page_title: Bowhunting
section_title: Equipment
hierarchical_section_title: Bowhunting / Equipment
caption_attribution_description: English: Crossbow hunting for whitetail deer behind a fence - Attribute to:https://www.crossbowproductions.com/
context_page_description: Bowhunting is the practice of hunting game animals by archery. Many indigenous peoples have employed the technique as their primary hunting method for thousands of years, and it has survived into contemporary use for sport and hunting.
context_section_description: Arrows, bows and sights are commonly of the more modern varieties. However, all effective variations, including crossbows and wooden bows launching wooden arrows with stone points, are used. Arrowheads are chosen to ensure lethality. Broadheads feature blades that jut out from the shaft at an angle to cause more damage to the target; some models have retractable blades that only deploy once they hit the target.
  Big game hunting requires a draw weight of more than 35 pounds (16 kg). For larger game such as elk or moose, more than 50 pounds (23 kg) is suggested. Most male American archers can draw a bow rated at 50–60 pounds (23–27 kg), most women 30–40 pounds (14–18 kg).
  Lighter arrows, all else equal, will give a higher speed and a flatter trajectory. Because arrows with mass more than 900 grains (60 grams) carry more momentum, and penetrate better in large animals, bow hunters might choose them when hunting these animals.
caption: Hunting crossbow
exif: {"Image Copyright": "This photo can be used commercially with a link back to http://crossbowproductions.com/"}