Heavy arrows

[pktm]

I'm shooting a 54@26 recurve and I'm using 400 Easton Camo Full Metal Jacket shafts, I'm using Beman 75 grain brass inserts and 125 grain tips, so I'm getting about 500 grains. Is this considered a "heavy" arrow.

The recurve is a Toelke Chinook. So far real happy with the way it's shooting these arrows. Just planning on using this setup for a Adirondack Bear hunt and I want to get as much into the arrow as I can.

[bushytail]

I`m shooting a (newer style)Bear Super Kodiak 50#@28.Arrows are Herritage 250`s with 100gr.brass inserts,200gr.points.Total arrow wt.around 650gr.They fly nice.I think your at a happy medium wt.You should have no problems as long as you hit the right spot.Some guys shoot arrows over 700gr.I`d say that`s a heavy arrow.Good luck on your hunt.

[Richie Nell]

No.... 500 grains is not heavy.
Yes... you probably will be Ok if you "hit the right spot"..but then again who knows if you are gonna hit the right spot so that statement is irrelevant.  A field point is good enough if you new you were gonna hit the right spot.
You don't know because alot of it is our of your control.  Capitalize on what you can control by increasing your chances on bad shots.  Heavy bow and heavy arrows for the shot that hits the wrong spot...and it will.

[bmb]

your arrows are fine. i used a 525gr. arrow( xx75 2018's with 100gr. heads) out of a 44# hoyt gamemaster2 and got a pass-thru on a 145# hog..18yd shot.

but i also got a hole on both sides of a 128# hog using beman 500's with a 100gr. head..total weight..387grs....no matter the arrow weight i always use EXTREMELY sharp magnus stingers.

[George D. Stout]

A heavy arrow hitting the wrong spot is a bad arrow in a bad spot, and you will not be happy with the outcome.    500 grains is not light, by any stretch of the imagination, and is plenty ample for any game in North America, including elk and moose.  The best thing you can do is to make sure they are flying perfectly, and have a horribly sharp broadhead on the end.  Arrow flight means more than anything else, and will override most everything else.

[Steve B.]

George,

What are your thoughts on heavy vs. light?  Are you a proponent of "heavy as possible" or do you really not care as long as arrows fly true?

thanks,
Steve

[George D. Stout]

I consider anything over 8 grains per pound as adequate.  I personally like my arrows around 9 grains or just tad more per pound of bow weight. That gives me the best combination of speed and mass.  A person may well be happy with 650 grains on a 45 pound bow, but to tell someone else that it's the only way to go is wrong. Somewhere you reach a point  of diminishing returns...where you are not getting back the results for your input.

Bowhunters were shooting through elk, moose, deer and bear, long before this heavy arrow mindset came along.  Jack Howard loved the 2114 alumninum with 125/140'ish grain broadheads.  Jack put down lots of elk, bear, mulies, et al, with a lot of pass through shots.  That arrow was just barely over 500 grains, and Jack shot bows in the 60 pound range.  


The bottom line is what has worked in the past, and has worked well, is not now ineffective, or obsolete for some reason.  It's okay to suggest, or give your opinion, but let it know that it is just that.  One only needs to revisit the past to see what has been effective.

If a person is using 700 grain arrows on their 50 pound bow, and is accurate with them, then by all means they should stay with that.  The next guy may prefer 450 grains out of that 50 pound bow, and they will kill game just as dead.
It's all about quality broadheads, perfect arrow flight, and hitting the vitals more than anything else.

[J-dog]

The other day I was thinking about how I used to just get an arrow setup - with a sharp BHd on the end flying right, and went and hunt. Did good too amazingly. I though grains was just regulated to the BHd you used!
Now with the internet and all I found myslef getting caught up with EFOC, 650 grain arrows, single bevels, 2 blade vs. 3, and all that jazz.
If you have confidence in what you shoot and it is flying right as George stated, it will probably blow through and North Amercan game.

Have learned a ton over the internet but also am learning not to get to caught up in all of it.

J

[Ragnarok Forge]

Hmm,

Seems to me that the laws of physics have not changed recently.  A mass in motion tends to stay in motion.  A heavy mass in motion stays in motion longer.  A heavy mass traveling at a slower speed will still penetrate better than a lighter mass until a certain velocity ( very slow ) is reached.  Not opinion, facts based in science.  

Testing has shown that arrows over 650 grain will break bone and increase penetration.  They also penetrate thru a lot more soft or rought tissue.  Again fact supported thru real world testing.  

Every serious hunter I know will admit to having made a bad shot or two in their life and most of those ended in a lost animal. Experts figure 1 in 3 archery shots is a bad shot with a lost animal.

I for one plan for less than perfect shots and ensure that I will not loose an animal due to poor penetration. The real key is for you to shoot arrows that  shoots accurately for you, and to make sure you only take shots you know you can hit the kill zone with.  Only you can determine what that ethical shot distance and angle is.

[J-dog]

Toelke, you are shooting about my setup except mine is 55@28. I shoot 400 axis shafts 100 grain steel adapter and 160 grain grizzlys, prolly more like 145s after moding them. I get I think 550 grains out of this? maybe 500 had it figured but can't remember. I know if I try for 650 (goal) in this 400 arrow my flight will be horrible.


If they are flying right - stick with what you have. I am going to try a 340 axis soon and try to reach 650. Just cause I want to, not because my setup now will not kill.

Do not get me wrong the reports are super valuable info - but I have killed many critters with just arrows that had no thought process placed into grains/weight or EFOC.

J

[Bill Carlsen]

My wife shoots about 45# @ 26" and her arrows are 500 grains. She has 200 grains up front and gets pass thrus on bear using four blade heads. You are shooting even more weight and I believe that your arrows are more than adequate. In reality, if you use an arrow with a heavy head, like yours, and the arrow is flying straight you should be able to kill anything that comes your way. Good straight arrow flight is more important, IMO, than the final weight of the shaft.

[James Wrenn]

Depends on what you are hunting and who you talk to.    I just hunt deer and hogs.I consider 500gns to be about perfect weight and heavy for those animals.No matter what bow weight I might be shooting unless it was to quiten an otherwise noisy bow I would never have a need to shoot anything heavier.So I do consider 500gns heavy.

[Apex Predator]

If you are shooting marginal draw weights for your intended game, then a heavier arrow with high forward of center balance will give you more killing power.  This I firmly believe.  I shoot fairly light bows and have always shot really heavy arrows (14 gpp).  Just recently I have been playing with an arrow that is around 10.5 gpp and liking the results.  They are still 24% FOC, which I like bunches.

[Don Stokes]

I like for my arrows to be on the heavy side for the bow I'm shooting, for the quietening effect. It' all relative to the bow, though. Some bow types shoot heavier arrows better, some don't.

I agree with George- perfect flight and truly sharp broadheads trump every other consideration.

[Steertalker]

ToelkeMan,

Sounds like you are shooting a perfectly tuned arrow to me.  Your arrow is 9.26 grs/lb which is just about right.  I try to stay in the 9.5-9.6 grs/lb range.  Anything over that is too heavy.

If your arrows are hitting the mark (with BH's) and flying perfectly....you're good to go!

Brett

[pktm]

Thanks guys

Arrows are flying real nice, including broadheads. I was curious as to how my setup rated. I thought it was a good balance between the light and heavy.