Legal Recurve Weight in Alaska

[cocky84]

I was reading through the regs for moose hunting in alaska and seen that you have to have a bow weight of 50lbs for big game. I recently bought a black widow that id like to take but there is question if i legally can or not. This got me thinking so i called both the fish and game and wildlife troopers.

I explained to them that i have a bow that is labeled for 48lbs at 28” but my draw is longer than 28” so i am actually over 50lbs. Is this bow legal?

Fish and game did not have an answer so they directed me to the troopers. He had never been asked this question before nor had he ever encountered it in the field and said he would have to call me back.
He did and he said that his best recommendation is to get some sort of documentation from the manufacturer that my bow is capable of shooting 50lbs. I said thats good enough for me. And since he is the trooper in the area i would be hunting i feel pretty good about it. Super nice guy, btw.

But it got me thinking of how hard this law would be to enforce on a recurve.

 

[ArrowForester]

I wouldn’t think it too hard to enforce……were I the trooper I’d request the shooter to draw, or draw and shoot, three or four times to verify their draw length. Then using a marked shaft and a hand held scale draw the bow to that shooters dl. May not be perfect but should work regardless of the writing on a bow.
But I could be missing something as I’ve been wrong before.

 

[Bubblehide]

Other states have a limit on letoff, they simply test it with a scale hooked up. The same could be done here for pull weight. DL may or may not be a factor as one could simply not fully draw and still release arrows (I am not saying it can be done consistently or accurately without consistency).

 

[cocky84]

I wouldn’t think it too hard to enforce……were I the trooper I’d request the shooter to draw, or draw and shoot, three or four times to verify their draw length. Then using a marked shaft and a hand held scale draw the bow to that shooters dl. May not be perfect but should work regardless of the writing on a bow.
But I could be missing something as I’ve been wrong before.

That would probably be the best way. I just feel like it would be pretty easy to get around it unless you are just really under weight.

 

[Rob5589]

What if you shoot a 50lb bow but, only draw 26"? Or shoot a 55lb bow that is 30 years old and is now only 48? Seems like just using "50lbs" or whatever the weight isn't a valid way to measure.

 

[cocky84]

Other states have a limit on letoff, they simply test it with a scale hooked up. The same could be done here for pull weight. DL may or may not be a factor as one could simply not fully draw and still release arrows (I am not saying it can be done consistently or accurately without consistency).

Yeah i think its a little different with a recurve. If you know your getting checked and your close on weight then your gonna be drawing it back until the broadhead digs into the riser.

 

[Bubblehide]

Yeah i think its a little different with a recurve. If you know your getting checked and your close on weight then your gonna be drawing it back until the broadhead digs into the riser.

A trained eye would easily catch that and simply look at someone doing that as an admission of guilt.

 

[grappling_hook]

For reference, here is what the regulation booklet uses for defining peak draw weight for the 50 pound limit and for the 40 pound limit:

Bow peak draw weight - the peak poundage at which the bow is drawn through or held at full draw by the shooter at the shooters draw length;

So it doesn't reference a 28" standard, only the shooter's draw length. The language in the booklet is drawn directly from 5 AAC 92.990. Definitions.

 

[cocky84]

For reference, here is what the regulation booklet uses for defining peak draw weight for the 50 pound limit and for the 40 pound limit:

Bow peak draw weight - the peak poundage at which the bow is drawn through or held at full draw by the shooter at the shooters draw length;

So it doesn't reference a 28" standard, only the shooter's draw length. The language in the booklet is drawn directly from 5 AAC 92.990. Definitions.

Thank you. I had not seen this definition before. This clears things up a bit more. The definition on the website and in pamphlet just says 50lbs at peak weight.

 

[GLB]

All these years I have never been check on my bow weight but I would be fine if they did. However you can rest assured that if you get a moose down it will be checked thoroughly. They will also gps the kill site, come back later to make sure all the meat has been recovered.

 

[Kevin Dill]

If it ever came down to a citation, the only thing that would matter is the bow's actual (as in tested) peak poundage, or holding poundage at your draw length. What's written on the bow limbs is immaterial in a court of law.

 

[Rob5589]

They will also gps the kill site, come back later to make sure all the meat has been recovered.

AK doesn't mess around apparently.

 

[cocky84]

If it ever came down to a citation, the only thing that would matter is the bow's actual (as in tested) peak poundage, or holding poundage at your draw length. What's written on the bow limbs is immaterial in a court of law.

Agreed. I guess the part i think would be hard is proving someones draw length.

 

[cocky84]

AK doesn't mess around apparently.

No they do not! Thats why i have been checking into this. Last moose i killed they weighed the meat and were going to fly into the kill site to verify all meat was taken. Luckily i had taken pictures of the carcass after finishing and they said it looked good. Had me shittin my pants for a bit though.

 

[GLB]

Yep a friend of mine was a F&G Wildlife Trooper up here. He said he has laid out a tarp and had the hunters put the moose back together if there was any doubt on the meat recovery.

 

[LostArra]

Will someone please post here when they get the draw weight of their recurve or compound checked by G&F?
Alaska or any state will do.

I only see this rule ever being enforced when there is a laundry list of other more serious violations occurring and they are going for the dog pile effect. (no license, wrong hunt area, wanton waste, wrong season, etc)
Maybe I'm wrong but every/most state has a minimum draw weight and I have never experienced or heard of a random draw weight check on archery gear.

 

[oldgoat]

If it ever came down to a citation, the only thing that would matter is the bow's actual (as in tested) peak poundage, or holding poundage at your draw length. What's written on the bow limbs is immaterial in a court of law.

I agree, BUT, could become a real PITA to go to court and prove your case if you don't live in Alaska if an unknowledgeable trooper wrote you a ticket!

 

[Kevin Dill]

I agree, BUT, could become a real PITA to go to court and prove your case if you don't live in Alaska if an unknowledgeable trooper wrote you a ticket!

But of course a LEO could write a ticket regardless of what the bow specs say. Anyway, I'm with LostArra in my belief that this is very seldom an issue. I've had helicoptered wildlife troopers land in my camps (the ones they knew about) and check me twice. They never asked about my bow poundage or broadhead width. Never asked to see my gear in fact. I think a citation for this would likely be tied to other charges.

 

[Erict]

The only reason these regulations exist is because there must be SOME minimum standard that is capable of an ethical kill. I agree that the only times a bow would be checked is if it was part of a violation or if the hunter asked the warden for an attitude check.

Sometimes, however, regulations just don't make sense. NY has a crossbow regulation that crossbows must be a minimum width of 17" - still not sure how narrower ones kill better or worse.