Arrow Weight

[S.Clancy]

Just shoot an arrow weight where the arrow speed is not less than 275-280 fps. That way your pin gaps are still decent. I shoot a 535gr arrow, but it shoots just under 280. Broadheads are quite a bit more forgiving at those speeds too.

 

[Latebloomer]

Dang I’ll have to buy more arrows. I’m at 262 fps with half outs installed already.

 

[Jbxl20]

Dang I’ll have to buy more arrows. I’m at 262 fps with half outs installed already.

Practice and shoot with what you got.
What bow are your shooting?

 

[Latebloomer]

Practice and shoot with what you got.
What bow are your shooting?

Mathew’s phase 4 drawing 70lbs

 

[Ag111]

I've been from one extreme to the other on arrow weight.. I watched Troy a few years ago and went down the rabbit hole.. The few things I learned where , arrow trajectory is important to me especially when an animal takes 3 or 4 steps while I'm at full draw. There are no prizes for how deep in the dirt your arrow goes after it passes through an animal.. I don't like looking 40 yards past an animal for my arrows . Components are expensive .

I've shot 1 elk 4 whiteTail and 12 pigs since September 8 th. All pass throughs with a 460 grain arrow.. There's not a hog in Texas I can't kill with my bow.. A sharp broadhead and durable arrow it the most important to me..
I personally shoot as heavy of an arrow as it takes to build the most durable arrow I can. But I still want to be above 280 fps so I can have my top in set at 30 ..

GatorGars experience sounds similar to mine. I also hunt in Texas and have killed hogs with 425, 450, 485, 510, and 650 grain setups (72#/29.5”) with mechanicals, fixed, 2 blade, 3 blade, etc. There are trade-offs between the 425 to 510 weights as many have mentioned and I am happy to hunt with anything in this spectrum for close shots on deer/hog and also elk. I do not have much love for the 650 grain setup. I drank the koolaid and was that guy who was like “I need a setup that can break a scapula”. My opinion is that an arrow weight of ~650 gr (Ranch Fairy territory), while excellent for penetration, gives up too much in other areas to be a well rounded setup for NA game. One of the things you will see regularly on the RF videos is the ducking that deer and hogs do while the arrow is on its way to the animal. I understand that at even 300 fps you are still around 1/4 the speed of sound… but getting an arrow to a jumpy whitetail or hog at 20-25 yards as quick as possible is a HUGE advantage in hitting the animal where you are trying to. Speed helps mitigate range estimation errors and animal movement on the shot…. Both of which directly affect shot placement. Everyone has their own opinion and unique experiences on this topic but I would caution about going “too heavy”

Should also mention that things really started to become clearer once I started recording slow motion video of my shots on hogs. Even at 17-18 yards with a 425 grain arrow, the hogs will drop an inch or so and it happens in the last 3-4 yards of arrow flight before impact.

 

[KMF]

I would agree I see many people sip the ranch fairy koolaid pretty hard and in my area for whitetails its not necessary. I think anywhere between 470-525 for me is a good sweet spot for any game animal with a fixed head. I am at 515 right now shooting about 290 fps. I think FOC can be beneficial but it also wouldn't be my first concern as long as your above 10% I think it is plenty. I think judging distance can be hard enough for archery so a heavier arrow has diminishing returns in that regard imo

 

[Latebloomer]

I would agree I see many people sip the ranch fairy koolaid pretty hard and in my area for whitetails its not necessary. I think anywhere between 470-525 for me is a good sweet spot for any game animal with a fixed head. I am at 515 right now shooting about 290 fps. I think FOC can be beneficial but it also wouldn't be my first concern as long as your above 10% I think it is plenty. I think judging distance can be hard enough for archery so a heavier arrow has diminishing returns in that regard imo

What bow are you shooting? Draw weight? I just bought a brand new phase 4 and I’m only at 262fps/70lb draw/509.5 gr arrow.

 

[Latebloomer]

GatorGars experience sounds similar to mine. I also hunt in Texas and have killed hogs with 425, 450, 485, 510, and 650 grain setups (72#/29.5”) with mechanicals, fixed, 2 blade, 3 blade, etc. There are trade-offs between the 425 to 510 weights as many have mentioned and I am happy to hunt with anything in this spectrum for close shots on deer/hog and also elk. I do not have much love for the 650 grain setup. I drank the koolaid and was that guy who was like “I need a setup that can break a scapula”. My opinion is that an arrow weight of ~650 gr (Ranch Fairy territory), while excellent for penetration, gives up too much in other areas to be a well rounded setup for NA game. One of the things you will see regularly on the RF videos is the ducking that deer and hogs do while the arrow is on its way to the animal. I understand that at even 300 fps you are still around 1/4 the speed of sound… but getting an arrow to a jumpy whitetail or hog at 20-25 yards as quick as possible is a HUGE advantage in hitting the animal where you are trying to. Speed helps mitigate range estimation errors and animal movement on the shot…. Both of which directly affect shot placement. Everyone has their own opinion and unique experiences on this topic but I would caution about going “too heavy”

Should also mention that things really started to become clearer once I started recording slow motion video of my shots on hogs. Even at 17-18 yards with a 425 grain arrow, the hogs will drop an inch or so and it happens in the last 3-4 yards of arrow flight before impact.

What speed range have you determined to be effective without being “too slow?”

 

[KMF]

What bow are you shooting? Draw weight? I just bought a brand new phase 4 and I’m only at 262fps/70lb draw/509.5 gr arrow.

Rx7 82lb/29 inch Draw/ 515 grain arrow.

 

[Ag111]

What speed range have you determined to be effective without being “too slow?”

280+ fps for me is fine, anything faster at a decent weight is obviously better for me. I keep shots close on hogs/whitetail. I have been able to punch a 2” Sevr through both side of 200+ lbs mature boars ( big shields) with a 425 grain arrow at 20 yards a few times now. It is not the ideal setup for big hogs but it gets the job done fine…. It is ideal for whitetail though. For big hogs I’m using a 440 grain arrow with Ironwill XL.

 

[Arctic Hunter]

You guys waaaay overthink this. Most anything over 400 and you will be fine if you stay off the shoulder. And I’ve buried one to the vanes in an elk shoulder (440gr 70# 28”) at 50 yards.

450 is a good all around arrow. If your close to that, go hunt….plenty here where I live use less than that.

 

[Hang18]

I keep going down "this hole". I have a very short draw to exasperate the issue. It's (also) a little different for me, cuz big game in my state are whitetails; I think i have a little more leeway in gpi. But, I go heavier cuz of DL. Won't bore u with the step by step. So,I've always started off with the spine & gpi charts. Always cut them a little long (can cut more). Then w/the chosen component I paper tune. So, for me, I want them shooting like bullets. As many have said, add wgt up front will affect spine, in turn affecting the bullet hole. Wanting to hunt out west, I have been search for arrow info. I maybe wrong by KE appears to be important. So If your current set-up has enough steam for a pass through, imo, you are good to go. Where the arrow lands after doesn't matter. BTW, I like watching the RF, but, he will drive you s***house if you think you need to incorporate his "platform".

 

[Yooper]

You guys waaaay overthink this. Most anything over 400 and you will be fine if you stay off the shoulder. And I’ve buried one to the vanes in an elk shoulder (440gr 70# 28”) at 50 yards.

450 is a good all around arrow. If your close to that, go hunt….plenty here where I live use less than that.

This right here. I've chased the super heavy arrow game for a bit and always end up back at that 440-460 range and it's about perfect. I really like the RIP TKO for being able to keep the gpi low and load up that front weight a bit, too.

 

[The_Bildo_SD]

Every time I walk into my shop and ask them about switching out my Limbs for 80# and upping my arrow weight they tell me to stop watching YouTube

 

[dirtshooter]

Alright so I ended up going with 125gr VPA 3 blade solids, 50gr insert, GT Hunter XT with a 50gr insert to be about 460-70grs total. Bow is a Bowtech Fuel 59/60lb draw weight.
I shot a pretty nice WT (in the WT meatpole and contest threads) at about 15 yards. I shot him as he was walking and it wasn't a passthrough completely, by that I mean there were 2 holes in the buck (one entry one exit) but the arrow snapped in two pieces so idk if it got clipped by his shoulder and broke before it could exit or what happened there. Anyway, dead deer, tipped over in 30-40 yards/5 seconds.

 

[bigbuckdown250]

27” DL at 70# shooting a VAP TKO with factory components and 100gr Muzzy Trocar HB hasn’t failed me yet. Mine weigh in right around 460gr with a 4 van setup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk