Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: bihunter on March 14, 2019, 07:12:30 PM
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Her in New Hampshire the law reads that a bow must have a minimum draw weight of 40#. If I have a bow that is marked 40#@28" would I be legal with a draw length of 26"?
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That's a good one to ask your local game warden. IMO, no because you would be drawing closer to 35# at your draw length.
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Here in BC it states minimum poundage at the archers actual draw length. I would be asking a game warden for sure.
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Technically , I suppose no .
But in all the times I've been checked , never had a game warden bust out a bow scale and draw check ruler.
Sooooo....
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Back when Georgia had a minimum draw weight, I wondered the same thing. I was told different things by different DNR rangers. One said it had to 40# at the archer's draw length and another said it only had to be rated at 40# at 28 inches. Quite honestly, I never gave it a single thought. My first bow was 45# at 28", but with my 25" draw length it would not meet the 40# mark. All my subsequent bows have been considerably heavier, which rendered the question moot. Georgia no longer has a minimum requirement, so I guess my grandson's Pup at 26# at 26" draw would be legal.
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if you get checked, just have a longer arrow and pull it further.
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Maybe the real question is whether you're confidant the weight/speed you're launching an arrow will make a clean kill.
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Start asking questions like that to a game warden and you only open a can of worms. The law says 40# and nothing more. The bow is marked 40#.
I still get a kick out of the Northwoods law episode where the game warden tells the guy he shouldn't shoot game at 10 yards with a bow as it takes the arrow about 20 yards to build up speed.
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"Everyone knows that arrows shot from compounds don't get up to full speed until they are out over 25" or more." That is a quote from a compound shooter, when Dick Lesline shot my Schulz Legend through the chrony and got an unusually big number. The problem was, everyone agreed with him.
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The answer is no. The reality is the game warden wouldn’t know how far you drew and most probably doesn’t begin to know the logistics of trad bows.
Imagine you had a 31” draw. A bow marked 35 at 28” I bet would be problematic but if push came to shove surely legal.
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If that is exactly what it states you would be legal, nothing is said about draw length, assuming what the bow is marked is correct, if it is marked, not all are, and it does indeed draw to 40lbs at some point, does it state within what draw length it gets to 40lbs? Here in Il. it used to say a bow has to draw to a minimum of 40lbs at some point within a 28" draw minimum arrow length is 20" period, it does not say how far you have to draw the bow. Il. has since changed it to a minimum of 30lbs at some point within a 28" draw and minimum arrow length of 20", still nothing about how far the hunter legally has to draw the bow, so if you use a bow pulling at least 30lbs within a 28" draw and with the minimum arrow length of 20" so obviously you cannot pull 20" arrows more than 20" maybe with a compound overdraw rest but not a traditional bow and you only draw the bow say at least 19" so the arrow does not fall off the shelf I don't think ethically that would be sufficient for Deer but you would be legal in Il. go figure :dunno:
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Consult your local game warden or the game warden in the area you plan to hunt...far better to avoid the gray areas and stay legal...you will enjoy your hunt much more in having peace of mind...
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We get into the letter of the law vs the intent of the law.
The letter says a bow drawing a minimum of 40#.
I intent is that the bowhunter be pulling a minimum of 40# during the draw cycle.
Mike
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Each game warden might have a different opinion on intent of the law but they have to follow what the law states, it would be clear if it stated what the hunters draw weight at there draw length would have to be to legally hunt. I would do what Friend said, Lawyers and litigation is a process to be avoided.
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Start asking questions like that to a game warden and you only open a can of worms. The law says 40# and nothing more. The bow is marked 40#.
I still get a kick out of the Northwoods law episode where the game warden tells the guy he shouldn't shoot game at 10 yards with a bow as it takes the arrow about 20 yards to build up speed.
Exactly .
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I am also in NH and would like clarification if you call a warden.
The eregulations only say... "Minimum draw weight for deer is 40 lbs."
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Shoot a 45# bow and you are covered...
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Or you could take a fine tip black sharpie and just mark it #45.
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I just read your regs, says draw weight for deer is 40lbs nothing about just the bow being 40lbs, I would assume that means the hunter would have to draw 40lbs to be legal for deer, for turkey it says minimum bow and arrow draw weight for turkeys is 30lbs, so again I assume that to mean you must draw 30lbs.JMHO.
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Regs read -"draw" weight - so would have to be 40# at your draw length.
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So, the warden would have to ask you to draw your bow, mark your draw length, then redraw the bow to that length on a scale to see if you were "legal".
Sorry but as a career LEO I've had lots of warden friends, and rode with and helped them on their rounds. I've never met one who would have gone to that extreme unless he thought someone was gaming the system, like shooting a #25 bow for example.
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I met a game warden that went to extremes. First, he wanted to know why I was back at my car before sundown. I already had my deer and my wife was out hunting deer and the turkey i was after busted and it was after hours for pheasants. I asked if he wanted to see my license, "What for? I know what they look like." Then he wanted to know why I have my back quiver pointing one way one day than the other the next. I showed him my duo shooter Berry longbow. The next thing, he ran back to his pick up to get his arm guard and shooting glove and off he went with my bow and my judo point arrow. A natural with a longbow.
That reminds me, I should get out to get some pictures of illegal tree stands with compass points to send to the game warden we now have, to give him more time to remove them.
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Great story Pavan.
Five of us went to the Black Hills years back for deer hunting. We set up camp on one end of a campground that had about 10 compound hunters at the other end. We hunted the next morning, to no avail and bumping into others and came back to camp for lunch.
The local game warden drove up and stopped when he saw our bows leaning around. He asked us how badly we needed to be in a campground. We assured him we did not. He then gave us directions to a great spot back in the hills where we set up camp for the rest of the week, had great hunting, and never saw a sole. Life was good.
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When I run into hunters that consider game wardens are their enemies, the hair stands up in up in my neck. Far important than a the numbers on the side of the bow is the ethics of the hunter, way too many deer are shot in verbally dark conditions around here. So dark that they cannot see through their peep sights, the hit or which way the deer ran. If game wardens don't have night scopes they should get one.
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I was in a new area hunting elk in Idaho one year because the unit I normally hunted was on fire. I got some tips up front from the biologist for the unit and spent the first 3 days scouting/hunting the tips to no avail. On day 4 the game warden stopped in camp mid day and looked over our trad bows and gear. He was a trad hunter himself. After talking a while I asked if he could give us any advice on elk as we were coming up blank. He said to stay in camp, we were sitting in one of the best spots in the unit. The next day both Jason and I missed bulls. We had a great final week chasing multiple herds within 2 miles of camp. Rusty even got a shot at a big mule deer buck.
Mike
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If your bow is marked 40# but your draw length is less I'd say no game warden is going to check you. If, however, your bow is marked 35# and your draw length is 31", I'd say you'd have a problem explaining that one to the game warden.
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If it were me, I would hunt with a bow marked at least 40 pounds per its stats on the riser or limbs. I wouldn't be trying to convince a warden my 30-something bow is really a 40-something bow at my something-something draw length. But that's me. I'm the guy who would get busted for having a broadhead that was sharpened just 1/16" shy of legal.....
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We get into the letter of the law vs the intent of the law.
The letter says a bow drawing a minimum of 40#.
I intent is that the bowhunter be pulling a minimum of 40# during the draw cycle.
Mike
The letter of the law IS sufficient....no doubt about it...leaving no wiggle room for misinterpretation.
So, know and understand the specifics of the law that govern yer hunting. That is your job ...and you will be GTG legally. The rest of your hunting experience belongs to YOU
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If you get checked and the warden pulls out a tape rule to check your draw length, just yank that sucker back to your ear and than tell him to measure.