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Hunting trad bow poundage?

I have bows that range from 44# to 55# and have killed deer with all of them. My favorite weight for whitetail is around 46-48#. I carried my 54# bow last year for elk.

Edit: if your looking to buy your first trad bow and want it to be something you can hunt with I wouldn’t go any heavier than 40-45#.
 
You can kill good sized deer w 35# if your setup is dialed in and you limit your range.

Whats your desired kill radius? Are you willing to dial in your setup to perfect or dammed close?

What poundage can you comfortably draw/hold/shoot?
 
Well, I shoot a compound but want to get into trad. I have a Darton Stalker that is 56# @ 28" but need something that I can shoot to "work my way up" to the 56#. I can fling arrows with it but have no consistency. I am afraid that I am going to get bad habits/form with a bow that is to heavy to start with.
I was reading the thread about the "TBOW" and was thinking of getting one at 45# to practice and hunt with, which would help me work up to the Darton.
 
I hunted with 53# and 680 grain arrows for a lot of years.
This year I'll be hunting with 48# (I haven't done the arrow build yet).
Arrows flying perfectly from 40# will penetrate better than a poorly flying arrow from 60#.
Shoot the heaviest poundage that you can shoot well and do it with well tuned arrows and quality broad heads.
 
Ditchdiver said:
Well, I shoot a compound but want to get into trad. I have a Darton Stalker that is 56# @ 28" but need something that I can shoot to "work my way up" to the 56#. I can fling arrows with it but have no consistency. I am afraid that I am going to get bad habits/form with a bow that is to heavy to start with.
I was reading the thread about the "TBOW" and was thinking of getting one at 45# to practice and hunt with, which would help me work up to the Darton.
Click to expand...

What’s your draw length?
 
GCTerpfan said:
What’s your draw length?
Click to expand...
29" on my compound.
I haven't shot a trad bow since I was a kid (10-12 yrs. Old) and the 56# Stalker makes me shake like Michael J. Fox in an earthquake at full draw. Hard to get consistent accuracy and form like that. I'm hoping a 45# bow would allow proper practice and be something I could hunt with if I don't make it up to the 56# by hunting season.
 
Ditchdiver said:
29" on my compound.
I haven't shot a trad bow since I was a kid (10-12 yrs. Old) and the 56# Stalker makes me shake like Michael J. Fox in an earthquake at full draw. Hard to get consistent accuracy and form like that. I'm hoping a 45# bow would allow proper practice and be something I could hunt with if I don't make it up to the 56# by hunting season.
Click to expand...

If you were drawing under 28” I was going to recommend getting a bow that was 45# @28” but since you will likely be drawing close to 28” you would be fine with a 40# bow. If you are able to draw and shoot the 56# bow I would guess you would probably be okay with a 45# bow also. Just limit your practice time if you start getting tired so you don’t develop bad habits. Either of those weights will kill a deer.

You can kill a deer with less weight than that. My uncle just killed a mule deer with a 38# bow this past fall but, when you get below 40# your margin of error shrinks tremendously. Below 40# you’re less likely to get a pass through and although things like perfect arrow tune, a good release, TAW, shot distance, etc are always important, under 40# they better be perfect.
 
I have two bows, both have two sets of limbs. One recurve has 38lb and 47lbs, the other is a long bow 45lbs and 60 lbs. I hunt with the 60 lb and plan to shoot most of the summer with the 45lbs this year after I tore a muscle last year in my forearm. The 38/47lb recurve I have up for sale.
 
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