Arrow speed

[Jotis]

Whitetail Midwest tree stand hunting. What is your desired arrow weight and speed?

 

[TonySkyline]

I think shooting a 430-475G arrow at 270+fps is a good happy medium especially with thinner arrows like the 4 or 5mm FMJs or Axis. This should allow for use of bigger mechanical broadheads without worry about not getting pass throughs. It’s about the best I can get with a 27 1/2” DL bow anyway although I’d love to see better speeds but without compromising the draw cycle and hold weight. I’ve had bad luck with large 3 blade reapers (whitetail specials) on a 60lb draw bow that wasn’t as fast (think I was barely hitting 260fps). I shoot heavier draw weight now but still stay away for huge 3 blade mechanicals due to potential pass through issues. The G5 deadmeats are the the biggest I’ll go for a compound but typically shoot rage trypans and have had good luck with those. So, in short, I think you need to decide on what broadhead you will shoot and match your arrow to it along with your bow speed


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[dtrkyman]

400ish grains, 270-280ish.

I’ve shot drastically slower and faster, with fixed blades I like slower, mechanical I’ll push the speed a bit.


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[Maxhunter]

I like 410-430 grain arrows at 265-270fps. I usually shoot 65lbs at my short 27” draw. Zips thru deer like butter.

 

[Kularrow]

390 Grain Easton Sonic 6.0 Match Grade. Going 310FPS at 72lbs 29 inches. Grim Reaper Whitetail Special. Might be unpopular set up but I’ve had success with it. I love tight pin gaps and a very flat shooting arrow.

 

[dreamingWest]

I've always shot the heaviest arrow I can get to 280 fps. For me, this is 440-450 gr. That's my all-around arrow.

For midwest whitetail specific, I may shed some weight and go faster next year with the new Easton 5.0. Im thinking maybe 415 gr around 290 fps.

For these Kansas whitetails, a smaller gap 2-pin would be desirable as long as I keep my arrow over 400 gr. I started at around 380 gr at 305 fps. In hindsight, that was a pretty sweet set-up, just not a lot of passthroughs. (I think shot angle makes a bigger difference though.)

 

[Wheels]

450 gr. at 262fps blows right through them.

 

[CJ_BG]

I hunt in PA but a lof of our areas are similar. Mixed ag in the southern parts and more big woods up north. I try to keep around 280 but that's just for fixed blade tuning. I shot the 1 inch tooth of the arrow this year and found even at 295 they tuned extremely well. I shoot 30/70 so 280fps out of my prime nexus 4 is about a 490gr arrow. This year I shot a 445gr at 294 and still had no issues.

Much slower than 270/280 and I think you're giving up too much forgiveness. Especially treestand hunting in the rut, you might have a buck loop around in a way you never thought they would trying to cut off a doe. When that buck skirts around a beech tree you ranged at 34yds and steps out, but really he's 11 yards behind it instead of 2, and you end up making a 43yd shot instead of 36 like you though, I like to have the extra wiggle room. Hunting with a friend three years ago I watched the video of him doing this exact thing, but he was shooting a 670gr arrow at like 225fps and zipped it under his brisket nice and low. We redid that shot on the range the next day and my setup at 282fps would have been marginal, but with the few inches that deer ducked I may have had a chance.

 

[CJ_BG]

I've always shot the heaviest arrow I can get to 280 fps. For me, this is 440-450 gr. That's my all-around arrow.

For midwest whitetail specific, I may shed some weight and go faster next year with the new Easton 5.0. Im thinking maybe 415 gr around 290 fps.

For these Kansas whitetails, a smaller gap 2-pin would be desirable as long as I keep my arrow over 400 gr. I started at around 380 gr at 305 fps. In hindsight, that was a pretty sweet set-up, just not a lot of passthroughs. (I think shot angle makes a bigger difference though.)

I shot 410-415gr easton classic hunters in a bear LST at 60/29 and those were right about 280fps. Sevr 1.5 never had a problem going through PA deer.

 

[Wildone]

I'm shooting an old Mathews MQ32 at 62 lbs with a beman 400's and steelforce 100gr head. My speed is in the 280's. No issues with passthrough on elk , deer and caribou.

Funny thing- Went into the local inddor range not to long ago and the guys were asking me when I was going to dump this relic and get a new bow. I told them that when chit stops falling over when I point this at them it will be time to get a new one. Until then I don't see a need. LOL

 

[Ehunter56]

Kansas guy here. Been shooting 487 gr. arrows (Victory VAP) at 270ish fps for the last 7-8 years. Hit them broadside, and it puts them down fast. Fast enough shooting it's not a big pin gap, Heavy enough to pass through 99% of the time. Using fixed 3 blades.

 

[ddowning]

Broadhead sharpness plays such a big role in pass throughs. I personally prefer as much speed and as big a hole as I can make. Currently shooting an rx8u with a 400 grain arrow at 80# and 30.5" dl. Arrow speed is 316 fps. Flatter trajectory is a huge deal hunting rutted up deer.

I think it is funny when guys talk about heavy arrows for pass throughs. My 12 yo daughter is getting complete pass throughs with a 36# BT Convergence at 26.5" dl. She is shooting a 370 grain easton 6.5 with a magnus stinger with bleeders that I have sharpened as sharp as I can get them. The arrows ar going 194 fps for about 30# ke. Most deer don't even know they have been shot and just stand there until they pass out. It does not take a lot of energy to get pass throughs with sharp broadheads. When grown men fail to get pass throughs, it is a dull broadhead, an out of tune bow, poor broadhead selection or all of the above.

 

[SalCP]

Whitetail Midwest tree stand hunting. What is your desired arrow weight and speed?

I wouldn’t get hung up on speed. 260+ is fine with a 425 grn arrow. Shot placement is all that matters.

 

[KyleR1985]

280-300FPS, 500gr+ TAW

This is the sweet spot for me. Usually requires some poundage or some draw length to achieve. I'm 80/30.5. But no part of any whitetail has prevented any arrow set up with the above specs, from making two holes.

Only downside, I break arrows more frequently. It's a lot of energy that has to go somewhere. But I can shoot the above to 30+ yards with a single pin.


I think of things in terms of Single Pin for +-3" of trajectory. I want a minimum of 400gr arrow. I then adjust max effective range on where I can use a single pin. If possible, 250fps/450gr is a nice lower bar.



If i'm shooting wide open spaces, priorities change, and I'll lean more towards better trajectory. But for where whitetails live where I hunt, I very rarely even see them before they're 40 yards away.

 

[Honyock]

400 gr @ 420 fps (yes, I have retired to a crossbow).

 

[LincG88]

I have learned it is best to find what arrow spine/weight/foc/speed flies and tunes best for you and your bow set up and what you can be confident in. Do your research and get a field point test kit with different field tips and bare shaft test what flies best for you. Confidence in your set up kills more animals than speed or arrow weight does IMO.

field tip test kit

Field Point Test Pack, Light - 100-200 gn

Light Field Point Test Pack - .310 (5/16) 2 each of 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200 gn field points

ethicsarchery.com

For some reason, with my set up at 28" draw and about 72lb draw weight, my bow likes a 300 spine arrow at about 500 TAW. I tried 3 different shafts at 3 different spines from 250 to 350.

The confidence I have in my set up has landed me my 4 biggest bucks ever, all in the last 3 years. I would have never even taken 3 of the 4 shots without that confidence.

 

[NotchElk]

I always shoot for between 450 - 500 grains. I’ve been around 440 as well and have had good luck with all of those weight combos. For speed I usually end up around 280 to 290 fps. I tend to think those are good weight and speed measurements to be at.

I use the same set up from whitetail in Minnesota to aoudad in Texas and Elk across the west. It’s performed flawlessly across all species.

 

[fatlander]

485 grains is what I shoot at the moment. It’s bumping around 285 out of one bow and 265 out of another. Something like 35 dead critters between the two bows the last few years. I’ve gone much lighter and much heavier over the years. Somewhere between 425 and 500 seems to be the sweet spot.


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[danatkins]

I try to stick to 5 grain per pound that's what i was always taught. I've yet to get a deer with my bow but I get just as much penetration on 3d targets and blocks as my brother and buddy shooting heavier draw and slightly heavier arrows and I can be off farther on my yardage

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