Have any of you killed elk sized game with trad gear? If so, what's the lightest draw weight you would feel comfortable using? The heads would be 175gr Simmons. What about arrows weight? I just want to start planning now in case I need a new bow.

Yes. 50# minimum, prefer something closer to 60. 500-650gr arrows. My deer arrows are 570gr.

Thanks Mr. Troy. I was hoping you'd see this thread. I have a 47# at 28" longbow that is my primary hunting rig. I draw 29". I was thinking that with stacking I probably will be right at 49-50#. I love this bow and I know that with patience and the right shot selection I can kill an elk. However, I wasn't sure about having enough penetration with a shoulder shot. I may step up to about 55#. My rotator cuff won't allow much more I don't think. Thanks for the help.

you can stay with yer current bow, just shoot a heavy (600+gr) arrow to aid penetration. And stay away from that shoulder

Will do. Thank you sir.

The heavy arrow is fine other than you don't need to sacrifice tune to get it. Get bareshafts flying true at 12-15 yards with possibly slightly weak showing. The weight of feathers will fix slightly weak. I wouldn't be surprised if a perfectly tuned arrow would penetrate better than one weighing a good bit more that is flying sideways without the feather drag to correct it.

You will also ant to use a good two blade cut on contact head and you might look into single bevels and the Ashby reports on penetration.

Thanks RH. I've used the single bevel (Grizzleys) before. I liked them. I used them on wood arrows. I shoot Simmons two blade heads now and really like the holes they make. Thanks for the advice.

Can’t add much to this post other than it’s nice seeing some guys talking about traditional gear! Good luck on what ever you go with.

Bows and arrows aren't made for crushing bones, stay away from shoulders on entry side, period.