Low poundage bows and K.E.

[Beeg]

My wife's old bow was a Hoyt MT Sport . The bow shop where we bought it set her up with too short of a draw length and we did not realize it at the time . She did not shoot much for about three years and then deciced she was going to bear hunt in Ontario with me after filming me take two bears . Anyway she shot it thru the spring and summer and took a P & Y bear that weighed 321 lbs. After shooting it her arm would hurt and after the hunting trip we checked with a couple shops and they both told her the draw length was too short . Since her bow was maxed out on draw length we bought her a Mathews Switchback XT . She is shooting 44 lbs and a 327 gr arrow at 214 fps giving her 33 ft ls kenetic energy . The old bow shooting at 48 lbs.( the minimun in Ontario for bear ) she had 29 ft. lbs. She plans to get up to 50 lbs by summer as the new bow is easier to draw and is actually 82 % letoff. I do not see any way to get more kenetic energy other than shooting more poundage ?? Got to brag a litttle here - Friday evening I took a doe at 23 yards (Ohio) with my Switchback went thru both shoulders and stuck in the frozen ground . I read the thread about kenetic energy and after seeing my wife take such a big bear with low poundage I think sometime us guys worry too much about shooting high poundage ??????????????????

[deerslayer#1]

yep, the bigger things to consider are broadhead design and arrow construction. Of course shot placement is the most important.

[BUCKWIZZARD]

Thats a good thread and its good to hear about some good hunting!!! :D

[Beeg]

Ps. I forgot to mention I had her using a 85 gr Thunderhead . I thought about using a flat cut on impact and she likes the Muzzy but I felt the pointed Thunderhead with three blades would be good for bears with all the hair and fat . I also reflecthed her arrows with Blazers and she uses a Whisker Bisquit rest .

[TnRidge]

I'd recommend a 2 blade cut on contact broadhead to maximize penetration capability with the low poundage .

[Erik]

Check out Ted Nugents set up.
On one of his recent shows I watched he was shooting 45lbs with full length aluminum arrows. Can't remember the arrow size but they looked pretty fat. I believe he said they were 31 inches long and were tipped with rather large two blade cut on impact broadheads.
On the show he shot a russion (sp?) bore at about 50yds and the arrow passed right through. It dropped within a few feet of where he shot it. It was all on camera. If I remember correctly he said it weighed over 800lbs. When he was standing beside it it definitely looked as big as any bear.
Ted is a big advocate of shooting lower poundage but using heavier arrows and blade forward broadheads. Not that I agree with everything Ted says but I do agree with him about that.

[fairfax1]

Well Beeg that was an informative thread. I would have been skeptical of such low poundage for bear...but you can't argue with success.

I lurk this site and AT reading the threads on KE. I get 57lbs of KE now but want something at about 63 to 65lbs. I've been shooting for 40years with KE's ranging from high 30's to 70lbs. I'm an advocate of 'more power'.

To be sure, if you miss ribs....which probably is what happened in that Nugent story....it's fairly easy to slice right on through for a complete pass thru. But it's that steep angled shot on whitetails where your only chance is to bust through thick upper rib or even the shoulder blade ... that is where I want as much power as I can handle comfortably. I use, by the way, Muzzy's 4-blade 100grn....a 1" cut diameter, for a 470grn arrow.

I'm shopping right now for a new bow to replace my old hatchet-cam speedster from Darton. Hoping to find something that would be called a "speed bow" but where I can crank it down to the 50's in draw weight yet still get no less than 63lbs of KE at my 28" draw length.

[Beeg]

I always felt that low poundage (48 lbs) was a little low too, but after talking to a lady one year at bear camp told me she hunts with bows set around 50 lbs . In fact she took her 16 th bear with a bow while we were there . I also watched numerous Archers Choice videos and Vicky hunts with bows set in the low 50's . One lady on there took a bear with a Hoyt bow set at 43 lbs . They were using NAP Spitfire mechanicals too. I decided for my wife that we would have to get her shooting at least 48 lbs which is the minimun for Ontario bear and that her shots would have to be 12 yards or less . I would not let her even think about shooting a bear any farther away . I talked at length with an outfitter once who would not allow mechanicals and preferred some type of three blade head as it leaves more of a hole instead of a knife cut like a two blade cut on impact . I felt with the pointed Thunderhead would be better than a tip like Muzzy has for her low K.E. Anyway my theory worked and her 10 yard shot produced a hole on each side of the bear . Broke a rib and skin on each side and did not pass thru but the arrow did stay in the bear . Looks like those Magnus Stinger or G5 B-52 would work real well also.