Arrow weight setup

[bansheewins]

Ok I see many threads about broadheads and weight of arrows and have come to the conclusion that whatever works best for you to stay with.  With that being said I would like to throw my setup out there and get opinions since this is my first year to Trad hunting.  It has worked for me this year on my first buck harvest but would like other opinions.

I am shooting 3 rivers traditional only arrows (300's 10.1gr) at full length not cut 32".  I have a 100gr brass insert and usinig a 125gr Woodsman 3 blade.  with this setup on my scale my arrows are at 595gr.  Again they work awesome for me and I can place them well out to 25 yards.

I get worried because I hear people say you should have 10gr per inch on average.  I am way over that.  Should I change my setup and lower the weight to gain speed or keep it the same?  The only reason I went with the 100gr insert is because I could go with the 125gr broadhead and get a bigger choice of heads.  

I am shoot a longbow 52# @28 and probably drawing closer to 29-30.

Thanks for your input

[Smithhammer]

I take 10gpi as a minimum. You're not going to hurt anything by going higher, as long as you continue to get the kind of accuracy you say you are. In my opinion, go as heavy as you can to still be accurate @ 25 yards - the benefits are many.

[WoodsyDave]

I agree with smithhammer, 10gpi is a good guide, but since you are hunting with that setup, more weight will help penetration, especially shooting a 3 blade. With that much weight up front, FOC is certainly not a problem as long as the arrow is flying true and straightening out quick enough not to rob that extra Kenetic energy.

WoodsyDave

[ShadeMt]

I like to be right 12 gpp with a lot of weight up front.   I am always amazed at the penetration that I obtain even with lighter weight bows when I stick with this set up.

[bansheewins]

Great suggestions I will keep the 10gpi as a basic starting point.  I am confused if I should be putting in the 100gr insert and maybe taking that away and going with a 150 - 200 gr head and losing just a tad of weight to lighten the arrow for a bit more speed?  there is more to this than I imagined.  HAHA

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Are we talking about GPI (grains per inch) or GPP (grains per pound)? GPI refers to the weight of a raw shaft per inch of length. GPP is the overall weight of your arrows as compared to the draw weight of your bow. To be honest, except with respect to bow damage, GPP is a useless ratio for me. A 500-grain arrow is 10 GPP out of a 50# bow. That same arrow is only 8.3 GPP out of a 60# bow. Which do you suppose has more Ke, momentum, or whatever?

On a side note, did you paper tune or bare shaft those arrows? The only reason I ask is that I shoot a pretty fast recurve that's 56# at my 32" draw. In order to get a full length 300 to fly properly (neither under or over spined) I have to add more weight up front than what you have on your arrows. I would be very surprised if your arrows weren't very overspined.

[bansheewins]

I am sorry for the confusion I was referring to GPP.  I have never paper tuned them shooting them at the range.  I wish I was more versed with all of this.  The problem I have is spending all the money to try all kinds of setups.  What I have works but I just came from a compound so still have the speed mantality hense why I am questioning going with a ligher setup?

I do see what you mean because any close shots 10-15 yards the arrows will hit at an angle going in.  They usually straighten out real good from 20 yards on.  Are the arrows too long with leaving them full length?

[Night Wing]

bansheewins,

Many bowhunter shoot 10-12 GPP (gains per pound) arrows. Some bowhunter shoot 8-9 GPP arrows and others shoot 13-14 GPP arrows.

When I was shooting a heavy arrow setup, my arrows out of my 42# recurve were over 13 GPP. I'm now shooting a much ligher arrow setup which you can see in my signature.

In the end, it just comes down to what works "best" for "you" no matter what other GPP arrows bowhunters are shooting.

[Doug Treat]

Your setup should be fine.  I shoot 15 gpp. which is way more than most guys shoot, but I like to hunt elk and have had penetration issues with lighter arrows.  Your arrows sound like they are flying well so I wouldn't change to a lighter arrow.  I like more overall arrow weight for penetration from a traditional bow.  From my experience it's best to have a min. 550 gr. for deer and 600+ for elk.  I don't have exp. with other animals like hogs, so I can't speak to that.

[BOHO]

the lowest I ever shot was 8 gpp and I didnt realize it was that low. I try to stay around 10-12 if at all possible. Our deer are quick so I do try to stay as quick as I can with em

[durp]

IF and i do mean "IF" your arras aren't hiting the target stright out to 20 yards like you said you have a problem...listen to Jason he know's what he's talking about...

all the weight or lack of weight...speed no speed or what ever wont help anything if the arra isnt flying stright...

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by bansheewins:
I am sorry for the confusion I was referring to GPP.  I have never paper tuned them shooting them at the range.  I wish I was more versed with all of this.  The problem I have is spending all the money to try all kinds of setups.  What I have works but I just came from a compound so still have the speed mentality hence why I am questioning going with a lighter setup?

I do see what you mean because any close shots 10-15 yards the arrows will hit at an angle going in.  They usually straighten out real good from 20 yards on.  Are the arrows too long with leaving them full length?

No need to apologize at all. It's always best to ask when in doubt. Don't worry about wanting more speed. Folks were into fast bows long before compounds hit the market, and judging by all the high performance recurves available today, I doubt much has changed. My arrows are around 9 GPP and leave the bow at 200 fps (gotta love that 32" draw length). They blow through anything up to and including a mature bull moose, so I'm content.

If your arrows are flying cockeyed out to 15 yards (and I'm guessing if you're right handed the arrows start out nock right) then you have a serious spine issue. That's going to translate into a major penetration inhibitor on live game. I can't begin to remember how many times I've shot with someone who complained about poor penetration on deer and whose arrows flew like a snake on a caffeine high.

If you cut those arrows down, it will only make them act stiffer, thereby increasing the problem. If I had to guess, even a full length 340 with all that weight up front may be a little stiff. A 400 may be just right. I'd start a thread asking for arrow spine suggestions (include bow model, draw length and weight, Dacron or low- stretch string). There are a lot of folks here who could nail it down for you better than me. Sometimes it's hard for me to make an accurate suggestion since I think of arrows in terms of my abnormal draw length.

[kevgsp]

Sorry man but your arrows are way, way too stiff. Depending on how deep the shelf is cut u might get away with a .400 left full length and a heavy point or more likely a .500 cut with moderate point weight.

[JimB]

I would have to agree with that.

[onewhohasfun]

Yep 400's with a hvy. pnt.

[beendare]

Banshee,
I have a couple of good tuning guides saved on my computer that I can email you if you cannot find them online. The best one, I think I got it from the OL Adcock site.

Many ways to tune but IMO the best is to shoot bareshafts with your fletched shafts or BH's and FP's until both groups are the same.

[donw]

Originally posted by Night Wing:
bansheewins,

Many bowhunter shoot 10-12 GPP (gains per pound) arrows. Some bowhunter shoot 8-9 GPP arrows and others shoot 13-14 GPP arrows.

When I was shooting a heavy arrow setup, my arrows out of my 42# recurve were over 13 GPP. I'm now shooting a much ligher arrow setup which you can see in my signature....

In the end, it just comes down to what works "best" for "you" no matter what other GPP arrows bowhunters are shooting.

very near my set-up for my recurves; i'm at 9.85 GPP...my carbon arrows weigh in at 394 grains and my 1916 aluminums weigh in at 570...that's 11.3 GPP.

the carbons fly like darts and the aluminums like a mortar round but both are highly accurate

[SS Snuffer]

I would say your arrow are to stiff but all I know is what works for me.

[AWPForester]

I personally find an arrow that shoots well and don't worry about over all weight and FOC.  If it will spine well, it in the right weight range.   For every heavy arrow guy out there there are guys like me that draw 26 inches and shoot about 9 gpp outta my bows and it plain works, not just work but works very, very nicely, and in my opinion better than a 10 gpp.  Shot placement not plus or minus weight kills.  God BLess

[awbowman]

I shoot a 536 grain arrow out of a 48# bow. Flys like darts and a pretty good balance with weight and cast