Light weight bows and penetration?

[Rob DiStefano]

ALL of these "lightweight" bow threads end up in the same place.  ethics.

the issue at hand is all about the bowhunter, not so much the tackle.  there is range of personal limitations, and you either fall in or out that with regards to your chances of a good kill.  

and even if you are the expert trad bowhunter, the value of luck increases as your tackle becomes more marginal.  feeling lucky?  

i can see where some folks absolutely need to use lightweight bows if they wanna bow hunt - but not anyone else who can/COULD handle bow holding weights commensurate with the game they hunt ...      

[Boneyard Bowhunter]

I have shot quite a few deer with my 45# bow 42# at my draw. I use 35-55 carbon arrows with 4 blade Zwickey 125 heads. I usually get a pass threw if I don't hit the front leg bone on the way out. Shot placement is more important than bow weight.

[2bird]

I logged on to ask basically this same question... I shoot a 40# lb and I use it for 3d and am very accurate with it to 30 yards. I shoot perfectly bare shaft tuned carbon express predator 2's with a 85 grain points. Total arrow weight is 332 grain. They shoot around 170 fps. How will this work for deer 20 yards and in with a razor sharp 85 grain 2 blade bh?

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by 2bird:
I logged on to ask basically this same question... I shoot a 40# lb and I use it for 3d and am very accurate with it to 30 yards. I shoot perfectly bare shaft tuned carbon express predator 2's with a 85 grain points. Total arrow weight is 332 grain. They shoot around 170 fps. How will this work for deer 20 yards and in with a razor sharp 85 grain 2 blade bh?

if you've got the accuracy, good arrow flight, and sharp coc heads, then there's the potential for pass thru's.  

however, hunting is totally diff'rent than playing the 3d game.  lots will also depend on yer aiming method.

[2bird]

I shoot gap and my largest gap is 7"s out to 27 yards

[Blaino]

2bord/wheels- a LOT of deer have been killed with 40# bows. That is well stated..... Realize that there a lot of people that tell you all kinds of BS from behind a keyboard that have never came to full draw on a deer much less killed one with a trad bow....  Hit'em in the right spot with a sharp broadhead and you SHOULD be getting passthroughs period.

People try to make 2 sticks and a string more complicated then it is.

Sorry but  

[Wheels2]

"People try to make 2 sticks and a string more complicated then it is."
How true.  Never the less, I want to put as much in my favor as possible.  Some things are obvious, like best possible placement, properly tuned bow and straight flying arrows, broadheads as sharp as possible, etc.
However, even with the best plains, things go wrong.  I don't plan for and expect best case scenarios.  Deer move as you shoot, unseen branches deflect arrows, yardage is misjudged, etc.
It has been my experience that "best case" is rarely what I experience.  I like to have a bit more than necessary for best case scenarios.  When it does occur exactly as planned, I am pleasantly surprised.

[Rob DiStefano]

it needs to be stated yet again - this isn't so much about the tackle as it is about the tackle operator.  

i can see some folks, mostly trad pilgrims, reading threads like this and thinking their 35 or 40 pound holding weight stick bow will work for hunting deer and hogs.  

thinking and doing can be very diff'rent things.  

add in the hunting venue during typical hunting conditions and there are a myriad of pitfalls lurking to make that shot on that deer just not happen well, if at all.  and things can get real messy if the game hunted is good sized hogs.  

marginal tackle with marginal skills = a prime cause of wounded lost deer, at best.

at least attempt to be the ethical trad bow hunter.  the average middle aged modern man shooting 35 or 40 pounds at his draw length can typically work up another 5 or 10 pounds in pretty short order, and have consistent accuracy, too.

know yer limits.  i'm lots older.  i can no longer be consistent holding 60 pounds of drawn string.  i can do 55#, but under hunt conditions me and my game hunted are way better at 50#.  and when the time comes, i'll drop further down in holding weight to stay in the hunt game, and be lots more careful about taking shots on deer and hogs.

i dunno, maybe it's all about our fast food society.  hope not.    

ymmv.

[Rob DiStefano]

if there ever was a reason to have more than one bow (do we really even NEED a reason?  :D  ), it's having 2 or 3 in varying holding weights.  

notice i always say "holding weight", not draw weight.  the weight labeled on stick bows is just a starting point, not an end point.  some are off by 5#, and if you vary yer draw length, so goes the holding weight at yer anchor.

i have a number longbows that range from 37 to 53 pounds holding weight at my 29" draw length.  this allows me to shoot a lotta arrows and to work into the heaviest bow for when it's time to get serious and hunt.  the lighter bow is also good for when i'm in "rehab" from an injury, which seems to happen all too often, these years.

would i hunt with 37# at anchor?  yes.  but only under certain conditions that i demand on myself.  

again, ymmv.

[Wheels2]

Well I got to shoot the new limbs today.  I am not nearly as consistent as with the lighter one.  No surprise there.  Shooting a few Judos, I did real well, but repeated rounds at a target left me tired and prone to form issues.  Looks like I need to keep shooting the heavier limbs and build my way into them just as I did the initial set.  It is an ILF bow so I can take them down about 5# to their base weight, which is just a pound over what I was shooting with the lower set maxed out.
Fortunately the same arrows still shot well at the higher poundage.  A fortune of shooting an arrow that was slightly heavy spined.

[Rob DiStefano]

rome wasn't built in a day - neither is going to more holding weight.  practice, you'll get there.  :cool:

one method of going heavier is to over draw past yer anchor point to yer ear, and hold for a few seconds.  do reps of 5, then 10, then 20 ... 2 or 3 times a day.  space the increase in reps over a few days.  you'll be amazed at how easy that extra 5# will feel in a week or less.