I had a shoulder injury a few years ago and I believe I have finally reached a point to where I would like to start shooting a compound bow again. I plan on stopping by my local archery store this week to give the new Matthews bow a try. My hope is that by next season I can use a compound. My question is how low of a poundage can you go and still be able to ethically shoot deer? I hunt strictly out of a treestand and my comfort zone has always been 30 yards and under.
Oklahoma law is 30lbs my son is 10 and has a Mathews mission, he pulls 31 pounds and when I seen him shoot my opinion is that’s not near enough to be confident so I am making him get to 40lbs before he is allowed to hunt deer with it.
I’ve seen deer killed down to the 35lb mark. Heavy arrow for the Draw weight, COC head and good shot selection is a must. Honestly the other guys saying 40 though is where I would start actually feeling comfortable. Same rules apply to the arrow and head. I wouldn’t get away from a COC until over 50lb
35lb. Recurve, wooden arrows, and bear razor heads killed a lot of critters over the years. It's what I started with before there was any notion on the horizon of cables and wheels on a bow. Now days a 40lb compound, with a heavier arrow and a head like the Magnus Stinger or buzzcut would get the job done. Just have to pick and choose your shots a little more carefully staying off the shoulder.
In Pa the bow has to be at least 35 lbs but i made my son shoot 40 lbs before i felt comfortable and let him hunt with his bow. he killed a buck with that mission bow
I went yesterday afternoon and was able to draw and shoot at 48lbs. Had a little pain drawing back but none while holding at full draw. Thanks for the replies.
Awesome. Buy something with 50 lb limbs start at 40 and you’ll be maxing out that bow with no pain in no time. At 50lb with the right arrow set up you’ll be able to kill about anything in North America.
Washington State says 40lbs minimum for big game, deer and larger. I haven't hunted in years so haven't read all the changes that have come along. When the daughter and I bought the son in law a bow for his birthday, Sportman's Warehouse told us about the 40lb minimum.
