OH-vur-BOH

[Carpdaddy]

They have probably seen us Ky boys shoot and see no real danger of us hitting a deer, draw weight don't matter when you miss! I'm so talented that I could miss with a gun.

[Gamestalker]

New York didn't used to have a poundage requirement. They only stated that the bow had to be able to propel an arrow a certain distance. I forget how many yards it was though.
Their current regulation is a "not less than 35 pounds."

Pennsylvania also has a minimum of 35 pounds.

I hunt both states since I live within 4 miles of the line between the two states & I own property in both.

[Captainkirk]

Here's the thing; this indicates your DNR has reviewed the data and determined that a 35# bow can and will be lethal on deer sized game. You know if it was questionable they would not let it pass, so that says something.
I refer back to the original "trilogy of terror" (for deer):

1) Pin-point shot placement (much easier to do with a bow you can actually control and handle!)

2) Wicked-sharp broadhead...not marginally, but surgically sharp

3) Heavy arrow, but more importantly, high % weight FOC (front of center) in line with Dr. Ashby's tests

These three things combined with a 35# bow will make you just as deadly as a heavier bow on medium (deer-sized) game. Of the three, I consider shot placement to be the most critical, but there are probably differing opinions on that. I can't overstate the importance of knowing deer anatomy (rather than "somewhere around there") and being able to thread the needle when the chips are down.

[Old Shortstop]

I have 6 bows and they are all between 50 and 56# @ 28 and I draw 29 1/2. I do have a set of 60# @ 28 limbs coming for my Silvertip longbow. They will be my elk/moose limbs.

There was a day that my light limbs were 60 and my heavies were 70+, but many years of baseball, racquetball and heavy bows took a toll on my right shoulder. I shoot lefty so it is my bow arm. I am 57 now and work out 5-6 days a week but anything over 60 and my form goes to hell quickly. I have found sitting in a treestand in cold Michigan weather for hours makes heavy weights a real problem. I typically start the season with a bow in the mid 50s and go to a 50-51# bow by mid-November. I have also killed many, many deer and a few bears with the 50-56# bows and don't feel the need to go higher any longer. My biggest deer was taken with a 50# recurve.

D.P.

[Shadowhntr]

This is really good stuff. Its great to compile all these years of experience together, to begin to see an agreement form across this board. Looks to me, that everone has leaned from approximately 35lb-50lb, as being adequtely lethal by our own hands combined with State law practices. Looks like most of us arent afraid a bit to hunt with our lighter bows.

[Captainkirk]

This is really good stuff. Its great to compile all these years of experience together, to begin to see an agreement form across this board. Looks to me, that everone has leaned from approximately 35lb-50lb, as being adequtely lethal by our own hands combined with State law practices. Looks like most of us arent afraid a bit to hunt with our lighter bows.

Jason, I questioned my own judgment when I first bought my used Griz, 45 @ 28", wondering if I was walking the tightrope between "lethal" and "barely adequate". I have since bought two more hunting bows in that same draw weight (the K-Hunter and the K-Mag) because it suits me so much better than that 55# Sage. I no longer question any of those bows' ability to do the job if I do mine.
In fact, I'm considering a lower-poundage set of limbs for the Sage as well.
Not everyone is Arnold Schwarzenegger and we should not be afraid to admit it.
I lied to myself for two months about that Sage being "just fine" until it called me out.

[Shadowhntr]

Kirk, Ain't it peculiar the way they do that very thing!(calling us out)

My youngest son, Wyatt, has a Sage also. It was his first good trad bow he purchased .... a 40lb @ 28". We weighed his limbs out to be 44lb at 28". I wish I had a penny for every arrow that kid has put through that thing. Now that he owns his maddog, the Sage is back in the same "boat" as it was when he first bought it.....being his carp hunting bow! Man he sure does like it though. I shot it alot too. Its dead in the hand as can be, decently fast, accurate as all get out. He's still pretty attached!

[Captainkirk]

Kirk, Ain't it peculiar the way they do that very thing!(calling us out)

Well, ask 'em to make a liar outta ya, and they generally oblige.....sorta like women.

[Jose]

What a great thread!! You guys have some great information here. I will not claim to have any of the answers because I find that each bow has its own attitude. Frankly, I gave up on the arrow charts. I found that they were never accurate for true tuning of my bow setup. My limited experience really only comes from shooting bows I have built because they are the only ones I have really shot much since being an adult. I have discovered most people that shoot my bows have to use a much heavier spined arrow than the charts say. I am guessing it has to do with the design of my bow limbs. I follow the rule of thumb that my bows perform best with arrows from the 8-12 grains per pound. I think a key point is the arrow ABSOLUTELY must be tuned for the specific bow. I have built two bows out of similar woods at the same poundage which shot optimal with different spined arrows. Makes me scratch my head sometimes but we are dealing with wood...right? I tend to prefer around 10 grains per pound with an extremely sharp broadhead. I have not killed a ton of animals but the ones I have penetrated through both sides. Except one, which I hit a shoulder blade....... The buck I shot last year was less than 20 yards but I was pretty high in a tree. My shot entered along the spine and exited into the front armpit and leg. My shots are not always perfectly broadside or quartering away but are ethical shots in my mind. Somehow I just know at the time if the shot placement is there or not. However most of my shots are 20 yards or less simply because I place my stands or blinds at those ranges. It works for me so that is what I do. I started out with heavier bows but after a shoulder surgery soon shot less poundage. I found that I was killing, just as dead, with my 50 or 51# as I had with my 60-70# bows. IMO a bow weight which is truly comfortable for someone to shoot, with a TUNED arrow and sharp broadhead make a deadly package. I did build a different bow for my upcoming elk hunt though which is 58#. This is heavier than I normally use simply because it is a bigger animal and I may have a shot opportunity at closer to 30 yards. Don't know if I need the extra pounds but I figured it cant hurt.....as long as the arrow is properly TUNED for the bow.

[Captainkirk]

What a great thread!! You guys have some great information here. I will not claim to have any of the answers because I find that each bow has its own attitude. Frankly, I gave up on the arrow charts. I found that they were never accurate for true tuning of my bow setup. My limited experience really only comes from shooting bows I have built because they are the only ones I have really shot much since being an adult.

Good to have an expert weigh in! Do you find many people (newbies especially) overbow themselves, or do you think maybe they do, but you never hear the feedback?

I started out with heavier bows but after a shoulder surgery soon shot less poundage.

If I might ask, what caused the shoulder surgery? Was it archery or non-archery related? And if the latter, did archery make it worse?

I found that I was killing, just as dead, with my 50 or 51# as I had with my 60-70# bows. IMO a bow weight which is truly comfortable for someone to shoot, with a TUNED arrow and sharp broadhead make a deadly package.

Exactly my point. A sharp, properly-spined arrow from a well-tuned bow is just as deadly as one from a heavier bow in deer sized game (I will take exception for your elk because an elk, moose or bear is a different animal altogether than a deer. Elk and moose are huge framed, large boned animals, and a bear will have you for a snack), and more deadly if you can't shoot the heavy bow as well as a lighter one.
Let that sink in a minute, newbies...the quickest kill is the one in which a wickedly sharp arrow gets to the right spot, rather than a complete pass-thru in the not-so-right spot.