Would you hunt elk with???

[Ray Hammond]

why does increased power REQUIRE you to be out of control? Where in his question does he say " don't tell me to shoot a higher weight because I can't handle it"?

[Bill Carlsen]

Fred Eichler killed the Super Slam of North American big game animals with a 54# Palmer. Think about it...draw your own conclusions.

[Arrow4Christ]

longbowman,
I shoot 68-70#@30" currently and I still think a good performing 50 pound bow with a perfectly tuned arrow and good dependable 2 blade broadhead would do a number on them    I think most penetration problems come from poorly tuned arrows. I've experienced this myself. I was shooting a 60#@29" Border recurve one year (before I gained another inch in draw) with 680 grain arrows, and I didn't take the time to tune them properly. I just watched them fly and said "Good enough". I shot a whitetail doe with this combo and failed to get penetration. I originally thought it was a shoulder hit, but thinking back on the shot I'm pretty sure it was just a rib. The arrow didn't make it past a puny whitetail rib! Now, I'm sure there are several reasons for this. I'm sure it was partly the slight wind, partly my bad form from being excited and shooting a bow that was too heavy for me at the time, but the arrow struck the doe in a good place, but nearly sideways. That's one of the reasons why I'm now a huge proponent of perfect arrow flight. I've since had arrows get complete penetration on whitetail vertebrae with only a 52#@30" bow and 420 grain arrows. Arrow flight is too often overlooked in the penetration equation  
Craig

[pumatrax]

I probably wouldn't take a shot(on an elk) with any weight traditional bow OVER 25 yards...whether it was a 50 pound bow or a 100 pound bow...too many bad shots are made beyond 25 yards...but at 25 or under; yeah I'd take it: if the angle was RIGHT...WOULD a heavier bow be better, PROBABLY if you can put the arrow where it belongs...

[joe ashton]

Fred Eichler hunts with a 53# bow for everything in N America... So yes..  I've killed 3 with 53.5#..  just pick your spot and only take the high % shots.. No different than any other hunter.  Just my humble opinion...Joe

[Ragnarok Forge]

Lots of good info and varying opinions in this post.  I am really enjoying it.

Key elements to a clean kill in my view are.

1. Put the shot in the boiler room
2. Perfectly tuned arrow
3. Optimized arrow weight and FOC
4. optimized cut on contact broadhead

1 & 2 are the most important in my view.  Arrow weight, FOC, etc.. are insurance to help make a quick humane kill on the animal.  A perfectly tuned arrow that is lighter can outpenetrate a poorly tuned heavy arrow. An optimized lighter arrow can outpenetrate a non-optimized heavier arrow.  The key is to optimize everything you can in your system to ensure a humane kill.

I agree with the earlier posts that worrying about bow poundage is low on my list of worries, so long as it meets the state legal requirements.  

Lots of guys can shoot 70 lb bows accurately.  I am not one of them.  I am far more accurate at 55lbs and a 30.25 inch draw length.  

I have seen it stated that 1-inch of draw length = 5lbs of bow weight.  I shoot 55 lbs at 30.25 inches with my bow.  That would be equivalent for arrow speed to 65-67 lbs at 28 inches for the same bow design and arrow weight.  The weight written on the bow is not an indicator of arrow performance.

[L. E. Carroll]

I spend considerable time chasing them..

Early season when it's warm and I'm dressed light... I carry and shoot right at 57-61# for elk.  

However, when it gets cold, below freezing... I start adding clothes.  when this starts along with the fact that the muscles and hands are cold, I have often dropped down to a lighter set of limbs [53#] I find I shoot the lower weight better in the cold.

I do use some foc and keep my arrow weight right a 10 gpp. and I use 160 grizley and 130 no-mercy single edge SHARP broadheads.

I have never felt under-bowed with either set up.

When I was younger I also shot the 70# bows, but with a lifetime of hard work and shoulder surgeries on both sides, those weights are no-longer an option... I refuse to let old age and it's complications, keep me from doing the things I live for !!

Besides I can hunt elk within 10 minutes of my home. Waayyy better than getting old in front of the TV. [ My wife says I'm a "Teenager With Wrinkles"]  

[Walt Francis]

Easy answer: Yes  

I have taken elk with both similar and less efficient setups.  Also, I have taken them using bows between 57 and 65#’s.  The one thing I have learned when shooting an elk (like most big game animals) where you hit them is a lot more important then how far the arrow goes out the other side.

[crazyhorse86]

Yes - I hunt with a 55 lb bow and 575 gr arrow, 175 gn broadhead.  I have several nice bows with heavier draw weights that i can shoot fine, BUT THIS IS MY MONEY BOW. Penetration doesn't matter if you don't hit the bread basket! Stick with the weight that will make you feel confident with your skills on the trail. (at least 50lbs legally here in Wyoming)

[ron w]

Thanks to all for your input.....I think I'm good to go with the bows and arrows that I have and hope to get the chance to hunt elk in the near future.......thanks again!!!    ron w

[oxnam]

Originally posted by Ray Hammond:
why does increased power REQUIRE you to be out of control? Where in his question does he say " don't tell me to shoot a higher weight because I can't handle it"?

Evidently I may have come across wrong.

My point was, everyone has a limit at which accuracy begins to diminish with higher poundages and they start losing control.  I did not imply that he was anywhere near that point or couldn't handle more.  My message was simply intended to be, don't let others talk you into being over-bowed.  

His proposed setup and similar ones have been proven effective on elk, but not what I would consider ideal.  And definately would not recommend it out to 25 yards.  It is adequate and I would not tell someone not to hunt elk because of that setup.

I figured that everyone would shoot on the upper end of their comfort level in the poundage range when hunting elk.  If am wrong in that assumption, and probably am, they should be shooting at higher poundages.  I am a big fan of shooting the most that I can be consistent with.  I like shooting heavier bows but life gets hectic and I can't always shoot everyday and sometimes I even miss weeks.  I can't do that when shooting 75-80#, that is why I shoot 65#.

[Builder]

The question was will a 50-52# bow shooting a 575 grain arrow be adequate for Elk? I suspect is would be. However, I am probably in the bigger is better crowd. Lots of opinions. I have been in conversations with gun hunters that won't hunt elk with a 30-06 or 308, they feel they need 338's or 300 magnums. I suspect they would say their wasn't any traditional equipment adequate to be hunting Elk. Lots of opinions.

[T Sunstone]

I shot a 5x5 bull this past September broadside at 29 yards and only got 16 inches penetration.  The hit was 6 inches behind the leg and about half way up the body.  Dead elk, but never found him.  I was shooting a well tuned Robertson long bow 63# @ 29 with 20/20 easton shafts with Wensel woodsman broad heads.  Next time I'm using 2 blades.

[ChuckC]

No. . . 60+ for me.  I don't care what others have done.  I won't do it.
ChuckC

[wingnut]

Yep, no problem!  Heck don't listen to Buff he wouldn't hunt itty bitty bunnys with less then 60#s.

I've hunted elk my whole life and yes I grew up hunting in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

I've killed elk with "all natural" bows that were in the high 50s and shot through everyone of them.

A modern glass bow in the mid 40s shoots the same arrow at the same speed.

heavy arrow, sharp broadhead, good shot!!

Go for it!!

Mike

[ChuckC]

If you are asking if a 50 pound bow is enough for  . . . you ain't Fred Eichler.   There is a lot more involved than just the bow and the arrow.
ChuckC

[ishiwannabe]

Ron, is there a minimum weight required in the state you would be hunting in? Thats the only thing I would worry about. The rest is putting the BH where it needs to be.

If you are going, best of luck.

[ron w]

ChuckC, Just ask'n for opinions,got a bunch, Never said I was Fred Eichler or anybody else!!

[moose eye levi]

Don't see any problem the indians did it with bows of less draw weight sharp broadheads and good shot placement will do a number on anything.

[BMG]

Originally posted by moose eye levi:
Don't see any problem the indians did it with bows of less draw weight sharp broadheads and good shot placement will do a number on anything.

while on horseback from a distance of 6-8 feet to boot.