Selfbow Poundage

[Juniper Bow]

I am kind of new to traditional archery and am shooting a hickory selfbow that I made myself. With a draw wieght of 43lbs. @ about 28in. and heavey for draw wieght arrows would this be enough for deer hunting? My skill level will limit me to something like 15 yard shots. Of course, there is a big difference between a 1 1/2 year old whitetail doe and one of the big bodied muley bucks around here!
I would appreciate some advice, maybe it would be better for me to work up me poundage in the next 4-5 months, or look into getting a more modern bow? Thank you for your time, Juniper Bow

[Alex.B]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of good advice about draw weight and arrow weight with hickory selfbows from the crew around here. I can only tell you this: you don't have to get a more modern bow to kill a big body deer.

[Chuck Fawcett]

Juniper Bow. I too am shooting self-bows that I have made out of hickory. Mine is 62lbs, and the other is 53lbs. They really rip an arrow, and that is just shooting off my hand, I haven't even put a floppy arrow rest on them yet, too eager to try them out I guess ha,ha. I think your bow is more than enough for deer as long as you have confidence in your set-up and razor sharp broadheads I think that everything else will fall into place for you. Take care Chuck.

[Juniper Bow]

Thank you for your replies. It just seems that alot of selfbow hunters seem to prefer the bows of greater draw wieght.

P.S. Chuck, I am doing the same thing. In fact I was so excited at first that I didn't even finish sanding before I had to try mine out.

[Osagetree]

Plenty of weight at 15yrds. I have no doubt! Considering shot placement is good.

[Tree man]

How much string follow in that bow? Even if it is a lot  the bow is adequate  but if the bow is pretty straight or reflexed then you will have performance similar to a laminated bow of the same draw weight.

[Juniper Bow]

Actually quite a bit of string follow, about 1 3/4" if I am measuring it right. I have been thinking using some of the materials that I have laying around to make another bow with a little reflex, might work even better.

[Tree man]

1.75 is not a lot-it is in the normal range. I'd hunt with it in a heartbeat.

[Juniper Bow]

Like I said, I'm new to this. Thanks for the help.

[ringo64]

that is very small string follow for a hickory bow.... very.  if you make a new hickory bow, think about backing it, which will keep the string follow to a minimum.

[Juniper Bow]

When you say backing, do you mean wood (I have some backing strips of hickory), cloth (linen, silk, canvas) or maybe animal products (sinew, raw hide)? Maybe this bow has low string follow because the limbs are very wide. Also, on this bow I left a very thin layer of inner bark on the back of the bow, would this be sort of like a backing?

[nailbender]

No, the inner bark will not work as a backing. As a rule, cloth or fiber cordage backings will not prevent string follow, but are useful in keeping the back from raising splinters. If you keep to a single growth ring on the back, this is a minimal concern. Sinew or rawhide will help keep string follow to a minimum. If your bow is designed and tillered well, however, no backing should be required, especially with well seasoned hickory. If you do have any doubts, though, it is best to use some kind of backing. It will only add to the durability of your your bow.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Don't forget to check out the minimum poundage requirement for your state.

[Juniper Bow]

ringo64 and nailbender, I have alot of rawhide, thank you for the advice.
Jerry Jeffer, there is no minimium draw wieght that I can see in the MT regulations. The minimium arrow wieght and bradhead size is listed. Maybe a fellow MT hunter could correct me if I am wrong.

[jcs271]

Juniper you are correct,,,there is NO regulation on draw weight.  Good luck with your bow.

[Lost Arra]

I get the feeling that when discussing selfbows we  start to equate draw wt with efficiency. I would think not all 60# selfbows are equal when shooting a 10gr per lb arrow (see ABC Challenge).

Shouldn't we be trying to build the most efficient selfbow at the draw wt that we can shoot the most accurately rather than just building a heavier one?

Is an inefficient 60# selfbow shooting a 600gr arrow a more effective hunting bow than a hightly efficient 50# selfbow shooting a 500gr arrow?

[BryanB]

You definately need to follow the rules as regards to minimum poundage, however, has anyone ever had their long bow or self bow checked?  How would they even check it in the field?  If your bow had 45# or 50# written on the limb, would anyone except the one shooting it ever know?
Bryan

[Juniper Bow]

I can see what Lost Arra is saying. It seems as though draw wieght is not the best indicator of killing power. That brings up another question, would a better indicator of "power" be looking at just the arrow wieght and speed? Because really, if the same arrow is propelled at the same speed by both a 40lb. bow and a 50lb. bow, there is no advantage to shooting the 50lb. bow.

[Lost Arra]

Assuming you are equally accurate with both, the 50# bow would be delivering a 500gr arrow (10gr/lb) while the 40# bow would be delivering a 400gr arrow so there would be an advantage with the heavier bow. This also assumes that both bows are equally efficient which is not a given.

[nailbender]

Lost Arra is correct. If a selfbow is poorly designed or poorly tillered, it may pull 50# but only equal the cast of a 40# bow shooting the same weight arrow. Draw weight alone is not the true measure of a bow.