Thoughts on the new 30lb minimum draw weight

[rippinlips]

I think that is a little low and might cause more wounded deer to be running around. I know it will allow more kids to get into the feild hunting which is great, but unless the shot is perfect and meaning you don't hit any bones and don't try a shot over 20 yards there could be alot more wounded deer running around. Not to mention that at a young age wounding a deer can be very very hard on a youngster. I kinda have mixed thoughts on it but definitly leaning towards the side of not approving of the change.

[LABS4ME]

It's already been approved... water under the bridge.

I'm O.K. with it.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Deitz Dittrich]

Rip- there was a thread on this a while back...I'll try and find it and link to it...

My thoughts... Wi has had a 30 lb draw weight for quite a few years.. I have to admit, I hunt WI more than I do MN, and I dont see any more wounded deer over there than I do here. Keep in mind that bows have come a long way in the last few years. More power, faster ect... I would say a new bow set at 30 lbs may have more power and faster than a 6-9 year old bow set at 40 lbs.

I'm all for this new rule if it means more young adults and women can be involved in this great sport.

[found it, it was back on page 7--]

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1147231&page=6&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[shogun]

I agree with rippinlips - 30lb is just too low. Kids that young shouldn't be hunting anyway - they just aren't old enough to totally understand what they are doing when killing an animal of that size.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Just because the law says 30 lbs.. doesnt mean everybody is going to turn thier bows down to 30 lbs.. Lets say I was like 75/80 years old.. and loved to bow hunt... but could only pull 37 lbs with comfort?

[shogun]

I guess I'm not really sure how I feel about the 30lb limit - but on another note...

I have seen some hunting shows where the host has their 6 year old daughter killing animals with a cross bow. That just doesn't seem right to me. Sorry to change the subject here but that's just something that comes to mind. 6 years old is way too young. She doesn't understand?!

[Deitz Dittrich]

I can agree that 6 is a bit early in my opinion as well to be pulling the trigger. I dont think its too young to be along on the hunt. I dont think the law was put in place so that 6 year olds could hunt though.

[DonBo]

I would hope that a youngster who can only pull 30 lbs would be mentored by an adult who would sit right next to him/her, at least till an understanding of the hunt is instilled.

As for adults who can only handle 30 lbs, my mother at 71 years old shot the biggest buck in camp a few years ago. I couldn't have been more proud. Do you want to discourage her from hunting?

As long as the hunter understands that you need to wait for the perfect shot at a reasonable range, I am all for it.

[rippinlips]

The legal age in MN to hunt whitetail is 12 years old, Just some kids 12 years old can't pull 40lbs I have seen it first hand. Ha if I knew my 4.5 tear old son would be quiet in the stand I would bring him out right now with me to watch. He loves to watch deer hunting videos over cartoons which is awesome. Back to the subject I just think it's a little low I'm not aganist getting kids out there I'm all for it and if anybody's grandpa or grandma want to go that is awesome also. This 13 year kid I know shoots 42 lbs and he has shot 3 deer with it killing 1 the other 2 were good shots because I saw the arrow sticking out of the vitals when tracking them just not deep enough penetration.

[Gofishleech]

IMO it is too low. The less pounage you have the more arc in arrow flight meaning more precise aming and yardage judging is needed to make a good hit. When I was younger I used to shoot a 70+ pound bow and used one site pin set @ 20 yards and killed deer out 44 yards. Now I shoot 60lb and have 3 pins.

[Keeter]

I definitely could be wrong rippin, but I think the age 12 restriction to hunt deer is for rifles only.

[rippinlips]

Keeter it 12 to hunt you have to go through hunter safety and that is only available starting when you are 12 years old.

[EXTREME]

You guys that are against a 30lb draw weight obviosly have not seen any of the new bows. I will guarantee you that the new bows(last 5 years) set at 30lbs are at least 40 feet per second faster than the old Darton bow that I started hunting with. That one was set as high as it goes...probably 65 lbs. With that said; you still must practice your butt off. If your kid wants to go out hunting with a 30 or 70lb draw weight...you still must be able to make a killing shot. A gut shot with a 30lb bow is the same as a 70lb bow...I guarantee it.

[rippinlips]

Pretty sure I stay up on the new bows extreme and the penetration from 30 to 70 is no comparing the 2. I'm not saying you can't kill a deer with 30lbs but not as efficently as a higher draw weight and speed. Do the math

[snapcrackpop]

Quote:

---

Kids that young shouldn't be hunting anyway - they just aren't old enough to totally understand what they are doing when killing an animal of that size.

---

Kids are ready at different ages. My oldest was 6 last year and he was with me when I took a doe.

I know he will be ready any time he is legal to do so. He "gets it". (My younger son on the other hand might not be ready until he is much older.) I have told him (the older one) as soon as he can pull 30 pounds or shoot a 20ga. he will be going turkey hunting.

The sooner they get involved with hunting, the better.

And I believe the DNR wouldn't approve the 30 pound limit if they didn't feel confident with it.

[DRH1175]

I have no problem with it as long as you know your limits. Mostly it is there to help people who can't pull back a 40 lb bow an oppourtunity to still hunt. A well placed shot from any bow will do the job with a razor sharp head!

[EXTREME]

'rippinlips maybe we should ban recurves then...they are not fast enough. If you are worried about penatration use a heavier arrow. Like someone else posted...hit them in the right spot and you shouldn't have to worry about it.

[EXTREME]

alright. I felt guilty after that last post. I respect everyone's opinion...because that is what it is..and opinion. I know they already passed the law; so let's not worry about it. Sorry Rippinlips.

[Bobb-o]

I was very excited to hear aboot the reduced draw weight requirements, as was my g/f who went out and immediately bought herself a bow. Due to a shoulder injury in an accident when she was younger she has a hard time drawing heavier bows. Her new bow is set at a 32 lb draw weight, which is perfect for her, yet it still shoots faster than my 10 year old PSE set at 55 by aboot 50 FPS!!

[Mike Steckelberg]

i think it is a great that they dropped it to 30lbs...it hopefully means that more kids will get involved in bow hunting, not only the harvesting part of it but also all the time in the woods, putting in the work to get to that harvest..like a lot of you have said not everyone can pull back 40lbs, does that mean they shouldn't be able to hunt because they aren't strong enough, a good shot with 30lbs will kill a deer every time, and as for some thinking kids don't get it how very wrong you are..if you teach kids everything you can about the whole package of hunting then they will get it and appreciate how special it is to get that harvest...

just my .02

[Fatty07]

I love the new law. I just bought a bow for my wife. She is a tiny girl and when we were shopping she could only pull back 30 pounds about 6 times. She has been shooting a month and now her bow is set at 37 pounds. It is shooting 205 fps and her kenetic energy is just shy of 40. Anything over 25lbs is considered good. Sure my bow has kenetic energy in the 80's but most of that force is ate up in the dirt after a pass through. Hopefully she can get a chance at a deer this year so I can let you know how it went.

I do beleive if your using lower draw weights you need to be very carefull of the shoulder, but with practice and patience she will be able to harvest a deer ethicaly. By the way I am way more excited than she is about being able to bow hunt. My only fear is she is gonna want a more powerful bow next year, because women and children can gain alot of muscle in a very short time when they get to shooting. My wife could probably shoot a 45lbs bow now after shooting for just a month. Good luck all

[rippinlips]

That's fine extreme. I want more people to pick up bowhunting even youngers kids it benefits evrybody in the sport by interducing more people. My real concern is that I don't want more wounded deer because you all know that will only give the anti-hunters and peta more fuel for there fire, that's really all that I was concerned about. I know 30lbs is enough to kill a deer it just has to place in the right spot and there really is no room for error. If everybody that shoots 30lbs really knows the right and wrong situations for the shot and they practice like there suppose to then there won't be any problems, but we all know that there are alot of people and parents that don't do that practicing and coaching of there kids like all of us do or will do to keep the sport fun and enjoying.

[UMDSportsman]

Fatty07- do you have any units on the kinetic energy? where did you get the numbers from? Did you get them from a chart, from a test? If you got it from a chart, what were the inputs?

[Fatty07]

Just go into google and search for kenetic energy calculator for bow and arrow. A few will pop up. Also at archerytalk (Contact Us Please) com you can get a link to kenetic energy calculator. You need to know your arrow speed (not the advertised ibo speed) and the weight of the arrows plus tips. It will give you your kenetic energy.

[UMDSportsman]

I was curious becuase I am going to school for mechanical engineering and i was going to do a couple calculatoins on my own to compare to the calculators, and the one i looked at did not have units on it. To make a comparison you have to have the same units. I have also gotten to the point where numbers without units are useless. i don't mean to anger anybody by that, just what i have gotten used to.

Back to the origional topic. I kind of like the idea of dropping the draw weight to 30 lbs. My sister has said she would like to get into bow hunting and she doesn't know how much she can draw back. This weekend when we are getting to gether, we are going to go shoot a couple and see what she can do.

[Fatty07]

A little up date. My wife and I haven't been able to get out, but we did clean a deer this week. My aunt who bought the same bow as my wife just took her first archery deer monday night. She is pulling back 36# and the deer only made it 40 yrds. To my suprise she was using wasp expandables with a huge cutting diameter (over a 1.5 inches but not sure on the measurements) which I would think would be a big mistake by her. However even with the small draw weight and big broadheads she got okay penetration. She did not get a pass through but hit a lung. It was a very nice size doe and she shot it at 18-22 yrds. Hoping to see what my wife can do now.

On the other hand, after shooting for 1 month my wife's bow is set to it's max 41#. She could hardly draw back 30# in the middle of september. Amazing how quickly women can gain muscle. For christmas she getting a new bow in the 40-50 range. Went shopping tonight and she can nearly draw back the full 50#.

[germanshorthairs]

rippin lips, why is it that you think we need more hunters out there??? I think there are plenty hunters crowding the public land. I have nothing against new hunters young or old but I just dont understand why some people (including the dnr, they just hired a new hunter recruiter???) think we should recruit hunters. Every year I hunt I continue to see more hunters at the public locations. Most of the time crowding the public land. Why recruit????

[rippinlips]

I don't hunt public land and there is alot of private land where nobody hunts out there. The land owners just need to be approached in the right manner, when asking for permission treat it like a job interview and your results will change.