Is my arrow too light?

[George D. Stout]

Bill is pretty much on in his view.  There is room for a lot of experimenting and it can be much fun....and very enlightening.   As long as you aren't trying to shove your philosophy down someone elses' throat, you will get along fine.
As mentioned, those diminishing returns will show up on either end; too light, and you have noise, vibration, and perhaps penetration issues.
If you have too much, you will have loss of power, excessive trajectory and diminished performance, rather than better.

There is a happy medium for each of us....you decide.  My arrows have not changed in five decades, as far as fronts-of-center goes, and my arrows don't lack on the penetration side and my point-on is out about fifty-five'ish yards.  That's my happy medium, and it is always supported by a bloody arrow sticking in the dirt on the far side of a mature whitetail, or a four for twenty at fifty-five yards.    

[Don Stokes]

The no. 1 thing to strive for is perfect arrow flight. Everything else is optional window dressing. At your arrow weight, you have nothing to worry about.

[BradLantz]

"light" is a relevant term

to wheelie shooters it means 350 grains and less

for a 85# longbow shooter going after water buffalo I imagine under 1000 grains is light


read Ashby's reports, as it currently sits I'm a huge believer in weighted carbons, high FOC front, big 2 blade single bevel heads ( I shoot a Steel Force right now, 225) and my total wieght is about 680 I think out of a 53# Zipper bow

I blew threw and buried 8" deep in the off ground on the buck i shot this year

[amicus]

Jethro21,

If your happy with your setup and the way your arrows are flying you should be ok. If your goal is to get the higest foc you can shoot with your set up, you have a lot room to play with. Im shooting 60lb at my 29" draw. I have 400 grains up front with a total arrow weight of 730 grains. I love the way my arrows fly, straight and hard. If it were me I would go heavier not because you need to but because you can. And its a lot fun. Good Luck

Gilbert

[James on laptop]

With the weight you are shooting and your draw length I would not even worry about putting broadheads on the arrows.     The arrow is plenty heavy and the performance you get with those long arms makes worring about foc just a bit silly.  

[bmb]

try this- my setup is a 44# recurve with........a 390gr. arrow..yes, that is the total weight, 100 gr. broadhead included. on top of that i have a 26" draw! but my 2 blade broadheads slip right thru deer and into the dirt behind them. your setup is fine. EFOC is just something that'll make you worry yourself.

[Jethro21]

Thanks for the imput guys. I was just thinking that 9ggp is the "bottom" for arrow weight and I was thinking maybe I was too close to that. That is just beginner stupidity I guess. I am pretty confident that 585gr is plenty of weight, but I don't think I had been influenced by the FOC craze. I didn't know what standard or average FOC was...so now that I know, I am peachy and hoping for an elk tag this season.

Jethro

[twitchstick]

Fred eichler, I just watch take his 29 th north american big game animal @ "just under 500 gr" as he said. Man 29 differant speices of animals.

[Quinn]

If your arrows are flying well, and apparently they are, leave it alone. You're structurally safe at over 9gr/in and your total shaft weight is good. As far as foc goes, that whole thing hasn't been completely settled.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Bill Carlsen:
Despite the fact that I prefer heavier FOC I believe that a straight shooting arrow trumps all the other factors involved in penetration as long as the bh is sharp.  I've killed plenty of stuff before I discovered EFOC. If your arrows are shooting straight I wouldn't worry about anything. If you are a tinkerer and like playing with stuff then do some experimenting but there is nothing "wrong" with what you have.

bill's right on the money.        

gpp, foc, efoc, lmnop, and etc are well and good, and surely might be an advantage if approached correctly.  

it's the basics that take the majority of game - good flying arrow with a sharp broadhead that's well placed to the spot.  

improving on the basics, for you, can also a good thing.  maybe.

[ishoot4thrills]

Originally posted by Jim Curlee:
Why does everybody turn archery into a physics project?
Grab a bow grab some arrows, and go have fun.
Do you guys realize that when you add weight up front, you soften the spine of the arrow? This is why guys shooting 50 lb bows are shooting 80+lb shafts.
Also the rule of thumb was: 8-10 grains of arrow weight for every pound of bow weight.
When my arrow zips through a deer, he-she has no idea what the FOC is!
Jim

Jim,

There's nothing wrong with people trying to get the maximum capability out of their bow/arrow combination. It's a proven fact that an arrow with EFOC maximizes penetration and tends to make arrows fly better than ones that aren't as heavy on the front end, thus, making them easier to tune. EFOC just makes your arrow zip through that deer a little bit easier. Nothing wrong with a little experimenting to find out what works best out of a person's bow setup.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Jim Curlee:
Why does everybody turn archery into a physics project?

well, not exactly everybody, but i hear yer point.

Grab a bow grab some arrows, and go have fun.

yep, for sure!  however, with killing in mind, ya gotta make sure ya know fairly well what yer doing with respect to gear - not everyone does.

Do you guys realize that when you add weight up front, you soften the spine of the arrow? This is why guys shooting 50 lb bows are shooting 80+lb shafts.

your statement is NOT at all true, it's a generality at best.  

with over 400 grains at the front end of my 'spineless' beman 500 ics 29.5" 685 grain carbons, and 55# longbow, i can tell ya that i have no weak spine issues and my arrow flight is straight and wiggle free out to 35 yards.
 
Also the rule of thumb was: 8-10 grains of arrow weight for every pound of bow weight.

still is, for me.

When my arrow zips through a deer, he-she has no idea what the FOC is!

yup, no better truth be told.  so just enjoy what works for you and don't even bother thinking about gpp, foc, efoc, lmnop and etc.

i'm open to all thoughts that might make my bowhunting better.  so i at least look into things like efoc, high gpp and skinny strings.  maybe even try some out, and then make up my own mind what works and what don't.  for me, high gpp, efoc and skinny strings ADDS to my shooting & bowhunting.  nothing wrong with that at all.  to each their own.

....

[cacciatore]

I think that progress in civilisation comes from trials, experiments and comparisons then you will decide what is better for you,here are few decads of experiences and differents but valid points of view.

[Terry Green]

Absolutely not too light.  I've been shooting that weight for years  out of bow specs similar to yours in energy.

No worries at all. I'll email you a link later.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Jack Whitmire Jr:
If they are flying perfect/tuned it will kill anything on the North American Continent IMO and what ever is standing on the other side of it with proper shot placement.

Yeah. What he said too.