TPWD to look into lowering minimum draw weight...
 

I got an e-mail last week from a TPWD "Big Wig" requesting any data I had accumulated on draw weight ballistics and draw weight regulations in other states. BTW, the request referenced our discussions on the subject on TBH.

Seems that the current 40# rule is currently under review by TPWD.

I have forwarded what I had and really look forward to seeing what they come up with...anyone with additional data to share with the committee looking into this, please forward it to me at lsba_editor@yahoo.com and I'll make sure they get it to consider as well.

Good work Joey. I vaguely remember the discussion on this a while back.

I've always found it interesting that Colorado, with it's much larger game animals, onlt requires a minimum of 35 lbs. And when you look at New Mexico's regulations, it says any bow and arrow. No minimum poundage written.

This could be worth watching.

Great job Joey..you need to get with Tink and Howie. Howie has got alot of info on this.. I will send him an invite

160 lb boar with mathews ignition set at 30 lbs shot at 12 yards free range complete pass through recovery less than 20 yards
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/100_0147.jpg
33 lb parker compound shot 24 yards complete passthrough recovery 27 yards
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/100_0074.jpg
125 lb boar shot 22 yards recovery 30 yards complete passthrough
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/DSCN1174.jpg
200 lb boar 23 inches buried into shoulder 33 lb parker bow boar went 7 yards took out both lungs
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/100_0396.jpg
tough african billy 149 lbs double lung passthrough 26 yards shot 33 lb parker bow
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/100_0253.jpg
i can show picture after picture of animals much tougher than a 100 lb whitail i manage a hunting ranch where i routinely see big hogs taken cleanely by youth ladies and the elderly with bow draw eights less then 40 lbs, on another note im recently recovering from a brain surgey i can lo longer draw my 72 lb SWXT i can no longer pull 40 lbs comfortably, so the state of Texas says i am not legal to hunt, but i can take my old hoyt bow and at 35 lbs can @ 20 yards and pick the heart out of a 3-D deer all day long. there are numberous eldery who just cannot pull 40 lbs legally. should they be forced to stop hunting?? I think not. your wife who is small in statue wants to learn bowhunting, she is a great shot but cannot pull 40 but can nock the bull out of a target at 20, should she not be allowed to hunt because of a ridiculous rile?? I think not. your 12 yr old daughter wants to bow hunt been practicing for years starting with longbows then switching to compounds shoots some 200 lb hogs gets passthroughs since hogs are a non game animal it is legal to shoot them with a draw weight less then 40 lbs, ladies and gentlemn when i posted this on texasbowhunter.com last yr it crushed me aster seeing my dayghter work so hard to get up to 35 lbs she could not kill this buck i9 have no doubt that buck would have met his match. i can demonstrate that i can push a firld point arrow through the body of a hog or any animal with hand pressure along. i do this for a living i see every day the truth. i am a humane and ethical hunter pick my shots i believe in n lowering the weight would ya rather have a kid bowhunting or in the streets would ya rather have an elderly family member stuck at home watching tv or out bowhuntiong?? trust me we all will go through an injury or get old ourselve thinka bout it all join forces and make the 35 lb rule a reality. in colorado 35 lbs for elk a 700 lb elk is alot tougher than a 100 lb deer

Thanks for posting, Howie.

I will forward a link to this thread along to TPWD.

Thanks Howie for joining up. Great pics...as always

Those are great examples Howie. Congrats to that little girl and her accomplishments!

thanks guys she has worked so hard to get where she is at she shoots in the rain the heat in the dark from all angles she can look at an animal and tell you the best shot angle when to shoot when not to shoot i have worked with her day in day out, like i said draw weight to me is not an issue, education is the key when she shot her first hog at the age of 10 with archery gear she clearly understood what she was doingm she understood she was pulling a light poundage bow and that she had to hit him righ now that i am unable to pull the legal minimum i will fight even harder im a big strong guy but until i get better i can no longer pull 40 lbs, there will be a time when we all will go through this with todays modern technology 35 lbs wi;ll blow through most north asmerican game, for example Shermaine Nugent how many big game aninmals has she harvested with draw weights less then 40 lbs? i recently seen a 69 year old lady harvest a 305 lb tropjy boar 15 yards shot clean kill with less then 40, Tink nathans daughter jackie has killed numerous african aninals with draw weights less then 40. i have seen countless numbers of animals taken cleanlly with lowe draw weights. my first guided hog hunt was with a kid pulling 27 lbs he had a Hoyt Banshee bow some ics junior arrows with a 2 blade steel force head the kid shot this hog at 9 yards buired 23 inches through the lungs hog dead less than 30 yards, how thick is a whitail deer??? i bet less than a 12 incese across, its not about fighting with Texas parks of wildlife or a debate with people who disagree, the facts are clearly stated examples todays modern technology allows you to shoot lower poindage bows, i know many many men wgho once pulled 70-80 lbs but now shoot 50-60 why??? because of technology
9 yr old boy with 27 ;lb Hoyt Banshee steel force 125 grain head 180 lb hog penetration 23 inches recovery in 30 yards
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...hunters006.jpg
jasmine and her first hog pulling 31 lbs age 10 notice the blood on arrow complete passthrough on 125 lb boar
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...1-21-06010.jpg

more examples
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...1-21-07003.jpg
the key is shot placement period razor sharp broadhead its not hard to poke an arrow through an animal if ya know hwere to hit it
how can anyone argue agains this shot placement complete pass through and recovery?? with a bow less then 35, i think 35 is a good minimum

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...8/100_0104.jpg
here is a corsican ram she shot
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...gandram019.jpg

jasmihes video stalking up on ram within 15 yards complet passthrough 33 lbs animal expires less then 15 seconds the ram is about the same size as a whitail deer
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...gandram011.jpg

how many men did this on there first shot at the chester stickbow roundup
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...itional016.jpg

So my point is a well taught arecher who understands trajectory the energy and shot angle can cleanly humanely harvest Texas bug game animals without undue suffereing to animals, as archers and hunters we owe it to our youth to teach them responsible hunting ethics if i did not believe in this i would never have written this on TBH earlier in the year I respect TPW the animals this is all recpectfully submitted anyone wishing to talk to me on this matter feel free to email or call on the phone i will discuss this in further detai;l

Howie...Thanks again..tell Jasmine hello and Lauren is shootoing everyday

I hope they do lower the weight. My son shoots almost as accurately as I do with his recurve. He can consistantly hit the kill zone from 15 yards shooting instinctively. There's no reason, other then draw weight that he shouldn't be allowed to bowhunt.

I'm all for it.

Hopefully this will keep the crossbows out of october, I'm all for it.

The seem to be looking at it seriously and considering different minimums for compounds & traditional, minimum arrow weights, etc...

But also that it needs to be easy for the hunting public to understand and for GWs to enforce in the field.

One way or another, I'd expect to see some sort of change to this regulation soon.

If they increase it for traditional I'm gonna pitch a fit they haven't seen since the inception of archery season in the Lonestar state.

what they need to see is some real life action of a 35 lb bow in action i manage a hunting ranch and id personally invite them and show them what it will do! its really a simple equation if you hit the animal in the vitals especial;ly a 100 lb whitail with a razor sharp broadhead especially a 2 blade cut on impact type head you will get a passthrough its real somple when ya start getting different arrow weights and different regs involved confusion will set in it will be harder for the wardens to enforce make it simple drop to 35 lbs the experts are us hunters we know what works and doesnt i personally know as i see thousands of animals bow killed every year ive been guiding for years they need to contact me

Tracy, I don't see them raising the current regulation for traditional bows. From where I'm sitting (which is not exactly ringside), they seem to trying to expand bowhunting opportunities not reduce them. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lower it for all bows in the interest of making the rule easy for everyone to understand/enforce.

Howie, I'll pass the invite along.

here is another reason jasmine shooting at 40 lbs she can do it and shoot well at 35 lbs she does not have to snap the bow to one side standing up she can draw 40 with ease in hunting situations she would be sitting normally but at 16 yards she can smack arrows
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...h_100_0265.jpg

ok this is where I will get myself in trouble. In the video where she takes the ram she had to do the arm jerk thing & that was with a 33#. neither looked too safe. I am all for lowering the weight to 35#'s, but my son still cant pull 35. He tries hard but till I think he can safely pull & hold 30-35 I wont even let him shoot a "non game" animal. Does that make sense? I don't want an arrow w/ broadhead bouncing in a wooden ground blind. I think if he keeps trying he will be able to this coming spring or summer.

I agree to some point..but how many older adults with draw weights to heavy have you seen do the same thing..?? I work with a guy,,great guy but he is a srawny 140 pound weakling,,can barley get 60 pounds back and draws the same way..He shoots lots of animals with great shots time after time. Its more shot location. I have been at shoots and pro shops and seen the same thing hundreds of times..
Think about this,,and laugh as a new hunter I had the scrawny fellow behind me on a stalk in Laredo..I heard him grunt as we neared some javelinas only to look back at him and hes a shaking and got his bow drawn 10 yards behind me??I told him to let off...I got sterner and said LET OFF he said I cant...I got to shoot?? Now thats scary and people are in the woods like that all day long..I didnt get shot but I sure thought I was

More people than you'd think overbow themselves. They're paying for it later in life with joint ailments in their shoulders, elbows and necks. A lot overbow themselves thinking of the macho image or the reliance on letoff.

I think lowering the draw weight limit has many positive points. Primarily - safety.

There's a lot of ego in draw weight psychology. And the commission has let that ego influence their reason for setting the minimum. Lot more ego than truth.

that is why i posted the video, to make another point standing up she can now puld 40 with ease but sitting down she has to snap her bow, another thing that was 9 months ago on the ram not even 11 yrs old 10 yrs old, was not meant for anything other than education, to get people to understand i could put video of her now pulling 40 lbs shooting groups at 40 yards that would shock you hasnt lost a 3-D tournament in a couple yesrs understands range trajectory and kinetic energy better than most adults she has lived and breathed this stuff since 2 years old i appreciate everyones honesty and input

Howie has it become a habit for her? I mean is it part of her ritual? Like I say a little prayer before I release on an animal. Does she rely on it as part of her preparing on her aim/release?

at first yes hwen i was working her up to the magical 40 lbs, at the lower draw weights up to around 38 lbs she can draw as smoothe as we can but when standing up she can draw 40 real smooth it is the sitting down, but texas says she has to pull 40 lbs to be legal to hunt game animals, im not going to let her be illiegal to hunt but rather legal sitting down is different for most people i shoot 72 lbs i can shoot that all day standing up but when sitting down i have to give a little harder tug i can ccontrol it just like she can does that make any sense?? thanks for asking