In your case mathews might be a good choice because of the simplicity of changing draw weight with mods. It's not recommended to start with a bow with aggressive poundage. You will develop bad form because you can't relax your muscles for clean shots. Once you build up form and needed muscle groups you can step it up. Ive watched big ripped dudes struggle with 70lbs on a new bow because no matter how strong you are, it's just using your muscles in a new way. Now that being said you can do what ever you like but if you do start high it will take longer to get your process repeatable. I'm assuming your large game is not white tail lol also new 80lbs bowtech is really smooth but ya are stuck at 70/80

 

Get you draw length measured, it will limit choices. That is the draw back of long draws. The plus is that long draw will give you extra power on the arrow, so high poundage is needed less for equal speed/ke. If you have the budget and the draw works I would look at the Mathews v33x (I think that is the right model) for the switch weight mods discussed above. Good luck

 

Go to a pro shop. Get your draw length measured. Shoot any bows in your price range and find the one that fits you. All the major brands make great bows that will kill anything in North America.

 

Precisely the correct path for the OP.

 

What are you calling big game? Elk, moose or deer.....all the above? You don't need a powerful compound all you need is one that you can shoot well. Women are taking Moose with 50 ish pounds so it's not about the bow as much as understanding how to use it. Good luck

 

Thanks fellas, I'm in Australia, game is pigs, horses, donkeys, camel, all pest species here. This is a video from some aussie guy on bull camel( not my video btw) Bowhunting Bull Camel - YouTube. They can run 2000lbs, and often found in fairly open country. Ive taken them with rifles before, but would like to take my first with a bow.

Nearest archery shop is 180 miles away. I dont mind making the journey, main thing being remote is the stores here will recommend what they have on the shelf, not necessarily what is best suited. Id like to go in fore-armed with some knowledge. I had my draw measured at 31.5" ages ago, assuming I remembered it correctly. I'll take a look at the matthews mentioned too.

 

You will need a draw length of 32” ( calculated by overall wingspan, divided by 2.5) so look for something with that draw length, or the possibility of getting that length with extra cams, or mods. Weight will be up to you, and what you want to pull. I am really new to archery, but this is what I have learned so far. Best of luck.

 

That calculation will get you in the ball park. He should have his draw length properly measured, however.

 

Just checked the price on those matthews bows here, $1800. I might have to seek more affordable options.

 

Used bows function perfectly fine. Maybe call some of the shops closest to you and see what they have before making the trip?

 

I highly recommend looking up this guy, Australia Setting up a compound bow for Indoor Archery - Australian 2021 Nationals - YouTube . I've watched several of his video's and he really knows his stuff. Plus he is in Australia. I know he might be abit away from your location, but look him up and give him a call. Much easier than shipping a bow from the U.S.A.

 

Camels any good to eat?

 

That's funny

My guess is it depends on how hungry you are.

 

Since you are a big guy and likely have a draw length to match, make sure that whatever bow you get it actually fits you. I am only 6'2" but have a 6'6" arm span and shoot a 31" draw best, but most bows have too short of and ATA and it messes me up, I still have adequate precision for hunting, but I miss having my nose touch the string for an anchor point. This year I am ditching the short bow (31" ATA) and going with a Athens Peak 38. Being an elk and mule deer hunter, I never see a tree stand and have no problem shooting even a 47" ATA bow on my knees.

Definitely go to a pro shop and have your draw length measured. Any draw length over 31" and your selection of bows available gets pretty small.

 

Lot's of great comments so far to help you find a bow for you. I like this guy's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AnAverageJack. He's on the taller side and shoots Elite and has a lot of good information to share.

 

Asking which bow is best for you will only get you biased opinions based on what bows people use. I could tell you my bow is best but it might be for me and not for you.

Then you have to factor in your budget. Being told a $1500 is best when you only have $750 to spend won't help much. Also don't forget that you'll need a sight, rest, quiver, arrows, release, bow case, field points, broadheads, etc. The cost of the bare bow may only be half of your total cost depending on what bow and accessories you pick.

Like mentioned previously you're better off going to a pro shop and putting your hands on the actual bow. Shoot a few in your price range and see how they feel. The bows will tell you which one is best for you. Also fon't be afraid of going used as long as you know what you are buying. It's easy to buy the wrong thing off a classified ad if you don't know what you're looking at. Could be a bow that won't accommodate your draw length or preferred draw weight or worse it could have damage not readily apparent to a novice.

 

I have shipped some bows to Australia, cost was @ $60 and only took a week. Just took it to the post office and filled out a form. With the nearest bow shop 180 K away, You need to get a bow press and draw board. You can build your own or purchase. Not like a rifle, you need to set up and maintain your bow. I don't know if there is an advantage of buying Canadian for you, but APA builds a fine bow up to 100 pounds.

 

100 pounds? wow. is that considered very powerful?
Actually no problem buying canadian my first crossbow was excalibur exomag and my current one( soon to be sold off) is an excalibur matrix 380. Great canadian company.

I have to do some more reading on the suggestions and advice above. Can someone explain the maximum poundages for me? What do hunting bows range between? When I looked at bows the last time around the ""PSE full throttle" was the fastest. Just for interests sake at this stage. Im smart enough to take the advice above to start on more sensible bows. Found a local archery club too, so will have some contacts and bows to test shortly.

 

Bows are generally listed at peak weights and have approximately 10 lbs of draw weight adjustments in the limbs. For example, a 70 lb peak weight bow can be lowered to 60 lbs safely. Hunting bows for the most part are between 40 to 80 lbs depending what you can or cannot comfortably draw back.

 

OP here in the US people think you have to have the most expensive 80 pound bow to take big game and you don't. Ladies are taking Mosse which can weigh up to 1400 pounds with 50 pound bows and probably 400ish grain arrows.

I'd get any decent brand name bow that fits you and THEN set it up correctly. With your draw length you'll get plenty of energy even at 60 pounds to do all you need and then some. If more weight is easy because of your size then get a 70 but if you struggle with it at all stick with less.

Arrow weight and broad head selection is JUST as important (or more) than draw weight and many people can't grasp that.....they make poor choices and try to make up for that by using more draw weight. Good luck and if you need any help with these pest please stay in touch............lol

 

@stef75: Given your frame you probably will need a compound with a very large draw length available; having a good balance in hand and anchoring points for a quiver in the riser would also be valauble assets. Some examples:

Athens Peak 38 has a 27.5" to 33.5" DL adjustable with rotating mods, good balance, very good finish quality, attachment points for a quiver and is comparatively unexpensive compared to other models (not sure about availability in Aus, tho), 38" ATA.

PSE Evo NXT 35 LD goes from 26.5" to 32" DL (maybe risky if you didn't test your DL before) from two years ago, no longer in production but maybe you still could find one. Very good balance and affordable, nice quality, very smooth draw, rotating mods with adjustable DL and let off. 35" ATA.

Mathews Atlas: from 29.5" to 34" DL, comes with #75 peak limbs and the DL, let off and poundage are adjusted with individual mods (so you need to buy a new set of mods if you want to change any of those values, but you can set your bow from ~#50 to ~#80 just swaping mods and playing with the limb screws. Well balanced, more expensive, was released last year, still in production. 34.75" ATA.

Hoyt Highline: from 29" to 34" (with two different rotating mods, not sure about the settings of each one), just released, Hoyt's response to the Atlas, still few reviews available. 36.5" ATA.

Bowtech Revolt XL: 27.5" to 33" DL, is the most compact model of the list with 33" ATA; is also the most adjustable one, with rotating modules, flip disc and adjustable cam lean just using an allen wrench. Excellent finish (the best in the list along the Athens) but maybe the string angle won't be that good for you based on your size.

There's a few other long DL bows as the Prime Black 9 (39" ATA) but most of those are mainly target bows with no support for quivers (you still can use adaptors for the sigth screws, but I would go with the listed ones instead).

Related to poundage and hunting, checks the laws since it can vary; anyway as reference any big game in America has been harvested with traditional bows and poundage as low as #40. Obviously compounds are faster and I won't go with that against a water buffalo, but being realistic shoot placement adds much more to lethality than raw force.