Minimum draw weight?

[BustedAssRanch]

Wow I just re-read that..I look like a kid bashing vet hating *** hole. All I know is it's the law. Like I've said I think 35 is cool but until then I have to stand up for the law..right or wrong..& I still cant talk myself into no set draw weight at all

[dumas]

Silly argument number 1- My new bow now set at 50#'s is a lot harder to draw back than my old bow set at 70. Old bow shoots 190. New bow 300.

Silly argument number 2- Is the gw really going to take the time to weigh your kids bow if he happens to have a scale in his truck?

I have faith in people and think they are smarter than most of you fellas give them credit for... Surely, if a kid or woman sticks a doe with a 30# draw weight and has to track it to Mexico before losing the blood, she won't make that same mistake twice!?

don't call me shirley

[Cotton]

BAR, nah you didn't come across like that at all. I agree that’s the law and I too will stand by it. I just don't agree with the arguments being used against this. I posted this on the other thread... might as well put it here too.

These are the 2 reasons I'm seeing here why folks are against it.

1. The 40# limit makes sure a kid is ready.
If you’re using the weight limit as an age limiting factor then come out and say it, you feel there should be an age limit when kids can start bowhunting. What should that be?

2. There are too many folks not smart enough to match up equipment and recognize the equipment’s limitations.
If you're saying there are too many stupid people out there you might as well say lets end all hunting. Those stupid people are out there using legal methods now and wounding deer. We can test IQ but how do we test for common sense?

[qzilla]

For the sake of the thread let me say, do whatever you want to the draw weight. Everyone knows my stance and there is no point in arguing. Tink I have to agree to disagree on the draw weight issue and that will never change.


All that behind us can we look at something else that is directly associated with this law.

If this law is changed, either to lower the poundage or to abolish it all together I think we need to also add some laws.

Somehow we have to make it illegal to use certain types of broadheads on these bows. While it is irresponsible to screw a Vortex or some other terrible head on a 30lb draw bow, it would be LEGAL should this pass. The Vortex is not the only one and there are several.

Could we somehow state that youth, under XX lbs, under XX draw weight, under XX draw length or something like that is prohibeted to use expandable broadheads?

Could we implement some sort of law that mandates something like 7 or 8 gr per lb limit on arrow weight?

These are going to be real, ethical problems with lower draw weights.

I know Tink, no one you know, no one you hunt with or know one that knows who you are will ever loose an animal, make a poor shot, ever wound an animal or ever make an irresponsible decision. That leaves a few million people left to make those mistakes and we need to be able to deal with it if we can.

I understand the "stupid" argument and you are right. Now all we are doing is making it perfectly legal to act that way. You will never prevent it but, you can penalize it. A stupid decision can be made on a 70lb bow and you cn get away with it. Your margin for error shrinks drastically with a drop in draw weight.


While we are at it can we lobby to legalize a 22LR for shooting deer. I know I can kill everyone I shoot at, it will save my shoulder so I do not have issues later on in life. My daughter would really appreciate it, the noise would be much less and I would not need ear protection while in the field and if you don't believe me that it will work I can take 100 pictures and videos of large, over 100lb hogs killed with a 22LR.

Oh, and I will be lobbying Mr Holt and Mr Perry along with a few other people. So while I will support it if it passes, I don't agree with it.

[Cotton]

Yes a 22LR is a deadly round in the right hands. Heck they used 22LR with plastic bullets to slaughter cattle. Apples and oranges though, not being able to shoot a 22LR won't keep someone from gun hunting. Besides how many of them hogs were double lung shot with that 22LR?

It would be easier to just determine what poundage out of a poorly tuned bow it would take to insure a pass-through with one of these 2 3/4" six bladed broadheads and make that the minimum draw weight. That would cut a little off the “stupid” factor!

[qzilla]

Yes a 22LR is a deadly round in the right hands.

Exactly my point. About like a 20lb draw weight bow.

We are talking about changing the law for an extremely small percentage of people. The majority of the people this affects are not wounded soldiers or life long bowhunters. It is going to be younger children and people that are probably too old to be doing it. I am not saying everyone is too old but, lets face it we all get too old to do stuff, welcome to the real world. It is not like we are going to double the bowhunter numbers because we abolish a draw weight. The majority of the hunters we pick up will have no business in bowhunting.

It seems to me that if there is an injury or some other reason someone cannot draw a decent weight there are plenty of other oppurtunities. In many of the cases it seems that it is the same ol give me more type attitude this country has instead of dealing with their circumstances. Sure this affect some great people and it is sad in some cases but, don't we all go through that at some point in our lives? I don't think anyone got a Fair and EZ card when they were born.

If someone has an opportunity to hunt and won't do it because they cannot bowhunt yet, they are unable to comply with the law, that seems awful selfish.

This whole thing seems to be about personal agenda and the good of the sport to me. I am yet to here about how good this is going to be on a statewide scale. The only things mentioned have personal intrests involved with the people trying to get it passed.

[qzilla]

Alabama: 35 lbs.

California: All bows used for big game in California have to be able to cast a legal hunting arrow horizontally at least 130 yards.

Colorado: 35 lbs.

Delaware: No minimum limit

Florida: 35 lbs

Georgia: No minimum limit

Hawaii: (A) Long bows with less than forty pounds of drawing tension at a twenty-eight inch draw;

(B) Recurved bows with less than thirty-five pounds of drawing tension; or

(C) Compound bows with less than thirty pounds of drawing tension.

Indiana: 35 lbs

Iowa: No minimum limit

Kansas: No minimum limit

Kentucky: No minimum draw weight

Louisiana: 30 lbs

Maine: 35 lbs

Maryland: 30 lbs

Mississippi: No minimum

Missouri: a longbow or compound bow of any draw weight; handheld string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes and quickpoint sights are allowed

Montana: No minimum

Nevada: A longbow used in hunting a big game mammal must, in the hands of the user, be capable of throwing a 400 grain arrow 150 yards over level terrain. (The term Longbow also includes compounds)

New Jersey: 35 lbs

New York: 35 lbs

North Carolina: 35 lbs

North Dakota: 35 lbs

Pennsylvania: 35 lbs

South Carolina:

Tennessee:

Virginia: Bow must be capable of casting an arrow with broadhead
at least 7/8 inch diameter (or expandable to that size), minimum of 125 yards

Wisconsin: 30 lbs

Wyoming: 40# or have the ability to cast a 400 grain arrows 160
yards for antelope,deer,sheep,mtn goat.

50# or have the ability to cast a 500 grain arrow 160
yards to hunt

Many of those states listed also have much more strict age requirements than our state does. You are not showing the whole thing, just what you want.


Some of those states also have a state income tax and legalized same sex marriage.

Does that mean TX should follow suit?

[qzilla]

please Tell Jasmine aged 11 or 12 again why she can't legally hunt deer in Texas

Is the same bow she dumps boars with not Ok for Texas deer, with her 33# Parker Compound Bow?

First off a hog is a non-game animal so it is a non issue.

Secondly when is the last time a hog jumped the string? That is something whitetails do on a regular basis.

When you start talking whitetail hunting you are talking about a totally different animal with a whole different st of challenges.

[Goldeneagle]

I do not agree with completely doing away with minimum draw weight, but lowering it would be fine. The man that got me started bowhunting tells me stories from back in the 1940's when he started. They had people shooting #20 fiberglass recurves that killed many a deer. This was before Texas had a minimum weight. Now i don't like the #20 pound thing, but #35 would be fine. With todays technologies, I think a #35 bow probably shoots like an older #60 does. I've already started reducing my draw weight due to age. I'm down to #60 from #70 and I'm only 50yrs old. The high draw weights take a toll on ya after a while. If we had the technologies years ago that we have now, I would have never shot #70.

[glen]

My wife has had shoulder surgery and can pull the #40 minimum. It is painful and she does not shoot as well as at #37- She does turn it up for deer season to #40 and then we back it down for the off season. She shoots better at #37 and can hold and prepare for the shot a lot better- it is her comfortable shooting weight. She blows right through hogs and has shot two both recovered- I read about lots of folks shooting hogs here at #70 that dont recover them. Kinda hard to argue the wounding animals part with me as Ive been on plenty of blood tracks with #70 bows- if the hunter is patient and takes an ethical shot it really doesnt matter if the bow that delivered it is a #30 or #100 the end result is the same. I do think some people shooting heavier # bows will take shots that are not as ethical banking on the penetration from their bow- for instance taking quartering to you shots, face on shots, and Texas heart shots which in my opinion are low percentage shots. I think education is the key and it really doesnt matter what weight of bow that the hunter is shooting.

[Hot4huntin]

Updated list~

Alabama: 35 lbs.

Alaska: 40 pounds peak draw weight when hunting black-tailed deer, wolf, wolverine, black bear, Dall Sheep and caribou
50 pounds peak draw weight when hunting mountain goat, moose, elk, brown/grizzly bear, musk ox, and bison

Arizona: 40 lbs

Arkansas: 40 lbs

California: All bows used for big game in California have to be able to cast a legal hunting arrow horizontally at least 130 yards.

Colorado: 35 lbs.

Connecticut: 40 lbs

Delaware: No minimum limit

Florida: 35 lbs

Georgia: No minimum limit

Hawaii: (A) Long bows with less than forty pounds of drawing tension at a twenty-eight inch draw;
(B) Recurved bows with less than thirty-five pounds of drawing tension; or
(C) Compound bows with less than thirty pounds of drawing tension.

Idaho: 40 lbs

Illinois: 40 lbs

Indiana: 35 lbs

Iowa: No minimum limit

Kansas: No minimum limit

Kentucky: No minimum draw weight

Louisiana: 30 lbs

Maine: 35 lbs

Maryland: 30 lbs

Massachusetts: 40 lbs

Michigan: 40 lbs

Minnesota: 30 lbs

Mississippi: No minimum

Missouri: a longbow or compound bow of any draw weight; handheld string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes and quickpoint sights are allowed

Montana: No minimum

Nebraska: 40 lbs.

Nevada: A longbow used in hunting a big game mammal must, in the hands of the user, be capable of throwing a 400 grain arrow 150 yards over level terrain. (The term Longbow also includes compounds)

New Hampshire: 40 lbs

New Jersey: 35 lbs

New Mexico: 40 lbs

New York: 35 lbs

North Carolina: 35 lbs

North Dakota: 35 lbs

Ohio: 40 lbs

Oklahoma: 40 lbs

Oregon: 40 lbs deer/50 lbs elk

Pennsylvania: 35 lbs

Rhode Island: Long bow, recurve, or compound capable of not less than 40 pounds at peak draw weight at peak

South Carolina: No minimum limit

South Dakota: 40 lbs

Tennessee: No minimum limit

Texas: 40 lbs

Utah: 40 lbs

Vermont: Moose--Bows of not less than 60 pound draw weight, based on the archer's normal draw length for traditional bows, and using arrowheads with at least 7/8 of an inch in width with two or more cutting edges.

Virginia: Bow must be capable of casting an arrow with broadhead at least 7/8 inch diameter (or expandable to that size), minimum of 125 yards

Washington: 40 lbs

West Virginia: 40 lbs

Wisconsin: 30 lbs

Wyoming: 40# or have the ability to cast a 400 grain arrows 160 yards for antelope,deer,sheep,mtn goat.
50# or have the ability to cast a 500 grain arrow 160 yards to hunt elk and moose

Manitoba: 40 lbs

[smokin feathers]

Take a 350gr arrow and shoot it out of a 48lb sarrels longbow, take the same arrow and shoot it out of a 35 pound pearson sidewinder set at 22". Guess what you get. the exact same speed and energy. Also a clean pass through most of the time. both bows shot 165 fps. I am all for the 35lb rules, but dont think we need to do away with it totally. I have seen hogs killed with 27 pds, but that was up close in a high fence not deer hunting. If you can shoot the light bow well and limit the shots to less than 20yds you got a dead deer on your hands. Most of the people I have in the shop that have kids that want to hunt with lower poundage know to keep the shot close and use a cut on contact head , because they are experienced bowhunters. I worry more about adults coming in buying a bow,screwing on broadheads and going hunting with it after getting the first pin on at 10 yds in the shop and saying thats good for now. They dont want to hear any other talk on it either.

I have to admit as well if you get out and practice most can build up the weight. Ashlny went from 25-45lbs in a year. She is 10, but a big 10 she pulls more weight than a lot of boys older than her. And it depends on the person as well, Ash was killing deer with a rifle when she was 4 and her sister is now 7 and I still will not let her hunt even though she wants to do to her not being mentally ready. I trust Ash behind me with a loaded gun a lot more than I do most men.

35lbs on lower!

sorry I rambled on.

[smokin feathers]

that was supposed to be 35 NO lower

[LostHawg]

The .243 or .308 make great beginner deer rifles.

[smokin feathers]

the 308 is a little much for a lot of kids, especially under 12. Ashlyn didnt like the kick of a 243 until she was almost 10 when she started shooting a 257 roberts. She killed most of her deer with the 223 and 357mag in a rifle. The 357 is not a bad way to go with low noise and no kick and can handload to dang near a 30/30.