mobow

Poundage doesn't = accuracy. But, there's only one way to find out. Turn it up a bit and find out. If you don't like it, turn it back down.

extreme1

Your 60# bow will be just fine----Sit in a tree stand for 2 hours in -25 degree weather and then crank it back sitting down.You will be glad its set at 60,maybe even 55 lbs might sound better at that particular time.

My bow is set at 70# and isn't a problem during practice sessions in the warm weather or indoor shooting.Hunting season its down to around 65#'s and its comfortable.
Turn your bow up a bit for practice.You will develope more muscle,and a bit before hunting season crank her back down to 60.It will feel a whole lot easier to pull back being accustomed to 65 or more pounds.

gzg38b

dude you're 120 pounds? That would be like me hunting with a 100 pound bow. You must be extremely strong for your size. 60 pounds is plenty but if you can comfortably pull 70 and be just as accurate why not do it?

NCYankee

Here's the real test: Draw your bow and hold for 90 seconds, then see how accurate you are. For some reason, most people worry more about pulling back the bow than holding it! I saw a show once where this guy was hunting elk (it may have been Ralph Cianciarulo) and had to hold for about two minutes. It hurt just to watch him, but he made a beautiful killshot. After the shot he almost collapsed, saying that his arms were on fire! If you can hold and shoot, you can probably crank it up...But do you really need to?

Hikchick

In the state of Idaho legal draw weight to hunt big game is 40#. It is considered (and have been proved to be enough) for moose, elk, sheep, and goat. Don't worry about needing to be a powerhouse. Anything above 40# has been proven to take down big animals. The thing that you need to be worrying about is (as was mentioned before) your accuracy and STAYING WITHIN YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIMITS. Know what those are and don't push yourself beyond them if you know that there is a possibility that an animal will take off with a wound that can cause a slow death or extreme pain in trying to recover. If 60# works for you then stay there. If all you can handle at the time is #40, then make it work for you.

Paul L Mohr

I'm about your size, between 120 and 130 lbs and 5 foot 3 inches. I can draw around 70 lbs if I want to and if I shoot alot. However I don't. I shoot at around 55 lbs with a 26 inch draw. I have no trouble killing deer inside of 30 yards. I also shoot a 450 grn arrow so only get a little over 200 fps, still doesn't keep me from killing deer or hitting what I aim at as long as I am confident about the distance.

Something to keep in mind, my bow with a 55 lb draw weight and 26 inches of draw is just as fast as my buddies 13 year old darton set at 72 lbs and 27 inches with the same arrows. He has killed a butt load of deer with that bow so I think ours will work just fine. And that doesn't even take into acount all the deer that get killed with traditional set ups that are no where near what you shoot with light set up compound.

My opinion is stay above 400 grns for arrows and pick your heads wisely and you should have no problems killing deer. I would worry more about your form and shooting ability then your equipment. I think most people would be better off shooting less weight than more.

Good luck,
Paul

bburen

I shoot 60# and have no trouble killing animals. More important is where you hit. If youre confortable with the bow and can shoot accurately stay with it.

MA Jay

Just a thought, how good are you at range estimation?

The only reason I would add pounds in your case would be if you could get more speed from your current set up. I personally like to be at a very comfortable draw weight, for me that is 70 lbs, I can hold that for over a minute if I have to and still shoot accurately. The reason I am at 70 instead of 60 is that at my draw 27 1/2" that extra 10 lbs gives me 20+ extra fps which results in a slightly flatter trajectory allowing me a tiny bit more leeway with range estimation. I would NEVER advocate for losing accuracy to gain speed! But if you can handle more speed accurately, flatter trajectory is an argument to at least consider it.

turtleshell

You said it Arthur I'd hate to know I had to pull back half my body weight. I'd also love to be able to do it. That'd be 102 lb draw weight....

dohcrxl

Well, I think it's all in your build. And, it's not eventotally about muscle bulk either. There are guys who are weaker or stronger than they appear. I guess I'm just lucky thatalthough I'm a lazy butt and just sit around, Ican still do 20 pull ups (give or take a few) *forgive me for bragging but there aren't too many things I can do that about

At any rate, thanks for all the responses. I'll keep them in mind when huntin' season comes around.

Oh, another thing that I never took into consideration is how cranking up the poundage would affect my arrow's flight. If I decided to turn it up 5lbs, would that be such a great factor in having the rightor wrong arrow spine? I shootCarbon Express Eliminator 250's tipped with 100 grain Muzzy 3 blades. Total weight is 370.

Currently, I don't even know if I have the correct spine. Cranking the bow up 5lbs could be dialing in to or away from correct spine wouldn't it?