40# for hunting?

[gobblegrunter]

Hi all,
I did my best to search this out in past forums, and found a lot about 45# for hunting, but not 40#. I'm a wheelie-convert, new to "trad", and have a 40#@30in (my draw) ordered. I have tried/shot heavier bows and feel fine shooting them, but notice that my arthritic shoulder is sore afterwards. In addition, I've spent a lot of time "lurking" and observing posts from experienced archers advising new archers not to "overbow" themselves. I'm kind of a perfectionist, and want to have good form, learn to shoot properly, and also enjoy shooting without lingering discomfort. In addition, I want to still be shootin in my older years. All of this to say: in addition to being proficient,with good form, I also be able to ethically kill whitetails and an occasional hog. My theory is that accuracy = kills, not necessarily weight. Will I be ok hunting whitetails with my 40# bow and a decent 2-blade broadhead or should I plan on increasing my weight eventually? Thanks very much!

[R.W.]

Use a SHARP broad head, and be prepared to take only the "good" shots, at ranges under 20 yards.

Your #40 bow will do its job well, if you do yours.

Good Luck,

RW

[cbCrow]

If the broadhead is shaving sharp and you hit them in the right place yes that is quite enough for deer and hogs. A lady at the archery club took a 103 lb. doe last year with a 35# recurve and a stinger 2 blade head.

[koger]

What RW said, and use a scary sharp 2 blade broadhead with enough weight out front, 150-200 should do fine. I would lean to the 145 eclipse, teflon coated 2 blade. In shooting the same type BH, same weight on a new target, the teflon coated head went in about 5 inches more, slicker for better penetration.

[Builder]

Your 30" draw also helps increase the arrow speed.

[Al Dean]

Your 40#@30" will be equal to 45#@28" as far as arrow speed and penetration.  Have fun.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Get really close and aim true.  I would stay with smaller hogs.  Hogzilla might just throw that arrow back at you with light poundage.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Absolutely fine. Just make a good shot.

[Tyler2045]

That is the legal limit in Arkansas, so I guess you will be fine.

[gobblegrunter]

Thanks for the graet feedback already! The other thing is that I'm switching from shooting with my dominant hand (righty) with the wheelie, to shooting on the side of my dominant eye (lefty) with the longbow. Want to be sure that I can at least be accurate with the new hand, ya know? I'll make sure the broadheads are scary sharp, and hearing all of this will give me a bit of confidence with the new equipment. In a year or so, I might be able to increase poundage as well...if I can justify the $$ spent to the boss!  

[Gen273]

Sharp heads and shot placement is key regardless of pounds. I think for deer size game you will be fine.

[gobblegrunter]

Originally posted by Al Dean:
Your 40#@30" will be equal to 45#@28" as far as arrow speed and penetration.  Have fun.

Really? Thats great to hear if so! It was my understanding that increased weight only came with drawing the bow back further than it's spec weight at 28in. In other words, shouldn't 40#@30in still equate to less arrow speed and penetration than 45#@28in?
Thanks again!

[Bowwild]

An Olympic Archery coach I talked to earlier today advised me he knows several people who regularly hunt with recurves 30-40 pounds. I'll be hunting with 46 pounds. Like was written above; super-sharp broadhead, 2-blade for me, broadside and low angle from a treestand. A heavy arrow (500 grains) is recommended for the lower weight. However, my arrow will be just 424 grains.

[Lefty]

If you bow is 40#@28" then you should gain approx 2.5 pounds per inch which would mean your shooting about 45# at your 30" draw.  If your bow is 40#@30", then no you bow will not be the same as a 45#@28" bow.  However, the longer your draw the longer the power stroke and there is a gain there.  Each 1" of draw length will earn you approx 3 fps, so you 30" draw is gaining about 6 fps over a standard 28" draw length.  Each pound of draw weight gains you approx 2 fps, so if you bow is 45#@28", you are gaining approx 10 fps for the additional poundage, plus the additional 6 fps for the 2" draw length.
  So if you had two shooters shooting the same bow and it was 40#@28" and one guy's draw length was 28" while the other was 30", the 30" draw should be shooting that same bow approx 16 fps faster and the guy with the 28" draw length would have to shoot a bow that was 48#@28" to make up the performance gain.  
  Unforturnately all that gain can be thrown out with poor form, poor release or poor bow tuning.  
  Now for the original question.  Yes you can kill a deer with 40# bow, but unless you have a physical reason, I personally would try to increase my draw weight some, as my formed developed.  Shooting the bare minimum you can get by with, is never my recommendation.  The extra horsepower may not matter when everything happens as it should, but it will come in handy if things don't.  But, that's just my opinion.

[Wannabe1]

40# is the minimum for deer here in Oregon. It'll do just fine as long as your setup is tuned and your aim is true. Good luck and enjoy the hunt!  

[northern fisher]

I know more than a few poeple that have killed deer with 40# bows(clean kills,short blood trails).Sharp broadheads and proper placement.
 I was watching some YOU TUBE video of Ron La Clair yesterday and one of them was an interview from a show called "Yesterdays youngsters" and I'm pretty sure that he said his wife took a doe with a 30# bow.If I'm wrong I'm sorry but I thought that was what I heard and I can beleive it.
Maybe if Ron reads this he can assure you wieght is fine.

[ron w]

Put an arrow in the boiler room with a sharp head up front and you'll be fine.Keep your shots in your comfort range!!

[Mike Vines]

Like has been said many many times before.  Get it razor sharp, and put it in the boiler room, and you cant go wrong.

[DennyK]

You will have no problem with a heavy arrow and a sharp broadhead.

[Al Dean]

Yes 40@30 will be as good or better than 45@28.  You would be amazed at how much the arrow being on the string 2 inches longer adds to the power.
More energy is transfered to the arrow because the arrow is on the string longer.