Arrow Weight?

[mgpete87]

KE isn't what drives through bone, that's momentum. Your arrow has that in spades over the straws that your dad shoots. KE numbers sell bows, momentum numbers kill animals.

Either way, the bull in the pictures made it about 15 yards before he was done and that was with a sub 30” arrow and a 75gr. broadhead.

I think unless you’re shooting long distances, people tend do overthink this.

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

I'm shooting 28.5"draw VXR with a finished weight of 474 @ 274fps roughly 12% foc. I like anything from 410 -500 gr. I found that us shorter draw guys don't gain more than we lose if we go any heavier. (FPS,TRAJECTORY,ETC.) That is plenty for ANY North American Mammal.... Hope you have bloody nocks in your future!! DUMP the mechanicals...IMO

 

[wind gypsy]

It's a good thing everyone knows their FOC %. I heard that is super important for bone crushin.

 

[InGodsCountry]

It's a good thing everyone knows their FOC %. I heard that is super important for bone crushin.

Lol.


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[Luked]

Mine this year is a V3X 29.5 Draw pulling 67 lbs and Gold Tip Hunter XTs with a 100 gr Slick Trick Viper trick my arrows come out right at 510grains.
This is the most weight draw weight wise i have shot in a long time as I have some shoulder issues.
they shoot great but if i do a lot of shooting i have noticed a bit of pain in my shoulder.
So after season ill probably drop some draw weight and arrow weight.
My thing if your gonna go light around 400 grains you better run a good cut on contact BH and a tough arrow and be dang sure you can hit what your aiming at.
Way back when the speed thing was all the rage i shot a "speed" arrow think it was GT velocity. Shooting at the time a 60lb "Speed" bow (Bowtech 82nd Airborne) 90 grain muzzy 4 blade. Was a smoking fast setup.
Shot a doe whitetail here at home hit the shoulder blade and the arrow blew up when it hit her. Broke her shoulder but never did find her.
Next day i went and bought a whole new arrow and BH setup and spent the next week getting arrows built and sighted back in. went with a Gold Tip Hunter 340, 125 grain BH arrows at about 480gr. next deer I shot was out in an open field misjuged the distance badly hit the shoulder again so another shit shot but this time i got a full pass through and broke both front shoulders. deer ran 50 yards and was done.
point is back then my shooting wasnt as good but the heavier arrow allowed me a little more room for mistakes when i got to creeping to close to the shoulder. light arrow i couldnt do that. ever since i have always run a somewhat heavy arrow.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

420 grains 283-284 fps. 28" draw maybe 27.5" can't remember. 73 lb draw weight.
Newish to bow.
Never shot an animal yet.

 

[Charlie Brown 6]

subd

 

[InGodsCountry]

13” of penetration at 40 yds with an annihilator 100 XL and total arrow weight around 425 shooting 73lbs. Went through scapula and a rib on entry.


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[BDRam16]

Black Eagle Rampage 350 spine 27” carbon to carbon with 50gr brass weight behind the insert with 100gr head=457gr total at 278fps.

 

[Scoot]

456 grains for me and it works great. My son is shooting 425 and I hope to be able to report back about performance on an elk in two weeks or less.

 

[wind gypsy]

Looks like it worked.

 

[Dooger]

I shoot 62# with 450 gr arrows.

You can get weights for your shafts and use the same heads. Watch your FOC too.

 

[rodney482]

376 gr arrow at 300 fps
100 gr Rage Trypan NC

 

[Sapcut]

376 gr arrow at 300 fps
100 gr Rage Trypan NC

IF and only IF….one had the desire… if you changed your arrow build from the 376 to 576 grains, you would be amazed at the violence and lethality it would create…. no matter the fps.

 

[rodney482]

IF and only IF….one had the desire… if you changed your arrow build from the 376 to 576 grains, you would be amazed at the violence and lethality it would create…. no matter the fps.

Ive killed more critters than ehd

 

[roosiebull]

Okay, I'm sure there are obviously lots of variable, and opinions out there. But I'm trying to decide what would be considered "too light" of an arrow setup for elk this fall. Im currently shooting 72 lbs and I believe my arrow weight is around 350-60 grains. What are your thoughts?

It’s light, but certainly won’t bounce off… I think you’re way better off getting over 400gr for multiple reasons. I’m shooting 73#@28.5” and imo, the perfect versatile elk hunting arrows are that 450-550gr, I’m currently shooting a 562gr arrow that has absolutely no downside for what I do.

You are right, there are a ton of variables, and though your arrow is light, I know I used to kill elk drama free with a 380gr arrow before I knew any different… the elk also didn’t know any different

My biggest practical reason for staying over 500gr is to keep arrow speed down enough that my setup is extremely forgiving with fixed heads, your form will not always be perfect in the woods, things are not the same in your back yard vs high stress standing on uneven ground with a bull in front of you that you really want to kill, it’s a very different thing, so I want a setup that caters to that reality, and a quiet bow is a good side benefit, even though most bulls will stand there and watch the arrow hit them, that’s not always the case.

We should all build arrows that make practical sense depending on the hunting we do, it will never be a one size fits all.

I may get a different bow next year more catered to tree stand deer hunting (60-65# limbs) in which case I will drop arrow weight to maintain my current arrow cast… I think a lighter draw bow makes sense for sitting in a stand in the cold, muscles not warm, sitting, and drawing in slow motion… I will also use it for everything else, so a 475gr arrow will probably be what I shoot for

Your light arrow will still be hell on elk if you are shooting through ribs, and if you hit heavy bone, it will decrease your chances of getting through, but a heavy arrow doesn’t mean you will get through, just gives you a better chance, regardless of the Ashby propaganda, a ton of his information is great, but him and his crew have went off the rails buying into their own BS, giving good advice with plenty of bad advice mixed in… the other extreme (light/fast crowd) are equally as guilty of giving bad information… they too have some valid points, but their ego will not allow them to tell the whole truth…

Pin down what types of shots you expect to encounter and put some thought into your setup to cater it to exactly what you want to do, avoid the extremes, ignore the BS and build your perfect middle ground arrow, you can lean towards either extreme, but try to stay closer to the middle than the edges… that’s my best generic advice without knowing more about the hunting you do… if your setup is dialed and tuned right now, use what you have and build a more thought out arrow in the off season for next year