whats pushing it with a 42lb treadway longbow and sbd string

[deadpool]

Hey pete i appreciate it!i actually started.shooting 55-60lb bows.then gradually worked my way down not because i can't pull it but because i shoot whatever im most consistant with now, im a pro fighter now and yea i have.some strenth but ill choose accuracy 9/10, sadly i cant go on an elk hunt anytime soon,i was just poking around to see what my equipment was capable of. =)

[Keb]

Fred eichler recently wrote he would hunt elk with a 40lb bow with arrows matched in the 9 grain per pound if that the bow he could handle and shot the best.

[pdk25]

Lot's of folks have given you some food for thought.  Your original question asks what the limits of your setup are. Whitetail deer, no problem.  Small to medium sized hogs, no problem.  Probably not enough to reliably get through the shield on a very large hog. As far as bear go, I haven't shot one, so it is only what I have heard from others, that with a well placed arrow they aren't much more difficult to kill than a deer.  As others have said, elk are pretty much tougher than deer, but with a qood shot if everything goes well it will get the job done.  Just very little margin for error. This doesn't pertain to you original question, but you have a long time before next elk season, and a young healthy guy should have no trouble getting a little more power behind their setup if they want to.  For some perspective, I hurt my shoulder early in the summer yanking a saddle off of a bucking horse.  Ended up messing up my AC joint and had a couple minor rotator cuff tears.  Had surgery around 2 weeks ago to have the rotator cuffs touched up and the end of the clavicle of my string side resected.  I shot around 100 arrows with my 50# thunderchild today.  I see that you have shot heavier bows in the past but feel more accurate with the lighter setup.  Definitely gotta shoot what you feel confident, but with more time with a little more poundage, I would be surprised if you wouldn't get comfortable with a heavier poundage if you have your heart set on hunting elk.   No matter what you decide, I wish you luck and hope that you enjoy your bow.  He makes great bows.

[tecum-tha]

A 21 year old should be able to shoot a 55lbs bow with ease, unless there are some serious health issues. Your bow is a deer bow and small game bow and that's about it. Anything like elk, hogs, bear etc. is gambling. Were there animals killed with light bows. Yes. But no one tells about the animals which did not get killed with light equipment because of inadequate penetration when the arrow did not hit perfectly.

[Keb]

How many elk you harvested?

[pdk25]

I think that I have read Fred Eichler's draw length to be either 30" or 31"  Him shooting a 40# bow would put him around 46# @ 31", which is probably quite a bit more energy than that generated in a bow of similar design that is 50# @ 28", but I don't want to put words into his mouth.  I am not sure who our question is directed to, Adam?

[Keb]

Just curious how many elk you have taken? I have not taken any but shot a bow in the same poundage as the original poster.

I once asked the same question and was told to stay home and hunt small game,ect.

I then did some talking with folks who have killed a bunch of elk and they saw noting wrong with  a tuned 40lb recurve.

Fred in his article was implying if he could only shot 40lbs.

[deadpool]

What excersises do you guys recommend to have my form with a 50+lber as solid as it is with my 42lber?

[pdk25]

I don't think anything fancy is needed in going up in weight.  For starters,  I would leave the lighter bow alone for awhile and shoot only your 50# bow.  Work on good form, holding progressively longer at fulldraw, and fully controlling the release.  When you can fully control that bow and shoot it well under hunting condidions, go up 5-10# in draw weight and do the same.  Always maintain consistant and proper form and you will se surprised how fast you can increase, and how much control you gain over your lighter bow.


In answer to your question, Adam.  I have yet to kill an elk with a trad bow, and base most of what I know from the success and failure of others, and I know direct results of both of those.  I don't opt for the minimum on virtually anyting that I shoot.  Not much room for error.  I have seen what a scary sharp 2 blaed broadhead does on a shield from a nice hog from a bow 53# @ 29" compared to that of and 82# bow with a huge 3 blade head.  I felt lucky to recover the boar with the lighter setup, whereas the 3 blade blew straight through the hogs out of the heavy setup. This story has been repeated several times.  I shot a buff on the shoulder with the same heavy setup, and came to another conclusion entirely.  If you are hunting buff, make your setup strong enough to bust a rib and get to the off side rib/take out the offside lung consistently.  I don't think it matters how powerful a set up you  have, I don't see it busting through the spine of the scapula or the humeral head. A less powerful setup than mine should be able to get the job done.

[jrchambers]

if you want to shoot more weight get more weight, just be smart when you practice don't shoot 100 arrows a day, take a shot pull your arrow go think of another shot MAKE that shot, repeat until you feel it hard to pull, rest and repeat, then most importantly repeat.
I know for a fact you can shoot a 60 lb bow with accuracy, not that you need it, but cmon eickler may have said that but you know that he can shoot 55 as well as 40 after enough work. so that's what he probably does

[jrchambers]

there is a saying here in ak ive been told alot, never carry just enough gun

[59Alaskan]

I switched to LH as a result of a nagging decades old shoulder injury from lifting weights without a spotter when I was about your age.  I tore my shoulder up dumping weights and the doc said I'd have arthritis in it pretty bad by time I was 40.  Well, it set in, but I keep fighting.  I went through a period where I dropped weight down to 40RH.

Well, just yesterday I was out shooting a 61# bow LH in the cold that I would feel very comfortable at 20 yards hunting.  It took over a year of training and progressively pulling more and more bow and focusing on form.

LH was ALL new and I had to train myself how to draw.  Well, I finally learned how to properly use back muscles.

Do some research on Pow Wow and the Shooters forum here on TG and you can learn a ton about how to build up in bow weight.

Yep, you bet I still enjoy shooting my light weight bows.  They are fun, and I have no issues hunting them.  I think they are awesome.  I actually kind of wish I was hunting a 40# bow yesterday because I could've drawn more slowly and may have had a shot on a deer (a deer saw me drawing my heavy bow and busted).

Good luck.  You'll find more opinions on here than there are posts.

I will recommend whether it be bows or training...do what you know is right and don't over do it.  As an example, I don't take my heavy bow out and shoot dozens of shots every day.  I spare my body that. Some guys can do it though.  We are all built differently.  I knew better than to lift without a spotter, but I was young and bold.  I paid a lifelong price.  No surgery can heal the damage and the shoulder has pain off and on all the time - daily.

Bowfit exercises work.  Rows help. What I call "reverse flys" (don't know the real term) where you work your upper back help.  Some kettleball work.  All this helps but the REAL key is practicing with the bow.

Good luck!  

To me the key is to be confident with you gear.  You can't have any twinge hit your head when you are hunting that you can't do it, or your gear can't do it.  For some that means more bow, for others it means a little less.  No one can guide you on that path as it's yours (within legal limits).

[Keb]

Woodmanship and being able to seal the deal at crunch time (ACCURATE SHOOTING) is what is going to kill you elk or whaterver you hunt.

[pdk25]

That will always be the case, and yet nobody advocates using a .223 for elk hunting

[Mojostick]

A 42lb bow is more like a .243, .257 Roberts or .260 Rem, all of which can take elk in the right hands with the right bullet and range.

[pdk25]

Yes, but the mere fact that you are mentioning caveats suggests that it might not be the best choice for the job.  I have no skin in the game, and don't really care what he chooses to hunt with his bow.  There is really just no reason that he can't be just as accurate with a more powerful setup to improve his odds a little.

[Pat B.]

55+  IMO...
I hunted for several years with bows in the mid 40's.  

Even for deer I much prefer mid 50's and up..

[Keb]

So let me ask you this, a well made and tuned 42lb bow from todays materials and bowyers, shootig a slim carbon arrow, sharp 2 blade head stack up against a 50lb bow from 20 years ago shooting a 11/32 cedars??

I have never shot a bow from 20 years ago or was hunting with a recurve 20 years ago.

Just looking for comparisons??

[jrchambers]

bows 20 years ago are not as far behind as I would have thought.  they still really wing em

[Kelly]

I will always favor accuracy and straight flying, scary sharp broadhead tipped arrows over more bow weight anyday, everyday!

Everyone should strive towards this goal in whatever way THEY see fit.