minimum draw weight for turkeys?

[btruegs]

I know I've asked a lot of questions, but I was on the wdfw website and it says the minimum draw weight for Big game is 40lbs., and since Turkey is considered small game any different? my reasoning is, I'm 14, 5"10 and 120 lbs and haven't been able to test my draw weight yet. I have a 22lb draw compound that I practice with and want to start hunting some gobblers. thanks guys!

[lokidog]

In my opinion, you want at least 40 pounds, even for turkey.  If you are planning a spring hunt, you have lots of time to work up to 40lb.  If for this fall, you still can probably get up to that level.  I know someone that hit a turkey straight on from the back and the arrow did not penetrate enough to kill it right away.  She was pulling about 35 pounds.  Turkey reaction time is also very fast and they could easily jump the string on a slower low draw weight bow.

Good luck.

[Tom Tamer]

Like most Regulations if there is no specific ruling then it is usually wide open. I highly doubt they have thought enough or have ever had the question posed to them. I would assume that any draw weight is then legal. There are calculators for kinetic energy, if you know the speed and weight of the arrow you can find out how much energy it puts out. I would recommend going overkill on a draw weight just to be sure you aren't just injuring a bird.

[btruegs]

In my opinion, you want at least 40 pounds, even for turkey.  If you are planning a spring hunt, you have lots of time to work up to 40lb.  If for this fall, you still can probably get up to that level.  I know someone that hit a turkey straight on from the back and the arrow did not penetrate enough to kill it right away.  She was pulling about 35 pounds.  Turkey reaction time is also very fast and they could easily jump the string on a slower low draw weight bow.

Good luck.

Thanks, good luck to you to!

[btruegs]

Like most Regulations if there is no specific ruling then it is usually wide open. I highly doubt they have thought enough or have ever had the question posed to them. I would assume that any draw weight is then legal. There are calculators for kinetic energy, if you know the speed and weight of the arrow you can find out how much energy it puts out. I would recommend going overkill on a draw weight just to be sure you aren't just injuring a bird.

Thanks for the advice!

[irishevox]

don;t do 60... i did lets say didn'tend well tore up alot in there with a 60lb shot... but i would say like 30-40 should be good even as low as 20's would be ok

[Tom Tamer]

I run 60# so I don't have to re tune for big game. The one bird I got so far it tore up a bit but it went about 6" before falling over dead.

[lokidog]

don;t do 60... i did lets say didn'tend well tore up alot in there with a 60lb shot... but i would say like 30-40 should be good even as low as 20's would be ok

NOT!  Sorry Irish, but this is bad advice.  You want the broadhead to go through, more chance of breaking at least one or both wings/legs/spine.  Not sure how a turkey could be "tore up a lot"?  This seems more likely with a low energy arrow that bludgeons its way through rather than slicing its way through.   

[bowhunterwa87]

Kinda what i thought loki but then again i have never taken a turkey with a bow....

[RadSav]

IMO 40# to 60# I think is just about perfect.

Turkeys can be tough to penetrate so within reason I think guys, and gals, should shoot the most weight they can get and still shoot the best.  For most adult men that's between 50 and 60 pounds.  Ladies that might be 35 to 45 pounds.  I'm not against even more poundage, but that is a dang small target and most do not shoot 65# or more better than they do the lighter poundages.  The past few years I've been shooting 64 pounds and while I might have three for four birds in a row where the arrow zips right through, the next arrow might barely get the broadhead through the other side.

Your best shot is having the bird facing directly away from you and taking them on the center line between the wings.  If you wait for that shot even 20# of draw weight will work, but more poundage would definitely be better.

As far as tearing birds up with higher poundage I am having a hard time following that logic.  Why would a broadhead do any more damage at 60# than it does at 20 pounds?  Other than breaking or cutting more bone if you make a lousy shot.  And for me, if I make a lousy shot (it happens ), I want to break them up as much as possible giving me another opportunity to place a follow up in the right spot.  I'd guess my average turkey shot at 25-30 yards and most follow up shots after a trigger fart are 40.  That's quite a distance for a 22# bow trying to hit a spot the size of a golf ball. 

Turkey wing feathers do play heck on your fletching.  After the broadhead cuts those heavy wing feathers they are quite sharp.  Often times cutting all three vanes off my arrows.  But to me that is a small price to pay for a nice tom and a quick kill.  So I'll take the pass through over the alternative any day!

[btruegs]

thanks for all the help guys i appreciate it!

[turkeyfeather]

Same draw weight for everything. Different draw weights mean possibly different arrows and having to mess with sight. To much hassle.

[btruegs]

Thanks guys, think i'll start at fourty