Is 50lbs plenty for deer?

[RC]

I believe a fellow that shots instinctive will shoot good with a "heavy" bow. Of course he has to be able to draw it smoothly. A fellow that "aims" will have some trouble holding and lining up.Just my opinion.RC

[RC]

Personlly, I can shoot heavy bows but I hear stuff poping and cracking when I do and it ain`t the bow making the noise. Now I hunt with around 50-54lbs at 27.RC

[RC]

Might as well say this again...."I`ve never lost an animal due to bow lbs or broadhead design , the critters I`ve lost were due to poor shot placement".RC

[Guru]

Originally posted by RC:
Might as well say this again...."I`ve never lost an animal due to bow lbs or broadhead design , the critters I`ve lost were due to poor shot placement".RC

Same here

[2Blade]

Originally posted by RC:
Might as well say this again...."I`ve never lost an animal due to bow lbs or broadhead design , the critters I`ve lost were due to poor shot placement".RC

Great advice something ever bowhunter should remember.

BTW Curt read your article in the August edition of Bowhunter Magzine great read I really enjoyed it  

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by Guru:
I'd bet that guy wouldn't shoot a bit better with a lighter bow...he obviously has a lot wrong with his shooting....

Maybe, maybe not. I wasn’t there so I can’t say.

When I shot competitively, I used to go to about 50 3D’s per year. I can’t begin to recall how many folks I saw every year who drew several inches shorter than they should for their build, shook at full draw like a dog passing a herring bone, or snap shot simply because they couldn’t physically hold at anchor. If an archer is clearly overbowed, form and aiming are moot points—kind of a crawl, walk, run analogy.

What’s heavy and what’s light in terms of draw weight is an individual thing. There’s a guy down the road from me who shoots mid-70’s poundage with all the ease and control of a target archer using a 35# bow. And he hits 10 rings like he’s being paid for them. But for every guy like him I’ve seen, I have probably watched a half-dozen or more who could benefit from drawing less weight. If an archer can’t handle the poundage of their bow, they can’t control the rest of their shot.    

Back to the original question of using 45- to 50-pound bows for hunting….

It’s not a problem. As others have said, 45-pounds or so was average draw weight for whitetail hunters a few decades ago—before fastflight strings and carbon arrows—and that choice proved highly effective. My paternal grandfather shot a recurve pulling 42# at his 26” draw length. With a Dacron string, and 3-blade heads on 460-grain aluminum arrows (no front-loading, weight tubes, footings etc.) he routinely blew through deer with ease.

[2Blade]

Thats really refreshing to know that 50lbs or less will do the job even on a moose! I can say that makes me relax a little. I always thought if somehow I got to go on an elk hunt or something id have to shoot a 55lb bow or higher.

[George D. Stout]

I agree with Jason Wesbrock.  If you think it isn't an issue with a lot of hunters, let me invite you to Denton Hill and we will watch them  at the practice ranges.  To be sure, many folks can handle heavy bows, but there are a lot more who can't, and that contributes to struggling with accuracy, and we know what that can lead to.

I've been watching this sport for five decades now, and from my vantage point it is very clear to see that folks tend to buy bows that are too heavy for them to handle properly.  And RC...if they aim?  Surely you are kidding.  Everyone aims, and struggling to get to draw won't help anyone.

I will go as far as to say this;  there are guys who handle heavy bows very well....easily, for that matter.  However, there are many who seem to think it's the only way to go and they create more problems than doing good when it comes to new shooters.  My 50# bow drawn to 28" will be just as effective as a 60# bow drawn to 26"...probably more effective with power stroke and dynamic release.

When we get to citing numbers on the side of a riser, or limb butt, as the answer to performance, we are making a big mistake.  

If you want to shoot a heavy bow well, then work into it and shoot every other day, working on form and aiming process....whether that process is conscious or unconscious.  We aim, one way or the other, and must be able to shoot without struggle.  Guys who shoot heavy bows well, work at it.   Guys who want to hunt any game in North America with a 45# bow has history on their side.
Whichever you use, just be proficient at it.

[joevan125]

Jason and George that was very well put.

[BowHuntingFool]

I too wondered when buying my first longbow in 08' if 50# would get the job done, and it did with a complete pass thru later that same year!


 

[KentuckyTJ]

Great shot Joe, I be he didn't go over 80 yards.

[2Blade]

Beauty of a buck congrats.

Just talked to a guy I know who has one of the short Bear recurves like im looking at. He says with his long draw he doesnt notice any stack and he said its a real shooter.

[RC]

George with all due respect I was not kidding. I have several hunting Buds and we all shoot with different styles.One uses his point as a "sight pin" and holds a long time. Nothing wrong with it but if he were shooting a bow to heavy it would really hurt is accuracy. I DON`t aim. I pick a spot and never look at my bow,arrow only what I`m shooting at. If I`m shooting a bow a little heavy it don`t effect me as bad as it does him because I don`t hold at anchor very long at all.
  I have proven I don`t aim several times with friends by shooting candles in the dark when you could`nt see your hand in front of your face. I can do this consistent out to thirty yards. I may not hit`m everytime but close enough to prove my point.I know its a different topic all together but not everyone has to aim or gap to hit what they are shooting at. I`m not saying anything bad about it cause if I were`nt hitting my target I would do whatever I had to and if gap shooting worked i`d use it.


    Be honored to share a campfire with you and chase pork in the swamp sometime. maybe shoot some candles after supper....RC

[Guru]

Originally posted by RC:
 I pick a spot and never look at my bow,arrow only what I`m shooting at. If I`m shooting a bow a little heavy it don`t effect me as bad as it does him because I don`t hold at anchor very long at all.
   

Good point    

[jcar315]

Just to answer the original question: yes IMO 50# is more than enough for deer hunting

[Curtiss Cardinal]

I don't care what anyone else said you shouldn't hunt any big game animal with less than 60#.
Sure there have been thousands if not tens of thousands of big game animals harvest with bows under 40# if you have to ask you need to work out and build yourself up and not hunt at all. Work and work, year in and year out until a 60# bow is easy for you to shoot. Then and only then can you even start to hunt deer. BUT then only with 12 grains per pound of draw weight with single bevel two blade heads on front loaded carbon arrows with at least 200 grains up front. You also have to religously follow the sol-lunar tables and have to set your camp up with a fung shui lay out especially in the direction you head is pointing while you sleep.      

[SlowBowke]

"I don't care what anyone else said you shouldn't hunt any big game animal with less than 60#."

DAng Im SLOW......I almost replied to that in earnest! LOL

Whew......

ROFL

The bdeer in my avatar was shot with a 48@29 Sarrels recurve this past season. He was over 200# live weight. I also shot another P&Y buck that was over 200# last year with the same bow. I draw about 28.5 so I was pulling about 46# on that bow. I have also taken several pigs and turkeys with that bow. It will work fine.

Bisch

[tarponnut]

C2 that was hilarious, I was almost fished in!

[Hawkeye]

Killed four deer this year with a 47#@29" recurve.  Used Woodsman and Simmons Tree Shark broadheads weighed up to 250 grains on A/D Trad Lite shafts.

Three were complete pass throughs, the fourth (Simmons head) hit about 5" higher than I intended.  Cut the spine and spinal cord COMPLETELY in half and still took out the far side lung.  All were very effective in performance.

In my book, yes, 50# is enough for deer.

Daryl