500gr arrow on 70lb draw?

[tan]

You’ll definitely see a difference between 440 and 500. If you have a sight tape that stops at 100 you’d likely lose 15-20 yards. However with a 70 pound draw at 30” you shouldn’t be concerned with trajectory. I am noticing however a lot of people who were once on the heavy arrow bandwagon (myself included) are moving backwards to mid weight setups. Each to their own. Ultimately a 400 grain arrow and 600 grain arrow placed perfectly on an elk will have no problem getting through at your specs. It’s the poor shots—something we’re all prone to—that can make things less clear.

 

[Ho5tile1]

I’m shooting 550 grains at 80 and 77 on another bow 29 inch draw my pin gaps are not bad at all and long shots are just as easy as with my 3d bow with 426 grain arrows same poundage. Most times I’m not shooting 3d tournaments just shoot the courses for fun cause I’m over there speed limit. I have my Lift X set up at 77 pounds with a 530 grain arrow pin gaps are pretty tight. I’m not shooting elk and switched to a heavy arrow and iron will heads cause I was sick of deer running off with my 400ish grain arrow and mechanical heads cause I shoot em right up that front leg . since going up every deer I’ve hit have been pass throughs have even killed a few at 55 and 60 yards which I’d advise against as one I got super lucky and the deer turned from broadside to walking away and I hit him in the rear end but it went all the way through him and out the right bottom side of his neck he made it a few steps and fell over. It could have been way worse at 60, even a 440 grain arrow gives them time to do a lot of stuff.. so I think the 500 will do you much better on elk I know when I get out west to chase elk it will be with 550 or 600 grains and iron will heads as well. Good luck.. I and we were killing deer with much slower in the 80s and 90s but we let the speed talk and light arrows get in our heads.. just my opinion…


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[Sbird2019]

I’m shooting a 485 grain arrow at 70# with 28.5 inch draw out of a Phase 4. Pin gaps are pretty small and arrow flight is great. Have had zero issues getting pass throughs on anything I’ve shot, and there’s been some BIG critters.

With a 30 inch draw, I wouldn’t sweat it at all. That will be more than plenty of arrow and wont be a terrible arrow cast. Could always go a middle weight between your current build and the 500 you’re thinking, but all will be sufficient.
30 inch draw length bails you out for sure

 

[Maverick1]

Interestingly enough I've only ever got 1 pass through out of 10 or 12 bulls with a 435 grain arrow. Never whacked a shoulder blade, many different broadheads.

Interesting. I’m nearing two dozen and almost all of the broadside shots have been complete pass throughs. (A couple of frontal shots were not. And one shoulder blade was not.). 425 grain total arrow weight, 265 fps.

 

[5MilesBack]

I appreciate the advice guys! I’m gonna look at a few other options, but it sounds like I should be good either way.

From a terminal performance standpoint you'll be good either way. But you'd be amazed how many times you get what appears to be a clear vital shot at an elk and there are branches/leaves etc that are actually a problem but aren't even in your tunnel-vision view.

I've shot 500gr+ arrows for 20 years because I have a 32.5" draw. When the shot is completely clear, they work great. But I have hit unseen branches more times than I care to admit. I will admit that I get tunnel vision. I see a path to clear vitals and I lock on to that. I'm not a slow shooter, I lock on quickly and release.

Ironically........this year I'm shooting 440gr arrows for a flatter trajectory.

 

[Wilderlife]

My first arrows with my Z1S were 500gn and I was shooting it at 71.5# and 28in, and it was doing about 272fps.
Then went to 77# and 475gn and they were going about 285-290fps.
Now around 530gn with similar poundage and they're about 275fps.

 

[JS.Fletch5]

I shoot 495 grains at 71lb, 29 inch draw. Works great.

 

[ddowning]

Sharp broadheads are the number one variable for penetration. Not elk, but have put 300 grains arrows at 300+fps through whitetails at 50+ yards with 1.75" 3 blade mechs.

Many of the broadheads rf loves to shill are great ,but not sharp enough out of the package (magnus). Honestly, I have not tried a lot of broadheads, but with magnus stingers for my kids and the big mechs I have been shooting forever, getting the blades scary sharp has made the most difference. I'm sure there are some companies that send out sharp blades, but I haven't had any that I feel are up to snuff in a LONG time.

As far as trajectory, for fixed heads I like to keep things around 280 fps. If the energy is there, I like to shoot 5 grains per pound and get as much speed as possible. My current set-up is an 83# rx8 ultra at 30.5" pushing a 440 grain arrow at 312 fps. That's about 95 ft/lb and has no problem breaking shoulders even with big mechs. I have a lot of quick bowhunting encounters in the thick stuff where speed saves the day.

I know this isn't elk experience, but depending on bow, 70# at 30" draw is a lot of juice. You can do pretty much whatever you want and be good on penetration for normal bowhunting ranges.