Broad head grains????

[uffda]

When I made the switch from compound to traditional, I just carried over the 125 grain tips/broad heads.  My recurves are in that 53#-55# range and longbow at the same.  I assume that the same spined arrows would work for both recurves and longbow, someone please correct me if I am wrong.  Should I be shooting heavier field points/broad heads?  What do most guys shoot for grains on a 28" arrow?  How much is too much? 
Thanks.

[Orion]

The same spine arrows may not work for both recurve and longbow.  Depends on how much each is center cut, type of string they have, bow design as well.  They may work, but also a good chance they won't.

9-10 grains of arrow grain weight per pound of draw weight is a fairly standard formula for determining arrow weight. So, given your bow poundage, that's about a 500-550 grain arrow.  That being said, I like heavier arrows, more like 11-12 gpp. Too, I like a higher foc, (front of center) balance point, which generally requires a heavier point. 

Nothing at all wrong with 125 grain heads.  They've killed a lot of critters over the centuries.  Nowadays, though, it's not uncommon to see folks shooting 300-400 grains up front. Some of that weight may be in the form of the point adaptor and/or shaft insert.

You'll just have to do a bit of experimenting to see what works best for you.

[McDave]

You're going to find many different opinions on this, none of which are necessarily wrong.  When I was younger and hunted a lot more than I do now, 125 grain broadheads seemed to be the norm, and nobody worried about it that much.  Now, due in large part to studies of penetration done by Dr. Ashby and confirmed by the subsequent experience of others, people are using more weight up front to get better penetration.  Some of this can be obtained without increasing the overall arrow weight by combining a heavier point with a lighter shaft.  For example, my current hunting arrow has 220 grains up front combined broadhead and insert, on a Victory VAP shaft.  This is actually lighter weight overall than the arrow I was using 20 years ago with a 125 grain broadhead.  So all things being equal, I should get the same or flatter trajectory today with my 220 grains up front than I used to get with approx 140 grains up front.  (Of course, all things are not equal, starting with my loss of strength over the last 20 years, but it's nice to know that improvements in equipment can help offset at least a part of that).  My gpp for my hunting setup is just under 9 gpp.

I shoot a totally different setup for 3D tournaments, which optimizes my ability to shoot 100 arrows in a day as opposed to maybe a dozen in a day hunting, including practice shots.  Point weight is not important when shooting 3D, other than wanting to exceed 10% FOC for accuracy purposes, which I can get with 90 grains up front combined point and insert weight.  My gpp hovers around 8 gpp for my 3D setup.

[Alexander Traditional]

Depends on what your spine is. I've never been able to get that light to work,and be ok on my gpi.

[uffda]

What are the thoughts on Grizzlystik arrows?

[F. Dobbs]

What type of arrow?  Wood, aluminum or carbon?

[uffda]

Carbon.  I think that I am going to order the spine set from 3 Rivers that gives you a 300,400,500, and 600 arrow.  That way I will have them to test my or others shooting with me.

[GCook]

Good plan.  The folks there at 3Rivers will be willing to help you out as well.

[MnFn]

I shoot mostly wood arrows with 160 grn broad heads, they end up around 530+grns.

With carbon express 150, 50-100 grain inserts with 160 grn heads depending on bows.  They worked with 48 to 53 lb bows.