Recurve poundage and deer chest cavity penetration

[Jmh05]

Recurve poundage versus penetration on deer.

Obviously there are differences between a 70lb and a 40lb bow but what are we talking about between 45 and 55lbs?

I'm a compound turning recurve hunter and draw 64lbs on my compound. I'm shooting a 47lb recurve and am always wanting to increase poundage because I feel it's too low poundage.

Just need some basic education here.

[CRM_95]

I'm a newbie too, but from everything I've read and heard 50lbs is more than enough for deer, and ok for elk. Especially if you have a longer DL. For deer size animals I don't know that you'd notice that much difference between 45 and 55. I know my 48 lb bow blew through a big fallow doe at Big Oak and stuck in the dirt on the other side at 16 yards.

[Dry Bones]

Just to give you a little more confidence in your draw weight. The pig in my avatar was taken a month or so ago with a longbow that is about 50 at my draw. It is a VERY nice shooter, but nothing crazy. The pig is somewhere around 225 and I had MOST of the arrow hanging out the backside.The only whitetail I connected on this season, with my longbow, had a pass through so fast I thought I may have shot under it for a brief moment.
Well tuned arrows and good placement can make a 45 lb bow VERY lethal.

[Junkers88]

From all I've read it's not really a matter of poundage although that does come into play. It's more about weight forward or "Front-of-center" %. I don't have any data on actual deer hunting to support this but can confirm that shooting 12% FOC arrows out of my 45lb Journey (before I sold it) didn't penetrate my 18" compressed cardboard target near as far as 22% FOC arrows out of my 45lb Grizzly.


I've been told by others on here that you can successfully take deer sized game animals with sub 40lb bows if you're tuned properly and have solid, accurate shot placement. To be honest though I'm also looking for a heavier bow at some point.

[jerp]

Whenever I wonder if pulling 50lbs is enough, I go back and look at Bisch's LDPs from Africa. He has killed a pile of large game with a 50lb longbow.

[TejasNW]

47# is may more than enough to punch through deer. 30# is enough to punch through deer (with a sharp head and a tuned shaft.) (no I am not recommending it, just that is will do the job.)

It is not about the draw weight. It is about the tip of the arrow. I was shocked the first time I tested broadheads. The target I was using that was more than adequate to stop my arrows out of a 45# bow slipped straight through the target and embedded in the ground a ways behind it with a sharp broadhead.

Bad tuning and a dull head will have far more impact on penetration than +/- 10 pounds of draw weight. Do those things well and you're fine. Also as a compound shooter, remember that it is not about kinetic energy (speed). It is about momentum. A heavier shaft has far more penetration than a faster arrow. It also quiets the bow a lot. Stationary targets not jumping the string have better penetration than moving targets. If the shaft is not absorbing all the extra weight a heavier bow imparts, any benefit is outweighed by alerting the animal before contact.

Sharp, heavy, slow shafts will beat fast and flat shafts in a moving target all day long. Swing your target a bit and see how little penetration a hunting head gets compared to a stationary target. Even your compound will get poor results on a moving target and it has a lot more energy.

Lower weight bows transfer more of their energy in a shorter time than heavy weight bows. Tune your rig before you worry about increasing weight over the 45# mark is my opinion.

[ghostgoblin22]

45lbs is plenty, it truly is all about shot placement and having a tuned arrow, fast arrows are a plus, but shot control is more important

[Bisch]

Recurve poundage and deer chest cavity penetration

I have shot 6 deer this season with my 48.5#@29" longbow (my DL is 29"). Every one has either been a compete passthru or complete penetration with the arrow falling out the exit hole within 10yds of the shot.

You don't NEED more for deer, but you might need more for other large, tough skinned/boned critters. I have shot several larger critters in Africa with my 48# -50# bows, and would not hesitate to shoot elk or moose with my setup. Well tuned setups, sharp broadheads, and the skill to put the arrow in the right place are the most important things.

That being said, I do believe that a guy should hunt with the most draw weight that he can shoot well. For me, that number is 50#, and I order all my bows at that weight. For you, that number might be higher and the only way you will know is to try some with higher draw weight. I would not try to jump more than 5# at a time though.

The difference is not more blazing speed with the higher weight. The difference is being able to shoot a much heavier arrow that will penetrate better on marginal/big bone hits at nearly the same speeds. A great example of this is our own Buff. An average guy might shoot a 500gr arrow from a 50# bow at around 175fps. Buff shoots a much heavier arrow out of his 72# bow, but at about the same speed. Because of the added momentum of the heavier arrow at the same speed, Buffs arrow is going to go thru a whole lot more critter than the lighter arrow at near the same speed.

Bisch

[Jmh05]

Thanks all for the input and advice. I don't foresee needing to shoot more than 50lbs right now. I'm holding my 47lbs fairly well without appearing overbowed. I will probably stick with this. That being said, my other thread about the new bow, I've decided to keep it, but switch from 45 to 50lbs. I will order new strings and add silencers to it. Pretty excited about this next season.

[SwampRabbit]

I shoot 48# @ 27". I haven't killed a bunch of stuff, but I can say without a doubt that more #s wouldn't have killed them more... or saved my bacon on bad shots.

I have always gotten 2 holes and am about 50/50 on complete passthrus.

I shoot 540gr arrows which gives me plenty of momentum and penetration potential.

The comment Jerp made about Bisch is spot on; that is great evidence. If you want to look at a rookie who doesn't shoot as well... I have put 2 holes in a ram, javi, 2 deer, and a hog in my first 2 years.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[killerbee]

I have shot up to 70 on a recurve but it just never feels comfortable. I like mine 60llb at the high end and 50lb at the low end. My current bow is 55lbs at 28.

[Buff]

40 will work
45 is alot better than 40
50 is much better than 45 and I would not be afraid to hunt most anything in Texas with it
55 is better than 50 and a noticeable difference over 50
60 is better than 55 and a really good all around weight
65 is better than 60 and what I do most of my hunting with now that I got old and feeble
70 is a little better than 65 but not alot. seems to start showing diminished returns along about here.
75 is a very little bit better than 70 and was my go to weight for years. I like to shoot way forward on deer and hit several right in the shoulder. with a 750 grain arrow it didn't matter, I killed the deer any way.

all of this is based on a 10 grain per pound arrow.

As Bisch said shoot as much bow as you are comfortable with.
It is better to hit them with a 50 pound bow than miss them with a 70
As young as you are you can build up to shoot pretty much any weight you want.

[Hunter Todd]

My first two trad deer were with a 45 lb recurve. Complete pass through on both deer. Both were hit behind the shoulder at 12-15 yards. Sharp two blade heads helped. 45 is plenty, but as Buff said above, if you can pull it, more weight is better. But NOT absolutly necessary.

[ballgame]

I have shot 6 deer this season with my 48.5#@29" longbow (my DL is 29"). Every one has either been a compete passthru or complete penetration with the arrow falling out the exit hole within 10yds of the shot.

You don't NEED more for deer, but you might need more for other large, tough skinned/boned critters. I have shot several larger critters in Africa with my 48# -50# bows, and would not hesitate to shoot elk or moose with my setup. Well tuned setups, sharp broadheads, and the skill to put the arrow in the right place are the most important things.

That being said, I do believe that a guy should hunt with the most draw weight that he can shoot well. For me, that number is 50#, and I order all my bows at that weight. For you, that number might be higher and the only way you will know is to try some with higher draw weight. I would not try to jump more than 5# at a time though.

The difference is not more blazing speed with the higher weight. The difference is being able to shoot a much heavier arrow that will penetrate better on marginal/big bone hits at nearly the same speeds. A great example of this is our own Buff. An average guy might shoot a 500gr arrow from a 50# bow at around 175fps. Buff shoots a much heavier arrow out of his 72# bow, but at about the same speed. Because of the added momentum of the heavier arrow at the same speed, Buffs arrow is going to go thru a whole lot more critter than the lighter arrow at near the same speed.

Bisch

This ^^^

don't over think it. (Its easy to do)

Ive taken 16 animals with my 50 LB recurve with a 575 grain arrow.

Whitetail, hogs (a few 200+), Aoudad (a couple over 200 lbs), Turkey...

I wouldn't hesitate shooting a Moose or elk with the exact same set up.

[Buff]

This ^^^

don't over think it. (Its easy to do)

Ive taken 16 animals with my 50 LB recurve with a 575 grain arrow.

Whitetail, hogs (a few 200+), Aoudad (a couple over 200 lbs), Turkey...

I wouldn't hesitate shooting a Moose or elk with the exact same set up.

If I'm not mistaken Fred Elicler killed one of everything in North America with a 50# bow