FOC and lightweight bows

[RedTape]

#2531

I’ve had fairly good luck getting a high FOC with my longbows that run about 50# at my draw length. I recently dusted off my first traditional bow I got when I was 15. It’s a Martin Hatfield that’s 40# at my draw length. Call me nostalgic, but I would really like to take a whitetail with my first recurve, but I’m a little concerned about getting such a light bow to shoot a heavy arrow with high FOC. Has anyone experimented with a 40# bow?

[Troy Breeding]

#10549

Havn’t been that low in weight, but the year I messed up my shoulder I shot 45# at my draw. With a 600gr arrow I managed to bring home three.

Just make sure you get the shots in close, 20yds or less. Wait for the right shot and let it rip.

Troy

[Ed Ashby]

#10632

RedTape wrote: … I’m a little concerned about getting such a light bow to shoot a heavy arrow with high FOC. Has anyone experimented with a 40# bow?

You can find a fair amount of information on shots with a 40# bow in the 2008 Uodate, Parts 1 and 2. Here’s the links:

https://www.tradbow.com/members/294.cfm

https://www.tradbow.com/members/309.cfm

Ed

[archer38]

#8979

I shoot a 40# recurve with an arrow arround 500 grains and about 15% FOC. To be honest, its 40# @ 28 but I draw to 30.5 so probably more like 47#. Anyway, I also had some concerns about hunting big game with it. My concerns were silenced a couple weeks ago when this bow/arrow set-up passed one through a 250 lb bear. I knew it would do the job, but I wasn’t entirely sure I would get that kind of penetration with it.

I’m now a believer !!

[handirifle]

#20913

If I am not mistaken, TBH published an article a number of years ago, about a man and his wife hunting elk. She shot one with, if memory serves me correctly, a 43# recurve. It was a close shot, and again, if I remember correctly, it was a 500gr or so, arrow, and she buried it to the feathers.

I am sure someone here at TBH would recall the details a little better, but it seemed to do fine.

[David Coulter]

#23178

I’m shooting a 46# and my arrows are about 635gr. with 28% foc. They fly quite well. dwc

[horserod]

#37727

Redtape, With a bad left shoulder I’ve had to drop my bow weight to 40-42#(during recovery I started shooting a 25# then 35# to finally get to my acceptable long term bow poundage). My good friend Jerry Brumm (Great Northern bowyer) made an awesome 60″ longbow 40#@26″ draw length. Another good friend (John Lee) gave me a short dozen GT carbon arrows 3 feather fletched cut at 28 1/2″ and weighing 550 gr without points. With 140 gr field points they shoot like darts and bury deeply into my big block target at 20 yds !!! It’s an amazing shooting combo with a 21% FOC. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to shoot a deer yet this season. With some limited testing with a couple different broadheads I am totally convinced I will not have any problems taking a deer out to 20 yards (a self imposed limit!). Needless to say, I am very happy with my bow/arrow setup and can’t wait to put them to the final test….No fears here!!! Bullseye 😀

[mfc]

#32965

dwcphoto wrote: I’m shooting a 46# and my arrows are about 635gr. with 28% foc. They fly quite well. dwc

Hi all

Dwcphoto would it be possible to get some details of you’re arrow build? …I’m starting to work up to build a 650ish to use out of my 45# red stag…. Any info helps lol

Regards mark…( first post btw so hi to all ,seems a very harmonious forum)

[Robin Conrads]

#32984

mfc wrote: [quote=dwcphoto]I’m shooting a 46# and my arrows are about 635gr. with 28% foc. They fly quite well. dwc

Hi all

Dwcphoto would it be possible to get some details of you’re arrow build? …I’m starting to work up to build a 650ish to use out of my 45# red stag…. Any info helps lol

Regards mark…( first post btw so hi to all ,seems a very harmonious forum)

Hello Mark, and welcome to the forum! We do have a great group here, and I think dwc should be along soon to answer your question. If there is anything I can help you with on this site, please email me any time.

~Robin/Webmother

[mfc]

#32988

Yep looks like you Shure do .. Been liking the mag a lot

[David Coulter]

#33069

Hi Mark and Thanks to WebMom for the heads up!!

My arrow build up is pretty easy. I kept my hunting weight down to 630 so that I could match my stumping arrow to the hunting arrow.

My hunting arrow is a Beman Bowhunter 400, about 29 inches long. I use a 50 grain brass insert and a 75 grain steel adapter with a 225 grain Tuffhead. I only killed one small doe with it, but it was just like the Doc (Ashby) ordered.

My field tip are 300 gr to match the 225 + 75 of the broadhead. My stumpers have 100 grain brass inserts, 125 grain adapter to go into the 130ish grain judo. This way I’m shooting the same or close to the same all year around.

The Beman shafts are about the least expensive on the market. Their weight seems to be very consistent and the shafts are very durable. Can’t say if they are as tough as the more expensive shafts, but they probably are not. Cheap for a reason. That said, I stump almost every day and I might break a shaft twice a year. Funny, not so, but I broke one this morning. User error, me thinks, in getting it out of the wood I hit. It snapped right at the back of the insert. Usually, I can grab the arrow a few inches behind the head and wiggle while pulling back hard to keep the shaft straight while removing it from the stump/limb.

I think it’s a good set-up. I shot my broadhead arrows the other day and they flew right in there.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I’ll be glad to help. Best of luck! david

[Col Mike]

#33368

Mark

Welcome to the tribe. We have another one of your countrymen on the site–ausjim–he is away now at your military academy search past posts for his insightful brand of BS.:D

Too your original ? — I shoot a 46# bow at my draw of 27″- http://javamanarchery.com/ I have the elkheart at 52″. Arrows are Trad only Easton 500’s cut to 29 3/4″ after bare shaft tuning in accordance with Troy Breeding’s instructions found at http://www.tuffhead.com/. 100 gr. brass insert with field tip of 300 gr. + 100 gr steel adapter. for hunting substitute the field point for the 300gr. tuffhead. Total arrow weight is 750gr. at 31.5% EFOC. I use A&A fletching. All of this stuff is available from Joe Furlong at Tuff head. This set up was for an elk hunt that didn’t happen:(. However in keeping with David Petersen’s mantra that there is no such thing as overkill on our beloved quarry–I use them for everything from 3-D, straw bales, whitetail and turkey. Oh yeah arrows are from 3 Rivers.

This combination fly’s like a dart and penetrates like a tank round– and as Steve said that EFOC compensates for a lot of shooter error.

Lots of info on this site–have fun with the journey and again welcome aboard:D.

Semper Fi

Mike

[David Coulter]

#33377

“I shoot 46# at 27 inches” is pretty much identical to my set-up, but then you go BIG on the arrow! Nice. Dwc

[mfc]

#33544

Thanks guys ,

Yea I spotted him last night while reading… I’ve got 55 years of bs…. Not that insighfull though lol

Steve I had similar thoughts re the 130g judos ,but it didn’t dawn on me to use a heavier insert doh( was looking at 140 g single bevel outback trad’s alloy insert for 175g then a 100 g brass insert)… Steve, Re the toughhead site it’s a candy store, bottles full of tempting treats .its in the ” reading list” ( getting to be a bloody long list to)..

The same arrow for everything is what I’m after( cheaper lol) and the side benefit is the trajectory of ur arrows will be similar??

I’ve got to up my bow weight to 50# …illegal to hunt sambar here with a bow under 50#{ makes sense as there under the mooseand elk in the deer size scale

Cheers and thanks for you’re input

Mark

[David Coulter]

#34113

Mark,

Have fun with it. I made all my arrows the same because I need the consistency. I’m also fairly new at this, with only several years under my belt. I have thousands of arrows loosed, but not tens of thousands!

As I said, I broke one of my stumping arrows yesterday morning. I had a thought that I’m going to give a try. Since I do more stumping than any other form of practice, why not make a bare shaft stumping arrow. If I can make it work, why not make the arrow that gets the most practice be one that makes you pay the closest attention to my form? I’ll keep you posted on this one! best, dwc

[mfc]

#34116

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