Novice Recurve question

[Birddogman]

I bought a PSE Night Hawk recurve and is a #45.  I am enjoying the challenge and shooting every night.  The hope is to hunt in the fall, we will see. My question is this:  At the poundage above, what the the furthest I could take as a kill shot on big game.  30, 40, 50 yrds.?  Like I said I am a novice and want to learn more.  My intention is to hunt Elk and deer, not predator big game.

Thanks in advance.

[AKBowman]

Why does it matter that you'll only be hunting elk and deer and not "predator big game"? I may be reading into it but it sounds  like you are OK with stretching yardage on an elk or deer but not on a bear or cougar. If that is true what exactly is your thought process on this or why does it matter if you are "big game predator" hunting vs hunting for an ungulate?

Shooting at a big game animal with traditional set up is a lot different than target shooting. If you haven't shot 3D yet I would recommend doing that. Bring a decent amount of ammo with you. I thought I was good to 40 yds with my recurve (60# @ 29-1/2") after a 3D walk through session I would shoot past 30 and would feel much better under 30. After you shoot a 3D walk through you should have a much better idea of your effective range.

One of the advantages of a recurve setup is the weight and KE of the projectile. Heavy but slow compared to compound. KE drops way off from 20 to 30 then exponentially again from 30 to 40. No one can tell you how far to shoot or not shoot. 45# is pretty  light. If you kept it within 20 your first year it would at least give you a chance to guage animals reaction time and how your set up performs.

[AKBowman]

Sorry. After a 3D walk through I realized I would NOT shoot over 30 at an animal.

[dreamunelk]

Your bow is light.  It is still lethal far beyond the range you should shoot.  That arrow is moving slow and the animal can move a lot in the time it takes and arrow shot from traditional equipment.
The most important question is how far can you shoot consistently?  If you can not hit a 6" spot every time on your first and second shot than it is either to far or your bow is not tuned to the arrows correctly or you have a form issue.
If you can not find a 3D range go stump shooting.  It will be humbling.  Prepare to lose some arrows.

You also need to take a hard look at your arrows.  What is the total weight?  What is the weight of your broad had?  Have you shot broad heads yet?  What is the FOC?

Lots of information out there.  I would suggest youtube and tradgang.com to start.

[Jimmy33]

What's your draw length? I had a 55 at 28 and killed deer easily out to 35


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[Tracker0721]

 :tup:With my 55lb Selfbow I'd shoot anything inside 20-25 knowing I'll kill it. With my 55 recurve maybe 30. The arrows too slow and the animals can move too much in that time. I had a deer duck the string in Texas at 15 yards. With that said I shoot up to 50-60 yards for fun and to practice my release. And no matter deer or elk or grouse, your target should always be the size of a speck. If you aim small, you'll miss small. Aim at an elk, you'll miss by an elk.

Saxton and Pope took animals past 100 yards. Not cleanly or ethically but that bow can kill a long ways out.

[Special T]

Come down to.Silver arrow Bowmen and shoot our walk through course. We are having a 3d on the 13-14 of Aug. I shoot both a recurve and a compound. I've shot deer a lot farther than I would with my recurve. I have a 45lb Samir sage. If my shooting game was good i would keep my max range under 30 for certain.

[Birddogman]

Thank you all for your replies.  Very informative.  Thank you

[coxral]

What's your draw length? I had a 55 at 28 and killed deer easily out to 35


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1st line, YOUR draw length? If your not drawing a full 28" your not drawing 45#! 40 is min for this state. Also, have you put your bow on a scale, some are not the poundage they claim! As far as your question goes, with practice, the right arrow, SHARP broadhead, and proper shot placement, YES you can shoot out to distances beyond 20-25 yds. My preference with recurve or longbow is 30 max!

[Magnum_Willys]

I shoot a 70 # recurve and need to get within 35 yards. Instinct shooter - no sights - so more of an accuracy thing. Takes a lot of practice.  45 # is light

[Tracker0721]

Also don't worry about the weight being enough unless you're drawing less than 40 which is then illegal. On stickbow there's tons of pictures of African and big North American game taken at 37 and above. One thread is moose and grizzly and all that with just 44 pounds. All longbow/recurve. A dude in Texas used a 25# recurve to kill his first doe. The heavy weights (60+) came about for when these modern guys resurrected archery and went after grizzly's and elephants and Cape buffalo.