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Arrow Speed is it Important

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#23 ·
It doesn't matter at all if your draw is 28" and over, for the shorter DL then it does make more sense to base your arrow build on the desired speed you are looking for so if mechanicals are on the menu they function properly. Also if during a hunt if you have a small window of brush to sneak an arrow through the chances go up a bit if the arrow speed matches the distance without a major rainbow arc.
 
#24 ·
gutpileraider said:
Much respect & mad props ahunter55, you have a wealth of experience and years of awesome memories. Always love your posts, pics and all.
You were lucky to hunt the glory years when there were less hunters, more game, longer seasons and when hunting & shooting skills really mattered.
It's nice seeing someone who loves archery as much as you do.
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Seasons are the same & yes, fewer hunters BUT more game. Depends. I remember when there was not one Deer in the county I lived in, in Illinois & bowhunting 30 days in 1972 b/4 I saw A DEER. It was this guy, 15 yds & a pass thru from my "standing in a crotch" 7 foot off the ground. I had broken my hunting bow & took this guy with my 70" 40# Target bow with a 3 blade head & a 29"2020 Aluminum. BUT, I bowhunted, Elk, Mule Deer on combo non resident tags for $35 & NO DRAWS. That's what made 30+ trips to Co & New Mexico possible.
 

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#25 ·
I shot a 150lb pig last week and blew through it like it wasn’t even there. Whooping 150-155fps arrow that weighs 600 grains outta one of my longbows. 47-48lbs at 25.5 draw. Speed is the most over hyped bs in the archery community.

Killed a mule deer 2 years ago at 41 yards with 43lb recurve and 500 grain arrow. Arrow might have been 165-170fps? Speed isn’t even a concern in the trad world because it doesn’t matter.
 
#29 ·
Some strive for speed more than others. IMHO or in my experience, as long as I keep shot distance inside of 30 yards - I'll be satisfied with speed of 220 FPS or greater. This is from a guy w a 30" DL & pulling 65 LBS DW. Most would consider My slower arrows quite heavy.

Why not less than 220 FPS? When I get out to 30 yards the trajectory is less than I would prefer.

Plenty of stick bow shooters tend to be quite happy with speed much slower than 200 FPS & tend to shoot through the game they are hunting.

Speed has its advantages, primarily in terms of trajectory IMHO. Momentum is frequently under rated IMHO.
 
#31 ·
I was just pondering this same question. Right now I am shooting my Mach 34 at 29” 67lbs with a 486 grain arrow I believe I am right about 272 fps. I just bought a set of 60lb limbs and with same arrows I will lose approximately 10 or so fps. I don’t think it will make an overall big difference.
 
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#33 ·
I’m pretty new to the new archery world. Hunted a lot when I was a kid with a Parker Stealth. But my theory is fast arrows for hunting for those situations when you’re sitting with your sight on 20 and that sneaky buck comes in and you raise and shoot without a distance. I like the idea of my 20 and 40 being just a couple inch drop.
 
#34 ·
Speed mattered a lot more before accurate laser rangefinders came onto the scene. I typically don't even chronograph my bows. I shoot arrows between 400 and 480 grains for hunting. I think that's a good weight range to balance trajectory and momentum.
 
#35 ·
We never knew it in the old days and we killed a lot of deer like that. I think like everything else archery has gone high tech and everyone’s tweaking their set ups to keep up with the Joneses.

Don’t get me wrong speed is not a bad thing but at the same time when you’re fighting and clawing and making poor decisions for 5 -10FPS it can be counterproductive.
 
#37 ·
flair said:
BEST answer ^^^^^^
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But it's wrong............lol. I agree with what he is saying you want to look for but that's why we all say KE alone is the wrong way to gauge a bows penetration. The more the arrow weighs then the more penetration you get. KE is a really about as useful as a football bat. There is no sweet spot in the middle that gives you more penetration along with more speed. They oppose each other up to well over 1000 grains. The calculators for KS don't add in the increased efficiency of the bow as it transfers more energy into the arrow. It just looks at numbers you plug into a formula.

The sweet spot is really where you get the penetration you need and the speed you want. IOW a compromise of the two that suits you. But the more arrow weight you add the more penetration you get.........just to be clear. The problem is the more arrow weight you add for penetration the more your trajectory suffers. So you have to find that balance.
 
#38 ·
I try to get my arrow at 6.5g per pound of draw weight shooting around 280fps. That gives me a pretty quiet bow with decent distance to practice at further distances. Because of my short draw length and cutting the arrow much shorter than some I usually start off buying cheaper arrows in a batch of 6 instead of building out a dozen. I've had to ditch some arrows and go up or down a spine to get the spine, weight and length right.

My hunting arrow for example is a .204 ID, 350 spine, 27" CtoC and 17%FOC. Total weight is 426g. At 71.4# draw weight I'm coming in about a half grain per pound light on my arrow but it is tuned so well and hitting so well I'm leaving it alone and it's still quiet. My momentum is about 2.36 and KE is about 74 ftlb so for small TN doe it'll do just fine.

Even with a shorter draw and kinda low peep height I can get to 110yds for TAC without turning my arrow cock vane down and if I do turn it down I can get maybe 5 yds or so more.
 
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