[Scat1996]

Question for you guys. I have been playing with my Bowtech Realm X. Not quite sure what setup i should go with based on the speeds im getting out of it. Here are the specs. 70# 28" draw bow. Performance setting. Shooting Black Eagle Rampage arrows with Brass HIT inserts. All the speeds were measured using my LabRadar.

arrow wt pt wt speed IBO speed
599g 200g 242fps 348 fps
549g 150g 252fps 341 fps
524g 125g 258fps 339 fps

Initially i was a little disappointed on the speed, but looking at the IBO calc, its right where it should be-ish. I put a nominal 10g of bow string wt with a peep and loop. might be a little low, but increasing it only increases the IBO, so this would be worst case.

Now the question is, for out west elk hunting, which combo would you use? I had wanted to be right at 600g which is what I was shooting for when i ordered everything (didn't miss the mark to bad with 599g!). As I started sighting in the bow, i was noticing how much drop i was getting as i go out the range. Its just more than i really want with having to shoot from anywhere from 20ish out to 80 plus yards.

Any thoughts?

 

[pottergreg]

Not sure what you re posting here speed wise, the first row 599g is the total arrow weight right? 200 grains is the weight of the broad head? 242 is the speed in fps? what is the second speed of 348? Thats a mighty fast 599 grain arrow. All 3 would work, what about spine, you can't just add point weight to the same shaft unless you are way under spined with the 125 grain heads. I would see which one tunes the best, it's all about accuracy/tune. If you are worried about drop at 80 yards, get a good range finder

 

[Dale_B1]

Use what ever works the best for you with ACCURACY. They all will work, shot placement is everything. IMHO pick one, sight in, practice accuracy. Then enjoy your hunt.

 

[deadquiet]

My thoughts are online calculators are a ball park guess at best and don't show how the bow will, shoot, sound or tune it's just a wild guess at what the speed my be. To a well rounded bow hunter speed is just another piece of the puzzle not the holy grail it is to others.

What I would do is get an arrow that has enough spine for the heaviest point and then shoot the bow. See how it sounds and shoots with the different points going from heavier to lighter and then compare the trajectory differences at the longest yardages you will hunt at.

For "me" I have noticed I like about 8 GPP so for you that's 560 grains.....if the bow is still really quiet and you want more speed drop the arrow weight...….at some point (and everyone is different) you will reach a point where the bow sounds louder and the speed causes the broad heads (if fixed) to get less forgiving, and penetration starts to drop off as well...…..and even that's very subjective.

We all know you could be successful with a 350 grain arrow as well...…..so it is the subtle things that change....to some the changes are worth it to others they don't see the value...…..we can't tell you what you will like just by looking at numbers.

 

[Scat1996]

The second speed is an IBO conversion. Initially I was disappointed in the speed and wanted to check it against what the bow was “supposed” to be shooting. As it turns out. It’s right in the money for the advertised speed of the bow. So I don’t have anything “wrong”. The arrow is a 250 spine black eagle rampage. So plenty of arrow for the weight.

And it’s not drop at range as far as misjudging range goes. It’s literally the spread of the pins in the sight to cover from 20 - 80 yds. I was sighting my pins at 20-35-50-65-75. The 20 is almost at the top and the 50 is dead center. But based on the gaps I think I might run out of room with the 600g arrow at 242 FPS

That’s when I started playing with the other weights to see what it would give me as far as speed goes.

But as I pull front weight I effect FOC and as you said start putting myself in and over spined condition potentially.

All that can be tuned out but the better setup is the heavier setup for that arrow. Just trying to not have to buy another set of shafts.

Not sure what you re posting here speed wise, the first row 599g is the total arrow weight right? 200 grains is the weight of the broad head? 242 is the speed in fps? what is the second speed of 348? Thats a mighty fast 599 grain arrow. All 3 would work, what about spine, you can't just add point weight to the same shaft unless you are way under spined with the 125 grain heads. I would see which one tunes the best, it's all about accuracy/tune. If you are worried about drop at 80 yards, get a good range finder

 

[Scat1996]

The online conversion to IBO wasn’t supposed to be a be all and end all. I’m not concerned with it. I only listed it as initially I was disappointed with the speed. If I had posted that I thought it was slow, I’m sure someone would have posted that IBO conversion and said I’m right on the money for the bow.

Now it’s trying to decide how to deal with the pin spread in my sight for the give ranges that I want my pins at to cover the likely shooting situations

My thoughts are online calculators are a ball park guess at best and don't show how the bow will, shoot, sound or tune it's just a wild guess at what the speed my be. To a well rounded bow hunter speed is just another piece of the puzzle not the holy grail it is to others.

What I would do is get an arrow that has enough spine for the heaviest point and then shoot the bow. See how it sounds and shoots with the different points going from heavier to lighter and then compare the trajectory differences at the longest yardages you will hunt at.

For "me" I have noticed I like about 8 GPP so for you that's 560 grains.....if the bow is still really quiet and you want more speed drop the arrow weight...….at some point (and everyone is different) you will reach a point where the bow sounds louder and the speed causes the broad heads (if fixed) to get less forgiving, and penetration starts to drop off as well...…..and even that's very subjective.

We all know you could be successful with a 350 grain arrow as well...…..so it is the subtle things that change....to some the changes are worth it to others they don't see the value...…..we can't tell you what you will like just by looking at numbers.