arrow weight concerns

[canadian]

I have been tuning my new Caribow Silverfox and now have a set up that smokes an arrow.  The spine seems to be bang on during my bare shaft tuning.  My problem is the finished arrow only weighs 522gr.  I have never shot an arrow for hunting less than 600gr.  I hunt alot of moose so I am concerned about penitration.  I shoot 56#@29.5", and the arrows are Carbon express Heritage 250 with a 150gr point.  Is this too light for moose?

[Whip]

I'm not the one to tell you if your set up is adequate for moose or not.  It does seem to be a bit light based on comments of others I've seen here, but I'm betting there are a lot of dead moose that would argue otherwise!  

You could add a 100 grain brass insert.  But it might affect the spine enough to cause arrow flight problems.  Are the shafts long enough that they could be cut down to compensate for extra weight up front?

Another option might be adding weight to the shaft itself with weight tubes or some of the other home remedies like weed wacker line, etc. that are often suggested.

One thing I do know for sure - I would not sacrifice good arrow flight for more weight.  If you have perfect arrow flight it will do more for penetration than extra weight will.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

If 522 grains is too light, the bull on my wall never got the memo. My first arrow blew right through both his lungs and flew off into the cut over. He trotted a short distance, turned broadside again and looked back, so I put a second one completely through him (that's two complete pass throughs back to back). I kept the first arrow, after I eventually found it. On my digital scale it weighs 499 grains.

[Night Wing]

Shooting a 522 grain arrow out of a 56# bow gives you a 9.32 GPP (grains per pound) arrow. In my opinion, I think this is more than enough arrow grain weight wise to take down a moose.

I say this because when I met the legendary bowhunter, Fred Bear in person when I was 14 years old (1964), Fred was shooting a 585 grain arrow out of his 65# recurve which makes his arrow right at 9.0 GPP (grains per pound).

Although Fred's poundage is 9# more than your bow, Fred told me "speed" also kills.

Just wait for the moose to turn broadside for a lung shot at 20 yards or less and you'll have meat in the freezer.

[lpcjon2]

Sharp heads placed correctly and BAM! dead moose.

[BWD]

GT screw in weights would give you a little more weight, and in my experience they do not weaken the shaft quite as much as adding extra weight, grain for grain, all the way on the front, such as a heavier broadhead. If you added 50grs. and had to trim your shaft, from the nock end, it should be 1/4" at the most.
That is, if your mind won't let you believe you have enough weight already.

[pdk25]

Nice to hear from someone with actual experience, Jason.

[wingnut]

Although I like a bit more arrow weight for larger animals (moose, elk, caribou etc)many folks shoot 9 gpp and do very well.  

The most important thing is that the arrow is flying perfect with a SHARP broadhead.

After that it's just butcher and pack mule time.

Mike

[JamesKerr]

Just use a Scary Sharp broadhead and you should  be good to go.

[Bill Carlsen]

You are going to get better all around performance from a lighter arrow that is shooting straight than a heavier arrows that isn't. Since nothing seems to be broken don't try to fix it. Shooting straight trumps everything else as long as your broadheads are  razor sharp.

[canadian]

Thanks for the input guys, it is greatly appreciated.
Murph