why such heavy arrows?

[country roads]

help me understand why it is advised to shoot a heavy 600+ grain total arrow out of my 53# longbow the compound shooter in me says speed kills and velocity is the begining of kenetic energy so will it hurt my bow to shoot a 450 grain arrow including 125 grain broadhead and get flatter tradjectory as long as it is shooting straight and tuning right? new at this trad stuff but love shooting it is the most addictive thing i have done dont recall wanting to shoot my top of the food chain bow this much.

[Spectre]

Dood, 8 to 10 grains per pound of draw weight is the accepted number, so at 10 you are sitting at a 530 grain arrow.
 That and weight in an arrow causes very much energy, too----a sports car going 100 will screw up a wall pretty bad, but, a Mack truck going 60 will obliterate it.

[Javi]

In general a good rule of thumb for hunting is to shoot 10 grains per pound of draw weight.. so at 53 lbs you would shoot a 530 grain arrow… That isn’t to say thay you can’t shoot less, but you’ll find that the heavier arrow is quieter and more forgiving than a lighter arrow.. Weight and FOC equal penatration, speed is secondary..

As for comparing the traditional bow to a compound, forget all you think you know and listen to the old timers..  they know things…   :D

[Arwin]

I think a 450 would be fine on whitetails but upping to 475 if you wanna stay light would be better. You could use a 150 grain head.

 I like 10 grains per pound of draw weight and a little more for thick animals like hogs.

 A heavier arrow will make your bow way more quiet and tends to be easier on the limbs.

 We traditional people don't have the speed factor so we make up for it with kinetic energy. A 375 grain arrow from a compound may have adequate penetration while the same arrow from a traditional bow would more than likely get marginal penetration compared to the wheels.

 In most cases with a great performing trad bow your looking at under 200fps(more in the neighborhood of 180 fps). A little more than half of what todays wheelies shoot.

[Robert Honaker]

Been at it a while. May ruffle some feathers, but I kill a bunch of deer with 450gr  arras out of a 53lb bow.

You're at 8.5gr per pound you're fine.

As long as you are tuned and arras flying like lasers.  Go hunt.

[straitera]

Dumptruck & volkswagon are both going 30mph. Which stops faster? Why? The heavier dumptruck is harder to slow down because of the extra mass in motion. Arrows are the same. There is a point of diminishing returns however. Generally, 10gpp is sufficient to eliminate that concern however. Medieval crossbows were deadly shooting iron bolts which could pierce body armor. Wood not so much.

[Robert Honaker]

This is what a 430gr arra will do out of a 54lb bow, with a three blade BH.

 

 

 

[sawtoothscream]

ke really doesnt mean much in archery, firearms yes. you want momentum. heavier arrows will get higher momentum and momentum is what causes the arrow to push through.  take a light fast arrow and shoot a slower heavier arrow next to it. the heavier one will penetrate more.  

i have a short dl and shooting a bow thats about 43# at my dl and even with my 560 gr arrows its pretty flat and it isnt horrible with my 600+ gr arrows ethier at 25yds. but the penetration is better and thats waht  i want.   light weight+ slower speed=  high risk of problem IMO

that being said 450 gr out of your bow should work for white tails at normal hunting distance

[Robert Honaker]

470GR OUT OF A 56LB BOW.
Exit..only feathers left in it. Entered behind right shoulder, angled and came out here. Walking 21yd shot.
   

   

[Jerry Jeffer]

Bleeding is what kills in archery. Not fast arrows, not heavy arrows. Sharp as heck broad heads and well placed shots.

[Robert Honaker]

Jerry Jeffer...absolutely perfectly said.

[Robert Honaker]

Where you at in TN  country roads?

[MarkE2006]

What Javi said.
Look up and read some of Dr. Ashby's reports on arrow penetration.  As far as penetrating power goes; 600+ grains and heavy to extreme F.O.C. work magic.  That 10 grains per pound is a golden rule of thumb, and 11 to 12 are better.  The bow benefits from the absorbed energy.  The hunter benefits from a quiet release.  The arrow benefits from greater forgiveness.

[tg2nd]

The heavier arrow will have more penetration. but no need for overkill.

[crotch horn]

You don't need a heavy arrow when you shoot well, but they are a big benefit on marginal hits. You will get a lot of different answers & I won't say any are wrong. I shoot 51lbs & 580 grain arrow with 325 up front. I only know that this setup shoots great for me. Passthrough on my black bear. Good luck.

[Apex Predator]

Alot of 125 grain broadheads are a good bit more fragile than the heavier ones.  When everything is perfect, you don't need the extra horsepower that heavy arrows, and lots of FOC provide.  I Prefer the heavier ones myself (12-13 gpp).

[Balding Kansan]

Do a search for the Ashby reports. It's kinda of tough to follow with all the physics terms, but you'll get the idea.

[treetoppredator]

I just switched from easton axis 500's with a 100 grain broadhead (400 gpi) to beeman mfx 400's with a 200 grain broadhead (600 gpi) and really noticed the speed loss.  With that said, my bow shoots quiter, has virtually no hand shock and the arrow seems easier to shoot accurate.  At first the speed loss was eating at me, but I'm taking all the advice on the forum and gonna try it out this fall.  Weight equalls penetration I'm told!  Can,t wait to loose some of em'!  

[prh]

Power is useless without control,and a razor sharp broadhead.

[Jim Wright]

Animals are not dispatched by speed or kinetic energy no matter what commercial archery manufacturers claim. If their claims were true they would be ashamed for marketing and selling such woefully slow and inadequate compounds bows starting with last years "must have" at the time models and getting worse and worse as you check back just a few short years. For that matter based on speed, their new crossbows have enough to make compounds and trad bows alike obsolete and that should be obvious by noticing how many states have replaced their archery seasons with crossbow seasons. Thankfully, so far they still allow us to shoot archery equipment if we choose to be technology challenged. Is'nt it great that Archery manufacturers working alongside the N.R.A. are working so hard to involve more sportsmen in hunting?