Aldo, If you can put the arrow where it should be, you should not have a problem. I know as a fact 43# @ same speed will do it every time.

Accuracy is more important, but slow is no good if you undershoot.      

I hit better with a faster recurve than a slower recurve or longbow, but another archer might consider all of my bows slow.    

You are good to go.... pick a spot and fire up the BBQ

Thanks everyone, this is the first 3 pc longbow I have shot had to drop weight due to elbow issue but I have the bow quiet and had a real good shooting session yesterday with it.  I will be in the tree this weekend here in NJ.  I actually feel better with a little lighter weight.  
Hunt Hard!
ALDO

Last year I was shooting 43 pounds with a 62" Super Shrew with around a 575 grain arrow arrow with great success. My guess I was only shooting around 150 fps and had a couple pass throughs. Sharp heads and true flight attribute to more penetration!

J. Westbrock nailed it.

If it matters, I know a young lady who has killed a few deer with a recurve, pulling less than 25#, with about a 25" draw, and arrows around 400 grains.

We have no idea what her K.E., momentum, slug feet, etc. etc. etc. are.  Deer didn't care either.  She put the arrow in the right spot, deer died, end of story.  One of the shots was 26 paces (approx. 26 yds).  Deer went about 65 yds.--a large doe.

Good arrow flight, sharp broadhead, and shot placement are essential.  Other than that, if your set-up is legal, it will do the job.

Almost forgot...don't know how many fps she was getting either, but pulling about 25" and shooting around 18 gpp, I feel safe saying she wasn't burning the fletchings off.

to me I wont go over heavy on arrows.  I like having a flat shooting bow with a decent weight arrow.  It doesnt take much to kill deer. so the 50# bows shooting a arrow almost 500gr or more is enough for me.   heck a guy on another forum is using a 47# bow  360gr arrows and 1.5" rage 40ke expandable broadheads and he take out a few nice doe last season.

 What LBR said.

I think a happy medium (if you can get there)is to shoot the heaviest arrow you can and still stay around 155-165 fps (always at least 10 gpp).  This will get the job done and is a good balance (I think) for momentum and trajectory.  No real science behind my thought, just feels right FOR ME.  

This is assuming you can get there with the poundage and length you draw.  If I had to choose between heavy and fast, I'd choose heavy.  The lighter the bow, the more I would rely on heavy arrows.

After that worry only about your COC blade being SHARP and hitting where you aim!

A sharp broad head and an accurate shot is all you need

QuoteOriginally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
All of the speed, mass, weight, or whatever number pops out of your calculator, in the world means nothing if you can't put it where it belongs. How is your accuracy with your setup? Therein lies your answer.

Amen,brother!

The majority of the deer I have killed with traditional bows were with a bow that shot 150 fps. The only reason I know that number is because I was at my local archery shop one day with it and a guy asked well how fast does it shoot. Speed nor arrow weight make a difference if you're not accurate with it though.

You have a momentum above 0.38 and thats more than enough for deer and mostly any game in the Northern hemisphere!
Just use sharp bh's in the business end and shoot straight          

if you are comfortable with the trajectory and are not shooting more than 20 yards. you'll be fine.

Speed matters a lot to some folks, and not at all to others.... i like the flat shooting trajectory of 190+ fps personally. That and i can shoot a lighter weight bow with more hitting power....

if you want I'll tell you that "Speed doesn't matter" There...You feel better now?....

but..... it does matter to a lot of hunters, and a whole lot of 3D competitors..... Kirk

The ideal would be a very heavy arrow at a very high speed. Unfortunately, it is difficult to have both. My preference would be reasonable speed with as heavy an arrow as will shoot accurately out of the bow. Most emphasis would be on arrow mass over speed (still assuming the accuracy is there). Yes, speed sorta matters... but not a hell of a lot!

If your broadhead is sharp and you can hit the mark, you are good to go.

The chronograph is the single worst piece of equipment that has ever been invented in regards to archery IMO.  I've never chrono'd any of my bows, either compound when I was shooting them or recurves now, because I don't want to get hung up on trying for an extra 5 fps.

I know a guy who bought a new compound a few years back rated at around 320-325fps.  He shot 70#, but only shot a 26" draw.  He tried a lot of different arrow setups, but the fastest he could get it to shoot was around 295.  He didn't even bow hunt that season and sold the bow the next year because he honestly believed he couldn't kill a deer with less than 300fps.  By the way, he spent over $1200 on the rig.  I've heard of guys doing the same thing with recurves trying to get to 190.

Wait a minute....

You mean, if I use both a sharp broadhead AND accurate shot placement,  Ill be able to kill an animal???

Somebody better be writing this down....we may be on to a traditional archery breakthru here!

Speed doesn't matter? Ofcourse it does or we would still be throwing sticks instead of shooting them. The question is not does speed matter but why does speed matter and how much does it matter to me?

BTW. It seems that setup is fairly slow for the bow you have unless you short draw it. I would think it would be in the 170s somewhere. However if you are happy with the setup it certainly will kill animals if you place the shots properly.


God bless you all, Steve

Aldo's got a 26" draw length if I remember correctly... so the speed he's getting with 11.5gpp seems pretty good for a lighter poundage bow.