Should I be upping my poundage?

[mtnbound]

I’ve been shooting the same Matthew’s creed xs since ‘14. Always had it set at 58lbs, 29.5 draw. It goes up to 70. 475gr arrow. Have migrated back and forth between fixed and mechanical, shooting mechanicals lately. Always killed dear with a double lung shot, yet to arrow an elk.

Really enjoy being able to hold at full draw forever, and shooting all day at the range with minimal fatigue.

A few months ago, I heard a guest on cliff grays podcast say that 65lb minimum for elk….

With elk in mind, should I be pulling a higher draw?

Your poundage is fine with a sharp broadhead; you will get plenty of penetration. That said, if I were shooting mechanicals, I would probably bump the weight up to 65 lbs, depending on the head's opening style.

 

[Coyote Commander]

Not directed at the OP because its a legit question. But this subject always irks me because I hear the talking heads advocating shooting as high of poundage as " comfortably possible" and only shooting "fixed heads for elk " then they turn around and say something absurd like "accuracy is everything". Hunting setups are tradeoffs plain and simple. No choice is easy and you should shoot what gives YOU confidence period.
The science is pretty simple. Getting an arrow into the breadbasket of a bull elk in a vulnerable position does not take much energy. Smart broadhead and arrow choices and even smarter shot selection and execution choices is all you really need. The latter being the one we hunters really struggle with. It sounds good to wait for a 20 yard broadside shot when watching primos videos. Then you get your first chance in a week of hard hunting and the bull is at 40 slightly quartered too, or 15 yards frontal, or heavily quartered away at 34 after you paused him looking over his shoulder with frantic cow calls and a few dead pine branches sprinkled in for flavor. Suddenly, having a margin for error in your setup that combines penetrating capability with sufficient accuracy to confidently turn less than perfect shot opportunities, into very high percentage shots fired seems like a good idea.

My poundage test is A) I need to be able to draw the bow with minimal movement seated with butt on the ground and legs straight out. B) hold at full draw for at least a minute and still fire an accurate arrow at 50 yards. C) let down the bow in a controlled manner once fatigued. If it passes these three tests my confidence level is high that I will be able to build sufficient accuracy to put the arrow where it needs to go, while also maximizing energy potential.

So to boil all this down, you just said shoot the most weight you can comfortably and accurately handle.

Just with a lot more words.

 

[blackveltbowhunter]

Sure.

Poundage will always give up some degree of accuracy at some point to gain more energy. Even if the shooter " can comfortably handle it".

 

[gusty]

Changing to a 60lb bow will make almost zero difference. Ive even seen a video of a guy testing a maxed out bow vs a tuned down bow at the same draw weight, and the tuned down bow was 1-2fps faster. How well you can shoot is 99% of getting it done.

 

[GreggB]

What does 52lbs. @27.5" draw look like with a Killzone look like?

 

[Reece123]

What you do by going up in weight is increase kinetic energy. More kinetic energy opens up your margin for error, within reason. This does not mean with a 50 pound bow on an elk the kill zone is 6" and with an 80 pound bow it's 12". More KE just means you have a better chance of a pass through and having them bleed out with a less than ideal shot. Now whether the extra energy is worth the extra margin of error to you or not, is your choice to make. I have no experience with elk, only white tail. I shoot with my 70lb mods most of the year and throw my 80s on about 1 month before hunting season. After about 1 week of shooting 20-30 arrows per day I don't know a difference, and I certainly couldn't tell you what the draw cycle/weight felt like when drawing on a deer this past year. My focus was solely on making a good shot. It is kind of like shooting a rifle. At the range, the 300 win mag hurts like hell. After smoking a huge buck you'll say "there was recoil? all I noticed was him dropping."

 

[Huntnpack 2]

I’ve been shooting the same Matthew’s creed xs since ‘14. Always had it set at 58lbs, 29.5 draw. It goes up to 70. 475gr arrow. Have migrated back and forth between fixed and mechanical, shooting mechanicals lately. Always killed dear with a double lung shot, yet to arrow an elk.

Really enjoy being able to hold at full draw forever, and shooting all day at the range with minimal fatigue.

A few months ago, I heard a guest on cliff grays podcast say that 65lb minimum for elk….

With elk in mind, should I be pulling a higher draw?

Your fine at the weight your at. Accuracy is key.
I’d also recommend a fixed blade that is super sharp & flies accurately. Mid weight arrow set up.
With a bit higher foc. Nothing crazy tho.
Spend time on your stalking skills & reading the wind. Also shoot from various shooting positions.
Practice with those broadheads.

 

[TargetPanik]

I’ve been shooting the same Matthew’s creed xs since ‘14. Always had it set at 58lbs, 29.5 draw. It goes up to 70. 475gr arrow. Have migrated back and forth between fixed and mechanical, shooting mechanicals lately. Always killed dear with a double lung shot, yet to arrow an elk.

Really enjoy being able to hold at full draw forever, and shooting all day at the range with minimal fatigue.

A few months ago, I heard a guest on cliff grays podcast say that 65lb minimum for elk….

With elk in mind, should I be pulling a higher draw?

If you're considering an elk setup, I would encourage increasing the weight to 65-75lbs depending on your limitations and steadiness. Ditch the mechanicals and find a fix blade that you like. Sounds like your arrow weight is good, although at 58lbs if you hit a shoulder on an elk or even a rib, it will likely only reach 1 lung if that. Food for thought, people shoot all different setups and find success. This is simply my 2 cents.