can i get some advice on arrow set up and range on hunting whitetail with a 35# bow.... thanks
My point of view only. Get as close as you can. Make sure you get perfect arrow flight at that range. Sharp cut on contact heads. Know where to put them and do so.
Chuck just knocked it out the park get up close and fling one straight through the lungs ... I practice a bit first though if your handle reflects your ability
man that was a cheap shot.... lol How close are we talking about?
Is that a legal bow weight? I do not know in Alabama but some states have a minimum bow weight. That is light bow for anything other than a perfect shot.
Less than 20 yards, preferably 12-15. AL's min used to be 35# for deer. Buy a 58" actual-string-length low-stretch string for it. Add wool puffs. Try about 8.25" +/- 0.5" inch brace ht. And keep an eye on the string loops being cut/frayed at the limb tip's string grooves.
Keep arrows long, pull your aluminum inserts out and replace with GTip 100-grain brass inserts or hot-melt a 100-gr .243 (6mm) bullet behind the alum insert. Try 100, 125 and 145gr field tips for practice and see if flight isn't better.
If tunes well, use 2 or 4 blade similar-wt Magnus Stinger-type BH.
What ChuckC said...
Here in Pennsylvania we have a minimum draw weight of 40lb required to hunt witb
Legal in IN.
Super sharp Broadheads, and be very selective I your shots. You have little Margi for error so don't take anything but a perfect shot...angle, distance, the deer's alertness, and that feeling when you get ready to shoot that its the right shot. No kinda maybe take the shot!
35# is light, but it will do the job. As already noted, tune well and shoot accurately with a very sharp broad head. Come to think of it, that is true with any bow. Good luck and happy hunting.
I shoot around 40#s and have good success with cut on contact 2 blades, including magnus stingers and grizzlies. I was shooting an arrow just under 500 grains, but after 20 yards i found it dropped like a rock. My new set up is heritage 75 (.670 spine) w 125 up front for 430 grains total. I believe this will work fine and give me more forgiveness if i do misjudge distance it has made a big difference in my 3d scores. That said if you do limit distances to under 20 or better yet 15 you will be well served with more weight. A well tuned arrow is absolutely key no matter what you shoot. A poorly tuned arrow will give poor penetration. Best of luck this year.
Shot..... Although I have days of glory ( shooting)I also have very down days. Because of that I generally pass on all but slam dunk shots anymore. I mean slam....dunk. I generally kill deer, from the ground, at less than ten yards. You can do it, but it takes work, and some areas of the country are a bit tougher. Hunting is about more than just shooting.
A bit more about that " perfect flight". Most are aware that the arrow goes thru paradox when we shoot, that is, for whatever reason, it bends back and forth as it goes past the bow handle. IF tuned well, it does this very briefly then straightens out. Feathers assist, but bare shaft tuning shows that they are not required for this to happen ( with field points...). Good tuning is what makes it happen.
If you think it thru.... an arrow going back and forth loses a ton of its energy screwing around, while one going straight does not. You don't have energy to spare with your chosen outfit. If your arrows are wild at 5 yards, but good by ten yards, don't shoot at 5 yards. Easy as pie.
And practice shooting where you look and also where exactly you should be looking ( there is lots of help here in posts).
You can do it, but you should put some effort into it so it goes well for you.
Chuck
Curious out of all who commented who has killed deer with #35s?...or even less.
Not trying to be rude but all these comments are the same in the same questions asked about low bow weights, if you searched in previous threads they are all the same.
What kind of bow are you using? Reason I ask is because a self bow would change my shooting range. I've used and had great success with zwicky Eskimo lights 110gr. I'd stay away from 4 blades I've done 3 blades but prefer 2 blade common sense and experience tells me it penetrates more. I do not like grizzlys from my own experience not just cause I prefer others actual EXPERIENCE. I shoot past 20 on deer in that poundage range. I treat it like any other bow. But I stay away from steep quarting shots. And I don't now shoot a high FOC balance is keys to much of a good thing becomes bad.
You aren't being rude. We all need different views.
You can kill a deer at 100 yards with any bow that will get an arrow there. 200 yards also.
My perspective, only mine, is that just because I CAN does not mean that I wish to push it and try.
The comments so far are, again my perspective only, right-on with ANY bow of ANY weight, but especially when pushing the envelope a tad.
Please expound on your experience with the Grizzlies. I wanna hear so I have more experience. Thanks
ChuckC
Just to clarify a post above about the legal minimum bow weight here in Pennsylvania...
ยง 141.43. Deer.
(a) Archery deer season.
(i) A bow and arrow. A bow must have a peak draw weight of at least 35 pounds. An arrow must be equipped with a broadhead that has an outside diameter or width of at least 7/8 inch and may not exceed 3.25 inches in length.
I know of a few guys here in PA who have killed deer with 35-40lb set ups. Some have been complete pass throughs.
I believe draw weight varies with each state, don't think I've ever seen a legal weight of less than 35lb?
Shot selection (be very picky) optimum shot placement and sharp broadheads with a heavy gpp arrow would be the requirements IMO.
My son cleanly killed a decent sized buck with a 35# bow and only 24" draw with a Muzzy head when he was 13.
Another local 12 year old girl took not one but two deer in a single sit with a 27# bow, short draw of course and Thunderheads years ago. I don't know more details than that but I saw the pictures with a very happy young hunter.
I have hunted with my grandfather's Bear recurve for sentimental reasons...it's 35# at 29". I have not taken a deer with it yet, but use skinny carbons, wicked sharp STOS 2 blades and heavy arrows at over 500 grains. It's a short range set up but it is tuned to perfection. I will eventually take a deer with it for grandpa, and I am confident I will get 2 holes when I do.
I only hunt with this set up from the ground as well, no downward shots.
A 38 pound at 26" draw with a 430 grain cedar arrow and a Zwicky Eskimo will shoot an arrow through an Iowa whitetail, my wife. I have seen it 8 times myself. 9 if you count the time that I shot a very large doe with a 37 pound at my draw Hill Cheetah. The arrow, get it flying straight behind the broadhead and shoot a two blade head that is no bigger than a Bear or Eskimo, if in doubt, go to a Hunter's Head, I am not sure they even slow down going through a deer. A 28 inch draw at 35 will be more power than I or my wife has at 26 with a 37 or 38 pound bow. You do not need to get crazy with arrow weight, something like a cedar arrow or an 1816 will do the trick. If you need to leave an arrow long if it is a carbon so be it. Personally, I dislike arrows that are more than an inch beyond the draw length.
ChuckC I dont like the blunt head of the grizzly, and I used them with bow weights from 40 to 55 pounds and at shot angles the blunt kicked bad and didn't penetrate as well as it should have even saw it happen in straight ground broadside shots. Something my father and I both had experience with, they work yes but what I learned from my own experience, I have alot better luck with other heads. Anything to higher my % of a quick kill that's what I want and the grizzly didn't compare to other heads I use.
I'm shooting a samick sage right now. i could buy some 45# limbs before hunting season. I've had a shoulder surgery and neck surgery from years of whitewater kayaking back in 2011 and i don't think i can go much higher than 45#. my shoulder/neck hurts after i shoot my 35# bow for an hour. and the pain lingers for days. kinda worries me. I'm used to just dealing with the pain though.
Samick Sage does not get a 58" string, unless you want a high brace or the string wasn't pre-stretched. I've strung up several, have one or two in my shop now, and they get a 58.5" string. My personal preference is 18-20 strands of BCY-X.
35# is plenty for Southern whitetails. Unless it's changed, AL has no draw weight restrictions. https://www.gearheadarchery.com/pages/regulations
I haven't killed a deer with 35#, but I know a young lady (know her very well) who has killed a few pulling around 25@24 on a recurve. 125 grain Ace 2-blade broadhead, Beman ICS Hunter Jr. arrow, total weight just over 400 grains IIRC. At least one shot was stepped off at approximately 26 yds.
Do the same thing you would do with any other bow. Very sharp broadhead, tune for perfect flight, wait for a good shot, put it in the right spot.
I don't remember the issue, but Primitive Archer did a story about "bird points" (small stone points). A fellow took a "poorly made" (his words) osage selfbow that was around 40# draw, cane arrows, and stone points and tested them on a freshly killed whitetail carcass. He got more than enough penetration for a quick kill.
Experience counts ( good and bad). Cherry, do you ever sharpen the tips on those Grizzlies? You can easily get them pointy and very sharp, although I agree, they don't come that way. I don't use them as is either, but I make a few passes with a file and they are now full cut on contact like any other.
While it might be legal at 35 pounds, whether of not it is adviseable also depends on your draw length and what the actual weight is that you are drawing. Most bows are weight marked at 28 inches. If you draw any less, you are dropping anywhere for 2-3 pounds per inch generally. That could be a totally different question.
I have witnessed a 35@24" longbow shooting 520 grain gold tip with ace 2 blade heads and Magnus stinger 2 blade take multiple mature whitetail and hog,shot distance were 20 yards and under,all shots broadhead passed thru both sides.Shoot what you can to the best of your ability and shoot straight! Good luck!
Kentucky doesnt have a draw weight minimum.
I have hunted with my 40@28 Bear Montana for the past 3 seasons....and will be hunting with it again this year. I only draw the bow to 27"...so 37-38# on the fingers. This setup has killed 8 whitetails...and everyone of them had two holes in them...most of them pass throughs. My arrow setup was a 29" Easton 1816, with 125 grain Magnus Stinger on the front...and arrow weight is 440 grains.
I will be using a full length .600 spine Gold Tip this season with 200 grains up front. These fly just as well as my aluminums...and are weighing in at 460 grains. I have complete confidence in this setup.
Make sure your arrows are flying like darts...no wobble...and you have a scary sharp 2 blade on the front end....and you will be just fine. Keep your shots fairly close....and take wise shot selections. For me that is broadside or quartering away...at an unalert animal.
Hi Terrible, maybe split the difference and get some 40# limbs.
Use the 35 pound limbs all summer then switch to the 40 for fall practice and shoot less shots but make them hi quality practice shots.
MN has a 30# min bow weight. It's plenty with a sharp BH!!
Arne
Swinestalker isn't on here much anymore but he has a couple of bows in the low 40# range and has killed numerous deer and hogs with them. He also shoots some heavier stuff but he's who got me started shooting lighter weights. I have a 45 and just ordered a 37@28 that I will pick up end of the month. I don't take long shots and 15 would prolly be my max. I'm gonna hunt off the ground mostly with them. Much better shot angle. Arrows are 450 grains and I'll shoot 3 or 4 blade heads.
My son killed a doe each year when he was 11 and 12 years old. He was shooting 34#@24". Both 8-10 yard shots and both pass through. Zwickey eskalites and a 1716 aluminum arrow because it out penetrated an 1816 consistently in the target. I think the sharp broadhead, skinny shaft and good arrow flight were the keys to success here.
It is 30# in WI also.
QuoteOriginally posted by terrible shot:
can i get some advice on arrow set up and range on hunting whitetail with a 35# bow.... thanks
if you mean to use a bow with 35# holding weight at yer draw length and yer handle here at trad gang is "terrible shot", please just don't.
put the bow down and reevaluate what yer doing.
get some local help, perhaps at a trad bowhunting club or anyone with real world trad bowhunting experience.
thank you ... the deer will thank you, too.
Two years ago I killed a nice buck with my TT Titan with a set of 35# limbs cranked done which gave me around 38-39#. The deer was broadside and shot with a Easton FMJ with a 150 grain VPA 3 blade. Total arrow weight was 505 grains. Right at 18 yards I got a complete pass thru and the deer barely made it 60 yards. This was shortly after arm surgery and would not hesitate to use that setup again if I had to. I did set a 20 yard maximum on myself but i rally shoot farther anyway.
hey rob, i am working on my shot everyday almost. i don't plan on hunting until i am confident enough to do so. I'm trying to figure out what aiming method and equipment i want to use. if I'm not ready by hunting season i simply won't go. I'm a bit of a tree hugger and have never been interested in hunting until now at the age of 40. I'm new to all of this so thats why I'm asking a ton of questions. i don't want to wound any animals. i feel like if i do then it will keep me from continuing to hunt. I've been watching a ton of videos and i cringe when i see someone make a bad shot on an animal. I'm prob just going to buy some 45# limbs since they are fairly cheap for my samick sage. I'm just worried about my shoulders and neck since I've had surgery on both.
Well done Rob.
Id rather see you shoot well with the lighter weight (which is plenty for deer with a sharp two blade and well placed shot) than injure yourself and maybe a deer with too much weight.
QuoteOriginally posted by the rifleman:
Id rather see you shoot well with the lighter weight (which is plenty for deer with a sharp two blade and well placed shot) than injure yourself and maybe a deer with too much weight.
that is a very important point. too many shooters are "overbowed". this leads to short drawing, loss of arrow speed, bad aiming, bad consistent accuracy, and the wrong kind of snap shooting. overbowing is to be avoided like the plague it is.
with that said, that doesn't give one the ethical right to hunt medium sized game with *perhaps* less than adequate tackle, poor shooting abilities and less than desirable hunting woodsmanship. i'm NOT attributing any of this to the OP as i don't know a thing about him other than what he's posted so far. typing words online is the poorest form of communications as compared to the spoken word, or best yet, one-on-one up front and personal dialogue. this is why the OP should be seeking out qualified in-person assistance, besides the advice rendered here at trad gang.
the OP should be congratulated for at least posting for guidance. how many weekend warriors saddle up with the wrong gear, poor shooting skills, and poorer yet woodsmanship and set out to whack a deer? even one is too many.
seek help. seek guidance. learn. practice. get ready. hunting is not unlike a military mission. be fully prepared. we owe that to the game we seek to harvest and eat.
Words of wisdom and truth there rob! Very well said :thumbsup:
Just because it can be done....
I would prefer to see you build up to higher poundage.
I have to say-- I have been on the verge of giving up my stickbows since shoulder replacement in 2014 left me with a weak bow arm. For me, this would be an enormously painful loss as I have devoted every waking free moment to stickbow shooting/hunting/experimenting for the past almost 40 years. At this point, I can handle bows in the 35-37# range and have gotten myself a couple of stellar performers at these weights-- bought an A&H ACS CX and had the weight reduced on a Shrew L'il Favorite I got from Crash. (I guess one of the benefits of getting older is more discretionary income, vs. the downside of slower,weaker etc.)
Anyway, when I look at the performance of these bows with well-thought-out arrow choices, I do believe they are efficient enough and will do the job on whitetails at reasonable ranges, say 15 yards or less which is what most of us shoot anyway.
My point is: there are those of us who cannot for whatever reason shoot what we have in the past considered acceptable shooting weights of 45-55#. If we go about it responsibly, and can get the job done with a 35# bow, we sure do want to continue carrying a stickbow into the woods!
QuoteOriginally posted by huntryx:
.... If we go about it responsibly, and can get the job done with a 35# bow, we sure do want to continue carrying a stickbow into the woods!
no truer words have been posted. they reflect a hunter who already has the knowledge of the bow, the hunt venue, and the game pursued. it all comes down to the hunter's abilities and logical common sense.
Several elephants and brown bears have been killed (cleanly) with traditional gear, some with bows as low as 75# (I think that's what Fred Bear used?), without extreme FOC, without a "super" bow, without high performance strings, etc. For the sake of the argument, say the average draw weight for elephants with a traditional bow is 90#.
Pretty sure than an elephant would require at least 3 times the penetration of a whitetail. Super thick and tough hide, tougher and thicker muscle and bone to penetrate before getting to the lungs. Once you get past a certain point (I think around 60-65#, depending on the bow) you get to a point of diminishing return...i.e., going from 60# to 90# won't up your performance nearly as much as going from 30# to 60#. Then take away the high performance string (most were shooting ropes for strings). Take away the super high FOC. Take away the "modern" recurve design (some were killed with longbows). Do the math, it's not the least bit far-fetched to understand how a whitetail can be killed quickly and cleanly with a 30# pull. Off the top of my head, if a whitetail required 45#, I'd say it would take a minimum 150# to 200# draw weight to kill an elephant. 'Course we know that's not the case.
I was talking with Dr. Ashby on the phone a few years ago, and the topic of water buffalo came up. He was certain that my 66@30.5 longbow would do the job just fine. You can dang-near throw an arrow through a whitetail, as long as you hit the right spot. Hit the wrong spot, it won't matter if you are pulling 100#. Draw weight doesn't compensate for poor arrow placement (I know...there are exceptions, I'm talking about the rule).
Also just remembered a local young lady (who I think is also a distant relation). A season or two ago she killed a nice whitetail with her NASP bow (Genesis). Looks like a compound, designed to shoot like a 35# recurve (when turned all the way up). Not sure if her bow was maxed out or not, I know she has a shorter draw length, but she killed the deer quickly and cleanly.
There are plenty of examples of deer being killed ethically and legally with lighter draw weights. There are also plenty of examples of misses and wounds with heavy bows by people who didn't put the arrow in the right place. No doubt this was, at least in some cases, because they were over-bowed. What's comfortable in the back yard after warming up can be a devil getting the string back on when you have been sitting still for a while, in the cold (or not), then all of a sudden your heart is in your throat. Been there, done that.
Just my perspective. Lightest draw weight I have personally hunted with in the last several years is 52# at my draw, but if I were to have to drop down to 30#, it wouldn't keep me from hunting because I know if I do my part, 30# will get the job done.
Chad
QuoteOriginally posted by LBR:
... Lightest draw weight I have personally hunted with in the last several years is 52# at my draw, but if I were to have to drop down to 30#, it wouldn't keep me from hunting because I know if I do my part, 30# will get the job done.
Chad
the key element is that you, the trad bowhunter with an uber light holding weight bow, are well experienced with trad bows and have the afield knowledge when to hold and release, and when to fold up on a shot that's an iffy.
Howard Hill, when seeing someone try to pull a bow that was way to stiff for them would say, "I could cut washers off your butt." I am trying to thin the herd with my right hand bows, I am not trying to get money for them, so I need to be careful to prevent a feeding frenzy. Around here a vegetarian would stand in line for an hour waiting for a free hotdog. Anyway, a compound shooter came over and wanted to sell me his barely used 70 pound Bear takedown. He said that recurves were not accurate enough, so he was going back to his compound. We went out back to check it out. He said, "I shoot just like Fred Bear did and it doesn't work for me." Talk about being able cut washers off of a butt, maybe 23", I couldn't tell if he was trying fill his pants or jump down a gopher hole. Boognish, your on the right track, keep at it. Those Alabama deer come in a little smaller than our deer do. I shot an arrow through a 160 pound doe at 18 yards with an uphill shot out of 37@26 Hill longbow. I tore a muscle weight lifting. Trying to keep in shape for my extra heavy longbows. You are 40 years old now, be patient with yourself and work on your basics, it will all come together in time.
I would keep it to 15yards.
Obviously 2blade head and I would go with a arrow weight that is midrange. I would not go crazy heavy. Stay away from big slow flying feathers. Arrows tunned to perfection.
I would also hunt from a stand to have a better chance at a low exit wound in the chest. Set up for close shots.
Also do some searches on here and do your best to have the sharpest possible head you can achieve.
Quote...are well experienced with trad bows and have the afield knowledge when to hold and release, and when to fold up on a shot that's an iffy.
Totally agree Rob, but I'd say that should be the case whether you are pulling 30# or 100#. The devil with experience is there's only one way to get it.
Experience, the value of a good flying cheaper built basic wood arrow with a blunt comes natural with one of the best experience builders there is, rabbit hunting with a bow. Certainly one can shoot aluminums and carbons at a target, but that target is never alive. If one does not have the ability to make up some cheaper good shooting wood arrows, a wrist rocket with a pocket full of steel slingshot ammo works as well. It is a little tough on the brain shooting a $10 arrow that may get lost in the process. Small game hunting use to be a major thing for bowhunters. For someone new to hunting without a gun, anything that will build some hands on close range experience is a plus.
Rabbit hunting definitely helps, as does shooting 3D, but they aren't the same as deer. I'd killed a literal truck load of rabbits before I got my first shot at a deer. Thought my heart was going to give out!
I would suggest cheap broadheads vs. blunts for rabbits. In my neck of the woods they don't die easy. We've had to track them down even when shot with broadheads and several feet of gut dragging behind. Also gets you more used to shooting broadheads.
In this town free broadheads for small game were everywhere. The Hi-Precision plant was here. They made the the worst three blade broadheads ever made. You could bite them and put teeth marks in the metal. Perhaps it depends on the poundage involved, but i have not lost a blunt hit rabbit in years. I must admit that I would rather go rabbit hunting than anything, I shoot quite a few of them every year. I took a guy out deer hunting that had never hunted anything before in his life. He practiced hard and was a good enough shot, but when the first deer came close, I heard him mumbling nonsnce and also some other odd sound. When I went to check on him, he was hugging the tree and his bow was on the ground. he said that he started to pass out, he kept yelling at the deer to go away but it just stood there staring at him. i believe that he was passing out, because all I heard was,"mooumfjfiokfvjosfjm".
Not the poundage--I used to shoot them with an 82# longbow. Heard of several folks that had great success with blunts and judo's, but not around here (not just me). Different breed of rabbit? Only head shots and double lung shots were killers. Had multiple rabbits run off with arrows that went through them with large rubber blunts. Just don't have much "quit" in them. Your friend sounds like me the first time I had a shot. I didn't pass out, got two shots (two clean misses), but wasn't sure my heart wasn't going to quit.
:biglaugh: Hey pavan, I think the guy you took deer hunting, moved to Indiana and we became great friends.
He still falls apart when a deer approaches, and still mumbles that word. I won't attempt to spell it like you did, but, that's definitely what he mumbles!
Best regards, Skychief