I just want to know what you think about this question. I heard of 40# bow can take an elk but what about 30# pounds for deer?

I have no doubt it can be done. The problem is, deer have bones.

Having to go down to 40lb due to old age and health.
I don't feel 40lb is enough for deer let alone elk.
I sometimes don't get pass thru's which sometimes
make finding them problematic.
Shoot as much bow as you can handle. Kenny

Could a 30# bow actually take a deer?

Yes.

I would recommend a fixed, 2 blade, cut on contact broadhead.

In fact, the State of Arizona's legal standards for lawful methods for taking wild mammals... Under Arizona revised statute, R12-4-304 ...

5. To take deer:
h. Bows with a standard pull of 30 or more lbs,
using arrows with broadheads no less than 7/8
inch in width with metal cutting edges.

6. To take elk:
g. Bows with a standard pull of 30 or more lbs,
using arrows with broadheads no less than 7/8
inch in width with metal cutting edges.

It is interesting that the State actually revised the minimum standards, lowering them to 30 lbs. from 40 lbs for deer and elk just a couple years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas "Ty" Beaham:
Could a 30# bow actually take a deer?

Yes.

I would recommend a fixed, 2 blade, cut on contact broadhead.

In fact, the State of Arizona's legal standards for lawful methods for taking wild mammals... Under Arizona revised statute, R12-4-304 ...

5. To take deer:
h. Bows with a standard pull of 30 or more lbs,
using arrows with broadheads no less than 7/8
inch in width with metal cutting edges.

6. To take elk:
g. Bows with a standard pull of 30 or more lbs,
using arrows with broadheads no less than 7/8
inch in width with metal cutting edges.

It is interesting that the State actually revised the minimum standards, lowering them to 30 lbs. from 40 lbs for deer and elk just a couple years ago.

I agree, two bladed cut on contact broadhead that is razor sharp, and I think the deer should be broadside, no quartering shots. I wouldn't use 30# for hunting, but I think its doable.

quote:

Could a 30# bow actually take a deer?

I imagine that the native american tribes did it for about a thousand years.

I killed my first deer with a bear polar recurve - 38lbs - bear fixed broad head , cedar shaft ..

When I was a kid I killed my first two deer with a 28 pound fiberglass target bow and Bear broadheads on cedar shafts before the local experts told me it was inadequate.

Cut on contact broad heads are the way to go wife son and daughter all have killed deer with light draw weight bows

Like many kids in the Midwest my first deer with a bow was about 30-35 pounds of draw.

My first bow was a Bear Antelope model shooting Easton aluminum arrows and Muzzy 100 broadheads..you could see the arrow arc through the air and anything over 20-25 yards was Really stretching it.

today's bows are more efficient than ever.

not mentioned was draw length, and arrow weight. we do not know if you are talking a short draw kid or a longer drawing adult.

my friend had a pass thru on her deer shooting more weight, but only 23.5" draw.

heavier arrows and as has been said exceptionally sharp COC broadheads (longer tapered heads would be better) and you'll be ok with broadside shots and pretty close range.

Most of the hunting bows Pope tested were in the 30-40lb range. That with 24" arrows.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Most of the hunting bows Pope tested were in the 30-40lb range. That with 24" arrows.

Not the ones he hunted with. I have seen several of both Pope and Young's bows and most were at least twice that poundage.

Getting back to the original question, yes a 30 pound bow will work if a carful broadside shot is taken. My first hunting bow was a 45 pound recurve that easily would pass through any deer using two blade Bear Razorheads. That was something like 45 years ago!

cougarz,

"tested", the key word is tested. The museum where Ishi lived had thousands of native american artifacts from all over the NW and coastal areas.

The thing is, you stick a game animal with one, and it goes running off with half the shaft sticking out of the chest cavity. The motion causes the shaft to vibrate, and that in turn, causes the jagged edge of the stone head to keep cutting until the loss of blood causes the death of the animal.

Here in Idaho we often find small stone mounds in a 90-degree V or a U. They have been identified as stone blinds near water. The shots would have been as close as 5-10 yards.

Pope and Young were entranced by the euro-centric longbow and its military applications; often over 6 feet in length, and 70 to 95 pounds draw weights.

Just use heavier arrows and broadheads

Yes. I watched a young boy stalk a 100# hog and took it with a 30# pull bow. I'm sure they will dispatch a deer.

My answer is,YEP!
[Use to hunt armadillos with an old 65# dyna-bow. Had an old man tell me that an arrow would ricochet off an armadillo's shell, no matter how powerfull the bow! Funny, I BBQ'd lots of them! That's pre-leprosy era.]

I didn't know folks barbecued 'dillos. Learn sumpin new purt near every day ...

Ive killed many with a 40# recurve 2 blade Zwickey broadheads, waiting for broadside shots.