bowman1066

What is a good hunting weigbt

Wilcam47

You are prob in the wrong section...but 50 or greater is ideal IMO. My bow is set for 60 and it kills just as dead as a 70lb bow LOL

Topgun 3006

50# will get it done, but if you can hold a higher weight for a reasonable amount of time and still shoot good groups, why not go that route?

HatchieLuvr

I agree (this one will likely get moved to the Archery Section).

With todays technology you don't have to shoot big weight like we used to back in the days of aluminum arrows and heavy heads just to assure complete penetration at 20-30yds. I can remember when the average bow did well to get 200fps and 250fps was SMOKING. Now days kiddy bows can get that!

Just about any 65-80+% letoff, quality bow with 50-60#s, carbon arrows and good broadheads can shoot THRU any deer within 30-40yds. Honestly, any carbon arrow with a 100grn or lighter head doing in the 275-300fps range will allow you to use only 1 pin out to 30yds. (gonna be maybe 1.5"-2" high at 10yds and that much low at 30 but still "minute of kill zone")

Now days everyone thinks you HAVE to shoot 300-350fps to kill a deer. I guess if you are going to "stunt kill" like I've seen a few TV guys do and take deer at 60-75+yds then yeah you can't get one fast enough. But I personally think it's just unethical to attempt an arrow kill at such ranges, there's just SO many things that can cause problems (both man made AND natural) under such conditions.

salukipv1

compound at 63# I own a 70# peak draw weight bow, let off is 65% some bows are 80%

I'd like to shoot 70# but I don't shoot often enough to justify that and IMO you have to be able to draw when cold/calm etc... in field conditions, ie a tree stand after sitting for hrs on end...

Wilcam47

This year I dropped a doe in her tracks...I hit her a little higher than I wanted but with the rain starting I was glad for the spine shot. I had to dispatch her with my knife but other than that it was a good kill

Nomercy448

What is heavy or causes pain in one person may not be heavy, nor have a negative effect on another person. Just like going to the gym, there might be someone at the gym that warms up with your bench max, or vice versa.

Prime example: I was setting up a new 60# G5 Quest Rogue for a guy this fall, he tried my bow while I was working, a 73lb Bowtech Destroyer 350. He couldn't draw it. Actually could not draw the bow. He's an early 30's guy, been bowhunting for almost 20yrs, shoots really well - but couldn't get it drawn. Obviously not the bow for him. I'll shoot 50-100pins on a saturday morning with that bow and not feel sore the next day.

We just put 60# limbs in my wife's Mathews Jewel. It maxes out at 64lbs now (not balanced tiller). My wife is 5'3" and 130lbs. She pokes fun at my best friend because his bow is set at 63lbs, a pound lighter than hers. :P

It's all relative. Different strokes for different folks.

At the end of the day, a guy should shoot whatever he can meet all of the following criteria with:

1) draw comfortably, smoothly, and quietly
2) let down comfortably, smoothly, and quietly (and safely, of course)
3) hold draw long enough under hunting conditions to make the shot
4) shoot 50+ pins in a night and not cry the next day from being sore

If that number is 100# for you, or 40#, it all depends on the shooter.

One distinct benefit of a higher powered bow is that you can use more "traumatizing" heads to cause more damage, but still get a pass through. Sure, a 35# bow can deliver a pass through with a fixed blade cut on contact head at 15yrds, but a 70lb bow can pass through at 60yrds with a punch cut head with almost twice the cutting diameter. Leaves a bigger blood trail.

So to each their own.

nchawkeye

Anywhere from 50-65 pounds...

bowman1066

Dose that depend on distant

Wilcam47

Ideally you will be shooting deer with a bow up to 40yds...50-65lb bow is good for that distance. Sure longer shots can be taken but if you are taking longer shots...may as well get a rifle or shotgun.