FPS Question

[Ac338]

Alright, so I'm building a new arrow and with my setup it looks like I'm only going to get around 240 fps out of this. I'm not a speed guy but do you think that that's to slow for most Western situations? Halon 32 6" at 61# and 27" 75% mods. I'm getting the 240fps number with an arrow that weighs 503 grains. Would you back off the arrow weight or leave it where its at and hunt? Thanks in advance.

 

[Seeknelk]

Can certainly back off the weight but I wouldn't go below 400 grains. Shoot a strong, sharp cut to tip solid 3 blade at anywhere above 400 and put it in the right spot. You'll be eating well afterwards.
Check how much speed you'll gain dropping to 450 or 400 and pick the trajectory you can live with. 500 is totally fine but a bit lighter gives you just a touch more range forgiveness I suppose.
Whatever you go with tune it perfectly of course.

 

[Rob5589]

Guys kill western game with recurves and longbows every year. Hell, waaay back, 240 was smoking. You could back arrow weight down 50-75 grains and pick up a little speed if you think it's worth it. Your dl is your "Achilles heel" but nothing you can do about that.

 

[Ac338]

Can certainly back off the weight but I wouldn't go below 400 grains. Shoot a strong, sharp cut to tip solid 3 blade at anywhere above 400 and put it in the right spot. You'll be eating well afterwards.
Check how much speed you'll gain dropping to 450 or 400 and pick the trajectory you can live with. 500 is totally fine but a bit lighter gives you just a touch more range forgiveness I suppose.
Whatever you go with tune it perfectly of course.

Thanks for the responses. Last years elk was shot with a 400 grain arrow but I wanted a little more. I’ll drop 35 grains off the insert and see where I get with that.

 

[Coveyleader]

I think k you’re running too heavy. On the same token, elk are big 20-25 yds your trajectory will be in the wheelhouse, but you could drop down 50-75 grains easy and clean up your top pin.

 

[Billy Goat]

Loosing 60 grains is probably only picking you up 20 fps, but I'd rather be 260 than 240. You will still have an arrow heavier than I have killed any elk with.

Put a good broadhead on the front, put it where it needs to go. In my opinion speed helps a fair amount out west.


I think the most important thing for elk hunting is being able to shoot a minimum of 45 yards without knowing the exact range. Speed helps with that, but practice helps more.

 

[Caleb777]

I’m a heavy arrow guy myself with a 28” draw. My helix turbo shoots 242 fps with my 622 grain arrows. I missed a whitetail at 30 yards this year and the arrow went past him 10 yards, stuck in the ground, and then he ran. The slower the bow is the quieter and less vibration there will be. That means something. Studys have been done showing that it’s not the noise that scares big game animals, it’s the tone/pitch/frequency. If you watch videos on YouTube…animals shot with a crossbow tend to buck hard at the sound of the shot (and most crossbows are 320fps+) but if you watch traditional archery hunts, there doesn’t seem to be such a violent response from the animal at the sound of the shot. I know there are some who will argue this and I would understand anyones position on this. But each situation is unique and there will be exceptions to these studies. I shot longbow for about 6 years before transitioning back to compounds. I’ve seen both sides of the field. In my opinion, a slow bow, that is quiet, is at least as effective (if not more) in reaching animals as a bow screaming at 340fps.

 

[MattB]

Why 500 grs.? With your low poundage and short draw stroke I wouldn't handicap myself like that.

"I’m a heavy arrow guy myself with a 28” draw. My helix turbo shoots 242 fps with my 622 grain arrows. I missed a whitetail at 30 yards this year and the arrow went past him 10 yards, stuck in the ground, and then he ran. The slower the bow is the quieter and less vibration there will be."

Did you miss because of a range estimation error? If so, if you shot an arrow that was 200 grs lighter, would the trajectory difference have resulted in a dead buck? Taking solace in how quietly you missed with a heavy arrow and a looping trajectory isn't how I would personally analyze that situation.

 

[Caleb777]

Why 500 grs.? With your low poundage and short draw stroke I wouldn't handicap myself like that.

"I’m a heavy arrow guy myself with a 28” draw. My helix turbo shoots 242 fps with my 622 grain arrows. I missed a whitetail at 30 yards this year and the arrow went past him 10 yards, stuck in the ground, and then he ran. The slower the bow is the quieter and less vibration there will be."

Did you miss because of a range estimation error? If so, if you shot an arrow that was 200 grs lighter, would the trajectory difference have resulted in a dead buck? Taking solace in how quietly you missed with a heavy arrow with a looping trajectory isn't how I would personally analyze that situation.

No sir, tough shot angle and my form fell apart. I was dead center of the chest cavity but I pulled my shot in front of him.

 

[Ac338]

Well after all that I think I may just stay with my current arrow setup which is 412 grains and did good on last years elk at 36 yards. Might be one of those things that may be smarter to just leave be for now. Thanks for all the opinions.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

For out west I would say that 240 is pretty slow. I would try to be in that 260+ range. For whitetails that setup would kill the crap out of them. But for out west I would say that you could lighten up a bit and gain some speed.

 

[streetdoctor]

Alright, so I'm building a new arrow and with my setup it looks like I'm only going to get around 240 fps out of this. I'm not a speed guy but do you think that that's to slow for most Western situations? Halon 32 6" at 61# and 27" 75% mods. I'm getting the 240fps number with an arrow that weighs 503 grains. Would you back off the arrow weight or leave it where its at and hunt? Thanks in advance.

I'll probably get a lot of flack for this but IMO Yes. That's too slow. Your pin gap will be huge. A well placed arrow will kill an animal much better than one you stick in it's backstrap or leg. I would try an arrow around 425g and see what that gets you. FWIW I recently went from a 493 grain arrow to 452 to pick up a little speed and my kinetic energy went from 87.9 to 87.7...... Big deal. My shot trajectory at 50 and 60 yards decreased 15". That's a much bigger deal.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

I run a PSE Evolve at 27" 60LB draw and a 520gr FMJ. It chronoed at 240 also. Its what I took out west a couple of years ago. No shots on elk for the trip. I just set up my Fast Eddie so that 1st pin was at 30 and second was around 40. Anything under 30 would be close enough with that pin and tested arrow drop while practicing to verify. That was my solution to having TREX arms. That being said I may drop to about a 420 gr arrow next time I go. Those heavy arrows just fly so good when you know the range.