elk help please

[j yenney]

So, Are you saying that if your a female or young adult, you should not be hunting elk?? Because this is the scenario so many times. I'm a little sensitive on this subject, because I know a woman that is a very respectable elk hunter and has been pretty successful. Once after killing an elk she was talking to a man that is a well known elk hunter and he absolutely crushed her by telling her that She shouldn't be using a recurve #1 and#2 her 45# draw weight is way to lite.(in a very rude way). The problem is that people, that have never even shot or even been around elk have no idea what there talking about. I guess to end this respectful conversation my thought is that 45# is enough for elk, but as always that's what makes sites like this so much fun is people always DISAGREE.

take care

[BigArcher]

I think that the original question is a fair one.
It is great to hear all the opinions and experiences that have formed those opinions. Some really good points.
My first response is that in this state it is 45# minimum  measured at 28 " or less.  Basically the shooters draw length.
Second, I agree with shooting a comfortably strong bow.  It should be 1st be legal, then accurate and finally as powerfull as you can handle without affecting accuracy or hurting yourself.
I shoot 80 to 90 #'s and my daughter shoots a 50@28 which puts her at 46 to 47#'s.
I feel both set ups will work.  Mine set up might do better on a back bone or shoulder bone hit.  But thats not what we're trying for.
So a good shot from either set up will work.

BigArcher

[j yenney]

Well put.

[wingnut]

Well the matter of "has it ever been done?" is a poor argument IMHO.  Sure people have killed moose with 40#s but it that the bow you would or should be hunting with?  Last year I had a shoulder injury and hunted elk with a minumum weight bow.  I had a oppurtunity at very close range that I normally would have taken with my normal setup.  I passed and waited for a better shot.  Well that didn't happen either.

I think this issue is actually dead though.  The fellow asked and was answered.  He's building a heavier bow for his friend.

Mike

[Rik]

My wife has killed several bulls with a longbow, and two that most rifle hunters would consider the absolute bull of a lifetime.

She hunts with what I would consider the bare minimum for elk, and trains all year with weights to make sure she can do it.

Her longbows are 52 pounds at her 26" draw length, and the arrows she killed her bulls with were 600 grains and 625 grains fir or compressed lodgepole pine. The 625s perform the best.

She has never put a broadhead through the skin on the far side of a bull. Her LONGEST shot has been 15 yards (only six yards from where I was hiding and calling the bull) .

All arrows have penetrated both lungs, except for the largest bull elk I have ever called in, and she hit him square in the shoulder, totally broadside at 10 yards. That one stopped at the shoulder blade and after bolting about 100 yards, he continued to bugle at us.

If I found someone in the mountains hunting elk with a bow under 45 pounds, I would probably take it from him and-----with all due respect and as kindly as I possibly could,-----tell him to hike back to the trailhead and head home. Such bows are illegal here in Idaho for good reason.

I would ship the bow to him, and send him the best information I have on how to put on muscle and strength, and heck, I would probably even invite him out to pack in with my llamas and hunt elk the next year, but only if he put in the time and effort to build the strength to shoot an elk-weight bow well.

Simply put, for the sake of the animal that represents the very essence of wild county, you don't hunt elk with .22s, and you don't hunt them with 40-pound bows.

50 pounds with great accuracy and a heavy arrow? Now you're talking elk!

[Deff]

Personally, confidence in my elk hunting equipment starts at about 60lbs.+ draw weight.  It takes quite a bit of oomph to penetrate both lungs on an elk! -- and the shot never seams to be quite as perfect as you had hoped.
However, I would never advise anyone not to go hunting just because they cannot pull that much weight.

Years ago, a friend killed a bull elk with a 40 lb. recurve and old economy cedar arrows with Bear Razorheads that had been gathering dust for 30+ years --- I'm sure he wouldn't recommend trying that now -- but it has been done!  

My advice would be:
 Shoot the heaviest bow that you can shoot accurately (accuracy trumps brute force any time).

Maximize penetration as much as possible:

 Optimize the bow  for best performance with a low stretch type string (if approved by mfg.) with no more crap hung on it than necessary to take the "twang" out and to nock the arrow.

I prefer at least 12 -13 grains arrow weight per lb. draw wt. and narrow two blade broadheads (razor sharp).
Arrows must be tuned for near perfect arrow flight. High FOC balance as Dr. Asbey recommends probably a good idea.

Then hunt hard and most of all -- GET CLOSE!

[blueslfb]

I find this line of discussion very interesting b/c I am preparing for my first elk hunt.  In my chosen profession we have a saying, "prepare for the worst and hope for the best."  I have used this while preparing to hunt elk.

In this day and age no one wants to here the word "NO!" or that they are doing something that is wrong.  Simply put if someone chooses trad equipment they need to understand that their setup may not be the best choice for a specific animal and listen to those that have been there done that.  We all know that nothing goes according to plan 100% of the time and it is these situations that we as hunters need to prepare for.  So if you need to wait till next year to hunt with a heavier bow do it or choose another weapon to hunt with.  That is the choice we have all made by choosing trad equpiment and we all need to understand that there are limitations. Just my three or four cents.

[Richie Nell]

Well said...Rik, Deff and Blue

[T. Downing]

Very well said Rik,Deff and Blue. Words of Wisdom. Good ol Milt made me up some beautiful 600+grain arrows just to address the fact that I am hunting one if not the toughest animal in the lower 48 to bring down with a bow. I think it is always good to remember that you have a 50% chance of hitting bone when you release an arrow at an animal. Elk bones are big and strong, you really want something that will punch right on through. The way we take an animal's life should be considered here. The most humane way possible. T