Numbers on the bow is kind of abstract at best. I have a recurve that is 45 at my 27" draw that will shoot a 520 grain arrow faster than my friends longbow that is more than 10 pounds heavier. Even that comparison is pointless if the arrow is optimal. How much one deflates with buck fever or bear panic is a big one. A strong confident shot with a 45 pound bow is always deadlier than a struggled shot with a heavy bow. I heard of a young guy that thought he should go up in weight for elk, he practiced hard, just to find that he could not draw a 65 pound longbow back when shooting at an elk. His 52 pound bow did just fine for him three days later. For bear accuracy and a good arrow reign supreme. I have been close to many black bear over the years, I hit one on the nose that was trying to sniff through the wall of my canvas tent, I never got the impression that any of those were planning on eating me. Anyway, when watching bear that were mere feet away, while they were pretending that I did not see them and they weren't planning on trying to grab our food pack, two things I considered when judging them to be a target for an arrow. 1. Hair, it varies from bear to bear, some have a gnarly mass of it right where the arrow should go. That would explain some of the failures I have heard from hits with mechanical broadheads, where the simple file sharpened Hills seemed to be so devastating. 2. Fat, some bears look like they are on a pancake, gravy and bacon cheeseburger with fries diet. With a real fatso bear would my single bevel Hill get lost in the fat and would I be better off with a Delta or a Deadhead? Then comes the poundage issue, how much will that Deadhead require over the single bevel Hill? Don't know that one.
Topic: mininum draw weight (Read 359 times)
