Comfortable weight for elk

[Newtosavage]

I’m glad you brought this up. I measured my draw length at 29.25ish and at first I wanted to order my black widow at 55lbs @29” but i
The forward creep seemed like a possibility so I changed to 28”.

After talking with some people who have more experience than me, I settled on 55lbs for moose, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work on an elk too.

The fist year I attended the trad gathering at Kzoo Michigan (probably 2002?) I watched guys shooting at the short range demo area for a while. The typical guy drew about 28" and then crept down to about 26.5" before they released. I watched this over and over and over again. Most of them would have had a 29" draw length if they weren't busy trying to be G. Fred. So they would look at the marked weight and think they were shooting that weight when in fact they were shooting about 5# less.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The fist year I attended the trad gathering at Kzoo Michigan (probably 2002?) I watched guys shooting at the short range demo area for a while. The typical guy drew about 28" and then crept down to about 26.5" before they released. I watched this over and over and over again. Most of them would have had a 29" draw length if they weren't busy trying to be G. Fred. So they would look at the marked weight and think they were shooting that weight when in fact they were shooting about 5# less.

That’s another reason lots of the guys I talked to recommended 55lbs. It’s not so heavy that one can’t get comfortable with it but it’s not really light either. The 55lb bows I tried, I was able to manage them.

 

[Beendare]

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[Insomnia]

Worth mentioning, the ‘creeping forward’ Newto mentions is a form flaw.

I can’t think of a single person that recommends shooting this way. You lose that stiff back tension- not good.

Every top shooter I’ve seen expands into the shot.

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I have a long background in olympic archery, so I tend to look away when I see archers creeping forwards.

 

[GLB]

Having been doing this for many years and seeing so many different shooters, most do Not draw what they think they do. It’s a fact. The best way I think is to video yourself over several days shooting at a target with markings on your arrow.

 

[arock]

I shoot #45. Have not killed an animal yet. If all was right in the world I'd take a shot at 30 yards but more realistic is 15-20 and that weight with a 500 grain arrow + 200 grain broadhead should be sufficient.

 

[Vandy321]

Figured I'd bump this vs a new thread.

Came from the compound world. Got set up w/a 45# Satori at my DL w/some Uuhka limbs. End up at the door from a very reputable shop with arrows that finished at 660 with a 200gr up front (29" Gold Tip trad)

I feel somewhat confident that instinctive/split vision shooting is where I'll lean, so assuming that trajectory is more learned vs depending so much on range estimation/gap.

When we walked it back to 30 yards, point on guess, I'm about 2ft low, so assuming 27 yards point on-ish. As a new recurve shooter, I don't plan to be shooting at an animal this fall past what I'm proficient at (hoping for 20yds), but am I setting myself up for failure with such a big trajectory? Better suited to drop down 100gr or so total and have a flatter shooting error to help with any errors? Or once that more instinctive sight picture is learned/engrained, its a moot point? I do range spots/shooting lanes anytime I stop to call, but the appeal to traditional is to learn to shoot more instinctive.

I have no doubt that 660gr will be a thumper, just unsure if that's best for where I'm at in the process and wanted to gather thoughts from the experience in here.

 

[Insomnia]

660 is definitely a heavy arrow for a 45 pound bow. If you are sure of your range estimation, I think you'll be ok, but with a setup like that, estimating two yards short can create a really bad shot on an animal.

 

[Vandy321]

660 is definitely a heavy arrow for a 45 pound bow. If you are sure of your range estimation, I think you'll be ok, but with a setup like that, estimating two yards short can create a really bad shot on an animal.

Thats my fear as well, will shoot it for a while and see how it plays out.

 

[arock]

Figured I'd bump this vs a new thread.

Came from the compound world. Got set up w/a 45# Satori at my DL w/some Uuhka limbs. End up at the door from a very reputable shop with arrows that finished at 660 with a 200gr up front (29" Gold Tip trad)

I feel somewhat confident that instinctive/split vision shooting is where I'll lean, so assuming that trajectory is more learned vs depending so much on range estimation/gap.

When we walked it back to 30 yards, point on guess, I'm about 2ft low, so assuming 27 yards point on-ish. As a new recurve shooter, I don't plan to be shooting at an animal this fall past what I'm proficient at (hoping for 20yds), but am I setting myself up for failure with such a big trajectory? Better suited to drop down 100gr or so total and have a flatter shooting error to help with any errors? Or once that more instinctive sight picture is learned/engrained, its a moot point? I do range spots/shooting lanes anytime I stop to call, but the appeal to traditional is to learn to shoot more instinctive.

I have no doubt that 660gr will be a thumper, just unsure if that's best for where I'm at in the process and wanted to gather thoughts from the experience in here.

I shoot a little less than 500 grain arrow (its like a half inch trimmed off) with 200 upfront on a 45lb bow. I'm using fairly inexpensive Sammik Discovery limbs. I keep telling myself I won't upgrade them until I pay off my truck or draw a moose tag. One of those is likely to happen in 2 years lol.

Anyway. That seems to be a pretty good sweet spot for me. There's some happy median between speed and thumping but quiet I'm going to say is numero uno. I shot at a coues deer (hit a twig on its way to the deer - arrow right, buck left and he was a beaut, a really nice 4x4 right at the end of my comfortable range) and watching that little stick fly 25 meters was like watching slow motion.

I'm not sure if the buck moved when my string whacked the limb or when the arrow hit the branch but my setup can certainly be quieter. Getting the bow quieted down and more practice shooting around crap are the off season's priority.

I think you can get away with longer flight time if you're set up is silent.

My point on fwiw is at like 37 meters and the gap between 12 and 20 is about the size of a fast pitch softball so I get pretty flat arrow flight and it isn't really impacted by the wind until I start pushing out to over 25 meters.