Do i need a heaver draw weight

[BowBuddy]

45-55# is enough

[Phillip Fields]

Fred Eichler took the North American Grand Slam with a 53# Palmer.

Here is a video of a Waterbuck I took, also at 53#. They are close in size to an elk. Penetrated about 6" out the opposite side.

http://youtu.be/ibMm-lKrSCA

Excellent job on that Waterbuck. I was in an elevated stand when I took mine and he came in right under the stand. He was quartering and I had to hit him high. The arrow ranged down through both lungs and lodged in the off-shoulder. He went about 40 yards.

[coop]

I think the idea of needing heavy draw weight started way back with Saxton Pope and Art Young. They were shooting 60-70lbs longbows but no one seems to care that they were killing deer at over 100 yards too. I think it was Young that killed a mountain goat at 125 yards. That's why they needed all that weight. On iBooks they have a free book of Pope's that tells all about it.

Your right about the old timers shooting high poundage. Howard Hill's standard hunting bow was 118 lbs and he trick shot with an 80 lb bow. He also killed an elk at 149 yards and a lot of other animals well over 100 yards. These bows were self bows and/or laminated wood bows.

This all changed somewhat when glass was laminated into the limbs because it increased the efficiency dramatically. Fred Bear used a 65 lb when hunting Griz bears. By the time I got into archery for big game most people were shooting 45 to 50 lb bows.

After the compound bow became popular everyone seemed to go back to high poundage (70 - 80 lb) and when they started back to traditional archery they tried to stay with the high poundage. One reason so many went back to compounds.

I went the high poundage route for awhile shooting 70 and 80 lb long bows but as I got older it got harder to do and I realized I didn't need that kind of poundage. I now shoot 45 to 55 lbs again and it is plenty.

With the materials and designs of todays trad bows a 50 lb longbow is probably more efficient than Howard's 118 lb all wood longbow. I think that is why the average trad bow hunter uses lower poundage bows again like the 50s and 60s.

Sorry for steeling the thread and rambling.

JC

[bubinga]

Excellent shot man. What was the distance? Felt like 20+

Thanks guys, sometimes I get lucky. He was at 22 yards. Two days later I had a 15 yard chip shot on a Gemsbok, shot high and hit him right square in the shoulder blade and never found it.

[flywise]

I have two Martin recurve a @ 55# and a long now ( that as of now I still can't seem to shoot accuratly) @ 63#. My arrows are all total weight of about 480.
I'll get the arrow weight up and be satisfied.

Any advice on Colorado units to hint would be great. I did do some hunting up there for several years but most of it was just north of Delores and Durango.

[Ol Man]

My 50+ Dryad ILF longbow - blew right through a big Blue Wildebeest so fast I thought I missed.

[4dog]

The answer is NO!

You don't need it. There have been a gazillion elk killed with 50#. I killed a nearly 700# kudu a nd several other big critters in Africa with 50#. Make sure your arrows are well tuned and heavy, and put the arrow in the right place, and you will be just fine with 55#.

Bisch

Never hunted africa..but i will agree arrow weight will be more important than a heavier bow...and placement ...a heavy arrow can drop off quick ...practice with em...alot

[Fuzzy Dog]

What Bisch said.

[Live2Hunt]

50#, a sharp blade and true arrow and your money!

[stykshooter]

I am in the camp of - shoot as heavy as you comfortably can, and would agree that 55# is likely more than enough.

Comfort comes at different levels for different folks.

Rick

I'm in this camp also

[meangene1969]

I took my bull elk with a Horne Recurve 48#. He went 50 yards.

[Bowhunter1994]

Uncle Ted shoots all kind of critters with 42 pounds... Someone correct me if I'm wrong