# Draw weight for deer?



## semo88

I'm new to bowhunting and I was wondering what an appropriate draw weight for deer is? What is the minimum you would reccomend?


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## jgat

How old are you? Guy or girl? For just an average guy, I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-70 lbs. You can definitely kill deer at a weight much lower than that. It is important to shoot at a weight you are comfortable with. Don't over do it at the beginning. It takes a while to work up your arm strength.


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## semo88

Male, 20, 6' 190 lbs (I feel like I'm in a dating chat room  ). . I shot a buddy's Mathews today with a DW of about 65-70 lbs and I could pull it back without too much trouble, but it was a little uncomfortable to me. Maybe it's just my inexperience and assuming it would be easier to pull back. Would 50-55 be too low?


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## northdakotakid

If you are new I would go in to sporting goods store and have an associate help you... it varies really. It will also take some time to build the muscle memory and coordination in the new "work" that you are doing.

60 lbs can kill deer for sure... DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TAKING ON TOO MUCH DRAW WEIGHT...

Work on having good, consistent form... this will make a ton of difference on how quickly you come up to speed. If your state offers a bowhunters course by all means attend.. it will teach you a lot.


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## jgat

For someone your age and size, I would think you could get used to 60 lbs pretty easily. Once you shoot a little bit every day for 7-10 days, you will really be able to tell a difference in your draw back strength. 50-55 lbs will definitely kill deer, but I'm sure you will be able to work your way up to 60 lbs pretty quick. Just practice, practice, practice.


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## Buxster

I started back up archery this fall and had the same delimma. 
What I did was find out what was comfortable and way too much. 50lbs. was fine, 60lbs. harder, 70lbs. way too much. 
So I picked up the 50-60lbs bow (or so we thought - it goes to 70) and started at 50lbs for a week, shooting everyday until that was easy, then 55lbs. and now up to 62lbs. 
It didn't take too long. The thing you don't want is to sacrifice accuracy for poundage. Before I went to the next weight and re-sighted in, I made sure I could put 4 of 6 arrows in the x's after shooting 30 arrows. More of a personal thing, but I wanted to be the best I could at each weight before going up.

35lbs. will kill a deer - I saw a kid do it. But the higher the poundage, the faster the arrow, the better chance of not just hurting the animal.

Good luck and have fun with it...


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## nmubowyer

i would start with 45 lbs and build good form


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## HUNTNFISHND

What kind of bow will you be shooting? How much let-off? How far will your shots be?

My bow is set on 60 lbs with 75% let-off. So I am only holding 15 lbs at full draw. I have never shot at a deer over 40 yards.

Also when it gets colder out and you've been on stand for 2 hours trying to pull back 70 lbs can be a chore. I have even turned my bow down to 50 lbs when it gets really cold out. Less weight helps when your muscles are stiff and your wearing bulkier clothes.

Just my 2 cents take it for what it's worth.


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## Danimal

Well.... FWIW...

My dad has taken more deer with his 43lb Jennings Forked Lighting, round wheel bow than I have with my 57lb Hoyt Single Cam.

(Dad had bow hunted MUCH longer than I have, so therefore has spent more time in the woods than me. Flip side, I have passed on a lot of small deer that were within 20 yards)

It comes down to form, practice, patience and time. In other words being able to put the razor sharp broadhead where you WANT it.

As stated earlier, stronger bows equal faster arrows. That makes range estimation less of an issue. If not set up properly, stronger bows can also make for noisier bows.

Good Luck!!


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## ics400

With todays bows, a 50# will easily handle deer. The points about not overdoing it are very valid. You may have to hold that weight for awhile waiting on the deer. And colder weather does make the DW seem much heavier. Arrow speed by draw weight is not much of an issue. By matching your arrow to the DW, you don't sacrifice much if any speed. You've been given great points on building up and practice. Good luck!


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## Bobm

As a kid I killed my first 20-30 deer with a 45 lb recurve it shoots right thru them with sharp arrows, bear razor heads is what I shot back then still do infact.

Shot two does with one shot once by accident and killed both of them.

When you first start practicing it helps if you shoot everyother day that gives your muscles a chance to recover and strengthen, just like weight lifting.

When I am on stand every hour or so if its real cold, I will stand up and pull the bow a few times just to keep limber. Usaully I will take a shot with the three field tipped arrows I carry for that purpose.

I currently shoot a longbow at 67lbs and a recurve at about the same.

All my shots were taken at 25 yards or less most at around 15.

As a basic rule of thumb if you divide the bow weight in half you will have the range in yard where a complete pass thru with a lung shot is a given.

So a 60lb bow is a 30 yard pass thru ect.


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## 5star

I have mine set at 57lbs, have been bowhunting for almost 20 yrs and never seen a reason to put it higher. Like someone said, after you sit in the cold for a couple hours that 65-70lbs is a real challange to draw.

I was told years ago that you should be able to sit on the floor or ground, put your legs straight out in front of you and slowly draw your bow. If you cant do this with a fair amout of ease then you have it set too heavy for draw weight.

If you can draw slow and smooth in the stand you will have a much better chance of getting a shot at the deer.

BTW I set my stands planning to take a 20 yrd shot.


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## Colt

I kill deer, black bears, and antelope with a 45# longbow.

IT IS ALL ABOUT SHOT PLACEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!


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## huntin1

Most people seem to think you need a high draw weight to kill deer, it just ain't so. Also most new hunters get the macho attack and have to shoot bows made for Rambo. 40 pounds is more than enough to cleanly take whitetails.

Some have already mentioned the best advice anyone can give you, start light, build good form and get your confidence up. You can switch to a higher draw weight later if you really think you need to.

huntin1


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## barebackjack

You are correct huntin1, but you should always shoot the heaviest weight you can comfortably.

40 lbs is more than enough to kill a deer with perfect shot placement. But when you figure in bowhuntings many variable (range, bone, wind, etc) a heavier weight shines.

If you cant hold your bow at full draw for at least 30 seconds in relative comfort, its to heavy.

Start light, work into it, this is why bowhunting is a year round sport.

I shoot 72 lbs, ill back this down to around 70 later in the year as it gets cold. Cold, stiff december muscles dont work like early season muscles. Its amazing the difference 2-4 lbs can make.


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## dakotashooter2

I do know that most of the archers I know that shot 65-70 lbs 25 years ago are all down under 60 lbs. If you do a lot of shooting 70 lbs will take it's toll over the years. I've shot at 55 all my life. Any physical therapist will tell you that many reps at low weight are better than a few reps at heavy weight.



> I was told years ago that you should be able to sit on the floor or ground, put your legs straight out in front of you and slowly draw your bow. If you cant do this with a fair amout of ease then you have it set too heavy for draw weight.


 Similar to what was once and still is valid advise. Sit down on a chair feet planted flat on the floor. Hold the bow out and draw it straight back. No push/pull type drawing or raising the bow and lowering it. If you can do that without lifting any part of your foot/feet of the floor you will be able to draw the bow back in most if not all hunting situations you find yourself in. Sure you may be ABLE to handle more under ideal conditions but for hunting you want to be able to draw in ANY position. I have seen some pretty big guys that seem to be able to easily handle 70 lbs lock up when they had to twist into an odd position in order to be able to draw and thats the thing about hunting, you will rarely achieve a perfect stance when ready to take a shot.


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