Would you hunt elk with???

[ron w]

Just asking for opinions,and I'm sure I'll get a few...lol! Would you hunt elk with a bow that draws 50-52# and shoots a 575 gr. arrow. Shots kept to 25 yards or less. Also I would be use'n a 2 blade broadhead. Just wondering about this set up!!!    Thanks........ron w

[BUFF]

no... Many would but you asked if "I" would and I would not.

[just_a_hunter]

If your arrow is tuned and flies true, absolutely....

Todd

[Roy Steele]

Sure
 DEAD IS DEAD NO MATTER HOW FAST YOUR ARROW GETS THERE

[BMG]

no.

[longbowman]

Sorry, but no way regardless of tune.

[nurayb]

It would do the job, but like Buff I would not.  That is on the border line in my opinion.

[Arrow4Christ]

No hesitation. My father's elk last year was killed with a 52# recurve and 480 grain arrows. The bull turned at the shot and the first arrow was a shallow hit right behind the shoulder, the broadhead was literally wedged between the shoulder blade and the ribcage. This shot turned out to be non-lethal, but he took another shot, fearing that he had hit one lung, while the elk was facing straight away. This one completely penetrated the ham and made its way a good 3/4s into the chest cavity. I thought this penetration was extremely impressive. One thing to keep in mind though is dad draws 32", so that certainly helps his bow performance    It's more important, IMO, to get your arrow tuned perfectly than to pull a lot of weight or shoot a really heavy arrow.

[Ghost Dancer]

No, elk are big tough animals and anything less than a perfect hit with that weight is a lost animal.  

Can you kill one yes, would I hunt with one ... no!

An extremely reputable bowhunter, bowyer and lifelong elk hunter has told me despite what you read and hear elk, should not be hunted with anything less than 60 lbs.  He has seen a very high percentage of lost animals over the years due to guys hunting elk with their deer hunting rigs.  

You only hear of the success, but the lost ones are well kept secrets.

BTW, there may be a 400 lbs difference between the two, and the chest width of an elk is 2x that of a deer.

[cacciatore]

I prefere to hunt elk around 65#,but kids and woman kill them with much less.In your case everything has to be perfect.At the end shot placement is the most important factor.

[NDTerminator]

Never have had the chance to hunt elk with a bow (have bumped a big bull off with my 338), but based on what I have done over the years with bow I would be completely comfortable up around 60 lbs at my draw length with one of my TD recurves (amazingly enough, I have a set of limbs that will give me 60# with my CM H2).  With a 575 grain arrow & good 2 blade, at 25 yards I have no doubt it would bury to the fletching...

[Ragnarok Forge]

Not to ding anyones opinion here, but I am noticing that the guys who hunt where elk live are saying yes, and the guys who don't are saying no.  Having lived and hunted where elk are abundant all of my life, I know a lot of folks who have done it with less.  Not reccomended mind you but it has been done.  Lighter set ups demand perfect shot placement.  Nothing is worse than wounding and loosing an animal.

I hunt with a 55 lb longbow and can tell you that a 575 grain arrow will work just fine.  I will also say that shooting at 25 yards and under, a much heavier arrow will penetrate far better, and won't have that much different of a trajectory.  

My elk arrows are 684 grains and optimized per the Ashby reports.   If your keeping it at 25 yards and under, I would set up some heavier high FOC arrows for the hunt.  

The key is to stay calm, keep your shots at 25 yards or less, and don't take iffy shots.  Slighty quartering away or broadside are the only shots to take. Make sure your arrows are tuned perfectly and don't get excited and take a long or bad angle shot. Elk are tough and will travel for miles if hit wrong. Hit them in the boiler room, and they will run 60 to 150 yards and expire, and then fun is over and the work begins.

No 2 inch wide, super steep angle heads.  They will be stopped dead by a hard hit on a rib.  

American Indians killed millions of elk with 30 to 40 lb bows.  You can definately kill one with your set up.

[SteveB]

I killed a mature cow elk with a 53# at 28", 420gr carbon with sharp Silvreflame bh. Clipped the scapula nearside. broke rib, then off side rib and buried in the offside leg.

[BMG]

Originally posted by Ragnarok Forge:
Not to ding anyones opinion here, but I am noticing that the guys who hunt where elk live are saying yes, and the guys who don't are saying no.  Having lived and hunted where elk are abundant all of my life, I know a lot of folks who have done it with less.  Not reccomended mind you but it has been done.  Lighter set ups demand perfect shot placement.  Nothing is worse than wounding and loosing an animal.

I hunt with a 55 lb longbow and can tell you that a 575 grain arrow will work just fine.  I will also say that shooting at 25 yards and under, a much heavier arrow will penetrate far better, and won't have that much different of a trajectory.  

My elk arrows are 684 grains and optimized per the Ashby reports.   If your keeping it at 25 yards and under, I would set up some heavier high FOC arrows for the hunt.  

The key is to stay calm, keep your shots at 25 yards or less, and don't take iffy shots.  Slighty quartering away or broadside are the only shots to take. Make sure your arrows are tuned perfectly and don't get excited and take a long or bad angle shot. Elk are tough and will travel for miles if hit wrong. Hit them in the boiler room, and they will run 60 to 150 yards and expire, and then fun is over and the work begins.

No 2 inch wide, super steep angle heads.  They will be stopped dead by a hard hit on a rib.  

American Indians killed millions of elk with 30 to 40 lb bows.  You can definately kill one with your set up.

I guess living at 7500 feet in what amounts to the southern rocky mountains isn't Elk country?  We've got more elk than WA.

[Randy]

First elk I shot was with my longbow at 53#. My total arrow weight was 550. Shot it with a 125 grain 2 blade Zwickey broadhead. She only went about 100 yds before falling over. I was able to watch her the entire time. Second elk was shot with a 60# longbow. Same arrow setup. He went less than 100yds in the aspens. I was able to watch him also the entire time. He laid down and it was all over in 9 minutes. The bottom line is your bow will do fine so long as the broadheads are sharpe and you can shoot it accurately. Good luck.

[Orion]

I've killed a few elk, not a lot.  I think 50# is marginal.  Can it kill an elk, sure.  Something 5-10# heavier would be better, IMO.

[Ghost Dancer]

Since I don't live in elk country and am in the planning stages I would not want to risk losing an animal if presented with the shot due poor equipment performance.  

You might only get one chance, and due to the expense and time incurred, you might not ever get another chance.  So, my viewpoint is to maximize my hit potential, but then again I use 60 lbs for deer for the same reason.

Many westerners use light cartridges to hunt elk and do fine, but would I spend over $5,000.00 and take anything less than a 60 lbs bow or a 30-06?

[Adrian Farmer]

You might be interested in reading the latest reports from Ed Ashby that compare the penetration performace of a 40 lb bow, with a well designed arrow, to heavier bows in the 70-80 lb range. The bottom line: arrow design is perhaps most important.  Go read the reports, then re-think you arrow design (which two blade broadhead?, which shaft?, etc).  After having successfully hunted elk for more that 30 years, I would say you will be OK.

[George D. Stout]

Yes.  If you are drawing full draw and getting perfect arrow flight, it will kill quickly; quicker than a 60 pound drawn to 26".  You need to look at the complete dynamics, not the numbers written on a bow.

If you asked that question about a sixty pound bow, few would disagree with you, even though they don't know anything about draw length, accuracy, etc.

[Ray Hammond]

Clay,

Unfortunately, in many cases, non residents have more experience hunting elk than residents of western states.

False assumptions are sometimes easy to jump to.

I would not do it, but then I don't have to either, since I shoot heavier than that.

I'd bet there's someone who will come on here and talk about their 13 year old who did it wiht a 35 lb at 17" draw bow and a 327 grain arrow.