Opinions/Experience of Elk Arrow Weight

[Jswartz]

What are everyone's opinions/experiences on arrow weights?

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[MT257]

409-422gr has worked fine for me.

 

[Bump79]

A grain weight isn't really a important measure. KE, M and associated speed are more relevant. For example - a 400 grain arrow at 240 fps is a completely different animal than the same weight at 285 fps from two different people.

Focus on having the right broadhead for your specifications. And the right velocity for your desired range. If you have a lot of KE you can push a less efficient but maybe larger head through. Less KE focus more on broadhead design with higher penetration ability.

I personally like a rule of thumb like a 400 grain minimum for durability and a max 300 fps. Mabne 295 fps. Meaning you can't sacrifice arrow durability and get too light and when an arrow starts getting too fast it's less forgiving. Especially with fixed blades. There's always outliers though.

I have a 30" draw and pull 70+# for elk. Penetration at the KE & M level just isn't a concern. Even at 28" 60# and a modern compound you should have zero issues with a decent broadhead.

 

[Dennis]

I follow the Ashby Bowhunter Foundation recommendations for hunting arrows. Their recommendations are based on actual animal testing.

 

[butcherboy]

I like 430 grains or so on the lighter side and 500 grains on the heavy side. My current arrow is 482 grains. 73# 28” draw. Go right through elk. I may drop down to 450 grains this year since the new lighter Easton FMJ’s came out.

 

[Live_weighT34]

With modern bows you don’t need to follow the Ashby method. To each their own but you don’t need a 600gr arrow and a huge cut on contact spear point broadhead to get a pass through or penetrate enough to hit the vitals on an elk.

A 450gr arrow that paper tunes good and most 3 blade fixed broadheads will do the job inside of 60 yards everytime at just about every angle other than the Texas heart shot.

 

[tkhuntsman]

What are everyone's opinions/experiences on arrow weights?

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I match my arrow and bow to what I consider best for my shooting style. I usually draw 75# with multiple bows. I build my arrows so that I have at least 13-15% FOC to ensure good momentum carries to target. My total arrow weight fluctuates a little depending on which bow I'm shooting. Let's just use my Mathews V3 31 at 75# I shoot a 4mm victory VAP SS it leaves the bow at 280 fps and weighs in at 490 grains with a cut on contact 125 grn fixed blade broad head. This set up is at a little over 15% FOC but has very little drag and great trajectory. I do not have to worry about vertical obstruction from 0-40 yards in the timber which is one of the most critical factors for me. It penetrates better than any other arrow I have shot from this bow and is extremely tough. I've had pass through on all the elk I have shot with this set up. When I build arrows for any bow I look at these factors and that is how I decide.

 

[Bump79]

I match my arrow and bow to what I consider best for my shooting style. I usually draw 75# with multiple bows. I build my arrows so that I have at least 13-15% FOC to ensure good momentum carries to target. My total arrow weight fluctuates a little depending on which bow I'm shooting. Let's just use my Mathews V3 31 at 75# I shoot a 4mm victory VAP SS it leaves the bow at 280 fps and weighs in at 490 grains with a cut on contact 125 grn fixed blade broad head. This set up is at a little over 15% FOC but has very little drag and great trajectory. I do not have to worry about vertical obstruction from 0-40 yards in the timber which is one of the most critical factors for me. It penetrates better than any other arrow I have shot from this bow and is extremely tough. I've had pass through on all the elk I have shot with this set up. When I build arrows for any bow I look at these factors and that is how I decide.

With modern bows you don’t need to follow the Ashby method. To each their own but you don’t need a 600gr arrow and a huge cut on contact spear point broadhead to get a pass through or penetrate enough to hit the vitals on an elk.

A 450gr arrow that paper tunes good and most 3 blade fixed broadheads will do the job inside of 60 yards everytime at just about every angle other than the Texas heart shot.

Solid advice here. I'm a fan of my setup with a 3 blade at 445 grains, moving 294 fps. Which is on the higher end of speed I like with fixed.

 

[Pramo]

I’ve killed elk with 390 grain out of a slow Mathews Switchback up to 480 grains out of recent bows. 6mm, 5mm and 4mm shafts fixed and hypodermics and all did the same.

Best formula is quality head and heaviest arrow to ~280 fps

 

[Snow Panther]

When I started to get interested in elk bowhunting, many years ago, and I was searching all the information I could find at that time, on an archery specialized forum and other internet sources (that's all I could do at that time, being located in Europe), it seemed that the concensus was a rather heavy arrow recommandation for elk, like a minimum of 500 grains and up.
Today I get the impression that the new concensus is more around 450 grains, with lots of successful elk hunters even using lighter arrows weighing between 400 and 450 grains.
The better understanding of bow tuning, better efficiency, faster bows, better arrows, etc, probably accounts for this move towards a lighter weight arrow for elk.

 

[Beendare]

After seeing somewhere over 60 elk shot with an arrow from 360g to mid 500g there are a couple key takeaways for me;

Compound bows have energy to burn, An arrow of any weight from them is a dang killing machine

Match your BH to your arrow. If you are shooting a big inefficient BH, these function better with a little more weight behind them [mid 400g and up]. The very efficient COC BH's penetrate effortlessly and work well on any arrow.


A stiffer arrow is better than a noodly arrow

Perfect arrow flight is THE key factor....a slight wobble wrecks an arrows effectiveness.

 

[Skerhunter]

The high FOC craze and pod casts/social media kind of muddied the waters. Arrow weight is only part of the equation and there is no one perfect weight for elk. Properly spined/tuned arrow just depends on draw weight and length.

Lots of good advice on here!

 

[pirogue]

There are a lot of things out there to read, watch, ot listen to, that muddy the waters. I listen to my shoulder talking. I passed on 2 or 3 popular brand, 60# bows, before I found one that didn’t hurt my shoulder, when drawing. My arrow total weight is 424, with 100 gr broadhead, and gets complete pass thru on bull elk at 30 yards. I have no idea what the speed is.

 

[Skerhunter]

There are a lot of things out there to read, watch, ot listen to, that muddy the waters. I listen to my shoulder talking. I passed on 2 or 3 popular brand, 60# bows, before I found one that didn’t hurt my shoulder, when drawing. My arrow total weight is 424, with 100 gr broadhead, and gets complete pass thru on bull elk at 30 yards. I have no idea what the speed is.

Interesting! Mind sharing what bows you shot and why you picked the one you did?

 

[2Stamp]

With modern bows you don’t need to follow the Ashby method. To each their own but you don’t need a 600gr arrow and a huge cut on contact spear point broadhead to get a pass through or penetrate enough to hit the vitals on an elk.

A 450gr arrow that paper tunes good and most 3 blade fixed broadheads will do the job inside of 60 yards everytime at just about every angle other than the Texas heart shot.

I wouldn't say that first part is a 100% absolute. Most people think the Ashby stuff is only about a 600gr arrow and EFOC. There are 12 factors they outline. The first two are arguably the most important, that's why they are "the first two". 1. Structural Integrity 2. Arrow Flight.

A lot of the issues I see and work on are #2, arrow flight, which you referenced in your second part. Paper tuning is part of it, but isn't the "be all end all".

 

[Billy Goat]

28-29" DL.

70ish DW.

8 elk with sub 400 gr, 1 elk with 415gr. Zero issues, big mechanicals. I don't recommend it, but if you hit behind the pin(the biggest issue most face and they do things that handicap that) elk are really easy to kill.

Decent broadhead, reasonable arrow weight, bow actually launching an arrow straight- dead elk.


I don't really know how many deer with same recipe, but it's a lot and no rodeos.

 

[pirogue]

Interesting! Mind sharing what bows you shot and why you picked the one you did?

Sure. I had rotator cuff surgery 20 or so years ago. In 2019, I wanted a new bow, so I went to the pro shop and tried to pull a new Hoyt, and a new Mathews, and neither felt good on my shoulder. Then tried the Bowtech Realm SR6, and no issue at all. All 60#. Bought the Bowtech.

 

[Fogalo]

Here’s something fun. I run about 550 for elk but closer to 750 for deer. The 550s shoot flatter for a bull that comes in and I have to guess range. The 750s are quieter so a big buck won’t jump the string.

30.5 inch draw, 78 lbs

 

[billysmals]

I echo a lot of what's already been said here. Just my experiences below in no particular order.

#1 Perfect arrow flight is my end point-a light arrow flying perfect is better than a heavy one sideways. Energy is lost when the arrow enters at anything less than straight. Paper tuning doesn't always ensure the arrow is flying perfect. Things change with broadhead on the front, even a mech...

#2 Some of the Ashby stuff applies, but not all (Broadhead design, materials, sharpness, arrow components and flight, ect..apply.) I don't believe a 650gr (or any specific weight goal) is the standard for me anyway. A traditional bow is not the same as a modern compound. A 70# trad bow and a 70# modern compound will not have the same efficiency. The materials and stored energy launching that arrow are different.

#3 KE and Momentum are only a data point. KE and Momentum are just math equations, and outside of context can be useless. For example, mathematically I can make a 440gr arrow at 280fps (76.62 KE) have the same KE as a 1 gr ping pong ball traveling at 5864fps (76.36 KE), because KE is simply math and you can manipulate the variables to equal whatever KE desired. So KE and momentum can inform arrow discussion, but for me, is not the end of the discussion. If choosing between them, I prefer momentum as a compass...

#4 Speed is also just a data point. I agree with most persons to aim for the heaviest arrow to go 280-290fps because arrow flight/broadhead flight is easier to achieve perfectly at this speed. But I also understand others achieve the same perfect arrow flight at much higher speeds over 300fps. Tuning is an art. It can be done many ways and understanding it, the arrow flight and what that means in relationship to the bow is challenging. I find as a general rule a fast arrow is more twitchy and affected by external forces (bow tune, wind, broadhead choice, arrow construction ect...) than a slower arrow, thus a faster arrow is often more difficult to fly perfectly. However light and fast fly flatter than slow and heavy, which can matter when shooting through the trees with all them limbs....

#5 Arrow construction matters- Top tier components that are indestructible mean nothing if assembled crooked....Straight and square matter.

#6 Broadhead choice matters. Mechs and fixed blades perform with different advantages and disadvantages. To me one is not better than the other, that argument has raged forever and each must be convinced in their own mind. But each offers an advantage and disadvantages...

#7 shot selection matters. A 70yr frontal is different than a 20yrd broadside is different than a steep downhill is different than at -20F with a 40mph crosswind is different than sitting is different than standing on level ground...and on and on and on....

The OP asks a good a question with what I find is a nuanced answer Appreciate each persons perspective.