Real hunting weight arrow speeds

[HunterGatherer]

Good points. In the 24 years that I've had my shop I have seen hundreds of people come in thinking they are 30 inch/70 lb. shooters. The reality is the vast majority of bow hunters fall into the 27.5' to 28.5" draw length and should be shooting less poundage. Virtually all those 30" draw shooters, once put in the correct draw length and manageable draw weight have become better archers and better bowhunters and wounding rates are better as well. Not saying that there are not true 30"/70lb + shooters but they are not the average. So many archers are so driven by speed that they actually end up overbowed.

Curious about the part “ they should be shooting less poundage”. Is this purely a matter of the strength of the shooter and being comfortable with their draw weight or is there something else ?

 

[GreggB]

Curious about the part “ they should be shooting less poundage”. Is this purely a matter of the strength of the shooter and being comfortable with their draw weight or is there something else ?

I watch a lot of archers sky drawing with their elbow down in order to be able to get the string back.
Also, for some guys, its a breeze drawing while shooting in their back yards at 75 or 80 degrees, especially once they are warmed up. Now put them on stand for 4 hours on a 20 degree day in November when they're cold and stiff. Been there, done that. I have customers who easily handle 80 lbs and if they can, that's great but I see too many guys shooting too high a poundage and it bites them in the a$$ eventually.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I watch a lot of archers sky drawing with their elbow down in order to be able to get the string back.
Also, for some guys, its a breeze drawing while shooting in their back yards at 75 or 80 degrees, especially once they are warmed up. Now put them on stand for 4 hours on a 20 degree day in November when they're cold and stiff. Been there, done that. I have customers who easily handle 80 lbs and if they can, that's great but I see too many guys shooting too high a poundage and it bites them in the a$$ eventually.

Okay, that’s what I figured but also wondered if draw weight affects bow performance. Seems like when limbs are completely cranked down, to max poundage, bows feel different - more vibration/hand shock …but purely subjective… any thoughts on that ? Like is it better to crank down a 70# limb vs putting on 80# limbs and backing them down to 70 for example …

 

[kad11]

How has this thread been dead since 2019? This is a really interesting one to scroll through

Bowtech SS34
29.5"
67#
516 grain arrow

257 fps on comfort setting
271 fps on performance

How do you like the SS34? Any problems with your cables getting chewed up quickly?

 

[jjordan355]

PSE EVO NTN
31” draw
70lbs
609 grain arrow @ 259 fps

 

[hunthikecamp]

How do you like the SS34? Any problems with your cables getting chewed up quickly?

I really like it, on Comfort setting the draw cycle is a dream, but you pay for it a little in FPS it seems. Although this thread was a good reminder that you don't need 280+ fps to quickly kill, just a well tuned bow and a sharp head will do the trick. I have it on Performance right now and will likely switch it back and just live around the 260 fps mark.

Serving wear, i did have issues on the stock cables, see this thread, but over the summer I installed a new set of catfish customs strings and I've shot hundreds of arrows through it without issue or so much as an indication of wear.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Welp, this thread reaffirms that I still don't need to upgrade ol trusty.

2015 Martin Thrasher
29" draw
65lbs
455gr total weight - 300sp arrow, 125gr RAD Rival
272fps

 

[HunterGatherer]

View this content on Instagram

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Heavy arrows are overrated

Link to video ^^

 

[GreggB]

Okay, that’s what I figured but also wondered if draw weight affects bow performance. Seems like when limbs are completely cranked down, to max poundage, bows feel different - more vibration/hand shock …but purely subjective… any thoughts on that ? Like is it better to crank down a 70# limb vs putting on 80# limbs and backing them down to 70 for example …

When you cranked up the draw weight it may have made your arrow too light for the poundage. Arrow is not absorbing all the energy so it dissipates through the riser and you feel it. Up your arrow weight (and spine?) to match the draw weight.

 

[doc holiday13]

I'm curious.... How longs some people here have been shooting. Bow tech is light years ahead of the 90's and early 2000's.

I'm not super old . 41 and I've been shooting compound bows since the early mid 90's. my first bow kills were pre 1999. Aluminum arrows, wood risers with fiberglass limbs, plunger arrow rest, offcenter round cam wheels that all had coated stainless steel cables and draw length was adjustable up to about 3" in 1" increments. I'd wager to say my bow weighed 8-10# without quiver or sights

Vibration and hand shock should not even be on the list of things we look for in a bow nowadays. Noise certainly is a thing that should be controlled but find the loudest bow now and its less than half as loud as my first bow. Hand shock was wonderful back then. It was like holding a giant tuning fork. We cranked down our bow limbs for maximum poundage because it made the fiberglass limbs more predictable.

245 fps with a 80# bow was smokin.

up until the last 8ish years, its been hard for me to get an arrow under 500 grains. I think I shot 2317's with 100g heads and I was 550g My arrows HAD to be that heavy because thats the best technology could get the arrows. Now pulling 80# i'm throwing 530g arrows at 287 fps I could easily boost that up to 300 fps.

Now all that said, I do find myself looking to back down my bow to probably 60# because arrow technology will let me get my arrow weight down to almost 400-450g and my arrows will likely be going 275-300 fps. Facts are, we all could likely shoot 50-60# bows with 350-400g arrows and still get pass throughs if we're shooting sharp COC broadheads.

 

[06 SB]

Before about 2010, speed was king with heavy poundage bows, and lighter arrows so range estimation did not have to be as exact. Think about those overdraws and short aluminum then carbon arrows. It was great to go from having a 3 pin sight that would give you 10,20 and 30 yards to a single pin that would get you to 30 yards! Bow speeds have not increased drastically since that time. This is also about the time range finders became cheap and reliable plus add in chronographs became affordable as well. Hunters had a lot of data at their fingertips and speed became less important. Knowing the range of the target, your fps and having sight that allowed you to capitalize on that data became king.

I have 2006 Mathews Switchback (318 IBO) and a 2025 Mathews Lift X (345 IBO). Shooting the same arrow, there is only a 25-30 fps difference. Both are set at 62 pounds. The Lift X balances better, is less prone to torque and is easily tunable without a press. The last item, tuning it myself, is what drove me to buying a new bow. It was not the speed increase. The Switchback is a VERY smooth drawing bow but is a serious PITA to tune. Both will kill deer and I use a 400gr arrow (GT Velocity XT) at 262fps with the Switchback and a 425gr arrow (Victory HLR) at 283fps so speeds are bit closer together. I always get pass throughs whether I use fixed or mechanical heads.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I think equipment was not the biggest change over the last 30 years but rather the average bowhunters understanding of their equipment, tuning, ballistics, etc. I didn’t know anyone 30 years ago, even really serious hunters, that knew a fraction of what we know now about tuning a bow. People didn’t broadhead tune, they would just shoot field tips until hunting season, then screw BHs onto their arrows, move their sight if they didn’t hit where they were aiming, and go hunting. Bows were plenty capable back then but peoples understanding of how it all worked, seems primitive by today’s standards

 

[HunterGatherer]

About the time carbon arrows came out everyone went for SPEEEED, then after that fad, everyone went for crazy HEAVY arrrows, which still persists today to some degree. My experience shooting both fast light setups and heavy, slower setups was that finding the best middle ground between KE and speed was the most effective hunting setup for me.

What works for one hunter doesn’t necessarily work for another. Eastern whitetail hunters need a different setup than a western hunter, for example. Someone who is comfortable taking shots on game beyond 60yds should choose a different approach than someone who will never shoot over 40 if they’re trying to find the optimal setup for their specific hunting conditions. If all I hunted was whitetail I would be okay with a 2” diameter broadhead, might even shoot mechanicals . I’m not comfortable shooting those same broadheads at elk.

Like the hunter in the video I posted , I found that about a 425gr complete arrow is the right blend of speed and weight with my setup - accounting for draw length, draw weight, hunting style, etc

 

[alexnelon]

Darton Consequence 2
70#
27.5" draw
421 grains
278 fps