Everybody shooting lighter bows?

[twistedlim]

First I must say I am glad I found this forum. (Already met one member on a classified add purchase... a great guy I otherwise never would have had the chance to shake hands with and talk archery) My hunting and shooting has become a bit stagnent the last couple of years and I have recently ramped up my shooting to prepare for an upcoming Colorado Elk hunt.  
When I purchased my first recurve 15 years ago or so I immediatly went for 62lbs.  Big mistake, but in spite of that I eventually bacame proficient enough to hunt with it. A few years later I purchased a lighter set of limbs and found it much more enjoyable to shoot.  I am now shooting longbows in the 45-52 range where I feel very comfortable.

I am confident if I do my part that at 25 yards and under the bow has enough umph to get the job done.  I shoot a heavy arrow and do not feel confident over 25 so that is where I will stay.

In reading a lot of the posts on the forum and looking at the classified adds it seems as if more and more people are heading back to the 50 or below poundage.  Is this because we are all getting older or smarter:)?

[KodiakMag]

I'm a firm believer in shoot whatever poundage of bow you're comfortable with. If you are comfortable with 40-50# then shoot it,if you like 70+ then shoot that.  

[Tom Anderson]

I'm currently shooting 37 lbs..

[Izzy]

I like high 40s to low 50s best. Why? I only hunt deer, hogs and small game and dont usually shoot past 20yards. I dont need anymore than that.

[Slickhead]

I shoot a 50
But If I had a 40 I may use it.

Im getting a 30 lb small game bow for tough angle shots.

[Medley]

The more people realize that 40#s will harvest deer and small game, the closer they get to it.

Accuracy is where its at anyway. People need to shoot whatever weight they can be ethical and accurate with.

[bornagainbowhunter]

I shoot 64#-67#.  I like the feel. I am more conifdent in the bow, thus making it a better choice for me.

God Bless,
Nathan

[cyred4d]

I agree with shooting whatever weight you can handle accurately. Arrows kill by causing bleeding, not shock value.

[Red Beastmaster]

I listened to the voices in my head, neck, back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers. They told me to lighten up.

I gradually worked my way down from 65# to 45#.

Now the voices say, "Ahhhhh".

As you get older it pays to listen to what your body is trying to tell you.  

[KentuckyTJ]

I like 52lb bows at 28" also. Don't need anymore for our eastern deer hunting situations. Very comfortable to draw from any weird stand angle or when it is very cold out.

[Margly]

I shoot all kind of # from mid 30#s to mid 60#s.

In hunting I`m around 50-55#s with most of my bows because I shoot these bows best in any circumstances, even if I`m cold and have been passive for some hours.

BUT I really like to feel the toughness of my Firefly 65"31 sometimes  

But when I get almost the same momentum and fps out of my 55# Border recurve then it`s not the "umpf" in the bow that makes me shoot the Firefly just the feel.

But all in all I can kill and lay down exactly the same game with all my hunting bows from 40#`s and up    

[Sean B]

I've been dropping down through the years.  20 yrs ago I was shooting 65#  I now shoot between 48 & 55.  I'm ordering a new bow soon, and I think Im going for around 50#.

[duncan idaho]

Just curious: those of you who are constantly dropping weight as you age, are you doing any type of physical training? Are you training to handle traditional bows?

[Swamp Yankee]

Yup, shoot what works for you; there is no such thing as the "best" bow weight.  There is an arguement that higher weight bows offer a cleaner release, better back tension and of course more power; also the lower weight bows offer a more relaxed (hence, accurate) shot and still retain more than enough power to kill anything in North America.  The arguements go on forever.  I started out in the 60's shooting a 40# for hunting, drifted up to 55# over the years, and now have come back full circle to 40#.  I'd only comment that, IMHO, todays 40# recurves are yesterdays 50# in terms of speed and power.

[JParanee]

I went from on average 65 pound bows to on average 55 pound bows

It's not that I can't shoot the heavier bows its that I shoot the lightr bows better and they actually perform on par or better  with the heavier bows of 20 years ago .

[Hoyt]

I started hunting deer with a 64" 48lbs recurve in the early 60's. I'm hunting them now with a 64" 48lbs. recurve.

[SELFBOW19953]

Originally posted by Red Beastmaster:
I listened to the voices in my head

When I tell people that I listened to the voices in my head, they all walk away-very rapidly!!!

Most of my hunting bows are 55 to 58, I can still shoot 60+, but the mid 50's are easier.

[D. Key]

All of mine are between 48 and 52#.  I also shoot the same arrows with each bow.  As far as shots on local game, I prefer under 12 yds.  You mentioned "out to 25 yds.".  With a trad bow shooting about 170 fps @ 50#, (in my honest opinion) way too much can happen between the time the arrow leaves the shelf and makes impact on anything at 20 yds. A deer can swap ends in a fraction of a second and the sound of the string gets to the animal way before the arrow does, thus causing them to react.  Keep your shots as close as possible and I feel you will be much more successful.

Best of luck.

[Matthew Bolton]

my longbow is around 55 @ 28 so I'm shooting around 29 inches so its around 58 or so. While I like the added power I think I will be dropping a bit in weight. No sense in working harder than necessary.

[pamike]

all my bows are between 47 and 53#.  used47# on antelope with no issues - whitetail i will find out in a couple weeks .... hopefully!!!