Older bows for elk

[82ndreddevil]

So I have an old Hoyt Rebel XT, its a back up to my newer bow. Modern bows can be very lethal on elk at greater distances than most would call ethical range. Of course it comes down to shot placement, and all that good stuff. But when you look at the velocity or penetration ability of this bow in comparison to a modern bow, where should one draw the line? I am thinking 40 yards at max. What do you guys think?

[AlexG]

For older bows bows I'd agree on 40 yards max distance in terms of how much less energy those type of bows shoot compared to the more modern technology and how much more energy they produce

[Ridge Ghost]

I shoot a newer, faster bow and even I put my limit at about 40 yards.

Sure, I'm plenty accurate on targets at 50 and 60 yards, but there are factors that you can't control when hunting, like animals moving while the arrow is on it's way. For this reason, I don't see many scenarios where I would shoot past 40 at a live animal.

[Heartwood]

Ridge Ghost, i whole heartedly agree on your 40 yard effective range. I've seen to much turn bad on longer shots, most times we can arrange for much closer shots anyway.

[jmez]

IMO effective range has little to nothing to do with the year of manufacture of the bow.

[pointysticks]

IMO effective range has little to nothing to do with the year of manufacture of the bow.

Agreed.

[82ndreddevil]

Thanks for the responses guys. So I think what I'm really wondering is how well will an older bow like this penetrate versus these newer ones. Last September I got a complete pass through on elk with my charger. Are these older bows capable of complete pass through a on elk?

[jmez]

Absolutely they are. Other than marketing there isn't a whole lot of difference between new bows and older bows. The major changes in bows have been in draw cycle, hand shock and vibration. Speed hasn't changed all that much. You are likely talking about 15-20 fps maximum from 20 years ago. I had a Bowtech Black Knight II in 2000 that shot 350 fps. There are only a couple of bows made today that will out do that.

The bow you have is more than capable of punching two holes in an elk, even at long distances. If you are worried about the speed then just shoot a heavier arrow. The heavier the arrow the higher the KE and more importantly, the momentum are going to be with your set up.

[pointysticks]

In my opinion, the biggest improvement is hand shock. The parallel limbs really smoothed things out. Old limb jump forward. New limbs jump away from each other w opposing force. Great idea.

My brother gave his super old PSE Nova to a friend and this guy went on a killing spree. He did so well. Bought a newer bow and ruined the streak. Funny really