Real light lb bows

[HcSmitty]

So i wanna hear about who shoots real light bows, say 45 lbs or less.  What all animals have u killed with them.  What was ur setup.  What was ur reasoning for shooting such a light bow?

[slivrslingr]

Just read an article in Bowhunter Australia where a 10yo killed a goat nanny with a 20lb longbow, heart shot at 7yds.  Article said the arrow was just hanging out the far side.  Not sure about the arrow setup, but whatever it was, it worked.

[pete p]

i remember when i was younger i got into a box of my dads old archery magazines from the late 60's-70's.   In the back of the mag where readers sent in success pictures it seemed that most of the guys back then were shooting deer with 40-45# bows.

[Matt Green]

shoot a 42 and 45lb bow. Reasons: i can hold better form, can shoot more without fatigue, shoulder surgery several years ago.
nicest kill was a 150lb 8pt last season - arrow is about 450grains with a magnus 4blade stinger out front.
matt G

[Rob DiStefano]

i see no reason to go down in bow holding weight unless prescribed by physical ailment, as long as that holding weight is in compliance with the hunting venue legal regulations, and is commensurate with the type of game hunted.

a 40# holding weight may be legal and fine for small game such as rabbits, or thin skinned game such as deer, but at the least will be questionable for other types of larger, thicker skinned and boned game.

add into the equation the most important part, the arrow - it must fly well, have a sharp coc broadhead, be of reasonable mass weight, and the operator (bowhunter) need to be able to consistently hit the mark under hunting conditions and at reasonable shooting distances.  better to have superior accuracy with a 45# stickbow than a 55# stickbow with limited accuracy.  all predicated by the game to be hunted, too.

if yer not physically challenged, it will pay to pack a bigger stickbow hunting punch.  won't take long to increase holding weight by 5 to 10 pounds, and if that deer 'jumps the string' and the broadhead hits in a less than desirable spot, yer chances of a good kill are increased.

jmho and ymmv.

[7 Lakes]

Killed a bunch of rabbits with a solid orange, fiberglass bow of no more than 15-20 lbs before I was a teen ager.  I loved that little bow, wish I knew where it is.

[Doug in MN]

If one is looking to drop weight, to improve form and accuracy it is a good thing.

I do still hunt with bows as heavy as I can shoot accurately. Which in my case is about 60#'s at my 30” draw.  I also know as I age that will decrease at some point in time.
What limits me the most is a bad neck and shoulder from a motorcycle crash.

Some of the bows out there do get a great deal of performance for a lower weight. If and when I do go to lower weight bows for my hunting bows. Those bows will be one of these A&H ACS come to mind as well as the Centaur.

As stated on this site many times; perfect arrow flight with really OMG they are sharp broadheads out front is essential.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by HcSmitty:
So i wanna hear about who shoots real light bows, say 45 lbs or less.  What all animals have u killed with them.  What was ur setup.  What was ur reasoning for shooting such a light bow?

There was a point in time when 45# was the norm for whitetail hunters for one reason, because it worked. These days folks seem to think whitetails have Kevlar for hide and rebar for ribs.      

My paternal grandfather hunted with a recurve pulling 42# @ 26" with 400-something-grain aluminums and 3-blade glue-on heads. He killed a lot of deer in his life, and rarely ever kept an arrow in a whitetail -- in one side, out the other. It worked just fine then; it still works just fine now.

Get it sharp, get it flying straight, get it where it belongs. The rest is just hair splitting.

[71flh]

All states have a minimum weight for big game animals. In Washington state that weight is 40lbs.

 When young I too shot high poundage bows, I now shoot 40lb for deer and 50 for elk. I do have a 57lbs self bow that I made this year but have yet to hunt with it.

My point is that as we get older we start to lose muscle mass and it is not as easy to shoot a higher weight bow with the same accuracy. A well placed arrow is much more effective from a lighter bow than a not so well placed from a heavier bow.

Many of the folks in our area that have been hunting as I have for 40+ years have gone to the lighter weight bows with excellent results.

[Night Wing]

Texas does not have a minimum weight poundage for bowhunting.

I have two bows and you can see in my signature the poundages they are, what size aluminum arrows I shoot, the tip weight of these arrows, the overall weight of these very heavy aluminum arrows and the GPP (grains per pound) they are for each arrow.

I shoot light poundage bows because I don't take a shot over 20 yards and these poundages will easily dispatach whitetail deer, mule deer, small feral hogs, and javelina. These are the animals I primarily bowhunt.

For my broadheads, my 37# bow shoots a 145 grain STOS 2 blade broadhead and my 42# bow shoots a 160 grain 2 blade STOS broadhead. When I was much younger, I shot Bear Razorheads.

So; light poundage bows, heavy arrows, scary sharp 2 blade broadheads, 20 yards or less for the bowshot and waiting for a broadside shot where I can take out both lungs on a pass through shot has always worked for me during my 46 year bowhunting career.

I might add, my pass through shots are classified where the arrow enters the deer, exits the deer on the opposite side where the arrow is still in flight in the air until it hits the ground.

[primitivealltheway]

i hunt with 38 -43 lbs longbows and recurves,for deer ,turkey,rabbits nutters and have no problem ,but if i was going to hunt big ol nasty hog ,i would go 45-48lbs ,i have killed alot of game with light weight ,had a very sharp 2 blade head on and my arrows are right at 10gpp,i also shoot light weight cause i can ,your realease has got to be good ,cause you dont have alot of tension on the string ,plus i can shoot for a good 4 hours non stop and not get tired,hey nightwing thats the same broadhead i use ,its hard to be that stos when its scary sharp

[RonD]

I shoot a Beeler 56" Tracker longbow (short to some)41#@24" but am drawing 44# at my actual draw length. I shoot a light weight bow for medical reasons. Earlier in the season I killed a hog around 120lbs. with my longbow. My setup is 26" 1916 XX75 Camo Hunter shafts, three 4" parabolic feathers, uni-nock system with X-nock, aluminum insert, and a 250 gr. broad head. FOC is 22% and I keep my shots to 12 yards or less. Brace height is as low as I can get it and still function optimally (BH = 6 3/4"). And yes, the broad head is very sharp. I have had to do a tremendous of fine tuning in order to be able to hunt both effectively and efficiently with my setup. Dave Beeler and Tim at Braveheart Archery have been very helpful in achieving my hunting goals with this bow. If I am correct in my measurements my gpp is a little over 13 gpp.

[Killdeer]

I hate being referred to as u. Makes me feel cheap.

I killed a doe fawn with a bow pulling maybe 42 pounds at my draw. Spined her at 25 yards, and followed up with another arrow. Both stone points made holes in two vertebrae.

Killdeer

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Hunt with what you are comfortable shooting and make sure your arrows are tuned well/broadheads sharp.

I hear stories of pass through shots on deer with 40 lb bows all the time. One guy shot a 200 lb buck with a 40 lb recurve and old thunder head screw in broadheads. Yep they were not cut on contact.  Zipped right through the deer. 18 yards broaadside shot!

I am not recommending any type of broadhead or bow. That would be soliciting. I do however recommend becoming a proficient shot and make sure your arrows are perfect.  Keep your shots ethical, learn how to track and you will recover almost all your game! (unless coyotes beat you to it).

Good Luck!

[Rob DiStefano]

one thing for sure, i would NOT advocate the use of really light holding weights for trad bowhunting any critters.  

it's one thing if you really know what yer doing, and completely another if you don't, particularly with concern towards newbies.

use the heaviest holding weight you can accurately shoot under hunting conditions.

[RonD]

Rob, I agree that people need to use the heaviest holding weight they can shoot accurately. But some of us are not able to do that and we have to work doubly hard at creating and tuning a setup that will allow us to hunt as effectively and efficiently as possible. Shooting the 120 lb hog was no doubt pushing the envelope as far as hunting hogs go. Normally the ones I shoot are in the 70 to 80 lb class but I had to find out what my setup would do on the larger hogs. On the hog I shot the arrow entered just behind and slightly above the elbow on the left side and exited on the right side. The one thing that bothered me about the shot was that upon exiting on the right side the broad head hit the right elbow and stopped. He ran a fair distance before expiring, but there was plenty of blood to follow. I suppose people could say that I just got lucky and they may be right, but I like to think it was the result of a lot of hard work tuning and practice. I made a mistake on my previous post (edited it) concerning the draw weight and draw length, which is 41#@24" while I actually draw a little over 25". One thing I didn't mention about my setup is that the bow is cut to center allowing me to shoot a wider range of spines.

[Rob DiStefano]

ron, in my posts about this subject i've always said use the most holding weight you physically can, to meet any legal bowhunting requirements.  

nothing wrong with a 40# stickbow for deer hunting if that's all you can muster with consistent accuracy.  

however, imho, light holding draw weights make for more critical bowhunting, with more care required, and less of a margin for error.

[randy grider]

Spike buck with a Treadway Black Swamp longbow 56"  ,43# @ 28". I draw about 27" so i figure 40# at my draw. Excellent little bow that I can shoot all day and not get tired.Its more than enough.

[legends1]

Hi,Merry Xmas!This is Debbie Rash at Legends Bows.I have shot alot of big game with a 35# bow.I have never had any problem.My shots are within 25 yrds.Most have been at 15-20yrds.My arrows are Axes and are 480grns.and a very sharp 2-blade head.Pick your shots and put it there.You just need to hunt smart within your personal effective range.California dosnt have a weight requirment,its guaged by the cast of the arrow.You can see some of my trophies on our website in the "Trophy Room" that i have taken with this set up.Everyone enjoy your Xmas,and have a wonderful New Year!

[Paul WA]

I am 62 and my go to bow is a 66" 40# ILF recurve( Hoyt riser with TradTech carbon limbs ) my carbons are 425gr 31 1/4" with 190gr up front, my Grizzly BH's are hair splitting sharp and I would not hesitate to shoot anything huntable here in the NW...PR