is my bow poundage enough?

[johnasmith]

I have a compound bow set at 40# , will this be able to kill a deer at 20 yards using a three blade muzzy?

[Bow Drawn]

I would check your State's laws but it is at the minimum for Ohio to hunt with at 40#.

[Great White Hunter]

Yes in Texas but I don't put any stock into the Muzzy 3-blades. I would go with Slick Tricks. Make sure you shoot the Muzzy's before you hunt with them. You might find them unacceptably squirrely like I did. You shouldn't have to tune a bow differently to shoot broadheads. They should fly like your field points. Too many good broadheads nowadays to screw around with trying to tune your bow to a specific head.

Have you shot a muzzy yet? How's it fly for you.

I've seen hogs taken with less than 40 lbs (35#) but would never go below 35. 40#'s is probably a better minimum for deer and hogs. Just my .02 + a bit more.

[bullmoose38]

40 lbs is enough. But I would go with a cut on contact type head. Checkout the NAP Hellrazors that would work for you.

[timba]

Originally Posted by bullmoose38

40 lbs is enough. But I would go with a cut on contact type head. Checkout the NAP Hellrazors that would work for you.

I would say the same thing too.A cut on contact would be the best,thats the type of broad head that I only use.

timba

[Colorado Rick]

Bowdrawn is right, check with your State first and foremost, but also take into consideration Kinetic Energy.

What I've found, and keep in mind I am NO EXPERT here, is that it's really not the draw weight of the bow that is critical, although it does play a part. What really matters is the weight of the shaft plus the weight of the broadhead, and the spead at which they travel.

The math is velocity times velocity times mass divided by 450240 = KE (kinetic enery). KE is the force at whick the projectile impacts the target.

What I would do if your bow does meet the State minimum, then I would go to a bow shop and have them put the bow on a chronometer so you can get a good idea how fast it's shooting. After that, it's just a matter of doing the math.

I can tell you that on a whim I did the math based on the information given on a Moose Hunting Video from ACM. Vicki's bow was blowing through a moose at 52 pounds. If I recall she was in the low 80 foot pounds. I can't remember exactly.

Ultimately, shot placement is KEY. Though you want the deer to die quckly, pass-through is not absolutely the only way to go. It is the best case scenario because the animal expires quickly with little tracking needed, but if the shot is placed in the correct place, a kill shot is a kill shot whether it passes through or not.

I hope this makes sense, I was writing this and bouncing between calls at work so... take that for what it's worth. Maybe someone else can add clarity to this without the texbook feel I've given it.

[johnasmith]

thanks to each one that gave an answer to my question

[coca.drie]

Last season I killed a nice big doe and my son wanted to shoot it with his bow he shot it from 15 yards with a 35# pull with a 25 in. draw ics 500.
the doe was about 3 ft higher than he was it was a pass through. We had place the doe as is it was laying down so he could have a broad side shot. Shot placement is very important.

[youngbuck83]

I just read an article in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine. The article was written by Ted Nugent and he stated how his wife Shemane hunted in Africa (African game is some of the toughest in the world) with a bow set at 40lbs and she had absolutely wonderful results. She brought down zebra, wildebeest, and a lot of other plains game. The article stated the key is....as stated above ....you must have good shot placement and must use cut on contact heads. I would recommend the NAP Hellrazor, they fly like fieldtips!

[ladybowhntr]

Originally Posted by johnasmith

I have a compound bow set at 40# , will this be able to kill a deer at 20 yards using a three blade muzzy?

John, I started bowhunting pulling 40# and using Muzzy 3- blade 100 grain broadheads. Took 2 does at 15 yards. Complete passthrus. No tracking necessary. Watched them drop. Great blood trail as well, however, as mentioned did not need to track. I'd say you will do fine. Just be sure to get your bow tuned and practice with the practice blades to know what you are working with.
PS. I was shooting Muzzy's at Nate's and took both those piggies with pass thrus as well.
Nate was kind enough to give me some Slick tricks, I will try them this fall. I hear they are very good.