third back injury in five yearsbeen shooting  my 45 lb wasp cant get over the fear that it not enough `use to heaver bows can anybody help or is it just a mind thing thankyou any coment would be appreciated as far as broadhead ect going to stick with 2016s there about 10 grains per pounds and shoot well thanks

If everything is tuned and you are shooting a quality two blade broadhead (well sharpened) and you are consistent, you will have no problems going for deer.  The previous statement could be made for any weight but getting it right is argueably more critical when you go down in weight.  After you get your first pass through your confidence will soar - and nothing will help more than that.  If it makes you feel any better I alway shoot between low 40's - low 50's and don't have any reservations about my bows.  

In the end, all that can really make this nagging feeling go away is buying a brand new bow.  :D   I promise you'll feel much better.

coon 45 is plenty with a good heavy shaft and a good quality SHARP broadhead.  I have a buddy that his wife shoots a 42 lb widow and she has shot numerous elk and has had a pass thru on all but a couple,  Again sharp heavy arrow and head combo with the ability to put it in the boiler = SUCCESS!  Good Luck

By the fact that you're in Illinois, I'm going to assume you're talking about hunting whitetails.

As far as 45# being enough; my pateral grandfather bowhunted whitetails for decades with recurves pulling 42# @ his 26" draw length. With Dacron strings and 400-some-grain arrows with cut-on-impact 3-blade heads (similar dimensions to the Woodsman) pass throughs were the norm.

Very true statements, but when you think about it what traditional hunter would hunt with anything but sharp accurate broadheads, I find that the two blade with bleeders(stingers) are the best.  Now that's just my opinion, but I to have had back surgery three times, and I have settled in at 43# and 47#, I have a whisperstik that is 47# @29" and that will be my maximum.

Two things I find, I can shoot longer without being tired, and I am very accurate with those two bow.

So there are some plus sides to the
"lower poundage"

I think the biggest thing for me is the accuracy, and I'm still able to shoot a 500 gr arrow

Carl

with a 48lb bow i got a complete pass through on a 190 lb ten point last year.

tuned arrow sharp bh= dead deer

Another thing I forgot to mention, look on the classifieds, and you'll find a lot of guys want to go from 50# 60#, and they're looking for lower poundage bow.

It's not the equipment, it's how you use the equipment you have.


Carl

i shoot it pretty darn good i guess its a a guy thing im a preety stout guy a boy do i get some ribbin

cooncrazy...let them rib all they want.... youll be able to shoot and enjoy it while they are tearing their shoulders up..... youve got all you need...i'm also stocky, but like to shoot 45#s...I can shoot all day and enjoy it..

My buddy a couple of years ago killed 22 pigs on public land with a 45 lb longbow using 2020`s and simmons landsharks.Not to mention five deer as well.RC

I used to shoot 57-60 lb curves at 29 inches.After 2 neck surgeries (1 failed and resulted in permanent nerve damage on my right arm and shoulder), 1 back surgery, and 1 shoulder surgery, I now shoot recurves in the 47-50lb range with excellent results. I can still bench well over 300 lbs but if I try to hold at anchor with a bow much more than 50 lbs I begin to shake due to the nerve damage. I swithced to carbon arrows for better penetration, but still shoot 3-blade woodsmans and haven't missed a beat. Lst year, I killed 3 deer with my 49lb habu-all 3 with pass throughs and 2 were sticking deep into the ground after the shot. None of the three deer ran more than 125 yards.

BCD

A friend of mine had complete pass-thru on a 150lb black bear this spring shooting 48# and 125gr. snuffers...broadhead buried to the hilt in a old log the other side of said bear!

No question there!

thanks guys for all the encouragement i realy apreciate it you guys are great  my arrows are weighing in about 460 gr should i go a little heavery  what ya think

I think it will work fine.  You already know that arrow placement is the most important part of the equation.

You might want to change your signature tho:

perhaps something like "walk gingerly and carry a manageable stick"?

coon if you like I can show you video of a woman shooting a forty pound bow clean through a doe. It's on the mossy oak website.

good one tulsa ill think about that lol

IN talking with several bow mfg's, the use of new material, design, and overall performance of current long bow / recurves a bow in the 45 lb range will take just about any big game in the good old USA.

I think it has to be said that if you match the bow, with a good arrow and sharp BH you can have a winning combo.

Just think back and how many deer were taken with a bow like my old red wing hunter ( 45 lbs ), old fiberglass or wood arrows and those first bear Bh's. Lots

in the history of archery across the millennia, I'd say more whitetails were taken with 45# bows than any other weight. The question is do you feel that 45# is adequate?  Jawge

George is right AGAIN, was just crusing through an old archery book by Fred Bear and the statement was made that archery is a test of skill, not a test of strength, but I think some of our old heroes must take some blame on this one. We in the old farts read about the Howards, the Fred Bears etc and they used 65# and up so that must be what it takes to kill something, we just forgot to read between the lines about all the practice and hard work, and also there warnings about don,t do as I do but do as I say. Heck I,m one to talk, I am still shooting to much bow for what I hunt. When my buddy and I started to hunt he got the first deer with a $10.00 42# acme bow and put the arrow clean through.

I can understand if someone is new to the sport and has never hunted with 45 pounds.  Many guys, if not most, draw farther when they go to 45 pounds and actually have a bow that performs better than the 55 or 60 that they were actually short pulling.  I've said this before, if anyone wants to listen, that I can outshoot my buddy for distance when he is shooting his 68# Big Horn longbow, and I'm shooting my 52# recurve, with basically the same weight arrows.  My draw is 28 his is 26.  Yes, it makes that much difference.