Comfortable weight for elk

[Insomnia]

I know a lot of guys ask what the minimum weight would be to shoot an elk, and I also know that the arrow setup, tune, and placement has more to do with getting an elk dead that bow weight. With that being said, what weight would you say would be comfortable to take a 30-40 yard shot at a elk? Maybe for longbows, recurves, and super curves. I'm new to the elk game but not to the trad game, but I'm not sure what the ~50# recurve for whitetail "happy medium" would be for elk.

 

[oldgoat]

Haven't killed one yet with a stick bow, I'll tell you what Tom Clum told me and a lot of other people, 53# is or at least used to be the average weight bow sold at rmsgear. I like to be well north of 500gr and North of 170fps. I don't care to get into the what weight bow to shoot thing too much just because of what you alluded to you in your question with the various bows because a 60# longbow is going to have a lot less power into the arrow than a 60# super curve!

 

[Grand Passage]

I would guess most folks are between #50 & 60 at their draw weight for elk. Therefore you could say 55 would be the “happy medium”.

The places I’ve found elk when hunting, would rarely offer a shot beyond 25 yards due to density of the forest. Know your effective/accurate range going into the hunt and stick to it.


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[butcherboy]

I don’t like to go over 55# for me. That would be a 50# bow @28”. I draw 29”. Currently practicing with my 45# limbs @28”. That puts me right at about 48#. I originally tuned with a 400 fmj but just recently switched back to 340 axis. A little bit lighter arrow, more spine. Allows me to have a little more foc but with pretty decent speed too.

 

[Insomnia]

I don’t like to go over 55# for me. That would be a 50# bow @28”. I draw 29”. Currently practicing with my 45# limbs @28”. That puts me right at about 48#. I originally tuned with a 400 fmj but just recently switched back to 340 axis. A little bit lighter arrow, more spine. Allows me to have a little more foc but with pretty decent speed too.

that's pretty much the route that I've gone to. 300 aftermaths to 300 carnivores. Way lighter gpi and a little shorter so I can load up the front and not shoot under 165 ish fps with my "it's average sized, okay" 28" draw length and low 50s pounds.

 

[Beendare]

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[Insomnia]

IMO, a lot of it depends on your draw length and your BH efficiency.

I have a 31” DL and have been shooting a 47# recurve, 553g with a 2 blade and my arrows barely slow down through critters. About a dozen different animals in the last 2 yrs; deer, hogs and a moose a couple months back. Blowing through them all.

I think many underestimate the effectiveness of a good flying arrow with an efficient BH.

I would say a good setup for a guy with a 28” DL is 50# bow and min 10GGP ( I think 11gpp is about ideal) with a 2 blade or tapered 3 blade coc head.

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I'm trying to decide between something like a cutthroat or a samurai single bevel or a Simmons Safari. Penetration wise I think I'm leaning towards the first two, at least until I can confirm that I'm shooting enough to almost always pass through with a Simmons. I know I'm shooting enough bow and arrow, I'm just used to shooting bows in the low 40s for whitetail growing up and worrying about penetration.

 

[butcherboy]

I shot cutthroats for a while and killed elk with them. Great broadhead. Due to rising costs, I’m looking for a good broadhead at a lower price range. I’ll be switching to one of three heads I’ve narrowed it down to. VPA, Simmons, or Kudu. I’m leaning more towards the Kudu.

 

[bsnedeker]

I shot cutthroats for a while and killed elk with them. Great broadhead. Due to rising costs, I’m looking for a good broadhead at a lower price range. I’ll be switching to one of three heads I’ve narrowed it down to. VPA, Simmons, or Kudu. I’m leaning more towards the Kudu.

I made the switch this year to kudu from cutthroat. Sample size of one but it killed my bull quickly this year.

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[Sapcut]

what weight would you say would be comfortable to take a 30-40 yard shot at a elk?

"Comfortable" and 53#s being the average weight sold mentioned is soley based on what shooters physically can shoot. If 70#s was as easy to handle and shoot proficiently as 53#s or 43#s, then nearly everyone would be doing it. Hence the reason that the average weight for compound shooters IS closer to 70#s.

 

[Coveyleader]

I've killed enough elk with a stick to know what works. Get close, shoot them with a decent arrow setup (I've shot them with 2216's to carbons) with a decent BH and you're good. I've killed them with Zwickeys, Wensel Woodsmans, Muzzy 3 blades out of a 57lb longbow and never saw a difference in performance when hitting them good or bad.

Biggest tip I can give you is be able to shoot. Elk are rarely recovered on marginal hits. Forget about shoulders, and getting through them.

 

[Wrench]

At my 29" draw, anything north of 45 affords me confidence. Some 40# bows are faster than some 50# bows.

The true measure of success will be how stealthily you can draw and how long you can hold it.....it being a bow that can launch a 500 plus grain arrow at 150fps or better.

 

[Tradchef]

I use 48 to 53lbs at 27” with my longbows. I’m not into shooting on critters past 35 for me personally unless it’s a follow up but closer the better to ensure my pack is heavy and truck bed is full.

 

[PHo]

IMO, a lot of it depends on your draw length and your BH efficiency.

I have a 31” DL and have been shooting a 47# recurve, 553g with a 2 blade and my arrows barely slow down through critters. About a dozen different animals in the last 2 yrs; deer, hogs and a moose a couple months back. Blowing through them all.

I think many underestimate the effectiveness of a good flying arrow with an efficient BH.

I would say a good setup for a guy with a 28” DL is 50# bow and min 10GGP ( I think 11gpp is about ideal) with a 2 blade or tapered 3 blade coc head.

.

Just curious, at what speed are you sending that 553gr arrow?

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

48-55 lbs and 11gpp arrow with a shaving sharp BH has worked for me

 

[Beendare]

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[Titan_Bow]

Got a pass through on a big cow a few years ago with a 45# Hoyt Tiburon recurve and 650-ish grain wood arrows with a Cutthroat broadhead. Draw weight shouldn’t really be a factor, at least not an important one. That Hoyt at 45 lbs is probably pushing the same arrow much faster than some of my older 60lbs longbows.


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[Newtosavage]

I always answer the "how much weight" question with another question - "at what draw length?"

Take two arrows shot from a 55# bow, one drawn to 27" and another to 30". They produce very different amounts of energy. You would have to shoot 5-10# more at 27" to deliver the same weight arrow at the same speed as a bow drawn to 30".

I also follow this with the statement that very few traditional bowhunters know their actual draw length. Most think they are drawing 1-2" more than they are. Some of that is they don't realize how far they creep forward before they release, which is very common.

 

[oldgoat]

I always answer the "how much weight" question with another question - "at what draw length?"

Take two arrows shot from a 55# bow, one drawn to 27" and another to 30". They produce very different amounts of energy. You would have to shoot 5-10# more at 27" to deliver the same weight arrow at the same speed as a bow drawn to 30".

I also follow this with the statement that very few traditional bowhunters know their actual draw length. Most think they are drawing 1-2" more than they are. Some of that is they don't realize how far they creep forward before they release, which is very common.

I agree, and they also don't know the speed their bow is going, so even if they've killed a pile of stuff, they can't really give you a tangible answer to what's needed for X-Sized animals. And heaven forbid you say you want to see "how fast" your bow is shooting versus the very slightly less blasphemous term "what speed" my bow is shooting!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I always answer the "how much weight" question with another question - "at what draw length?"

Take two arrows shot from a 55# bow, one drawn to 27" and another to 30". They produce very different amounts of energy. You would have to shoot 5-10# more at 27" to deliver the same weight arrow at the same speed as a bow drawn to 30".

I also follow this with the statement that very few traditional bowhunters know their actual draw length. Most think they are drawing 1-2" more than they are. Some of that is they don't realize how far they creep forward before they release, which is very common.

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.