If so many bowyers recommend 8 to 10 per pound then why.....

[JamesV]

Who would admit a failure because they shot an under weight arrow????????????????????

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by JamesV:
Who would admit a failure because they shot an under weight arrow????????????????????

only the righteous and honorable - all others need not apply.

[KHALVERSON]

Originally posted by JamesV:
Who would admit a failure because they shot an under weight arrow????????????????????

i have enough respect for the bowyer to admit that it was my fault if i knowingly damaged a bow by shooting too light of an arrow
or damaged the bow in another way
i tend to shoot 10-11 grains per pound
and have never had an issue
kevin

Sooner or later every bow I have or had gets dry fired from a split nock or from 'I just screwed up when I drew it'. I would be scared of a bow that was so hot that it would blow up if I screwed up once a great while. My son prefers heavier arrows, not for penetration as much as it brings the arrow up into his sight picture more and keeps his point of aim closer in. Even though he does not split aim, he acknowledges that he can see the arrow.  It has been my experience that I don't like the extra light arrows after shooting heavier arrows out of any given bow, but I found that my extra heavy bows did not care if I was shooting less than 10 grains per pound, the arrows were still plenty heavy anyway, I think it has something to do with the heavy bows not being as efficient as the lighter bows.

[Friend]

Some quite respected trad gangers have already responded. Still keep in mind that the gpp subject continues to be controversial at times and pops up on a frequent basis. Even experts may disagree.

The voice of the last gpp polls significantly contradicts some of the previous advice. See results below.

Poll results after 526 Trad Ganger votes from 06/29/2010

less then 8 ggp 1% (6)
 8 - 9 ggp 9% (48)
 9 - 10 ggp 29% (150)
 10 - 11 ggp 35% (182)
 11 - 12 ggp 16% (86)
 12 - 13 ggp 7% (36)
 more than 13 ggp 3% (18)
 

Poll results after 175 Trad Ganger votes from 10/30/2011

Under 8 ggp 1% (2)
8 - 9 ggp 5% (9)
9 - 10 ggp 28% (49)
10 - 11 ggp 42% (73)
11 - 12 ggp 15% (27)
Over 12 ggp 9% (15)

My intent is to enlighten you to the greatly varied opinions. Your personal confidence is paramount.

Note: Don’t rule out over-all arrow design. For example: one of my set-ups is 560 grains at 30% ultra-EFOC shot from a 55#r.  The other set-up is ~611 grains with 32% Ultra-EFOC  from a 51#’r .  I would typically think that an ~50 grain increase with the same arrow w/exception to a 1” shorter shaft would not even produce discernable penetration. The results are undeniably and convincingly visible. Even shooting a bow 4#’s lighter(51#’s), the results remain impossible to deny.

 You may wish to sincerely consider performing your own testing. While I set-up and plan for the unexpected, I don’t utilize the higher gpp set-up and higher Ultra-EFOC set-up primarily  since the abuse on targets is personally cost prohibitive.

Note: I don’t observe any discernable impact differences to 20 yards from a tuned arrow until I approach a 100 grain delta.
 
It remains imperative that you establish your own personal established confidence.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I think you need to decide what you want out of your arrow and bow.   Are you looking for effiiciency?  Make up a few different weight arrows, chrono them and compare the results with the energy / efficiency calcs from physics 101.  You can extrapolate out to the most efficient set up.   This will leave you with a very heavy arrow with a very high arc'd trajectory.   If you want a heavy arrow with a quiet bow and a reasonable trajectory that is a different arrow set up.  If you want a flat trajectory then a light arrow and a louder bow and possibly some hand shock are the results.  As mentioned,  you have to test and find what works best for your desired results.

I would give some very serious thought to what you really want your arrows and bow to do.   Base it on what you hunt and then find the right arrow to you bow and what you want.   I spent a ton of money before I found the EFOC arrows I wanted.   Search all you want.  Just remember it can be expensive.

[RC]

Years ago you would not get me to shoot under 600 grains from my bows.Then they were 55-60 lbs. Now I shoot near 10 lbs less and almost 100 grains less and shoot thru most every critter I kill. Whodathunkit?RC