Wet dog you’re right on the money after years of guiding elk bowhunters the number one issue, other than losing their nerve when the bull is 10 yards bugling in their face blowing their hat off. (My nickname was top pin before the saying was popular.) Is they try to draw too much weight I’ve seen elk killed with Bows with 45 pounds of draw weight with no problem it shot placement 90% of the time. Same applies with rifles. I’ve seen too many bulls get up and walk away from a 300 mag with bad shot placement too much recoil for the shooter when they can kill everything on the planet with a 30 06 at the same distance, they’re shooting a 300. No your gun know your bow. Know you’re capabilities and don’t shoot over your capability. Practice like you play if you’re shooting out of a blind shoot off the chair you’re gonna be shooting out of the blind with, practice shooting on your knees with that bow not just standing shooting, practice with your broadheads and shoot solid blade broadheads not mechanicals for elk. We can argue that point all day long and I’ll come out on top. Mechanical broad heads for elk are crap so let the argument begin. When my outfitter had a client show up with mechanical broad heads for elk and they were assigned to me. I knew we were gonna have at least one wounded bull even hit in the right spot. They fail time and time again. I grew tired of having to watch wounded bulls for hours waiting for them to die when hit with a mechanical broadhead. It’s a cruel way to die.

68 lbs hoyt torrex. And no mechanicals here!

Long bows, 64" and the other 68".

Both 45# @ 28"

Fancy mechanical bows with Training wheels last used in 1976.

Midlander, you obviously don't know how efficient a traditional bow is. We may not get the 20-50 yard shots that the newest cam bows do, but under 20 is our kill zone. I got three with my recurve last season. We eat a lot of venison.

No doubt, Brian…that was just a needed response to a training wheels comment. Gotta have thick skin to survive around here…besides, real men use Atlatls..

So many moons ago, the then advice for recurves, No compound bows yet, was 40 # minimum...

Anyone use anything lighter than that?

Is that what you'll tell Fish and Game...? While your hunting with an illegal bow for deer....

Unless Conn. Has different regs.

210 lbs draw.................. I shot a cross bow....... Rebuilt and stitched up shoulders with screws and mesh .... also makes a great cane when walking in thru tangled grass and sticks everywhere !!

Now that guy has training wheels and a cane! Unless it's a recurve cross bow? Those ok for the guys thst don't like training wheels?
Shoot what u want or can. Its better than sitting on the couch.

Not illegal at all. My draw puts it over the 40lb minimum. The law doesn't say "@28". High performance Nika N3 carbon limbs. It chrono'd at 196fps. Sharp zwickey heads blow right through.

^^^^^^^.You shooting other peoples bows ?

Usually when you get a bow to fit you...

The shop will measure your draw length and then your

Perfered weight is made ...during the building process .

I am sure you know all this...along with spine weight for your

Wooden arrows.

Actually, it was one of my customers that is extremely smart about traditional archery. He set me up with both of my ILF bows. Explained everything, taught me a lot. I was overbowed with my 62@30, 68" longbow, and my 60" Bear Super Kodiak was too short (even though I took 7 deer with it). Was shooting split with a glove, now 3 under with a tab. Arrows went from aluminum, to wood. Now strictly carbon. How to draw utilizing back muscles, how to aim split vision (still not sure I've got that right). My accuracy greatly improved, along with my confidence. And much more enjoyable, with less risk of blowing out my shoulders.

Split finger with a tab ( one ovah...2 under ) ..and nothing but wooden arrows for me..

Port Orford Cedar ...or Sitka Spruce when I can find them.

Traditional Archery ...puts the Arch ,back in archery..

And is a boat load of fun.

So I got my Mathews Switchback used. I was shooting it great and was to believe it was set at 70 pounds. I killed a deer at 20 to 25 yards. It was a button buck on public land. My 75 grain muzzy cracked a rib bone dead center on the way in, then double lunged and exited like it was nothing. I took it to the bow shop and it was only pulling 53 pounds. I thought the easy pull was due to the bow being a Mathews. I have it at 60 now. I can practice way longer without getting tired.

At 68 lbs the Mathews Triax shoots a 425 gr arrow tipped with a 100 grain Wasp Jak-Hammer clean thru southern Georgia bucks and northern Missouri bucks.

290 fps

No need to change anything for whitetails.

One of my friends says if you lift your bow overhead to draw, it changes from the chest muscles to the back muscles.

65

My 2 recurves are 45 and 54. The main ones I use.

Longbow; 65lbs. Back in ancient days when I shot wheels; 104 lbs.