Minimum poundage to harvest whitetail

[loupnoir]

#3724

I think I’m just one of many compound shooters that want to get back to basics-gear is not the problem, humane and quick harvesting is-I would like some up front field experience from you long timers-is a 45lb recurve enough bow at 25 yds in, to take a mature buck? Gear will be a Martin Hunter with Carbon Express Heritage 250s tipped with Magnus Stinger broadheads. Tahnk you in advance.

[ChumpMcgee]

#22796

That is pretty darn close to my current set up and I would have no problem taking down a mature buck with it!

[james gilmer]

#22980

I shoot a 43 lb black widow. I have never shot more than 47 lbs ever.

I have killed moose, caribou, antelope, black bears and dozens of white tails in the 35 years I have been bow hunting.

25 yards may be the stretch. 20 or less is my ideal range. I killed one caribou at 30 and one white tail at 27 but both of those were exceptions and not the norm.

the 200 lb buck I killed this year was 8 yards from my stand

[David Coulter]

#23006

Can’t imagine why not. In PA 35# is the minimum for deer and 45# is the minimum for elk. Most would say that’s too little, but it must work. I don’t think the power would be an issue at 25 yards, but accuracy for most of us would start to open up at that range. 15 to 20 seems to be a normally excepted maximum range. Have some fun, dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#23522

The setup is fine. The 25 yards distance, on the other hand, could be ok, I guess,if you practice enough. My personal range is defined as such: I run a 100yard sprint (for buck fever heart rate), stop and shoot 1 arrow. I retrieve the arrow. I repeat the whole thing 2X. the 3 arrows have to hit the target perfect. I increase the distance every 3 arrows. if my last good group is at let’s say 40 yards, my hunting range is half that, at 20. This season it was 45 yards, so I made my range ballpark 22, given +2 -2 according to situation. Very “rainman” isn’t it? 😀

Have fun!!

Alex

[David Coulter]

#23568

I like that Rain Man system. Sounds like fun practice, too. Can you do this in your Harlem apartment? dwc

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#23633

AlexBugnon wrote: The setup is fine. The 25 yards distance, on the other hand, could be ok, I guess,if you practice enough. My personal range is defined as such: I run a 100yard sprint (for buck fever heart rate), stop and shoot 1 arrow. I retrieve the arrow. I repeat the whole thing 2X. the 3 arrows have to hit the target perfect. I increase the distance every 3 arrows. if my last good group is at let’s say 40 yards, my hunting range is half that, at 20. This season it was 45 yards, so I made my range ballpark 22, given +2 -2 according to situation. Very “rainman” isn’t it? 😀

Have fun!!

Alex

That just inspired me to get off my @$$.

[lyagooshka]

#23681

Loupnoir,

Let me pass the question back to you with these situations:

a) You have a 40# bow (as DWC said, legal here in PA for deer). You shoot regularly. You have gotten to the point where you can draw, anchor, visualize the exact spot you want to hit, visualize the arrow’s flight, release and follow through 100% of the time. You are hitting “vitals” (size of your group) every time at 20 yards. On top of that, you have an arrow perfectly matched for your gear and shooting style. It flies like a dart, perfect. Your broadhead is so sharp that it splits molecules of air on its way to the target.

b) You have an 80# bow. You hardly ever go out, even to get a few shots in. You can barely pull this beast back, and when you can, you shake like a leaf on a windstorm. Your arrows are all different brands. Not one of them is consistent, even at 10 yards. Your broadheads are so dull, they couldn’t cut water.

Since the second situation has double the weight of the first, would you consider it a more ethical choice?

IMHO, just about any bow that is legal for hunting will do the job, so long as it is in the hands of an ethical HUNTER (one who keeps his/her gear in top shape, cares for the game, doesn’t take shots outside his/her comfort zone, etc). If 45# is something you are comfortable with, make it happen. Do a little reading, especially about FOC, and other studies. Once you get the facts, make your own decisions and experiment with them. Get out there and shoot. Most of all, enjoy. Love what you do. The fact that your first question here is about being humane, to me, means your heart and mind are in the right place, so go with it. I look forward to your stories and pictures. Be well.

Alex

😀

[Etter1]

#23711

I think you’ll be just fine if the arrow goes where it’s supposed to. I gained a lot of confidence in trad bows this year.

My lighter bow is probably 47lbs at my draw length. I shoot a full length 35/55 arrow with 190 grain broadheads (2 inch wide at that).

I killed a 125lb pig and a 100lb buck with that setup this year. The arrow blew through both and buried deep in the dirt on the other side. In fact, I shot the buck twice because he pretty much just stood there after the first went through.

When switching from a compound to a much slower trad bow, it’s easy to wonder how it will perform, but if you do your part, it surely will do the job.

In fact, I’ve had much shorter and easier to track blood trails now that I’ve gone trad than when I ever shot a compound.

Good luck and welcome to it!

[Wexbow]

#23971

AlexBugnon wrote: The setup is fine. The 25 yards distance, on the other hand, could be ok, I guess,if you practice enough. My personal range is defined as such: I run a 100yard sprint (for buck fever heart rate), stop and shoot 1 arrow. I retrieve the arrow. I repeat the whole thing 2X. the 3 arrows have to hit the target perfect. I increase the distance every 3 arrows. if my last good group is at let’s say 40 yards, my hunting range is half that, at 20. This season it was 45 yards, so I made my range ballpark 22, given +2 -2 according to situation. Very “rainman” isn’t it? 😀

Have fun!!

Alex

Respect Alex! Reminds me of a Brian Sorrels tip of doing star jumps or push-ups before your training shots to simulate buck fever. It’s in his trad archery book for anyone interested.

[David Petersen]

#24037

Hi Lou and welcome here. I agree with most of the above and can only add my 2 pence worth, focusing on your admirable desire for “humane and quick harvesting” of deer. I killed my first deer, a whitetail doe, with a 43# recurve and one of the least effective heads available back then, a three-blade Bodkin (IMHO). I got full pass-through. But the shot was spot-on from only about eight yards. So please do take into account the almost infinite number of variables that must be factored in to any decision about “least poundage to get the job done.”

And always crank in a fudge factor for all the things that can go wrong.

Please allow an analogy: There are curvy mountain roads here with a speed limit of 45 mph, which I know from long familiarity I can handle at up to 65 mph. But what if something goes wrong? I round a bend and a deer is standing there … or (as is common in Mexico) the drain plug comes out of someone’s oil tank and there’s a couple gallons of oil on the road … or a front tire blows out … or …? Thus, the speed limits builds in a fudge factor because most drivers aren’t going to think that cautiously. Same with hunting, except we have nobody taking care of the fudge factor for us. Legal minimum bow draw weights are for the most part bad jokes because they have been lobbied into existence by raving optimists: If we are to be as cautious about avoiding wounding loss due to inadequate equipment as the animals we hunt deserve, we have to give ourselves and them some slack for a myriad things that can go wrong and often do.

The first rule, and the one that most often is ignored, is that you can’t transfer what works consistently well for deer, that is has a built-in fudge factor–to elk, moose, etc. While it might work, if things go well, does it have enough fudge to get it done “humane and quick” when something unexpected intervenes?

A second rule often ignored is that thelower poundage the bow, the more important becomes the arrow. The lower poundage the bow, the more a heavy arrow with good FOC and the best-penetrating broadhead comes into play.

And so on through many other considerations. There is no room for optimism in ethical hunting.

All that said by way of caution, I agree with all above that you seem to have an easily adequate setup for whitetails, though I know nothing about that broadhead. I personally won’t hunt any big game with less than 650 grains. But then I’m a shameless pessimist. 😆

[Col Mike]

#24075

Great advice from all. Dave, remember a pessimist is an optimist in possession of the facts.

Semper Fi

Mike

[David Petersen]

#24084

Ahh, regarding my dear friend and elk-hunting buddy Alex Bugnon, aka “the human ATV” … he’s not exaggerating. Like most middle-aged folks today, especially those whose professions keep them on the road much of the time, Alex has to constantly fight “bulking up.” And is he ever serious about it! Last summer my wife and I drove over the Divide to the Copper Mtn. Jazz and Wine Festival to see Alex perform. As always in such cases we shared a hotel room, and no matter our previous night’s over-indulgence in rich food and drink, he was up and gone at daylight, in a cold rain. When I looked out the window and up the ski slope, using binoculars, there he was near the top. He would run fast as he could a ways along the very steep hiking trail below the chair-lift line, then duck off-trail to pick up a watermelon sized rock and toss it far as he could, then resume his run, then another rock toss. Just watching, it made me so tired I had to crawl back into bed with my warm snoring wifey. 😛 Consequently, when he comes from his Harlem home to CO to hunt elk, the altitude change means next to nothing to him. While few of us can meet that high standard, he’s nonetheless one heck of a good example to us. And he’s real darn handy when there’s an elk to pack down the mountain. A pack frame can’t hold enough for this guy, so he usually adds a Santa bag. If you plan a moose or musk oz or bison hunt, I advise you to pay this guy’s way to come along! 😀

[archer38]

#24266

I have to agree with Etter1, after switching from compound to a recurve I was a little unsure of how well it would perform in comparison. My bow is 40# but I draw 30.5 inches so I’m more like 47# with a well matched arrow and a sharp, 2 blade cut on contact head. All worries or doubts were erased this fall when that set up blew an arrow through both sides of a 250 pound bear at 18 yds. It sure builds your confidence when you see first hand what your bow is capable of.

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#24555

dwcphoto wrote: I like that Rain Man system. Sounds like fun practice, too. Can you do this in your Harlem apartment? dwc

😀 Jumping jacks and 25 yards to target!

[David Coulter]

#24741

It’s inspiring to be sure. I’ll make sure I at least get a good stumping hike in the snow today. best, dwc

[Author]

Posts