reurve bow weight for hunting?

[ec]

could someone tell be what sort of poundage a recurve shooter needs to hunt a deer or pig with? i use my target bow, 44lbs on the fingers, for bunnies but want a new field bow of a reasonable hunting poundage. i intend to move from fita field to 3d first in order to get up to speed, is there a poundage limit in 3d recurve shooting?

[OldDog]

back in the bad old days when most of us hunted with recurves the rule of thumb was a minimum of 50lb, I see no reason to change as hunting recurves are still basicly the same bows we used then.

[Inner-10]

Where I live the minimum is around 40 or 45, check the restrictions in your district.

[HUNTER]

Whene hunting with a recurve it doesnt matter what poundage it is cause if your good enough to hit it in the kill zone it should go down.
So it doesnt matter what poundage u shoot its how good you can shoot it.

[Marcus]

Not always Hunter. A recurve bow does not pack as uch punch as a compound bow and on larger game you will find that it does not penetrate enough to make a kill. You would need at least 35 pounds for rabbits while a 25-30 would be fine with a compound.
I think 45 pounds should be sufficient with lighter hunting shafts such as carbons.

[Graphiteshaft]

A good rule of thumb is 45 minimum for deer. For larger game 50+ is better. Most traditional archers prefer large broadheads and heavy arrows. Your shots should be at 30 yards or under with a recurve or long bow. 20 yards is pushing it for some people. A 50 lb bow has a decent chance of passing completely through a moose if you have the right set up on your arrows.

Of course you should shoot the heaviest weight you can shoot well. If you can sling 30 or so good, accurate shots in a session, that would be a good weight to hunt with. I can tell you that it takes a whole lot of skill and concentration to shoot an 80 pound recurve. When I shoot my 60# bows, it's like taking a break.......

When I was younger, I hunted elk, deer and lots of small game. I was using a 65# compound back then. I have many bows now and prefer one piece recurves in the 60-70 pound range. I do have a Martin Hatfield that pulls at 82# at my 30" draw. That type of weight is completely unecessary unless you are going to Africa.

I use 7595 Gold Tips or Big Game 100's in my bows. Quite a few people will say that compounds that draw the same weight as a modern recurve will shoot faster. That is not necessairaly true. Modern recurves like the ones being produced by Martin and Bear are very efficient in the transfer of energy. It would be great to see a side-by-side comparison in one of the magazines. It might burst a few bubbles.

Traditional archery is a lot of fun. Enjoy it.

GS

[PeterBennett]

The Law in Victoria says that to hunt deer your recurve must be 22.5 kg minimum, all arrows must have a minimum weight of 25 grams and a minimum of 2 sharpened cutting blades.

Hope this helps
Peter