What lighter arrow for hunting?

[johnbow]

Any suggestions on what lighter gpi arrow for a 60lb compound? I currently shoot fmj but I'm looking for a lighter arrow for trajectory Thanks

 

[SDHNTR]

Less poundage should mean greater arrow weight, not less. You have a rangefinder, right? Trajectory is a non issue. This isn’t unmarked 3d.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I always recommend standard diameter (6.5mm/.244-.246") for a hunting arrow because they're simple, inexpensive, and durable. At 60#, 340-350 spine is probably the best fit (unless your arrows are really long and/or you're putting a lot of weight on the front). Below are some standard diameter 340-350 spine options sorted low-to-high by shaft weight (gpi). For comparison, 340 spine FMJ's weigh 11.0 gpi (4mm version) or 11.3 gpi (5mm).

 

[ArcherAnthony]

FMJ's are pretty heavy so most carbon arrows will be lighter. I think Gold Tip Hunters would be a good place to start looking.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Less poundage should mean greater arrow weight, not less. You have a rangefinder, right? Trajectory is a non issue. This isn’t unmarked 3d.

Trajectory is a huge issue, even with a rangefinder. An animal can move between the time you take the range and take the shot. Even if it stays perfectly stationary, your aim may not be perfect. Arrow speed helps compensate for errors in range and aim.

I would agree that you don't want to go too light chasing speed, but there is a very real downside to increasing arrow weight. For a compound, 7-8 grains of arrow weight per pound of draw weight generally yields a good balance between weight and speed IMO.

 

[SDHNTR]

Trajectory is a huge issue, even with a rangefinder. An animal can move between the time you take the range and take the shot. Even if it stays perfectly stationary, your aim may not be perfect. Arrow speed helps compensate for errors in range and aim.

I would agree that you don't want to go too light chasing speed, but there is a very real downside to increasing arrow weight. For a compound, 7-8 grains of arrow weight per pound of draw weight generally yields a good balance between weight and speed IMO.

You’ve been duped. The speed of sound is faster than any arrow. Let that soak a few and think of how it relates to bowhunting.

 

[Wilderlife]

Less poundage should mean greater arrow weight, not less. You have a rangefinder, right? Trajectory is a non issue. This isn’t unmarked 3d.

This might be true to a point, but not really.

At which point does the equation go back the other way? Should people using 80# compound bows be using arrows they weigh less than people using 50# compound bows?

To the OP, there is a company here in Australia called Crafted Archery. They have some ultralight arrows available in a variety of diameters. I'm using using their 300 ultralights in a micro diameter arrow, and with 45gn of components on the front, a 150gn broadhead, and 4 fletch Easy Vanes on the back, my arrow is 455gns. Out of my 77# compound they're doing about 298fps.

My suggestion if you are after a comparatively speaking 'lighter arrow' for your 60# compound somewhere between 400 and 450 grains) would be to make sure you're using a quality single bevel two blade cut on contact broadhead.

 

[Wilderlife]

You’ve been duped. The speed of sound is faster than any arrow. Let that soak a few and think of how it relates to bowhunting.

Not really talking about the sound of the arrow.

A friend of mine for most of 2022 and early 2023 was using a Mathews Atlas, shooting a 550gn arrow about 255fps. If he was off in his range estimations (at archery clubs) by a couple of metres, he would miss the whole target. If he ranged an animal and it moved a little further or closer, he would have to make a big compensation with his aim, or let down, range again, and draw back again.

Now he's shooting a heavier VTM with a similar weight arrow that's travelling closer to 300fps and it is much more forgiving in terms of range estimations at the club, and an animal moving a little further or closer after initially ranging it.

 

[Cannonball]

RIP TKO XV

 

[Mighty Mouse]

You’ve been duped. The speed of sound is faster than any arrow. Let that soak a few and think of how it relates to bowhunting.

I wasn't referring to an animal "jumping the string." I would hold the same opinion on arrow weight and speed even if I were hunting deaf animals.

In the time it takes you to put your rangefinder down, draw, aim, and shoot, an animal can easily walk a significant distance further or closer. If it does, do you let down and range again? Or do you estimate how much the animal moved and take the shot without re-ranging? If you choose the latter, extra speed will help compensate for the imprecision of the range.

Disregarding animal movement altogether, speed reduces the magnitude of vertical misses when your aim is imperfect. Even on a known yardage course shooting static targets, extra speed will improve your score.

If you truly believe there's no downside to extra arrow weight, are you hunting with 1000 gr arrows? If not, why?

 

[ArcherAnthony]

Check out the gold tip kinetic pierce platinum arrows too. I was getting 302fps out of them in a 70# bow with a 31.5” arrow

 

[SDHNTR]

Of course there is a point of diminishing returns with arrow weight. But seeking out lighter and faster arrows in an attempt to make up for possible animal movement in between release and impact is a complete misunderstanding of the factors at work when shooting an arrow at a wild animal. You are only creating a more serious problem than the one you are trying to solve.

 

[SDHNTR]

Not really talking about the sound of the arrow.

That’s nice. Unfortunately though, you don’t get to remove that element from the process of shooting an arrow at an animal.

 

[bojangles808]

Of course there is a point of diminishing returns with arrow weight. But seeking out lighter and faster arrows in an attempt to make up for possible animal movement in between release and impact is a complete misunderstanding of the factors at work when shooting an arrow at a wild animal. You are only creating a more serious problem than the one you are trying to solve.

Have you ever bow hunted before?

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Of course there is a point of diminishing returns with arrow weight. But seeking out lighter and faster arrows in an attempt to make up for possible animal movement in between release and impact is a complete misunderstanding of the factors at work when shooting an arrow at a wild animal. You are only creating a more serious problem than the one you are trying to solve.

We (@Wilderlife and I) are talking about animal movement between ranging and releasing, not between release and impact.

I agree that trying to beat the speed of sound is not a good reason to want a faster arrow (but that's not what we're saying).

 

[Coveyleader]

Trajectory is a non issue. This isn’t unmarked 3d.

Trajectory is an issue. depending on the bow. Heat of the moment, deer walks by, you guess him for 20, he's 25, with a heavier arrow say in the 460 to 470 range, and a non high performance bow, that's a bad ending.

Same scenario with a 4-425 grain arrow, dead deer.

OP, I'm going through the same scenario. Going lower.

 

[SDHNTR]

Have you ever bow hunted before?

Ha! You obviously don’t know me at all.

 

[SDHNTR]

OP, you can get wrapped up in the noise here or you can just shoot a properly spined arrow 450-475 gr with a good fixed broadhead and go kill stuff.

 

[Coveyleader]

OP, you can get wrapped up in the noise here or you can just shoot a properly spined arrow 450-475 gr with a good fixed broadhead and go kill stuff.

I'd ignore that for several reasons, but carry on.

 

[Wilderlife]

That’s nice. Unfortunately though, you don’t get to remove that element from the process of shooting an arrow at an animal.

Mate,
At no point did I (or anyone) mention a faster arrow beats the speed of sound. We are purely talking about forgiveness in trajectory.

If a 450gn arrow from a 45# recurve bow is plenty to kill animals, then a 400-450gn arrow from a 60# arrow is plenty to kill animals as well.

I'm not on the super lightweight brigade here, trying to tell someone to shoot a 350gn arrow for hunting. I think 400-450gn for a 60# compound is quite reasonable.

For argument's sake, I've killed animals with a 48# recurve and a 500gn arrow, doing 170fps. That's about 32ft lb of kinetic energy, and 0.377 of momentum. Anyone who hunts with traditional equipment would say that's more than enough to kill most medium sized game (deer, goats, pigs, etc).

If you can have a 420gn arrow out of a 60# compound doing roughly 265fps, that's 65ft lb of kinetic energy, and 0.49 of momentum. A 475gn arrow would be doing about 245fps, which would have 63ft lb of kinetic energy (less) but slightly more momentum at 0.51.

My point is, using a standard 3 pin sight would see much easier pin gaps to work with if you have them marked 20/30/40m at 265fps, than 245fps.

In other words, the slight drop in ft lbs of energy, and the slightly rise in momentum, when going with a heavier arrow, is not a big enough trade off for me, when I could shoot a slightly lighter arrow with a little more ft lbs of energy, slightly less momentum, but an extra 20fps to bring my pin gaps closer together.

I'm not normally one to split hairs this much but I've just got back into the compound stuff in the last 12 months and I'm really enjoying the forgiveness in trajectory and range estimation that comes in this space.

So to the OP, you'll kill animals very easily with a 60# compound bow, but the difference in penetration between a 400-475gn arrow will be negligible. If you choose a good broadhead (as mentioned before) you'll be fine, but a little extra speed for estimating trajectory is never a bad thing, unless your arrow is so light it doesn't carry enough energy to penetrate anything properly.