Thoughts on 36# for whitetail deer

[David Yukon]

So why are we shooting heavy bows?? No seriously I shoot mainly 60#29( I draw 30) and I have a 72#@30.5
And now a 46#@28... And I'm sure that the lighter one would stil be a good bow for mosse up here. When i startedshooting back east, the minimum bow weight for big game ,was 45#, and that weight was said to do a pass true on moose... With of course the right arrow placement and real sharp BH.And mooses are a lot bigger than you biggest white tail deer or even muele!!

I think that if your are confident in your gear and your ability to place an arrow at the right place from your choosen shooting distance, I thin it will make the job clean!!

[Rob DiStefano]

all trad bowhunters should strive to employ as hefty a holding weight stick bow that can be controlled.  

so my question to you, jason, is what motivated you to start this topic?

[Ground Hunter]

When all is perfect - it will work perfectly.

[RC]

I`ve never used a bow of that weight hunting but....If I were for whatever reason forced to hunt with that much weight or little I should say I would do so. I would get a 2 blade no mercy scary sharp on about a 550 grain arrow and hunt.My range would not change because I seldom shoot over 15 yards. I would not hunt from a high stand or take close downward shots.I presently shoot 47@27 and get flack from some hunting Buds but I don`t mind...this year I`ve killed 3 times the critters they have.RC

[The Whittler]

I may be wrong ( ask my wife i am always wrong lol ) but I think Flyboy just wanted to know our thoughts on this, not that he was going to hunt with that weight. But then again.

[Big Ed]

I'll tell you one thing I am shooting 43 lbs. and have had a blast shooting critters this year. I agree with everyone else scary sharp two blade and keep your shoots reasonable.

[JamesKerr]

Jason in my opinion that is erring on the side of to light. I have seen deer killed with that poundage but you need a heavy arrow and a scary sharp 3:1 two blade broadhead. I would go up to 45# if you can. You will still need heavy arrows but you won't have to worry as much about a marginal hit.

[randy grider]

No doubt it will do the job.

[SERGIO VENNERI]

Shot Placement is the most important part. Go for it!

with a 31 inch draw he is getting plenty of power with a good flying arrow. what was it that Norb Mullaney figured in the old days. 8 fps for every inch over 28"? Even if he is only getting 5 fps per inch that is 15 fps increase over the same set up at 28". so if a 36 at 28 gets 150 fps with a 500 grain arrow, (my 38 pound BW target bow was faster than that with a Bear 308 with 125 up front by a wide margin,) he would be getting 165 with same weight arrow at a minimum.  That is as much as a 50 pound long bow at 27 inches shooting ten grains per pound, which no one would argue with.

[David Yukon]

This place is great!!

[Workaholic1]

My personal opinion, if that weight is legal in your state, you should be fine.  Listen to what others have said.  Scary sharp broadhead.  Some recommend a 2 blade head.  Nightwing uses a 3 blade.  I plan on using a 3 blade as well, just not quite the same one he does.

  Biggest things in my humble non-expert opinion is making sure you are very well tuned, are running a very sharp broadhead, make sure you put the arrow where it needs to go, have confidence in your abilities, and don't take a shot outside of those abilities.

For the record, I'm shooting a 35# at 28 Bear recurve.  I draw 30.5-31, depending on the day.  That puts me at around 40-44, depending.  I haven't hunted with my setup just yet, mainly due to my schedule.  However, I fully plan on doing so.  cbCrow, and Nightwing have alot experience hunting with the weight range of your bow. Heed thier advice.

Just my 2 cents.

[RkyMtn Joe]

Well, I was called lots of names over on another site because I think this is too light a weight to shoot deer with.  This guy said if I read him right, that he has a 31 inch draw, and AT THAT LENGTH he is pulling 36 pounds.  

If you shoot at big bodied bucks, you will have some serious problems---that weight would be illegal in many states, and rightly so IMO.

[RkyMtn Joe]

I went back and looked again--he is shooting a 30 pound bow, pulling it to 31 inches and estimates about a 36 pound weight at that draw length.  Way too light in my opinion.  

Will it kill a deer?  If everything is just right, perfect angle and shot and sharp enough broadheads etc, etc, etc, then yes.  Just  not a good setup for responsible shooting of deer IMO.

Seems a lot of other people are shooting light weights too.

[Flyboy718]

Many people have asked why I would want to hunt with this weight and whether or not I intend to hunt with this weight...at this time I am not sure I would hunt with it - yet -  pending some testing and given good results I may move forward with, going to the woods with the bow.  My main reason is that I shoot this bow better than my 40# and 45# bows...I am a long and lanky guy, strong, but not bulky.  My draw length decreases in relation to an increase in poundage of my bows in my signature...so I believe that I can shoot the 36# bow better.  I am going to do some shooting from above with all three and go from there.

[Ground Hunter]

I'm sure I'll disrupt some feathers here - but.

Where/when did the idea of hunting/shooting a light bow begin?  I think bow manufactures started this to sell more bows.  Light bows do not need big commitment to shoot.  So, they sell more bows.  It is my opinion the light bows are just asking for trouble.  Most, not all, but most, could be shooting a heaver bow.  I'm a skinny (32 inch girth), 150lb, 56 year old diabetic.  I shoot a 70lb Hill every day upwards of 100 arrows.  I do have a few lighter bows in the 50lb range.  I use them for working on form - never for chasing game.  Your body will quickly adapt to a heaver bow - just work up gently.  The more you "push" with in reason, your body the stronger you will be.  The additional strength will pay off in other areas as well.  Bulk has nothing to do with it!

[JamesKerr]

If you can shoot it more accurately than that is the bow I would use. You are just going to have to be careful with shot placement and angle. I've seen you shoot and I think you could work up to the 40# with ease.

[Flyboy718]

Originally posted by JamesKerr:
If you can shoot it more accurately than that is the bow I would use. You are just going to have to be careful with shot placement and angle. I've seen you shoot and I think you could work up to the 40# with ease.

James...I have taken two deer with the 40# Quinn one last year and my best bow buck this year, a six point.  I think I just need to get a lot of shooting in from an elevated position and work on bending at the waist.  My whole deal about this is that I can draw the 30# Quinn 31" so I should be able to do the same with the others, but I am not and I think it is because I don't think I have the back muscle to effectively draw the heavier bows to 31".  So, I am sort of experimenting trying to determine the one I shoot the best.

[dnovo]

I don't normally chime in on these light bows threads but here goes anyway. I don't understand why any normal adult man can't work up in weight and shoot 50 lbs with ease. I think there are too many things to go wrong with that light of a weight in a hunting situation. I am currently shooting 53# and consider that to be a light bow. Shoot with regularity and build some muscle.

[mongoose]

Just thought I'd chime in    A lot of people keep repeating things about shot placement with such a light bow, but, the way I see it is...it don't matter whether you pull 35# or 90#, if You don't slice vitals you won't eat backstraps