You guys are going to kill me doing for this!!!

[8leg-lover]

Well let's hope not     :rolleyes:    

Okay first my bow,
Snoeshoe Alaskan Trail R/D 60" longbow,RH 51# at my draw-26 3/4" (that I got from an awesome Tradgang gentleman from Saskatchewan)

Here's what I did(I can't believe I'm fessing up to this). I took an Easton Axis 500(yes that's only 8.1 grains per inch)double inserts in front,cut down to 29",added a 125 gr field point and went out to bare shaft it. I was amazed! This thing flew like a dart! I started at 10 then to 15 on out to 20 yards bareshafting. My bow was quiet,shock free, and seemed to love this arrow.I went back in and added three RW 4" parabolic feathers put on straight with a slight offset with a Jo-Jan.It shot even better. I then replaced the field point with a 125 gr Razorcap broadhead. It flew excellent at all distances. It's said that you should not go under 8 gr per pound. I'm 51# X 8 gpp= 408gr arrow min. My finished arrow wieghs in at 410gr. How did this work???!!! Why does my bow like this arrow so much more than heavier ones? No vibration,no hand shock, no string twanging, quiet as a church mouse. Am I flirting with certain bow death? Or should I trust what my eyes and my bow are telling me? Experts please respond!!! I can't sleep!

Can't wait to chrono it!

Carl

[Chuck Hoopes]

Did you hear about the guy who fell off a 20 story building, and was heard to say as he was passing the 3rd floor- "So far, so good!"
  Sorry, just had to say it-- I don't really know if you are really tempting fate or not.  Others will surely chime in, who likely have a better sense of just how much risk you are running. Personally, I think Modern laminated glass bows are alot more durable than most people are willing to credit them with-- this may because traditionalist seem to always error on the side of caution.  This said, why don't you just try a 500gr. arrow and see how it flies-- speed is not all its cracked up to be anyway.  Good luck- sounds like you made a good find. Congrats!

[Igor]

I'm no expert but from what I know most bowyers recommend 8 or more grains per lbs and you are there and my experience tells me every bow is a little different when it comes to arrow weight.

><>

Chief

[Bruce Martin]

I think the 10 gpp guideline is for a hunting arrow and penetration purposes on crittters, not necessarily a requirement for good flight/tuning issues. So, your present setup should be great for targets and with a very sharp broadhead should be fine for thin-skinned animals. However, many would want a bit more weight to the arrow for thicker skinned animals to be on the safer side. You should be able to tune a heavier arrow for equally great bare shaft/fletched arrow flight. Check out the recent threads on enhanced FOC for arrow flight with light carbon shafts but heavy forward weight.

[glass76]

Interesting, would like to hear what others have to say.

[hill boy]

Arrow weight has more to do with penetration and effectivness on game then tuning although not limited to that specifically.There are normally more than one combination that will shoot well out of any given bow.I would certainly up the weight to put the odds more favorable for hunting conditions.You could do this by adding a 125gr brass insert to that arrow and if it lessens the spine to much either cut the arrow shorter if possible or go to the next heavier spined arrow which you can add wieght or length or both to get the proper spine.Some people have a hunting arrow and a shooting arrow but I prefer to shoot my hunting arrows at all times.I will say based on the arrow your shooting and the specs on your bow the arrow you have described should shoot well.You will get a thousand opinions on arrow weight but most hunters who consistantly take game will tell you wieght is your friend.  

[skarcher]

Sometimes I wonder if it's as important as some people think. I shot cedar's for a couple years and didn't have a scale so really didn't know how heavy they were. They shot great & bow was quiet. Finially got around to weighing them and found that they were actually quite light - a little less that 8 GPI with that bow.

Makes me wonder how many other people are out there that really have no idea about their arrow weight, especially with wood.

Have since experimented with up to 12 GPI and really haven't found it to make any difference, at least on deer sized game. I suspect that your finely tuned arrow will perform just fine. I know they have for me at 8 GPI

[Roy Steele]

If your bow will shoot it and arrow weights not a problem to you.By all means shoot it.I build and shoot lots of selfbows.And I've had bows shoot arrows that they should'nt.But the bows liked them so I shot them.