arrow weight

[Finch]

I just bought a bow off here and I am pulling 55# at 27 inches.  I am considering the gold tip traditional 5575.  I am figuring about a 28 inch arrow to get the spine right and a 125 grain head with a 100 grain insert.  With 4 inch feathers and the knock that will put my total weight at 500 grains or so.  The bow is shooting about 170 fps.  Will this be heavy enough to hunt with or will it be too light?  The arrows I have now are about 530 grains total but the 500 spine is too weak and I am worried if 500 grains will give me enough kinetic energy for hunting.

[Night Wing]

Shooting 55# with a 500 grain arrow, my answer would be "yes" since you'll be shooting a 9.09 GPP (grains per pound) arrow.

[djohnson]

YES.Just make sure you are tuned properly.The better the arrow flight,the better the efficiency.Put it in the right place and 500grn. will be good for most any game,outside of some African stuff.  

[Ragnarok Forge]

That arrow at that speed will kill any mid size game you shoot at and most larger game in North America.  Couple of thoughts on arrow weight.  First is lighter means a louder bow, not always a good thing.  Second, you are shooting at the bottom end of the preferred weight for trad equipment. Get to light and you can impact the longevity of your bow.  Nothing wrong with where your at for weight just a note it that it is on the light end.  Razor sharp heads and tuning, along with hitting where your looking all trump arrow weight for penetration benefits.

Kinetic energy actually does not provide any meaningful information on or measure of the penetration ability of your arrow.  It is a tool used by compound companies to sell bows.  Penetration for everything from bullets, to bombs is calculated using the momentum energy equation.

[FrankM]

I think that 5575's cut to 28 inches spine closer to 75 than 55. You need to take this into account against your shelf position.

[Finch]

Thanks for the info everybody.  I appreciate it.

[tradtusker]

ya they may go a bit stiff at that, you'l have to see

[Green]

Whatever shaft you choose, start off with longer shafts than you think you will need, then cut no more than 1/4" at a time while tuning until you get the arrow flight/point weight you're looking for.  Use the search feature here for tuning carbons.....tons of good advice/info.

[Lonala]

Try 35 55 if you want to shoot 125s,if not you may need 300 gr. to get around the riser.Witth my 59# NM shelton @27" 55/75s with 300gr is awesome..Aloha Ron

[SlowBowke]

500-550 grain arrows out of my 43 lber dont need a calculator to show results. Dont take that as in insult. Isnt meant as one.

In the 60s and many other decades NO ONE calculated squat and the big game animals died pretty regularly it seems.

Id hunt elk with your set up, NO problem.

Arrows in the 500s and up with a decent trad head are Amazingly efficient killers, out of any legal weight bow.

I went loony tune two years back and made some 625 grain arrows for my 43lb bow. I put grizzlys on the tip and I had to hunt for my arrows in the field or woods on the other side of the deer!

Not REAL sure I liked that LOL.

G. Fred said it best ...IMHO. "Once the head goes through, the arrow is done. It's not like the arrow is going to do a 360 and come back and stab the deer again!" (or something close to that).

When seeing the feathers on the near side of the deer when it takes off, I know my arrowhead went through. I'd prefer that to pass throughs anytime, but Im weird I guess.

Seeing the feathers confirms the hit location for me even if Im POSITIVE I know where I shot the deer. Times have arose that I was wr wrwr wrwrwr wrong about that. Not a good thing.

I'll take all the confirmation I can get!

my preferences only, not meant to say its best for all.

God Bless

[Bobaru]

Finch:

First, Kinetic Energy is as important for traditional bowhunters as it has been in Army Ballistics and rifle hunters for well over a century.  Remember, the laws of physics apply to rifle shooters, compound bow shooters, as well as traditional bowhunters.

Just keep in perspective what it is you want to accomplish and how much Kinetic Energy you need to hunt with.  You won't need as much as some would have you believe.

Second, in my opinion, I would be very careful with the concept of very heavy weight arrows being more effective than lighter arrows.  Many traditional archers think you need 650 grains to hunt with.  If so, how is it that many compound shooters are getting away with about half that?  

Again, you should have some perspective on the issue.  

If your arrows are well tuned to your bow, and your arrows aren't noisy, then you can kill any North American game animal with 55# because it will provide sufficient Kinetic Energy to provide pass throughs on a regular basis.  In fact, a 40# bow with arrows well tuned to it will have enough Kinetic Energy to kill any North American game animal.  Heck, Ted Nugent's wife is shooting Zebras in Africa with 38#.  

So, your 500 grain arrow is fine if it flies well.

[Bobaru]

Finch:  

One more thing.  I believe Gold Tip 5575, are carbon arrows.  It's not practical to start with a long arrow and keep clipping it off and testing it.   I've done that, but you can't glue the insert in until you're done, and that's a problem.

Better solution is to get Stu Miller's Dynamic Spine Calculator off the internet (google it), and find out before hand what is probably a good fit for your bow.  Then fine tune it with head weight.  Anyway, that works best for me.

Good luck

[texbow2]

500gr is more than adequate for your draw wt., especially if we are talking about just for deer. I shoot 55@27 as well and once I get an arrow to 450gr I would rather add to speed vs add to weight for deer as long as they are tuned well and still quiet. If 450gr is effectice for a 45lb bow it is even more effective for a 55lb.

[TxAg]

as everyone has said, you're fine with your set up.  

just an fyi, if you're gona split hairs, take a look at momentum instead of kinetic energy. the equations are below.  kinetic energy gives speed (velocity, really) too much credit since it squares it.


 mv^2/2 = kinetic energy

 mv = momentum