a heavy bow article worth reading

[ironmike]

casting a 1000grain arrow at equal velocity would be the only comparable proof.i don't know if that's possible with a lighter bow today.still,i love to read about the old guys and how some of them did it.

[Air Cleaver]

This unfortunately leaves the women out of the woods!

[Legolas]

So how important is it to stick the arrow 4 more inches into the dirt after a pass through?  

This is a never-ending argument!

Just shoot as heavy of a bow as you can shoot accurately and go hunt!

Bisch

[bruinman]

Right on the money Bisch!!

[Sam McMichael]

I totally agree with the article, yet I don't disagree with the light bow advocates, either when they contend that a light bow can also be very effective. If you want to shoot a heavy bow and are willing to do the work, go for it. If you "work out" to "work up", it is not all that hard to shoot heavy poundage, just be cautious to avoid injury. I prefer heavier bows, but now I am shooting light, because of an unhealed injury - I grabbed the heavy bow and started shooting it before getting in decent shape.

An interesting observation I have made is that there is little difference in the velocities of my light vs heavy bows. However, the heavy bow does it with a heavier arrow. Power is a function of both mass and velocity, so if velocity is constant but arrow mass is increased, the heavier arrow will deliver more power to the target animal, assuming good tuning, sharp broad head, etc. Whenever possible, I will take the edge offered by the heavy bow. There is no such thing as overkill in the hunting field.

[arrow flynn]

arrow placement

[ironmike]

yes yes! however,a 1000 grain arrow at 180 fps is going to crash through a breastbone,that's why these bows are common on the african continent'd dangerous game hunts.also common for grizzlie bear hunts in the north west.

[LimBender]

Its nice to read the heavy side argument and find it interesting that people sometimes act like a 40# bow is as good a killing machine as a 70#.

BUT, I think a lot of people are concerned about longevity in a sport where shooting a 100 arrows a week (5,000 a year) is possible or likely.  I'm under 40, but starting to feel a few joys of aging.  I'm around 50#, have no problems with more, and may settle around 55#.  But after shooting a lot, I sometimes get dull aches in the shoulder and had an injury which sidelined me a month.  So that leads me to thinking of 20 years down the road.  Sure I could work up to more, but what about wear and tear?  Shooting a longbow well takes a lot of practice.  Like Easykeeper said, I suppose as long as I'm mostly hunting deer it doesn't matter very much.

Originally posted by LimBender:
Its nice to read the heavy side argument and find it interesting that people sometimes act like a 40# bow is as good a killing machine as a 70#.

BUT, I think a lot of people are concerned about longevity in a sport where shooting a 100 arrows a week (5,000 a year) is possible or likely.  I'm under 40, but starting to feel a few joys of aging.  I'm around 50#, have no problems with more, and may settle around 55#.  But after shooting a lot, I sometimes get dull aches in the shoulder and had an injury which sidelined me a month.  So that leads me to thinking of 20 years down the road.  Sure I could work up to more, but what about wear and tear?  Shooting a longbow well takes a lot of practice.  Like Easykeeper said, I suppose as long as I'm mostly hunting deer it doesn't matter very much.

100 arrows a week! Most days I shoot more than 100 arrows in the day. I am ate up with this way of life and LOVE to shoot my bow. I am a 50# guy. I tried to go up the 55# before I went to Africa in 2009. I gave it 9 months and just could not shoot the 55# nearly as well as the 50# so I stuck with the 50#. I am confident that I can cleanly kill anything I hunt. There are several species I will not hunt because I know I do not have enough bow.

Bisch

[dink]

limbender says it all to me ican shoot heavier but if i stick with it. will i still be doing it down the road i love my 60 plus bows.but in the long run im better with my 50#.dead is dead

[Rifle River Scout]

normf, stop settin around and go hunting.

[Rob W.]

Thinking about this thread and having a stack of TBM's sitting here I thought I would see what successful hunters are using. I looked at equipment notes and the traditional harvest page. These are hunts all around the world harvesting evey animal from turkeys to water buff.

Out of 10 magazines I came up with 84 kills with bows from 40# - #85

The average of those 84 successes was a 49.27# draw weight.

Food for thought.

Rob  

[D]

I agree with arrow placement.

I think if you hit an animal in the "perfect spot" then a there is no problem with a 50# bow but lets be honest how many of us have always made the "perfect" shot every single time on an animal. I know I haven't.  I think there is an advantage in shooting heavy bows on "bad" shots.  A heavier bow will blow through an shoulder blade, spine, or a straight on bone hit where a lighter bow might not.  I know there are a thousand different factors that can come into play too.  I really think a hunter, for respect of the animal, should shoot the heaviest bow they can shoot accurately to make the cleanest kill they can.  I hunt with a 57# bow, but I shoot a pretty heavy arrow. Is that considered a heavy bow or a light bow??  I can draw and 80# plus bow but could I shoot it accurate consistently...no I don't think so.  Yeah I believe I could build up to it but I really don't feel like having my shoulder rebuilt years down the road either..lol  What weight does a bow go from light to heavy?  Is there an actual line that divides the two?  That's an real question because I have no idea..lol

[ishoot4thrills]

I'm comfortable and confident enough with my 49# bow and what it "can" do so much that I'm not worried about what it "can't" do.

How can one say deer hunting with a 50# bow is similar in comparison to hunting deer with a .22 cal. rifle?!? And, does that mean he is saying that a 75# bow would be similar in comparison to hunting deer with, say, a 300 Win. Mag?? The difference between a 50# bow and a 75# bow isn't the same as the difference between a .22 cal. squirrel rifle and a big bore centerfire deer rifle. It would be more like the difference between hunting deer with a .243 Winchester as compared to hunting deer with a .270 Winchester in my opinion.  That was a ludicrous statement by the writer.

[ironmike]

i think the writer was refering to shooting through the chestplate bones.a sure thing with a heavy bow.that's all.you wouldn't ever take that shot with a 60 or 70,but with a 90 or 80,it would rock..it ain't nothin but a choice,like what you do for a livin or what you believe in,different strokes for different folks!

Considering how many guys on here are having shoulder problems, I would proceed with caution.  We do not live the same lives as those bowman from the past, we do not eat as healthy often times, and we tend not have the long term physical health. As far as a heavy bow saving the day with a bad hit, it may be possible with certain hits, but accuracy will always be deadlier. when bows get heavier they reach a point where the efficiency starts to drop off. A 50 pound bow shooting a 500 grain arrow will have more than half of the power of a 100 pound bow shooting a 1000 grain arrow.  I shot 85 to 95 pound bows for many years with good success, I did hurt myself a couple of times exercising with weights so that could handle those bows. I still can pull them, but my fingers started giving me major problems so I had to back up.  Now the heaviest right hand bow i ever shoot is a 64 pound Schulz and I have to limit myself with that. For some heavy is fun, but a straight flying arrow from a lighter bow placed in the just right spot will always be deadly. Also, if a very fast 55 pound bow shoots a 550 grain arrow faster than a slower 75 pound bow, which one has more power?

[Birdbow]

The question may be more one of heavy arrow vs. light arrow. I killed a 1200# bull moose with a 54# LB pushing a 750gr. arrow and got complete penetration. Seems to me that a heavy arrow is the equalizer.
         Todd

[paradocs]

Since when have we as traditional archers, or otherwise, advocated  tailoring our tackle to insure penetration through breastbone?  Just asking'....

[carpin'mark]

While I agree with you on the inertia and physics angle, FMA - Force=Mass x Acceleration, I disagree on the "most men can draw a 70-80# bow". Drawing a bow uses a pretty specific set of muscles in a particular range of motion not usually found in daily life. Old bones of English longbow archers have been found and they all had abnormal features in the shoulders from shooting heavy war bows, that tells you that it is not 'normal'
I agree with the 50-55# on a cold fall morning after sitting motionless in a tree stand for several hours, however, I also shoot a 70# bow I built just for carp shooting to cast the 1000# grain fiberglass shafts and string attached.
With the excitement and adrenaline rush I get when the fishies are splashing I dont even notice the weight, but shoot that same bow at the range, I can barely get through a dozen arrows before accuracy goes out the window.
Native Americans killed 2000# buffalo with selfbows and stone tips and we have fiberglass and high carbon steel and we still debate a few pounds.