[edwarjs4]

I've been doing some reading on some websites about what is a proper weight for a hunting arrow. Many of the opinions I've read suggest that 400-425 grains is appropriate for most North American game. (By appropriate, they mean a good compromise between weight and speed).

I assume that these hunters who made these recommendations are shooting a 70# bow. If that's true, then:

Would a hunting arrow weight between 350-375 grains be the equivalent for someone shooting a 60# bow? (Looking at it from the perspective of finding a balance between weight and speed.)

What do y'all think?

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm using a 460gr arrow in my 60lb bow, and a 500gr arrow in my 70lb bow. Both shoot extremely well out to at least 71 yards.

 

[Beendare]

Soooooooooooo many factors. By any "Formula" the heavier arrow out of the heavier bow will perform better.

That said, should everyone shoot this....not necessarily.

IMO, start with a draw weight you can shoot comfortably. Then select an arrow and broadhead combination that will max out the performance of that setup on the game you are hunting.







...

 

[legacy_hunter02]

mine are normally right around 400-425...actually weighed mine last night and they were 423

 

[Hart]

Soooooooooooo many factors. By any "Formula" the heavier arrow out of the heavier bow will perform better.

That said, should everyone shoot this....not necessarily.

IMO, start with a draw weight you can shoot comfortably. Then select an arrow and broadhead combination that will max out the performance of that setup on the game you are hunting.







...

Bingo!! I agree



I think the last time i checked my arrows weighed 378grns and bow set at 64lbs. For me that works great on our Illinois whitetails

 

[SEOBowhntr]

Think of it in the golfball vs. a ping pong ball theory, they may both start out with X velocity, but one will maintain X-Y velocity where the other will maintain X- 1/2Y velocity because of the extra weight. It's an extreme example, but that extra weight helps keep that momentum up. I can see a marked difference between a 415 and a 440gr arrow when shooting my BH target shooting the same BH's. The 440 gr arrow gets an extra 2" deeper into the foam. Correlate that to a shoulder hit, and one may punch out the other side with the other may not, equalling a better blood trail for the one getting me 2 holes rather than one. It's a small difference, but it IS a difference. FOC is important too, take 2 arrows, tip one with a 125gr tip, the other with an 85gr tip, and throw them. Which one consistently sticks into the ground!!!! Again extreme examples, but they show what a big difference there is between a 7% FOC and a 14% FOC. If that POINT is leading the arrow, penetration is going to be BETTER, no doubt.

 

[poole]

Think of it in the golfball vs. a ping pong ball theory, they may both start out with X velocity, but one will maintain X-Y velocity where the other will maintain X- 1/2Y velocity because of the extra weight. It's an extreme example, but that extra weight helps keep that momentum up. I can see a marked difference between a 415 and a 440gr arrow when shooting my BH target shooting the same BH's. The 440 gr arrow gets an extra 2" deeper into the foam. Correlate that to a shoulder hit, and one may punch out the other side with the other may not, equalling a better blood trail for the one getting me 2 holes rather than one. It's a small difference, but it IS a difference. FOC is important too, take 2 arrows, tip one with a 125gr tip, the other with an 85gr tip, and throw them. Which one consistently sticks into the ground!!!! Again extreme examples, but they show what a big difference there is between a 7% FOC and a 14% FOC. If that POINT is leading the arrow, penetration is going to be BETTER, no doubt.

Great summary.

It all comes down to Kinetic Energy and momentum. Your kinetic energy alone is not always the best indicator. It may only slightly change when you go to a lighter arrow, becuase the lighter arrow is faster, however, the lighter arrow will tend to take the path of least resistance while the heavy arrow will try to push through...similar to what SEOBowhntr is saying.

 

[edwarjs4]

Okay, so the question I have next is:

How do you best figure out what arrow weight gives the most performance w/o going out and buying dozens of different arrows to shoot? And a chronograph?

What do you all do?

 

[bowtech2006]

Me i look for speed and K.E. my 82nd shoots a 350 grain arrow 352 fps which is 96.3 K.E and that is plenty of hitting power!!!! my 397 grain arrow shoots 339 and the K. E. is around 100.

 

[badbow148]

I would say 50grs. over IBO on a 60lb. bow and the same on the 70lb. bow would get you the best combo of speed and KE and that would be with in a 2-5 of pounds or so away from each other on the average.

 

[poole]

Okay, so the question I have next is:

How do you best figure out what arrow weight gives the most performance w/o going out and buying dozens of different arrows to shoot? And a chronograph?

What do you all do?

There is really no magic number that necessarily gives you the best "performance". What you have to decide is whats most important to you. Some people shoot the lightest arrow possible to try and achieve a flatter trajectory, while others dont care about speed and shoot a heavy arrow. For something like a whitetail deer I personally don't see much difference. I have had complete pass through's with 300 grain arrows and 420 grain arrows. Now if I was hunting elk or bear I would probably favor my heaver arrows, but Im sure many have been killed with light arrows. The Heavy arrows also tend to be a little more durable overall. I would also take into consideration that most bow kills are probably 30 yards or less, so the difference in drop between a 260pfs bow to a 320 fps bow is not significant enough for me to really care. It will change exponentially at longer ranges, but for hunting at 30 yards or less, its not enough to really care about IMO.


On the light end people tend to stick to 5 grains of arrow weight per pound of draw weight. So that would be 300 grains for a 60# bow.

 

[Bowdon]

I have shot 70 lbs with arrows around 400 gr. for years and have blowed through every thing I shot up to elk.

 

[Rothhar1]

I like and get awsome preformance from shooting a 500 grain arrows or just slightly higher out of 70# bows that have factory IBO speeds with 320-up

I also like to shoot around a 450 grain arrow from 60# bows that have factory IBO speeds of 320 and up.


You would not beleive the flight and momentum with rigs like this with the arrows in this weight range .:thumbs_up

 

[Beendare]

You haven't stated draw weight

Okay, so the question I have next is:

How do you best figure out what arrow weight gives the most performance w/o going out and buying dozens of different arrows to shoot? And a chronograph?

What do you all do?

It comes down to trajectory and the tradeoffs involved. A happy medium IMO is 6-7 grains per pound of draw weight. I'm at 6.5

 

[edwarjs4]

Sorry - I know I didn't state my personal draw weight. I was trying to see if the principle applied to both setups - i.e. if roughly 50-75 grains over IBO specs produced similar performance. It seems that it is possible.

My personal draw weight is 60# and I have a 28" DL. I shoot a 2007 Diamond Black Ice. I'm trying to decide what new arrows to purchase, and I thought I would throw this scenario out there to see what you all thought.

Originally, I thought about going to a total weight of around 425 grains. I'm confident that that will get me where I want to go in terms of KE and penetration. But then I was thinking, What if I could go to a little bit lighter arrow, increase the speed, and end up with similar KE figures? I've been playing a lot with a KE calculator, which helped me to think of this question.

 

[BigDaddy1975]

Dont get hung up on weight so much. Choose something that will give you great arrow flight as well.

I have been playing with some combinations of my own trying to find the perfect match between speed and weight and found that some arrows just wont perform with a 125, 145 or 100 that you committed to an arrow.

Most recent tests...

340 Blackhawks wanted 100 grains for optimal flight at 70 pounds has the Katera shooting [email protected] TAW

I wanted to shoot 125's got a good tune but 40 plus accuracy sufferred.

340's Gold Tip love 125's shoot my best groups woth this combo 405 TAW at 70 pounds wanted to shoot 100's lost 12 FPS but gained groups opened up then found "the sweet spot" with 125's

Wanted to shoot 100's

I am underspined with 340's out of my AM35. Still shoots great...was a bugger to tune and carries 100 grains better. I am forcing it to shoot 125's.

 

[im-ocd]

Output depends on the bows involved too

Realistic example, both bows have a 29'' draw:

59# PSE X Force shoots a 340 grain arrow @ 315 FPS = 74.9# KE / .48 momentum.
68# Bowtech SWAT shoots a 430 grain arrow @ 279 FPS = 74.3# KE / .53 momentum.

KE is the same, momentum is about 10% less with the lighter arrow.

I took a high performing 60# bow and compared it to a good performing 70# bow, but I owned the X Force and own the SWAT.

 

[elk country rp]

Soooooooooooo many factors. By any "Formula" the heavier arrow out of the heavier bow will perform better.

That said, should everyone shoot this....not necessarily.

IMO, start with a draw weight you can shoot comfortably. Then select an arrow and broadhead combination that will max out the performance of that setup on the game you are hunting.







...

took the words outta my mouth.
i'm a sucker for KE in the end, though....

 

[SEOBowhntr]

Okay, so the question I have next is:

How do you best figure out what arrow weight gives the most performance w/o going out and buying dozens of different arrows to shoot? And a chronograph?

What do you all do?

Ed,
Send me a PM of what your specific set-up is and I'll give you a few different options arrow and tip that will be specifically spined to your set-up, with some guestimate speeds that will be +/- 5fps from real world in MOST cases.