Light weight bows and penetration?

[Wheels2]

I would like to hear from the folks that shoot 45# bows.  What is the lightest arrow that you have used on deer and achieve pass through.  What head?
Thanks,

[Scott E]

I only shoot 40-45 lbs bows. All my arrows are 450-500 grains. Two blades or single bevels will give you the best chance for a pass through. Stay away from the shoulders and be accurate. The type of bow also could make a difference a 45 pound self bow with two inches of string follow is different than a 45 pound recurve.

[Bowwild]

My 2010 bow drew 46# at my 26" draw. I shot two through and recovered both in sight -- neither went more than 35 yards.  One was a 21 yard and the other a 16 yard shot.

My arrow was a MFX Classic weighting 424 grains with a Helix 2-blade single bevel broadhead.

All my hunting is done with bows from 46-49# draw weight and arrows from 424-535 grains.

[hvyhitter]

45# Bob Lee dark archer, 29.5" 2014s, 160gr snuffers, about 450 total weight. 3 deer, all 2 holes, 1 blow through, 2 the fletching was still in the deer. Longest bloodrail 50 yds, all dropped in sight...........heavy arrow, scary sharp heads, well tuned set up works great every time.........

[Bladepeek]

275# pig with a 43# RER XR. The arrow was a 3555, 30" with 175 total point/adapter weight Zwickey 2-blade.

Had 9" - 10" of arrow sticking out the far side. First time I have not had total pass through, but the previous animals were whitetails.

[Hojo]

Had two passthroughs with setup almost identical to Bladepeek's.  Both shots were inside of 10 yards.

[Plumber]

I have shot a lot of deer with a 45lb bow. not many pass throughts it depends on where you hit them I use a 35-55 gt with a 145 two blade magnus stinger. I went up to 50 lbs same set up I have blown right through everything.Now my son uses a 40lb bow an gets pass throws with a gt arrow an 125 gr two blade head.I guess its all in the placement of the arrow.Qfcourse a sharp head as well.foot note, a pass throught to me is the arrow completely leaving the animal on the exit side.not two holes in the animal.

[britt]

I shot a doe last fall. 45# at 30in. 525gr. arrow. Magnus 2 blade. Complete pass thru. She went 20yrds and fell over.

[trad_bowhunter1965]

It not about bow weight it's about how sharp your broadheads are and where you put the arrow. Just my 2 cent.

[Pheonixarcher]

There was a thread here about a year or so ago, that was all about harvests with 45# bows. Lots of pics, and some impressive trophies. Try the search function, or maybe someone will post a link.

[Rob DiStefano]

"Light weight bows and penetration?"

to put things in logical perspective, consider what matters most.

"heavy" arrows typically have increased penetration over "light" arrows out of the same bow, at the same holding weight, with the same point.

"heavy" is a key word.  a 45# holding weight with a 10gpp arrow (450 grains) will more than likely have better penetration than an 8gpp arrow (360 grains).

IMHO, in the above comparison, what will count more than the arrow weight will be how straight the arrow flies, how sharp the broadhead, and how accurate the shot placement.  

distance to the mark is another important factor.  lighter arrows have flatter trajectories, heavier arrows won't.  heavier arrows will probably require shorter shot distances.

then consider the game hunted, and how tough the hide, bone structure and depth of flesh ...  

given good arrow flight, consistently good arrow placement at sane shot distances with sharp coc broadheads, hunting whitetail deer with 45# of push and "light" arrows is just fine, imo.  up the ante to large hogs with that same tackle and i would consider that marginal hunting at best.  but, increasing the arrow weight to 500 grains or more, and shots at 15 yards or less, changes chances for a far better outcome on tougher game like bigger hogs.  

as always, ymmv.

[59Alaskan]

I didn't realize 45# was light weight.  It seems it was "average" for a long time.

[Rob DiStefano]

it's just a numbers game that's meaningless without purpose.  

45# holding weight is less than a 55# holding weight and more than a 35# holding weight.  

all that matters most is what i previously typed - utilize the right tackle for a given hunt, and make sure yer as equally up to the task, too.

[David Mitchell]

ceme24, I agree with your comment.  Back before compounds, probably the most common weight for both field archery and hunting was 45#. Just look at how many of the old bows you see in that weight.  Then along came Mr. Allen with his compound and 35%, then 50% let-off (and now those numbers are even higher).  Guys got used to thinking that 50# was "light" in a compound device and were shooting 60-70# and holding less than half of that at full draw.  So 45# became "light".  

When the traditional movement began to gain momentum in the 70s and into the 80s, many of those compound shooters who came over chose bows in the same weight category that they were used to with the mechanical bows.  I did many interview articles for TBM with various bow makers over several years and all of them told how in those earlier days the most common weight they had orders for were 60-65#.  It seems we have gotten wiser (or older in the case of many of us) and have come back to the weights more common in the heydays of what we now call traditional archery.  We still tend to call the average weight from those days "light".  

I saw a letter from Howard Hill to a game commissioner in, I think, California regarding what should be legal hunting weight.  Howard claimed that a 40# bow with a 450 grain arrow would kill any game animal in North America as I recall.  That of course assumes correct shot placement.  That would be a bit "light" for me on some animals, but just referring to what he said at that time.  If my memory is incorrect on those numbers I'm sure somebody will correct me, but I am close.

[Bobby Urban]

I will say that good/great arrow flight is more imperative to penetration than arrow weight and even sharpness of the broadhead.  Don't get me wrong - Sharp and heavy is BEST with the 10gpp followed as closely as possible but my belief is the key factor is energy transfer gained through great flight.  

That said I pass through deer easily with 45@25 and AD trad lights weighing in at or near 10gpp.

Other obvious considerations are deer movement, angle, distance and where hit.  

I shoot Wensel Woodsmans so three Vs. two has not been an issue for me.

[David Mitchell]

Interesting post, Bobby, your post brings up another factor which is draw length.  I note your reference to 45# at 25" draw.  Power stroke is also a factor in penetration. I'm not sure how much, but I have a friend who killed an adult bison with a 50# recurve and about a 25-26" draw--arrow went clear through the bison and bounced off the frozen ground on the off side. The longer draw the more energy stored in the limbs--or so they say.  Long draw guys have less concerns on that point it would seem. One of the benefits of "lighter" weight bows is the fact that most guys will get a fuller draw with them and thus increase the power stroke.

I just got my Compton's magazine and looking at the animals entered in the archives this year is a shiras moose a guy killed with a 44# bow shooting a 20 yard shot. Arrow weight was not listed.

[Rob DiStefano]

stick bows are at their best when matched in design length to the archer's draw length, for maximum efficiency.  

no matter what, it will always still come down to to a prescription of factors that will determine the best results when hunting with stick bows that are chosen for a given quarry.  the archer's abilities (or lack thereof), the mastering of the holding weight that's at least adequate for the game hunted, consistent accuracy at hunting distances, sensible arrow mass weight, good arrow flight, sharp coc broadheads and accurate shot placement.  anything less will lessen the odds of achieving success.

[Mojostick]

Ceme took my words. 45lbs isn't light. Now, 30-35 is light, in my book.

For what it's worth, I have yet to shoot a deer with 40lbs where I didn't get a passthru. That's with Grizzly Stik Sitka's, and 150gr heads, Stingers, Silver Flames and Steelforce Phatheads.

After my shoulder surgery, I killed a deer with a 30lb Kodiak Special, and while I did not get a pass thru on the deer quartered away at 12 yards, I got 14" of penetration in the liver and lungs and a bunch of tasty venison in the freezer.

With 38-40lbs, if you shoot around 450-550grs, use a hair shaving 2 blade or 2 blade with bleeders (like a Stinger or Phathead), keep shots 15 yards and under and don't take low percentage/high risk shots, you'll kill any deer you want. Then again, that criteria applies if you're shooting 60lbs too.

I used to shoot high height compounds, where I felt like Superman and could even sneak an arrow in under low percentage shots and then switched to trad bows in much higher weights than I shoot now and my conclusion is that having to shoot low weights due to shoulder issues has made me a much more patient shot, on animals. Knowing my limitations with low weight, now I only take "gimme" shots, where with higher weights I sometimes thought the power of the bow could make up for the less than perfect shot opportunity.

[Rob DiStefano]

once should strive to shoot the most holding stick bow weight one can master for consistent good accuracy.

if a 40# holding weight is yer ticket to exceptional accuracy, and you can't hold more bow weight with that accuracy, match that bow weight to a good arrow weight and THEN match all of that to the game one pursues.  40# for deer?  no problemo.  fer hogs?  marginal.  african surfari?  no way, jose.

This has been an interesting topic for me.  I've been wondering about the same thing.

I only took up traditional archery about a year ago and got myself a 40#@28" Falco Storm.  Initially I was drawing about 27.5", but as my style developed that went down to 26.5".  So now I only draw back about 35#.

I've shot a turkey with it, but the penetration of the wooden arrows I shot left me underwhelmed.  They were 29" cedar shafts with 130gr. Zwickey No-Mercy broadheads, for a total weight of 435gr. and a 12.4% FOC.  I'm really hoping to go after some fallow deer and feral goats.  On our side of the world a fallow buck can weigh about 170lb and a doe 90lb.  So I'm in the process of getting some carbon arrows with a bit more weight, a higher FOC and more efficient broadheads.

Sorry if I'm off topic a bit.  I might have to start a new topic to get some tips on my setup.  It's my first post, so still figuring things out.      :rolleyes: