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C.B. James (CBJ)
a.k.a. "the Original Weatherbyman"
About Me & Us
- Corey B. James, "the Original Weatherbyman"
- I have been engineering cutting-edge hunting rifles and components since 1996... Known as "the Original Weatherbyman", makers of custom Weatherby Rifles. Now we also customize archery products! My passion is to develop some of the fastest weapons made. We assist bow manufactures starting out with state-of-the-art designs (theirs!) We improve and build custom release aids, sights, grips and other goodies to eliminate 100% bow torque advantage over the competition. We engineer trick devices in T6061 and Carbon Fiber extreme-special one-up designs only available at WCG, Inc.
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29 September 2010
Minimum Draw Weight for Elk
My advice is shoot the heaviest draw weight you can comfortably shoot, whether it's 45 or 70--the elk can't tell the difference. The most important thing is practice, practice, practice, until you are able to hit your aiming spot under just about any condition.
One thing I noticed about many hunters here in the S.E. who come from a whitetail background is that they were used to shooting from a "normal" position, which isn't always the case in elk hunting or that matter spot and stalk or ground blind hunting elk or deer.
Practice standing, kneeling, crouching, peeking from behind trees, etc. Use a well constructed arrow (I'm a fan of the 300 Radial X Weaves) and a SHARP cut-on-contact broad head (G5 Montec, NAP Bloodrunner (3-blade for elk, not the two blade versions), Carbon Express Torrids, Muzzy broadheads...)), and wait for a good shot.
An elk is a big animal with a large target area and however with a tough body structure, and I've seen marginal shots from guys cranking 80lbs result in wounded elk.
A word of encouragement is that I know of a woman hunter on my FB site this past fall and she pulled only out to 50lbs and she did a major smackdown on a gorgeous 6x6 at 45 yards.
As far as distance, that depends on the person and their shooting abilities. I don't feel comfortable shooting at an elk past 40 yards, while I've witnessed many capable of 60+ yard shots.... If you'll be hunting during the rut (as I expect you will), shots probably won't be much further than 30-40 yards, depending on the terrain.
In the end however for elk, it is all about penetration and is the key component to kill elk. Choose the maximum draw weight that you can shoot effectively and keep your arrows at 400+ grains.
Take only a clear, broadside or quartering away shot at preferably under 35 yards if possible.
Elk are big powerful animals that can shrug off a marginal hit or lack of penetration far enough that they are many times never found. We all intend to take only a perfect shot, unfortunately the hit more commonly is less than perfect due to many other factors such as footing, position, branches, adrenaline etc..
Light bows and light arrows at high IBO speeds may be the recipe for S.E.whitetails, but your not in la la land anymore shooting from a tree stand... you are in elk country! You need all the kinetic energy you can get for elk.
One thing I noticed about many hunters here in the S.E. who come from a whitetail background is that they were used to shooting from a "normal" position, which isn't always the case in elk hunting or that matter spot and stalk or ground blind hunting elk or deer.
Practice standing, kneeling, crouching, peeking from behind trees, etc. Use a well constructed arrow (I'm a fan of the 300 Radial X Weaves) and a SHARP cut-on-contact broad head (G5 Montec, NAP Bloodrunner (3-blade for elk, not the two blade versions), Carbon Express Torrids, Muzzy broadheads...)), and wait for a good shot.
An elk is a big animal with a large target area and however with a tough body structure, and I've seen marginal shots from guys cranking 80lbs result in wounded elk.
A word of encouragement is that I know of a woman hunter on my FB site this past fall and she pulled only out to 50lbs and she did a major smackdown on a gorgeous 6x6 at 45 yards.
As far as distance, that depends on the person and their shooting abilities. I don't feel comfortable shooting at an elk past 40 yards, while I've witnessed many capable of 60+ yard shots.... If you'll be hunting during the rut (as I expect you will), shots probably won't be much further than 30-40 yards, depending on the terrain.
In the end however for elk, it is all about penetration and is the key component to kill elk. Choose the maximum draw weight that you can shoot effectively and keep your arrows at 400+ grains.
Take only a clear, broadside or quartering away shot at preferably under 35 yards if possible.
Elk are big powerful animals that can shrug off a marginal hit or lack of penetration far enough that they are many times never found. We all intend to take only a perfect shot, unfortunately the hit more commonly is less than perfect due to many other factors such as footing, position, branches, adrenaline etc..
Light bows and light arrows at high IBO speeds may be the recipe for S.E.whitetails, but your not in la la land anymore shooting from a tree stand... you are in elk country! You need all the kinetic energy you can get for elk.
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