longbow weight

[nhbuck1]

Hey guys im going to be ordering a thunderchild, i wanted to know what draw weight to get. I am a deer hunter and would like this bow to be versatile. I have a 50 lb recurve now i was thinking the 55 pound or should i go heavier?

[Shadowhnter]

Im just curious as to why you bumped the thunderchild to be, up to  55lb over the 50lb recurve for deer?

[nhbuck1]

i have bear in the area to as well and thinking of taking bigger game, i dont know if it will be the same weight or feel the same with a longbow

[SKITCH]

Hard to answer a question like that. It is totally dependent upon your personal strength and ability.      
If you are comfortable with heavier go for it.  50# or 55# will easily do the job on any deer if you hit the right spot.

[damascusdave]

The best person to ask that question is Big Jim, either by calling him or private messaging him on here...my guess is that the Thunderchild might actually shoot faster at the same draw weight as your recurve

DDave

[MnFn]

I would not hesitate to hunt either deer or bear with a 50# bow.  If elk or moose are on the list,  I would want a little heavier bow.

I guess everbody is different;  I can shoot 50 to 53 lbs fairly easy, anymore weight and I have to work at it.

I know a hunter that has killed 5 or 6 elk with a 52@26" Schulz longbow and cedar arrows.  My bows are mostly in the low 50s at 26" as well.  Iowa deer are no match for them.  A Thunderchild is a faster bow.  Regardless, if you should happen to draw a moose tag with either a 50 or a 55 pound Thunderchild, it would still not be such a bad idea to make some moose specific arrows.

[David Mitchell]

I had no problem taking a nice bear shooting 48#.  You will be good with the 50# you are used to.  Personally I would not move up in weight. A 50# bow and properly matched arrows will do the job on about anything. You have to put it in the right place as is so often stated on here.  It's easier if it's a weight you can handle.  I have a buddy who shot clear through a big bison and the arrow skipped along the frozen ground on the other side.  He was shooting a recurve at 50#  at his 26" draw.

[elkken]

50 pounds is plenty of weight for deer and black bear, be careful not to over bow yourself. TC's are great bows, I had a 56" 49#@28 and it had NO PROBLEM killing deer ... very zippy little bows

[NEB]

Personally, I always shoot a heavier draw bow better if I can comfortably draw it to anchor.  I think the extra weight helps with stability and release.  With that said, I keep lighter bows around for shooting in cold temps.

If someone has a 59 pound 68" Hill style longbow that shoots a 510 grain cedar arrow 170 pfs and says that he going elk hunting, most would say good luck, go get  'em.   However, if someone says I have a 49 pound bow and I want to shoot an elk, there will always be those that say "NOT ENOUGH WEIGHT".   There are a lot of 49 pound bows that will shoot a 510 grain arrow 170 pfs.  A Thunderchild is was of them.

[drewsbow]

Shoot what is comfortable at your draw , if its a little more that's fine but don't over bow yourself.

[Petrichor]

I love fifty five. It will pretty much do everything.

[Longtoke]

I would stick with 50# myself, thats a good weight for target shooting as well as hunting. Although if you have lots of money to spare just buy both.

[acedoc]

Ordered a 60 lb ilf setup and own a 53 lb td longbow.

One question though - where is the tipping point from under bowed for game to ok for large game?

We have Mr Green working up a 100 lb or so longbow and guys shooting a 40 lb longbow. Different limb geometry like ACS and materials like carbon need not apply for now.
What poundage would you call heavy or light ?
Something akin to ul gear / heavy gear for angling.

[Terry Green]

Nothing wrong with 50 for deer or black bear...done been said.  Big Big game, or heavy shielded hogs...can be a different story.  Lots of folks have also WOUNDED elk with too light a bow also.

The more the better...IF IF IF you can shoot it.

I don't shoot that light as I never know what kind of hog I'm going to run into.....plus it's a little more insurance for deer n bear ...and besides I just shoot  em better.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

Normally I'm a guy who shoots 60#+ bows and have no trouble at those draw weights, but because of an injury unrelated to bow shooting I had to take a year off of shooting.  When I was healthy enough to shoot last summer, I bought a 35# recurve at a swap meet and once I was dominating that bow I bought a 45# Martin/Howatt Savannah.  I have decided to make that my 2016 hunting rig because I've got that bow and arrow combo tuned perfectly and I don't want to go changing things again.  I have no reservations about hunting deer and bear with that setup, but I'm probably gonna skip elk hunting.  Once bow season is over, I'm going to start working my way back up to the draw weights I was shooting in the past.  Unless I find someone who is willing to trade a 45# bow for a 55#'er.  

[acedoc]

Might take you up on that!