60 lb limbs ok for elk?

[sodak]

I am thinking of upgrading my bow for next year. I always try and draw an elk tag. Are 60lb limbs enough for elk?

 

[Jon Boy]

Yes.

 

[Ross]

Indeed tHey are hit them where they breath and you will fill your tag

 

[Xtorminator]

My wife shoots them with 50lbs. 60lbs will be fine.

 

[luke moffat]

I sure hope so...might be hunting for brown bear over a salmon stream early next fall with 60 pound limbs on my bow....

 

[G Posik]

As long as you stay in the 9-10 grains per pound and the FOC is in the 18-23% you will be really good to go. Coming from the traditional archery side where momentum is the key. A wheel bow with a heavier arrow will follow the same principle. If you want to get in touch with me I can give you much more detail. I have shot some big and mean stuff with a long bow an never worry about it not killing the critter.

Glenn

 

[sodak]

I had to look up what FOC meant. Being honest, I just shot what the salesguy recommended.

 

[wapitibob]

You'll do just fine with 400+ grains and a decent FOC at 60#.

 

[Jon Boy]

Modern 60 lb bows are blazing fast these days. Im sure most 60 lb bows are faster than my 70lb mission maniac and that proved more than enough or my bull this year. 420 grain arrow at 250 fps passé through at 42 yards.

 

[Snipershirt]

60 is the old 80...plenty of KE, hit them where you should and you won't have a problem!

 

[Beastmode]

I disagree, I lost a big Roosevelt bull this fall. I nailed it in the chest at 80 yrds and recovered the arrow. I was shooting 70 pound bow with 125 grain broadheads, I think they were 490g total weight, 30.5 Draw length. The arrow showed where the penetration stopped at about 4-5 inches in and the broad head was unscrewed from the arrow. Something stopped that arrow.....I'll never know. I never got a heavy tracking blood flow and watched that bull decend a thousand feet down the mountain running full steam with a second bull. Bears and Big bulls need more.....

My shooting was spot on but I never anticipated the arrow stopping like that. The bull did take a forward step with the shot and I theorize the large moving muscle on the big bull grabbed some of the momentum of the broadhead and rammed it in to a rib. It was not a shoulder/scapula shot.

I've got 80 pound limbs enroute from Hoyt.........

Imagine an steeply angled shot or a frontal.........If you can pull it go big. A big bear, Buffalo, Elk, Mt Goats those are some tough critters, give em something to think about. I'll never forget that elk shrugging off an arrow and running out of my life. It's painful to type here but I hope someone learns and has a better experience than I did.

What broadhead? An 80 yard shot on an animal requires an excellent shot as well as an excellently tuned bow. Mechanical or fixed? A mechanical BH can take away a lot of penetration at 80 yards.

 

[Snipershirt]

I disagree, I lost a big Roosevelt bull this fall. I nailed it in the chest at 80 yrds and recovered the arrow. I was shooting 70 pound bow with 125 grain broadheads, I think they were 490g total weight, 30.5 Draw length. The arrow showed where the penetration stopped at about 4-5 inches in and the broad head was unscrewed from the arrow. Something stopped that arrow.....I'll never know. I never got a heavy tracking blood flow and watched that bull decend a thousand feet down the mountain running full steam with a second bull. Bears and Big bulls need more.....

My shooting was spot on but I never anticipated the arrow stopping like that. The bull did take a forward step with the shot and I theorize the large moving muscle on the big bull grabbed some of the momentum of the broadhead and rammed it in to a rib. It was not a shoulder/scapula shot.

I've got 80 pound limbs enroute from Hoyt.........

Imagine an steeply angled shot or a frontal.........If you can pull it go big. A big bear, Buffalo, Elk, Mt Goats those are some tough critters, give em something to think about. I'll never forget that elk shrugging off an arrow and running out of my life. It's painful to type here but I hope someone learns and has a better experience than I did.

An 80 yard shot on an Elk...for me that's a long shot on an animal of that size with a lot of variables to factor in. Define chest? Frontal shot?

"If you can pull it go big", just make sure you can shoot it accurately. More hunters are mauled up here by bears shot with a .338 than those shot with an accurate bullet from a 30-06. Just saying.

$

 

[2rocky]

60 pound limbs are plenty. I know a lady who has killed and recovered 50 Wild hogs, pulling 45 pounds. She also has more elk ivories than I have ever seen. I second 400 gr.+ arrows.

 

[Scoot]

2Rocky is spot on. Bighorse is not.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I agree that 60# is plenty. Shot placement will always be more important than big KE/MO numbers although I still want those too just in case

What is your draw length? This comes into play as well. If you have a decent DL and shoot a bow more on the speed side you can still have a lot of power with an arrow in the 400 gr range.

 

[Jon Boy]

In reality the poundage has very little to do with it. A pse omen at 60 lbs will absolutely smoke my bow which is at 70. It comes down to how fast of a bow you are running.

 

[Beastmode]

Shot placement and shot choice are the big factors here. After about 50 yards a typical 400-500 grain arrow starts losing its energy fast. A 60 lb properly tuned bow with a good broadhead will kill an elk every time with correct shot placement and choice.

 

[Scoot]

sodak, your question has been answered- 60 is plenty. Shoot a heavy arrow and choose a good, fixed blade broadhead. Know elk anatomy and choose your shots carefully.

Bighorse, nearly everything you said in your post has little to do with the question the OP asked. Nor did any of it convince many readers that shooting at an elk at 80 yards is a good idea. Being misinformed enough to think that the fix to your "misfortune" is 80 lb limbs shows you don't get it. Thinking what happened was "misfortune" further shows this. Not only will the new lmbs not fix your problem, they'll likely result in you shooting less accurately, in turn, causing even more problems.

 

[OR Archer]

To the OP yes 60# is plenty. Just make sure you do yourself a favor and pair it with a good arrow broadhead combo and you'll do just fine.


@ Bighorse- At that distance I think there are way to many variable to say for certain that more poundage would have changed the outcome of your situation. Certainly not going to hurt anything but its not going to be an all deciding factor in penetration.

 

[boom]

i know a little Asian lady that shoots and kills them with a 45lb bow. she is tiny and can hide behind a sapling. haha

and no Bighorse, this is NOT a open forum that everyone wants to tout the superiority of their equipment, pure athleticism, and woodsman-ship. it isnt for me.

i just like hearing stories..i even believe some of them. this forum is just for fun. fun and some information.