string, shot forward like out of a canon, and the arrow hit far back but passed through like butter.

Point being, arrow flight is equally important.  With an 80# bow, who knows, maybe the buck would have died even with bad arrow flight.  With a 50# or lower BW I'm sure the elk would have died too.

[albertan]

Son and I have had great luck with 50# recurves (27 1/2" draws) on moose, black bears, whitetails and mulies. Have upped our setup now using carbon arrows, 100 gr inserts and 170 gr 4 blade Zwickeys.  Want more weight up front for greater penetration.  This setup flies GREAT out of our bows and am impressed with their performance thus far on targets and one decent black bear this spring.  I have always found that shooting this setup that many consider marginal, shot placement is key, and arrow and bow matchup, broadhead sharpness etc are all part of the equation for putting these critters down effectively.  Know one's own limitations as well!!  It can be done for sure.

[Bill Carlsen]

I believe the old adage is true...."Shoot the heaviest bow you can accurately".

[Gehrke145]

There's a lot of good info on this thread.  Anyone care to post there setups and number of kills.  I shoot 50 to 55 lbs (mostly 50 now) and 425-550 grain arrows for everything.  1 young elk (48 lbs titan 550 grain arrow) first arrow double lunged at about ten yards fletching caught the exit hole and a second that broke the femure at 45yards 260 grain griz up front, I have 22 other deer and hog kills with the same setup (425 grain arrows with snuffers and magnus 2)and get exits most of the time unless I shoot them tight 1/4ing away.  Anyway I tried to keep this short so lets here others setups and arrow weights, oh I'm back to the 425 grain arrows for everything.