Anybody ever hunt with a slow arse bow?

[cck311]

My Utah general season archery elk hunts are coming in a little over a month and I'm really jiving with a 53# @ 27" longbow. I'm shooting a 550 grain arrow through the chrono at about 148 fps. That almost seems comically slow to me, but I do hunt out of a tree stand over water that I have killed two elk off of which were both right around the 15 yard mark. I don't think I'll need a laser trajectory for that. I'm shooting it real well and it's throwing a bare shaft real well. Broadhead will be a Magnus stinger 2 blade sharpened to a scalpel.

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

Don’t worry about speed in trad archery. If you shoot it well and it’s tuned to the best of your abilities go kill something with it! Confidence in your bow and shot process is way more important than speed. Just my opinion.

 

[3Esski]

that like 100mph.... pretty dang fast. If you like your set up and shoot it well, the speed doesn't matter but I am sure there are others who feel differently.

 

[Beendare]

I have not shot that slow.

I did shoot against a 20's female shooting a light weight longbow and woodies that was so slow her arrows barely stuck in the target. Now, she had incredible form...perfect actually- she cleaned my clock. She averaged a 9 out of 10 on the 3D range. I was shooting my 55# hunt bow, about 190-200fps and had not been shooting a lot- so I was not in top form but still- I have never averaged a 9 on a full on difficult 3D course- if I avg 8 I'm happy.

Point is, accuracy is everything. Some of those slow bows end up having a perfect PO- right at 20-25y.

 

[cck311]

I have not shot that slow.

I did shoot against a 20's female shooting a light weight longbow and woodies that was so slow her arrows barely stuck in the target. Now, she had incredible form...perfect actually- she cleaned my clock. She averaged a 9 out of 10 on the 3D range. I was shooting my 55# hunt bow, about 190-200fps and had not been shooting a lot- so I was not in top form but still- I have never averaged a 9 on a full on difficult 3D course- if I avg 8 I'm happy.

Point is, accuracy is everything. Some of those slow bows end up having a perfect PO- right at 20-25y.

My arrows are 32 inches long and with a 3 under hook I just more or less point the arrow exactly where I want it to hit at typical trad archery range. I really like what I have going on.

 

[wyodog]

I have shot a few elk and antelope with primitive bows I made myself, that I have never ran over chronograph but I doubt they are as fast as your arrows. All were lung shots and fairly quick recoveries. I stuck to what I believed to be within the limits of myself and my equipment and good fortune smiled on me.

 

[tater]

148fps at 10.4 gpp is self bow performance territory.
Self bows have killed A LOT of stuff over a long period of time, so don't worry.
As said above accuracy and good broadheads are what matter.

 

[Beendare]

My arrows are 32 inches long and with a 3 under hook I just more or less point the arrow exactly where I want it to hit at typical trad archery range. I really like what I have going on.

Yeah, if it ain't broke...

I have had setups that I built for a shorter PO- which gives me less of a gap at 20/25y. My typical gap can be over an inch at those short ranges....and I definitely shoot those distances better with a tighter gap.

I've found that Gap matters- whether you actually shoot that Gsp aiming style or not. I think our brains reference the arrow no matter what aiming technique one uses....and smaller gap is better.

its not just me, heck look at the guys shooting a crawl or fixed crawl. It's deadly accurate and even banned in some of the trad shoots for just that reason. That tells us a smaller gap is good.

A guy can get that smaller gap with a longer arrow...a heavier [slower] arrow...and a much faster arrow...depending on your anchor.

My only thing with a slow bow in the 140's-150's is you better be shooting an arrow on the heavy side or you aren't going to get good performance on game.

 

[bowonly]

If slow arrows couldn't kill wild game, we wouldn't be around to worry about this. Or ancestors would have starved to death. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

 

[Gun]

I don't worry about speed at all. I can't even remember the last time I chronoed anything.
I am point on at 20 yds but 95% of my kills are inside of 15 yds.

Quiet kills.

 

[Beendare]

If slow arrows couldn't kill wild game, we wouldn't be around to worry about this. Or ancestors would have starved to death. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

Yeah, no kidding

Thankfully now we have more data to assess what works best...with more and better options to dial our setups in.

 

[bisblue]

My favorite bow is the slowest, a hybrid longbow my friend made me. 160 fps with heavier arrows 170 with lighter arrows.
A friend also told me of his buddy shooting a very slow bow, that dropped a moose in Alaska.

 

[gulfofmexicoflyfishing]

54lb @ 28" bushbow flinging a 676gr arrow. Not winning any races but its a smooth shooter and that arrow passes through hogs like they are made of paper.

 

[LostArra]

Chronographs are the greatest source of needless archery angst.

 

[gulfofmexicoflyfishing]

Chronographs are the greatest source of needless archery angst.

Absolutely. I have owned this bow for about a decade now and I recently fired a few across it just to see if they would register lol. Have been shooting this same arrow setup unchanged for probably 6-7 years.
I will say, they are an indispensable tool for rifle load development on the other hand.

 

[plentycoupe]

Dude. Years ago I cut an osage tree down and made a sinew backed longbow. I shot a cedar arrow with a Magnus two blade through the biggest whitetail I have to date, rackwise. He weighed 168 with guts removed. Arrow passed through but hung up by fletch on off side. 5 inch bannana chopped turkey feathers.

That bow only clocked at 144fps with 400grn arrow. I never shot it over a chrono before hunting with it and didn't even think too. People have been killing things on this planet with bows that shoot a lot slower with way less tuned equipment than we have today. Yet it worked when they didn't even know how to test it or worry over it. They just shot it.

Numbers came from advertisement. Commercials and good salesmen sell speed and kentic energy and all that jazz.

There are so many people stacking animals with equipment that "shouldn't' work every year.

If it shoots well for you go hunt with it.

good luck!!