Minimum draw weight list by state

[German Dog]

Seen somewhere and was thinking it was here on tradgang that there was a list of all states that showed  what their minimum legal draw weights were.

anyone seen this chart before or have  link to it?

[David Mitchell]

Haven't seen it but we have no minimum here in WV.

[lpcjon2]

I think NJ is 35#

[Tony Sanders]

Hi German Dog. Here is a impartial list of some of the states draw weight minium. I hope this helps some. Shoot Straight and Good Hunting.

  Tony


Alabama: 35 lbs.

Alaska: 40 pounds peak draw weight when hunting black-tailed deer, wolf, wolverine, black bear, Dall Sheep and caribou

50 pounds peak draw weight when hunting mountain goat, moose, elk, brown/grizzly bear, musk ox, and bison

Arizona: 40 lbs

Arkansas: 40 lbs

California: All bows used for big game in California have to be able to cast a legal hunting arrow horizontally at least 130 yards.

Colorado: 35 lbs.

Connecticut: 40 lbs

Delaware: No minimum limit

Florida: 35 lbs

Georgia: No minimum limit

Hawaii: (A) Long bows with less than forty pounds of drawing tension at a twenty-eight inch draw;

(B) Recurved bows with less than thirty-five pounds of drawing tension; or

(C) Compound bows with less than thirty pounds of drawing tension.

Idaho: 40 lbs

Illinois: 40 lbs

Indiana: 35 lbs

Iowa: No minimum limit

Kansas: No minimum limit

Kentucky: No minimum draw weight

Louisiana: 30 lbs

Maine: 35 lbs

Maryland: 30 lbs

Massachusetts: 40 lbs

Michigan: 40 lbs

Minnesota: 30 lbs

Mississippi: No minimum

Missouri: a longbow or compound bow of any draw weight; handheld string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes and quickpoint sights are allowed

Montana: No minimum

Nebraska: 40 lbs.

Nevada: A longbow used in hunting a big game mammal must, in the hands of the user, be capable of throwing a 400 grain arrow 150 yards over level terrain. (The term Longbow also includes compounds)

New Hampshire: 40 lbs

New Jersey: 35 lbs

New Mexico: 40 lbs

New York: 35 lbs

North Carolina: 35 lbs

North Dakota: 35 lbs

Ohio: 40 lbs

Oklahoma: 40 lbs

Oregon: 40 lbs deer/50 lbs elk

Pennsylvania: 35 lbs

Rhode Island: Long bow, recurve, or compound capable of not less than 40 pounds at peak draw weight at peak

South Carolina:

South Dakota: 40 lbs

Tennessee:

Texas: 40 lbs

Utah: 40 lbs

Vermont: Moose--Bows of not less than 60 pound draw weight,
based on the archer's normal draw length for traditional
bows, and using arrowheads with at least 7/8 of an inch
in width with two or more cutting edges.

Virginia: Bow must be capable of casting an arrow with broadhead
at least 7/8 inch diameter (or expandable to that size), minimum of 125 yards

Washington: 40 lbs

West Virginia: 40 lbs

Wisconsin: 30 lbs

Wyoming: 40# or have the ability to cast a 400 grain arrows 160
yards for antelope,deer,sheep,mtn goat.

50# or have the ability to cast a 500 grain arrow 160
yards to hunt

[David Mitchell]

Sorry, but the West Virginia info is incorrect--there is no minimum--I just verified that with DNR enforcement officers at our recent hunting and fishing show.

[RM81]

Big game/small game difference.  Ohio's 40# min is only for big game.  There is no minimum for small game (verified by me through the DNR).

[Bowwild]

KY is correct.

[bartcanoe]

North Carolina minimum for longbow and recurve is 40#.  35# is for compounds.

[German Dog]

Yeah thats what I was looking for Tony, thanks.

Should add that I was more concerned with big game requirements.

[daveycrockett]

Texas changed it to no minimum.

[Shane C]

Montana is correct

[Morpheus32]

For those that care. For Alberta:

Persons hunting big game must use an authorized bow and an authorized arrow. An authorized bow is one that is held, drawn and released by muscular power and has a draw weight of not less than 18 kg (40 lb.). This is the number of kilograms (pounds) required to draw an arrow of 71 cm (28 in.) to its head. An authorized arrow is one that is not less than 61 cm (24 in.) in length that has a tip that bears a head that is not intentionally designed to resist being withdrawn after it has penetrated an object. Furthermore, it must either have a solid, sharp cutting head of at least 7/8 inch in width, or a head that, when the arrow impacts, opens to present sharp cutting edges at least 7/8 inch in width

[German Dog]

Perhaps this thread could get updated and pinned up or whatever for future reference????

[marahat]

Would you really want to hunt with anything less than 40#? This isn't rhetorical, I'm really asking the question. I'm fairly new to all this. I've heard of people killing deer with 25# bows, but wouldn't you have a low recovery rate with that kind of pull?

[Friend]

marahat... with a properly designed arrow...any game animal in North America could be consistantly harvsested.

Arrow design is far more important with respect to enhanced lethality vs moderate increases in draw wt.

[Gus]

Michigan is incorrect - no minimum bow weight.

I use to have ideas about minimums, until I helped a fellow with his deer. He was wedged between two trees and the deer came in from a bad angle and he could not get his bow back.  His bow was a 40@28" Bear Kodiak, his arrows were fiberglass with Bear heads with bleeder blades. He said that he only got part of his normal 27" draw and was certain that it was not enough, but the arrow 'sort of disappeared'. He showed me how he shot and it looked to be barely a 25" draw. It sort of disappeared through the deer and into the brush along the creek. The broadhead was surprizingly sharp for a newbie and the bleeder blade still intact. The deer was easier to find than the arrow. He probably only hit 35 pounds at 25" and it was more than enough for the hit he got.  On the other hand numbers are just numbers, a short draw weather soaked selfbow can be much slower than a much lighter higher performance bow.  The definition of a good arrow for any setup is far more important.

[Forrest Halley]

For compliance with laws this thread is great, but it's the same old song: bring enough bow and arrow to do the job. I wish more hunters would choose to hunt with an unquestionable setup rather than chance the minimum.

[marahat]

With all this in mind, I decided not to sell all the arrows I have that are too stiff for my 47# recurve. I want to get into building bows for one thing, and either way, I'm sure I will at some point be a collector of bows. Probly best to keep those arrows. I really like this site.  You guys are able to point things out to one another without ruffling too many feathers and getting in arguments.  Joining this group here makes me appreciate and want to pursue traditional archery even more.

[Brock]

South Carolina has no minimum...actually here is the actual phrase:


Archery means a longbow, recurve bow, compound bow or crossbow (50-11-565). There are no restrictions on draw weight/length, arrow weight/length, or broad head weight, width, or style.