quote "At 45#'s heavy arrows will be difficult to shoot at any distant due to significant drop." unquote
Devil's advocate here.
Kinda depends on what "any distance" means to the bowhunter as well.
Turn back the pages of time a few decades and your "low poundage" bow would be at least the "norm" as still is for many old timers.
Why? Becuase they work at what most of us consider normal bowhunting ranges and generally we shoot them more accurately.
IMHO, the BIGGEST mistake a new trad archer, wheelie converts especially, make is too much bow.
Bow weight and draw length have been, again IMHO is a result of the wheelie genertion for the most part, heralded as something some feel they must have and I have sat by and watched archers draw WAY past what once was a normal anchor with bows at least 10 lbs more then they SHOULD shoot (going by the difficulty they had and poor groups).
A great many of them quit and went back to wheel bows.
I'm six foot and have drawn 28 inches for the entirety of my adult life (age 58)and one only has to look at collectable arrows to see that this length was pretty common.
Weigh a spine appropriate fiberglass arrow with standardly used heads from the past and recall that these WORKED for literally hundreds of thousands of hunters, yours truly included as well as literally every single one of my local buds.
I know, the younger generation will poo poo the thoughts and contemplations of us of LONG time bowhunting......yet know answer me this.
Why......when the past has shown us over and over and over again, that something worked, worked very well, and the majority of hunters used them 30-40 years ago taking uncountable numbers of big game....WHY is it that they are "now" minimal?
WHAT SINGLE FACTOR of that equation has changed?
The shooter.....
We have better arrow componants, even more efficient bows yet somehow??? the weights of yesteryear are labeled "borderline".
When "wondering what will or wont work" does not the recorded in many ways history of literally millions of game taken in the past not have credibility?
Am I putting DOWN the "bigger and faster is better" philosophy? Oh heck no. More is more yet let me say this.
"NORMAL" bowhunting ranges for most trad shooters is UNDER (mostly considerably under) 25 yards.
It will certainly WORK at longer ranges but the eye to eye, one on one confrontation is a great part of our sport, and at least to me, a good part of what bowhunting is all about, sans even the equipment we all love and share.
I've a new to me, 46lb longbow, same age as I that I have been blessed to find and purchase.
There does NOT EXIST a deer in the world that this bow will not CLEANLY take at ranges WAY beyond my capabilites.......and I will say I'm as good a long range bow shot as any I know locally (but hate saying so) but PREFER 20 and under shots.
Trajectory? What trajectory? I have said this many times and will many times more, probably just as fruitlessly, that if you shoot the same weight arrows for any length of time at various unknown ranges, trajectory is COMPLETELY moot. IGNORE IT.
Proof in said pudding is that I shoot 600+ grain arrows, some pushing 700 grains out of 42, 43 and will the above 46lber as well.
Slow? Probably. Trajectory? Probably a lot. Do I notice or "compensate" for such? Uhhh, no. Work? oh yes my friends IN SPADES.
Do I think YOU need to shoot such heavy arrows? Nope, stictly my preference and is such from seeing what truly heavy arrows give ME which is penetration even when many will tell me that "no it wont". Been there, done that. Enough said.
A decent head, a sharp one, on arrows far lighter than I WOULD SHOOT will "work" placed specifically FOR light weight arrows.
Pick the arrow weight YOU FEEL WILL WORK without much in the way of limitations and shoot them. A lot....at unknown distances. You will amaze, even yourself.
You will find them equally accurate given time practicing, at any range you choose to take hunting shots.
The old saying goes that it's a moot point what your arrow will do....if you cant hit the game animal properly. We all know this to be fact.
Just dont "decide" you cant shoot what you feel is a proper or as you said a weight that "will increase penetration" before giving them equal "air time".
Time and time again, IT SEEMS TO ME AND PERHAPS ONLY TO ME, (no offense intended) that those joining our ranks with a history of compound shooting try to take what they left and make trad archery INTO something similar with the same "trains of thought".
Dont. You will not only fail, you will miss a great, great part of traditional bowhunting (simplicity!!) and frustrate yourself to your wit's end.
Decades ago, we walked into the local hardware/archery store and bought one of the many 45lb bows on display, grabbed arrows dubbed by the mfg to be spined for that weight and went hunting.
AMAZINGLY.....deer kept falling to our set ups year after year and often (guilty myself of doing too much calculating!!) wonder if that time was not,indeed, the peak of my traditional bowhunting life.
Well, my INTENTIONS were good here. Hopefully not taken in any other way.
God Bless
Topic: Best Arrow Weight for Low poundage bows? (Read 470 times)
