For the first time since I started bowhunting I'm considering dropping my draw weight a bit. My bow is maxed at 72 lbs right now and I shoot it great for thw first 10-20 shots but then start to get fatigued. Also starting to notice a little shoulder pain. Nothing serious but enough to make me wonder if shooting 70lbs is necessary. A friend of mine recently bought a 60 lb bow and it just seams a lot more fun to shoot. So I guess I'm asking what lb bow most guys shoot on here. I'm selling my bow this year to fund a halon 32 purchase and right now I'm not sure what weight to go with. Thanks for any help guys. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Yes that is a constant challenge for bowhunters that have to draw back a peak weight and hold it. Its one of the challenges bowhunters face that users of other weapons never have to consider. Its what makes human powered hunting (bowhunting) so unique. Due to this limitation we have to make real consideration that stored energy weapons users never have to worry about and why only human powered bow users are the only ones that can carry the name "bowhunter". I know of a few that are killing deer with 40 Lb bows and my little cousin has killed many deer with her bow set at 35 lbs. You have to adjust your shot distance and shot angle selection but that is what human powered bowhunting is all about. We are limited by our own human strength which is why bowhunting is challenging, rewarding and satisfying. My father kills the hell out of deer with a bow in the 50's. his trad bow kills deer and bear at 48 Lbs. You will do fine with 60 or 55 pounds.
The low 50s is all you need if you have a heavy arrow...8-9gpp (or more). I started in 1974 with a 60# bow. That shot almost 180fps & I killed deer with it. By 1985 I had an 80#. I shot 80# until 2003. The next few bows were 70#. In 2011 I went to 60# max. I killed deer with that bow too. AND the 60# bow I have now shoots my heavy arrow faster that any 80# bow I had in the 1980s & 90s.
Shot placement is key, more so with lighter weight bows. A lot of heavy bow guys brag they can break bones. But you obviously want to avoid it at all costs with a light bow. I killed a doe this past fall with an Elite Synergy set at 50lbs and I was shooting a 330 grain arrow (6.6 gpp). The arrow was stuck in the dirt past the doe. But you have to pick your shots on unalert deer and have a nice quiet bow and good cut on contact fixed broadhead (I was shooting Solid Legends). The only reason I was shooting such a light arrow is it tuned the best out of the arrows I had here. I dropped from 60 to 50 due to a bicep injury and surgery last summer.
Thanks for the reply's. Coop I currently shoot 72lb with a 420 grain arrow with slick trick magnum. I shot what would have been my second best buck this year and hit him right in the shoulder knuckle. We tracked him for about a mile Until we lost blood. Never found him. You are right I'd rather be comfortable shooting and have the accuracy. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
One of my bow mentors is a little dude, shooting around 50 pounds. He slays nice deer here at home and this fall he killed a beautiful Kansas buck and a muley out in Colorado.
Anyone else back off from 70 lbs and shoot 60-65? Any bad/good experiences from doing so? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I shot 57 pounds for years but purchased a new bow this past spring and went with 55-65# limbs and the bow is set at 62# right now. I shoot the same arrow as before an Easton axis 400 (9 gpi) I believe with fixed blade broadheads and have never had any problems with penetration even at 40+ yards. I bought the 55-65 limbs to give me just a bit more momentum. As all of us know with today's bows backing down to 55-65 pounds speed should be no issue whatsoever
I shoot around 57lbs right now and purchased a 60# bow a few years ago for my father...which I kept and used for myself. Prior to that I was in the high 60's so, it was a big difference. At 57lbs, I can be frozen, climbing stand on my back, and kneeling... with no problem drawing, holding, and releasing an arrow. I love that feeling. I'm not decreasing my odds with a lower weight, I'm actually putting myself in a position that is better for me, in all conditions. NOW, would I like the fastest, flattest arrow in the woods...sure. Since that is not going to happen, I started using my range finder more consistently in order to minimize the chance as mistaking the yardage. The lower weight also allows me to hold forever and recover from creeping a bit far at times.
I have shot 70 lbs since I was a kid. If you shoot enough it gets easy to pull any weight. IMO I don't think you should shoot under 50 lbs. Sent from my SM-G935V using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I shoot 50 pounds with roughly a 326 grain arrow and kill deer just fine. Going down in weight won't be a problem Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I shoot 60 to 65 lbs depending on the conditions or if I'm hunting or target shooting you only need 40 to kill a deer my wife shoots 42 pounds and kills deer just as easy and as fast as I do at 60 or 65 it's really what you feel comfortable shooting in illinois we can't hunt with anything lower than 40 pounds .
My girlfriend shoots 25" DL and 40# and I witnessed her get a 99% pass through on a quartering to shot on a 154" 4 year old buck. She had a fixed blade cut on contact and the shot was 6 yards but the arrow was only hanging on by the fetching on the other side Sent from my SM-G930V using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Thanks guys. I'm going to try at 65 for a while and see how that goes. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I shoot 50 lbs. Pass through on every deer I have taken with bow. Shot placement is key. Our state law states 35 lbs+ is legal so some one some where feels that is sufficient for deer here.
I shot 70+ lbs for years. I bought my halon last spring and got the 50-60 lb limbs, and shot it at 60 lbs this year. I shot two deer with it this fall. Both pass throughs at 26 and 46 yards.
I shot 73#'s for many years. After a motorcycle accident and a rotator cuff tear I had no choice but to go down in draw weight. I am currently shooting a bow with 60# limbs and I have it currently set at 57#'s and I have shot many animals and I've had no problem letting the wind out of many animals.
55lb. Absolutely no reason to shoot 72 on a whitetail. I would hunt anything in N. America except maybe moose and bear with my current set up. Even then I would only change the broadheads and add about 50-75 grains to the arrow. I do shoot 30" draw though which helps a lot over the average 27.5-28" draw. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I shoot 65 lbs with my 32 with great target accuracy. I am hoping to put an animal down here in a couple of weeks. I questioned not maxing out the limbs with my archery shop and he said earlier bows they found it may go out of tune easier but todays bow there shouldn't be any worries. He also agrees that a heavy pull isn't needed for game these days. It is all about the arrow set up! I am shooting a 450 grain FMJ 6MM. I wouldn't want to be in front of it with any broad head attached.
