Who shoots between 45 and 50lb. Any success?

[Yaak]

I was just wondering who shoots between 45 and 50lbs. Anyone has good success with low poundage bow and have good penetration?  Right now I am shooting a 44lb Widow @24. I have a short draw and just wondering if anyonne out there in the same situation as I am.

-Yaak

[adg120383]

I shot a few hog, deer, exotic sheep with a 46 lbs longbow I built

[tomahawk953]

hi yaak, both my recurve and longbow are 50lbs ..no problems but i do use 2 blade zwickeys,29 in draw. this is the first year for the longbow,but good success with the recurve so far @25yds and under

[James Wrenn]

46 has been my heavy bow for a few years.  
I killed all the deer and hogs I wanted each season.I am shooting about 40lbs this year.It has worked just fine on the first deer of the year and I will be chasing hogs with it in another week.It always comes back to how you shoot it instead of what you are shooting.  

[Shawn Leonard]

The short draw is gonna hurt ya some. When most(not all) guys say they shoot a light bow it is normally at a 27-29" draw or so. I would have some concwern only due to that. I draw 28.5"s and have killed several deer and coyotes with bows form 42-52#s. Shawn

[John Nail]

Guys, 50lbs is NOT a light bow. I know the modern Macho belief is that 60+ is heavy, but in the 1950s and 60s at least around here, you would have had to special order one over 55lbs.
Point being, that unless you are after elk, moose, brown bear, et al, 50lbs should be adequate, if properly tuned and used with an arrow over 500gr.

[SOS]

Yep, three deer and a hog in my first two seasons.  A few assorted armadillos along the way as well, with 47-50 pound tackle.

[SpankyNeal]

IMHO it's not the draw weight or length but how much momentum do you get with a hunting weight arrow! If you have a good limb design and the right limb length for a short draw, you can get enough momentum to cleanly take all kinds of game.

[vermonster13]

My first 3 deer were with a 45# Bear TD. It's all about a well tuned, quiet set-up and doing your job of putting the arrow where it belongs.

[Nakohe]

I shoot from 49 to 53# bows and have had no problems. Tune properly and bows from 35# to 45# bows have taken all kinds of game.

[300lbleaf]

the glass bows i shoot are strictly 45-50 lbs.
ive used snuffers...with a blood trail that was actually DRIPPING OFF OF LIMBS AT CHEST HEIGHT!
 
ive used woodsman and had complete passthrus.

ive used magnus, bear,and ribteks....all with outstanding penetration, on bone difficult angles etc.

now granted im not hunting grizzly bear, but if i were, id shoot 60 lbs....lol

for moose, elk, caribou, and black bear...i would not think twice about grabbing my 50 lb super kodiak to attack.

now for my only glass bow setup ..[as im pretty much a selfbow,primitive guy now]...is a 50 lb super kodiak with heavy ash shafts with 'flyin' machetes.
 a.k.a ribtek 190w.
good luck and dont be afraid of bieng under bowed.
be more concerened with bieng able to put the arra where it needs to be.
jamie

[Jmatt1957]

My cousin shoots 43# @ 28. Pass through on most deer. SHARP,SHARP broadheads,only broadside shots at 10 to 20 yards.

[Shawn Leonard]

Guys look at the draw length though. 24"s is not a lot of power stroke. i am sure he will and can kill deer with 44#s at 24"s, but he loses 4"s of power stroke compared to a lot of us. The same bow design he is shooting at 44#s at 28"s will produce a lot more kenetic energy. I bet for every inch over 24"s ya gain at least 5 fps which in turn means more momentum and more killing power everything else being the same. Shawn

[SpankyNeal]

I agree Shawn. A 60" Widow #44 @ 24 will probably cast about the same as mid #30's at 28". The bow needs to be optimized for a short draw to get the most out of low draw weight. Regards, Ken.

[James Wrenn]

Even with a short draw you should have no problem killing deer and most likely shooting though them.The key is making good choices on arrows and broadheads and being anal about good tuneing. jmo

I shot a deer that was behind the tree.With my chest against the tree and a hand on each side a 22" draw was all that was possible.At that draw the bow was pulling 35lbs.The arrow passed through with the biggest broadhead that you can buy (treeshark) with bleeders in it.But the arrow was a skinny carbon that weighed around 550gns.With 40lbs and smaller broadheads like most shoot it should be a piece of cake if you pay attention to the details setting things up.jmo

[Roger Norris]

Is his bow actually 44# @ 24? Or is it 44 at 28?

[mcgroundstalker]

Hey Yaak! Don't sell yourself short. Your outfit will do the job just fine. If your hunting arrow weight is around 440 grains and flies true there is not a deer that you can't make cutlets outa.

Shot placement and close in shots are the way to go. If ya want to shoot big game at 50 yards, you can always use a rifle.

Best Of Luck!  

... mike ... from Da Bronx

[Doug Treat]

I draw 47# @ 28" and just shot an elk last friday with it.  I have shot 5 elk now with +/- 50# stickbows and have achieved total penetration if I don't hit a solid bone (and sometimes when I do).  The key for me has been heavy arrows.  I started with 590 gr. and this year went up to 650.  The elk I shot last week was small for an elk (a yearling) but was still about 300#.  The arrow went low through its chest and hit the humorus leg bone just above the joint breaking it in half and still was just hanging on by the fletching (almost exited).  That 650 gr. arrow was going about 160 fps at the bow. In my experience with mule deer and elk, speed matters very little but weight is key for reliable penetration.  In other words: it ain't the bow- it's the arra.  BTW, I shoot Zwickey Eskimos.

[benderofwood]

NO problems with mine; 50lbs @ 27 inch draw; one fine deer killin' machine;..  

[doug77]

46# PSR Black Widow.27 inch draw, 570 grain arrow, Magnus stinger 4 blade.  quarting away complete pass thru on a 290 LBS.black bear this spring. tune you arrows  and you will be ok

doug77