Just for curiousity, What poundage do you recommend for a solid hit at 30 or 40 yards. My bow will set all the way to 70, but just wondered if that you could get by with less cuz my g/f would like to hunt with a bow, and in our area a 30 or 40 yard shot is common. Thanks.

I have seen a lot of young bowhunters at the range shooting 30 and 40 yds.

Unfortunetly with very little penetration because of the lack of draw weight.

I would feel comfortable with: 55lbs for 30yds and 60lbs for 40yds.

Thanks that helps. Now another question. How many pounds does a full turn on each limb reduce the draw weight?? Any ideas.

I say the higher poundage you can shoot effectively the better. You can however get by at...at least thirty shooting around 50 pounds I would think.

I'm not real comfortable at 40 yards and I'm pulling 70 and have been shooting for years.

I'd recommend keeping your bow set at what it is...and encouraging your girlfriend to get her own.

More than likely you won't be together with her forever, and once you mess with your bow you'll have to re-adjust it again later on.

Too much trouble if you ask me. Good luck.

And just a little word of advice. If you want to have her shoot a 60 pound bow buy a 60 pound bow/limbs and shoot it at that don't buy 70 pounder and drop it to 60. Shooting a bow at its max will always shoot better/faster.
To answer your question a 60 pound modern compound will do the job at those ranges with the right arrow and broadhead.

Depends on a lot of things. Poundage is a very small part of the equation, but to answer your question specifically.......45 #'s and a good, sharp, cut on contact BH will get it done.

I would start off with two things first: One, determine how much weight she can draw and work up from there. I've watched several women archers take big game with draw weights somewhere around 50 lbs...

Second, she needs to practice, practice and practice. THAT will determine her effective range, not her sex. Like Froman said, he can easily pull 70 lbs. (I've met him; he's a strapping young man ), but it's his shooting ability which places limitations in his own mind. That's translated into a word called "ethics."

60 would be plenty I'd say. And about the setting the poundage on the bow question, different bows could be different on turning the limb bolts. What kind of bow is it?

First of all I think you are being unrealistic about your range. I don't care what draw weight you are pulling 40 yards a long shot at a deer. I wouldn't suggest that sort of distance for a new archer regardless of how much energy the bow had. And then when you factor in less draw weight and most likely a shorter draw you better be VERY accurate at judging yardarge and reading body language. Otherwise you are just beggin to wound an animal. And if she wounds a deer in the beginning I bet it will ruin it for her and she will most likley give up.

Where do you live that you can't the deer in closer than 40 yards?

And draw weight is one of the biggest factors in whether a bow fits you or not. Too much draw weight can make you shoot as bad as too long of a draw length. Not to mention what happens when she gets in the stand and can't draw the bow on the animal. Shooting from a stand after sitting for hours is not the same as practicing in your back yard. I saw a video of a lady that couldn't draw her bow on a deer and she started crying. In my opinion who ever let her go out whith that set up should be kicked.

I actually did this to myself once a few years ago. I was playing with my bow doing some modifications (I'm a bit crazy at times) and got the draw weight up to around 70 lbs (60 lb bow). I shot great with it in my yard and was probably shooting over a hundred arrows a day every day after work at that time. I went out hunting with it that season feeling very confident. I had always been worried about my bow being under powered for deer. Even though I didn't have trouble killing them in the past? I only have a 26 inch draw length.

I got into the stand and set up and sat for a while. Things were slow so I decided to stretch out and maybe draw my bow a few times. I'll be darned if I couldn't pull that thing back in the stand after sitting for an hour. I finally got it back but it took a few tries. Man am I glad I didn't see a deer that day. I packed everything up and went home to reconfigure my bow to the way it was before. Went out two days later and killed a nice 7 point at around 20 yards with no problems. Why I felt I needed to mess with a good thing is beyond me?

I don't suggest shooting the bow maxed out either. I have done several tests with my bows and cannot prove in any way shape or form that they perform better with the limbs bottomed out or not. They will perform better when the draw weight matches the arrow spine, which is why they are adjustable. If she can draw 60 lbs comfortably (I wouldn't count on it) get her a 50-60 lb bow and set it in the middle. Then pick the proper arrows, set it up and let her learn how to shoot. When she shoots good enough to tune start doing that. With the bow set to mid range this gives you some leeway to tune for spine if it needs to be touched up. Between this and changing tip weight it is much easier than changing the arrow length or getting new arrows if you find out you were wrong on the spine choice.

If she can only draw 40 lbs then get a bow in that weight range. Most states are going to require at least 40 -45 lbs of minimum draw weight. Not all though, I don't think MI has a minimum draw weight. Most states do though. Some have a minimum arrow weight as well. Which can be a real hinderance to a small framed archer. The extra weight will help with penitration but will kill your trajectory (limit the range at which you can shoot) and will also make it hard to find a properly spined arrow.

I would also suggest a new archer shoots for about a year before they actually hunt. This gives them time to get used to shooting and get confident in their abilities.

These are just my opinions though, take them for what they are worth. Except the shooting a bow maxed out, it really doesn't make a difference. The only thing it effects is the effeciency of the bow. Some of the older bows were a bit louder with the limbs backed off, but that is not the case anymore. I think this myth ranks right up there with having to have your blades lined up with your fletchings.

Paul

YUP, lots of variables like draw length etc. I would say the most critical for a newbie girl would be cut on contact heads. $40 yards??? She's not ready for that, seriously, most of us aren't. Set limitations and stick to them. She just isn't up to that without a lot of grief sure to follow. Just because 40 yard shots are common in your area doesn't mean someone should or could make it happen. The deciding factor should not be shots than can be taken, but rather what shots should be taken. I'm sure the last thing you'd want a newbie to do is have a poorly hit, gut shot deer running around.