Hunting Elk& Moose under 50lbs

[ChuckC]

I don't often see elk or moose under 50 pounds.  Typically only around June.

Must be a very difficult hunt.
ChuckC

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by ChuckC:
I don't often see elk or moose under 50 pounds.  Typically only around June.

Must be a very difficult hunt.
ChuckC

good one!  :D

[Herdbull]

Keep in mind you want to throw a heavy arrow, so your bow needs to perform as such.

[RickE]

I have the Easton Traditional Harvests and in it Eichler shoots a big cow Shiras Moose.  Guru is right, he's a big guy with a long draw length but I think I read or heard somewhere in an interview he was getting around 188-190 fps out of his setup.  Not super fast but still pretty fast.  I wish he would post more on here.    

I could be wrong on the numbers, but one thing that's true is that on the video he hits the moose in the front shoulder and shatters the humerus.  You can see right after the shot that she's limping on her left front and he shows the results of the shot after.  The bone is split right in half and you can see where the arrow passed through.  If I hadn't seen it in the video I wouldn't have believed you could do that with any 54 lb bow (compound or otherwise) no matter how far you draw it.  It's a real testament to great arrow flight and sharp, strong broadheads.  Pretty amazing and has sure given me a lot more confidence in my own equipment.  Rick.

[northern fisher]

Rob your 1,2,3, is damn funny I got tears in my eyes (pronto).Myself if I could not pull 50# I would not think of shooting at a Moose (Idon't have any elk so I can't comment on that).
A moose is about as big an animal as any of us are ever going to shoot at,short of a griz ,and how many of us are going there?Of coures we want to use as much wieght as we can and not be overbowed.That magic number is different for each of us(me 58# max,some guys 70#).what I posted earlier was what the Ont regs say.60-70# is a lot easyer for a wheely bow or crossbow than it is for me  

[elkslayer]

I just ran a Buffalo Stick from Rodney Wright and 40@28 52" 10 grains per pound it shot 160 fps. That would kill a ELK or Moose in my book.

[Biggie Hoffman]

So will a .22 bullet.

[Rob DiStefano]

topics like this are pie-in-the-sky pure theoretical nonsense that have nothing to do with the real world.  i sure hope newbies to trad bowhunting don't take any of this "light bow" stuff seriously ... maybe we should pull these kinda threads (and spoil my fun).  

sport hunters who wanna use mickey mouse tackle on truly big game are just not dealing with a full deck, they might as well go totally berserk and try using a bowie knife to take down an elk/moose.  then again, that ain't trad bowhunting, that's just nuts ...    :mad:

[ca]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
topics like this are pie-in-the-sky pure theoretical nonsense that have nothing to do with the real world.  i sure hope newbies to trad bowhunting don't take any of this "light bow" stuff seriously ... maybe we should pull these kinda threads (and spoil my fun).  

sport hunters who wanna use mickey mouse tackle on truly big game are just not dealing with a full deck, they might as well go totally berserk and try using a bowie knife to take down an elk/moose.  then again, that ain't trad bowhunting, that's just nuts ...     :mad:  

The truth !!!!!

[Richie Nell]

Maybe this is it.....maybe it all goes back to the fact that so many bow holders would never dare use a bow heavy enough to cause any muscle pain or build.
The same mind set says they must have a flat arrow trajectory coming out of their bow for 30-40 yards no matter what.  They can't stand the thought or appearance of a "slow" arrow coming out of their bow.  
When you put these two "Mickey Mouse" scenarios together the only option is to use a light arrow...and use that light arrow to hunt the biggest baddest animals in North America... with zero regard for errors in shot placement.  I think that is unethical and should be illegal.
Richie

[James Wrenn]

Most places tell you what weight is min for the animals you are hunting.They don't pull those numbers out of a hat.They use them because they have been proved on such animals.Hunt legal and learn when and where to take shots and you should have no problems with any game animal.Someone else has already done the research for you.It is a simple matter of checking the State reguations most times. jmo

[Guru]

I personally don't think these topics should be pulled, but I do think they should be answered with "real world"/"in the field" experience and taken seriously.....

Hopefully I'll live long enough......

If there comes a time that I'm 75 years old...or I get injured at some point of my life and I can only pull 45#, and get an opportunity to go on an elk hunt...it may be me that's looking for possible answer's to a question I might have about a lighter set-up...

Just like some of the guys here that have a deep down luv for hunting and want to do it as long as they can, or are maybe limited because of injury....

But for someone that's physically able to pull a more efficient weight, and chooses to go the extra light route....then there's no excuse for that....

Let's all try to help out...someday it might be us    

[larryh]

the physical size of an animal is not a predictor of resistance to penetration.
james wrenn has it right, obey the laws of the state you are hunting in, shoot a reasonable weight arrow with a sharp broadhead attached in the right place and the animal will die.

[TradBowyer]

"Just like some of the guys here that have a deep down luv for hunting and want to do it as long as they can, or are maybe limited because of injury....

But for someone that's physically able to pull a more efficient weight, and chooses to go the extra light route....then there's no excuse for that...."

not to stir the pot but realistically, if it is good for one guy, why isn't it good for the other one? double standard?

I think the main thing is that i feel people need to accept their limitations. If I live long enough that i can't hunt big game with an effective trad setup, i"ll be dropping the longbow and picking up the compound. If I get to the point that I can't shoot the compound, i'll pick up the crossbow. I love hunting enough that I"ll hunt as long as I possibly can regardless of weapon i have to use. No offense to anyone but I read articles in magazines about the case for light weight trad bows and almost always, the women and kids are used to emphasize the negative points of high minimum draw weights. THe way I look at it is regardless of who you are, if you can't shoot an effective setup, change your weapon choice. Again, not to be political or devisive but it just seems there is a double standard for youth and women vs "real men". On one hand, i've read where anything less than #55 and 700 grain arrows is asking for trouble but then I hear people arguing about how minimum draw weights will keep women and youth from being able to archery hunt. why is a lightweight setup good for some people but not others? If it works, it works...if it doesn't, it doesn't.

[DesertDude]

Curt....Bingo...I see alot of posts asking ALOT of question that I think are, well obvious to me.  Then I stop and think when I first started I just didn't know. This is One of the Best, if not the BEST forums to ask and learn. I have seen the BH/arrow weight question asked a thousand times. I saw a vidio on here where Tippit killed a bear with a stone point/wood arrow and 50# self bow and got a pass through. Time and time again we get asked if this or that bow/arrow/BH set up will work, I want to show them this vidio. Remember that Those of you who have been there and done that need to Teach/pass on what you have learned.  Take the time to pass on the RIGHT answer to the new/younger bowhunts that are asking these questions.

[Yolla Bolly]

An older hunter I know has cleanly killed more than 20 elk with his long-bow, cedar arrows, and sharp Zwicky's. When he let me shoot his bow--it felt lighter than mine.  Curious, I put it on a bow scale---49 lbs at 28 inches, and he draws an inch shorter than that.
However, he shoots darn near every day,  consistently hits targets at 30 yards that I miss at 20,  and won't shoot at game unless he feels sure of hit.

[James Wrenn]

THe way I look at it is regardless of who you are, if you can't shoot an effective setup, change your weapon choice. Again, not to be political or devisive but it just seems there is a double standard for youth and women vs "real men".  

The problem comes up because many do not agree what that effective setup really is.  That is where the State mins clear things up.

While some think that someone shooting a lighter bow weight than they use is unethical others think if someone can not shoot well enough to kill an animal with a weight the state aproves to be clealy enough, they might be a bit unethical.    Some people always assume the bigger gun is always best when in reality it is not always the case.

[ChuckC]

Jim (Wren) I actually am not certain I believe that fully (about the Game departments using scientific background to determine bow weight.)  If they did, they would give better parameters, such as an arrow weight / speed combo.  That makes sense,  bow weight does not, especially now.

They nearly all say 7/8" for a broadhead width.  I am led to believe that this is because Roy Case's Kiska broadhead was this size, Wisconsin bought into it, then the other states kinda said "what are you requiring ?" and the rest is history.

Even at that.... the States make the reg's and we have to follow them or change them.

I myself tend to agree with some here,  we keep looking for the "absolute least" I can get by with.  That doesn't bode well in my mind.
ChuckC

[Orion]

The physical size of an animal certainly IS a predictor of resistance to penetration.  Everything is bigger and tougher -- hide, bones, muscle, etc.  There's a reason gun hunters move up in bullet caliber and speed as they hunt larger critters -- to get the penetration they need to kill the animal.  If animal size didn't matter re penetration, we could all hunt elephants with .22s.

[James Wrenn]

Well Chuck of course I can't say what they do in every state.I can say here it was a long drawn out process determining to drop our bow weight 5 lbs a few years back.It was well researched in many open discussions.Ours is now 40lbs (trad bows, 35 compounds) which is more than enough for any animals that live here.I can only assume other States DNR guys work the same way.I think they know what they are doing.