Light Poundage Selfbow Hunting

[Scioto]

Due to a shoulder injury, I am going to be relagated to hunting with a 42# selfbow next year.  Does anyone else hunt with a light poundage selfbow?

[bluegill]

Jay,

I had an injury 10 years ago and hunted with a 45# @28” hickory selfbow until I was able to build my strength back up. The bow was built as a last minute backup and was definitely not my best effort. It ended up with over 3 inches of set. Very inefficient to say the least, I used 125 grizzly heads and my total arrow weight was (550-575 grains). I killed 5 whitetails with that setup and had only one instance when I did not get a pass through and that was on a deer I hit in the spine.  

While I definitely prefer 55-60 #, It can be done you just have to pick your shots carefully.  If it meant the difference between bow hunting or sitting out the season I know what I would do.

Good Luck Sean

[wingnut]

I tell ya if it was 42# or bust, I'd try to get a higher performance bow then a selfbow.  I build selfbows and am proud of the performance we get out of them.  But a 42# Oracle longbow will shoot like a 60# selfbow.

Mike

[4est trekker]

You know, alot of game has been taken over the last several thousand years with "primitive" bows, and if you're able to do it humanely, efficiently, and consistently, then shoot with it.  Obviously there's a ton of information on here about maximizing your set-up, but 42# at an average draw length (28") will get the job done.  Ohio's hunting reg's say you need a bow of 40# minimum.  (They don't say at what draw weight you must reach 40#, but Nebraska says "at 28 inches or before.")

I only hunt with selfbows or unbacked board bows that I have made, and all are in the 43-46# range.  Nothin' gets my blood going like walking through the woods in a pair of homemade moccasins sportin' a homemade bow and a quiver full of homemade arrows.  Nothin', that is, except hittin' what you're looking at with that homemade tackle!       Spend a good deal of time getting those arrows matched and tuned to your bow and you'll be fine.