poundage

[woodstoka]

hi guys im just wondering wat your bows poundage is set on and wat game u hunt im shooting 50 pound and and trying to shoot deer and and reabbits and stuff

[Howling Dog]

IMO a modern compound @ 50# with the correct arrow should do the job.
No point in overbowing yourself and not being able to shoot accurately.
Ken :D

[woodstoka]

yer mate if it were up to me i would put it a little higher but my limb bolts are wond all the way in and the only way i can change the poundage up from here is to change the draw length

[hugearm]

I think 50lbs is enough for deer jmho

[bobzila]

my power tec is set at 78# and im only shooting fita and 3d for practes for when i get amungst the piggys :D

[Kimall]

Hey Bobzila it must take some doing to get the arrows out of the close 3d targets. :D
Cheers KIM

[bobzila]

yeah but i let the older guys pull the arrows so it doesnt bother me :twisted:

[Wareagle]

yeah but i let the older guys pull the arrows so it doesnt bother me :twisted:
Must remember never to shoot with you :D

[troy]

I shoot at around 80 have been increasing from around 70 for a few weeks and am trying to get around 90. A lot of people now days don't shoot very high poundage due to the speed of the more modern bows, shich is fair enough as 50+ should kill most anything with a well placed arrow, but I like the flat trajectory with higher poundage bows, on top of that you can shoot heavier arrows and get complete pass through penetration on shots for any game. Like my mate says '2 holes are better than 1'.
Shoot what your comfortable with, but my advice would be to try and increase the poundage slowly and without compromising your form.
Best of luck.

[Shano]

Troy,

What grain arrow do you shoot and what do you shoot at?

I ran tests today on arrow trajectory and discovered that an arrow shot from a bow with the following specifications:-Mathews Switchback 60#, 29.5" draw, 540 grain arrow, drop away rest, cobra easy slide extreme single pin sight and release aid shoots relatively flat over a 30 yard distance.

I shot 30 arrows at a 10 yard bullseye with my 30 yard pin distance -

result -

My arrows hit 5 " above the bullseye.

Conclusion

a 5" variance in height is nothing when hunting, so long as you aim for the centre of the kill zone on medium to large animals such as goats, pigs deer etc.

A 540 grain arrow carrys enough kinetic energy when shot from a 60# bow to effect a pass-through on any huntable animal in our country except maybe a buff (dependant on angle of shot).

Trying for 90# is beyond my reasoning and, dare I say, beyond what many bow manufacturers will produce in draw weights with their bows now and into the future.

I do a lot of hunting and talk with many of the best hunters that australia has to offer and I am having trouble reconciling your argument :?:

I am interested to hear more :)

Cheers

Shano

[troy]

Shano,
sorry to reply after so long, been busy [change of job]. faster bow allow flater trajectory but heavy bows create higher velocity ie pyhsics, mass weight speed and all that. I agree most game in aussie only need 60-70pound, which Ive used with lighter weight carbons and had great success, but on big game -ie Buffs [as you stated] you will not get the best result. i am scared the attitude toward hunting in aussie is heading toard the yankee ideal of light weight arrows & max speed, which as i said will work on most game, but why not shoot heavier weight and heavier aroows with less slightly speed?? bows 10 and even 20 years ago only produced 260 odd fps, with timber shafts or allows [pre-carbon] and killed the same game we hunt today. basically i am sick of reading and hearing about people shooting animals 2 or more times to put them on the deck. on top of which so are the anti-bow grups out there, we have an obligation to cleanly and humanely kill- not advertise that light weight bows and arrows allow you an extra 2 or more shots to kill some poor animal regardless of whether it's feral or not. I've shot goats some big billies using my old bow at around 60 with carbons and had them run, despite arrow placement and then shot similar size goats with my new bow at 80 using alloys and the've dropped as though shot with a rifle.
as i described it to a mate the other day 'make a paper plan and throw it someones head, then get a cricket ball and through it their head with the same amount of effort and see how they react'.
best of luck troy :D

[Noakesy]

i am comfortable and accurate at this current setup.
accurate is an understatement, i may call him a cheater but hes a very good cheater lol (release aid shooter)

[rohan]

i shoot a martin jaguar magnum at 48# @ 27 inches and use goldtip 55-75 carbon arrows and have had pass throughs on nearly every animal i have shot (goats rabbits and came close on a pig) including a 44 metre passthrough on a billy goat.
i reckon paper tune your bow well, use sharp broadheads and parctice at all ranges and angles.
my bow goes up to 60# but i am in no hurry to change the poundage because i am comfortable and accurate at this current setup.
rohan

[Tj]

'make a paper plan and throw it someones head, then get a cricket ball and through it their head with the same amount of effort and see how they react'.
best of luck troy

LMAO

That is the best argument I have heard in the whole KE Vs Momentum debate.

TJ

[johnno]

G'day Troy I too am having a little troube reconciling your argument. As you state you have had a majority of pass through shots..but thats it for KE as once the arrow leaves the body there is no more KE force. So regardless of shooting a 60# or an 90# bow once a passthrough its game over for the KE. There have been plenty of buff killed with a 70# bow and lighter... and when it comes to pass through shots regardless of the lbs and the shot placement, at times it requires a 2nd arrow. I have had goats knocked off their feet when hit with mine, one on a recent hunting trip as witnesed by Rin, a passthrough and the goat quickly expired....then again at times they have lingered..despite being hit in the A zone...I think it has more to do with the strength of the "will to live" of the animal. Whilst I agree about heavier arrows and I only shoot 500+ grains, when hunting....I still get more than adequate speed out of my 70# and the heavier arrow makes for a quieter shot. :D

[rinaldo]

but I like the flat trajectory with higher poundage bows, on top of that you can shoot heavier arrows and get complete pass through penetration on shots for any game

Why worry about the trajectory of an arrow?

[robf300]

Ive been working with this over the weekend... Over 10 - 30 meters the pins are pretty close... but due to the ballistic curve of the arrow 40 - 50 meters are spaced a long way apart and it is very hard to get your vertical accuracy good (especially when estimating, we were using tape measures)... I suppose if you have the poundage wound up the longer shots would be a lot easier to pull off... (my bow is at 56 pounds at the moment, looking to wind it up soon...)

[Luke]

The flatter the trajectory of an arrow, the less any misjudgements in distance estimation will be amplified at the other end. IE a judgement error in distance will result in a faster arrow (flatter traj) missing by less whereas a slower (more arching traj) will miss by more.

This of course is amplified more the further away the shot being taken.

8)

[Kimall]

I would not normally get involved in this kind of debate as it has so many opinions that get put forward but I found this on a Trad site and thought it covered the topic perfectly.It proves that you can shoot it fast and hard but if not in the right spot no cigar.
Quote
I wrote here recently about a big bull elk that had been shot previously with an arrow; and at the time- I thought it was two arrows.
But I boiled the shoulder blades down in some soap/water/bleach/peroxide and cleaned them up. To my surprise I found the broadhead in the left shoulder blade; and a section of carbon arrow in the right.
Tonight I got on the phone with the outfitter that dressed out the elk; and he said that when he dressed it out he found an adapter for putting a broadhead on a carbon arrow under the elks spine; and over its lungs from the appearance of it. He himself hunts with a longbow; and said any higher and it would have hit the spine; and any lower it would have hit the lungs.
Perhaps it did hit the lungs- but it may have not done enough damage- or it might have slid over the lungs.
It was a two blade head; I dont know what kind; but it has only an 1 3/8 inch blade surface on a side; and is 1 1/8th wide at the back. ( the bone is grown over the blade on one side; the exact measurement is probably 1 1/8 but it is in reality an estimate).
Its a two blade head stainless steel.
Heres the thing. It hit the shoulder blade low on the right side and went through that; and through the shoulder blade on the other side; but remained in the bone.
Apparently the arrow snapped at the thread on the broadhead and thats why the insert stayed; with a section of the carbon arrow in the elk; and the carbon arrow section I saw stayed stuck and snapped off in the shoulder blade.
This elk was over the injury; and the bone had grown over the broadhead like a sponge; and where I thought there was a broadhead on the right scapula was actually shards of carbon which can be seen as a half dollar size shadow when you hold the scapula up to a strong light.
Point is ( pardon the pun)
The arrow did a great job; plowed right through the right scapula; right through the elk; and through the other scapula.
What ever weight the arrow was; the length; the this and that--- it did not kill the elk.
What it did was miss the vitals.
I think its mostly about accuracy and not penetration when your hunting. Penetration counts of course-- but not if you miss the vitals.
The broadhead in the elk was half the size of the zwickey deltas I shoot- and I don't even know if that would have made a difference.
What I am sure is- if the shot had been below the shoulder blade and through the lungs - it would have been a dead elk.(IMHO & the outfitters)
Hunt with what you shoot the most accurately at the range you expect to shoot at- and that will count more than worrying about all the variables.
IMHO
PS anybody have an idea what head this could have been? I will post a picture in the future.

PPS the scapulas will be used in bowhunter ed classes to show the need for accuracy!

[woodstoka]

that was an interesting read the broadhead must of gone through flat and not hit any reel bad arterys or vitals as said

[wazza_X force]

50# should be enough id reckon mate, especially with the right arrow... i wouldnt have said this yesterday but theres an article in the new bowhunting down under by Scott Goodwin who took a scrub bull with a 63# reflex grizzly, penetrated untill the fletchings where out the other side nearly... i didnt know my bow was powerful enough to do that!!!!

[Puk]

One other point for beginners and youngsters, don't over do it too early.
I started at 70 pounds and now have tendonitis and bursitis in my right shoulder. I am having to do heaps of weight training on my trapezius, infraspinatus and teres minor muscles to redress the balance and give me the strength in my back that i need, but it would have been preferable to start lighter, get coaching in good form and technique, and let the bow be my weight training.

By the time i have finished with physio's, Cortizone injections and x-rays, it definitely would have been cheaper.

Learn from my mistakes. :( :?

Puk