is my bow/arrow combo legal?

[chef bama]

A while back I won a handmade laminate longbow in a raffle. It is said to be about 50-55 lbs. pull, and it came with some fancy modern arrows.

The guys who made it didn't think it was a powerful enough bow to hunt with, even if it was legal. Made me wonder if they are brainwashed by the "magnum rifle" version of archery hunting?

How do I figure out if this combo is legal? If it is a little under, do I make it legal with heavier arrows?

[dreamunelk]

Read the regs and see if your bow meets the criteria.  Sounds like you may need to know a little more about bows before you start hunting with one.  That said, I think you are okay unless you have a really short draw length.  With traditional equipment it is about how far you can shoot consistently and effectively.  I shoot about 52# with a longbow and have not taken a shot over 25 yards.  With my compound I limit myself to 50 yards but, know it can be very lethal at far greater distance.  However,  I have never shot beyond 40 yards.  It is mostly my choice as shooting distance is not why a picked up a bow 30some years ago.
All long bows need to be tuned.   This involves adjusting brace height and moving silencer if you have them.  Arrows need to be tuned to the bow also to get consistent flight.  Above all else you need to practice.  Most problems come from the shooter.  You will never get consistent flight if you have bad form. 

If not sure find someone with a bow scale and check the poundage. 

Now get a target and start shooting.  Warning!  Shooting traditional can get very addictive.

[Thefisherman83]

The minimum is 40lbs of draw and the arrows have to be 6 grains per pound of draw.  A well placed shot out of a 50lb bow will kill about anything.

[sebek556]

Hunting regs pg 77.paragraph 2. Low bows an recurve must have a min draw weight of 40lbs. And arrows more than 20 inches long or less than 6 grains per pound of draw weight with a minimum weight of 300 grains. So your first step is to either take your bow into a shop and have them chech the draw weight or use a scale that holds it's peak weight like some fishing or big games scales do. Then put your arrows with broad heads on a scale or if the say the gpi grains per inch on them you can measure them add ten for the nock plus broad head weight should get you close felt gongs very by type and brand. If you bow is 50lbs then 300 is fine if it's 55 lbs then you need 330

[copasj]

I thought traditional bows had issues with arrows as light as 6gpp?  Not that has any effect on legality, but I was thinking 9 to 10 gpp was normally recommended for trad bows.

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[dreamunelk]

I thought traditional bows had issues with arrows as light as 6gpp?  Not that has any effect on legality, but I was thinking 9 to 10 gpp was normally recommended for trad bows.

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Increase point weight stiffens them up.  Just have to play around with your bow.  They make inserts and or you can go to a heavier point.  With carbon many go to extreme FOC. 

[coxral]

One thing new guys, and some who've been around awhile, forgets or don't know is 40# at YOUR OWN draw length! A Trad bow that's 40# @ 28" is apprx 35# at 26". Have YOUR draw length measured! It also helps in determining what arrows you need.