whats a good overall arrow weight for deer

[troutguy]

im shooting 2016 125 grain heads im around 425 total weight.i passed through a doe last season. but i hit no bone. double lung. is 425 effective enough in all situations providing its a vital shot. any past experiences would be helpful.shooting a 50# bear recurve.

[Hud]

You may be able to add 50 to 100 gr. up front, if your concerned. It would depend on your draw arrow length and bow weight at your draw. Usually, it improves flight, and penetration by adding to the FOC (the % of wt. ahead of center). If your inclined to try, get a few steel inserts, and/or adapters for your shafts and experiment with three or four and see if you get good flight without too much loss in trajectory. Good luck.

[Looper]

I'd say it's enough. Most folks recommend going with at least 10 grains per pound of actual draw weight. If you're pulling 50#, you're at 8.5 gpp. Most bowyers recommend at least 8 gpp for bow longevity reasons. In fact, with some bowyers, the warranty is void if you go below that. There is a good reason for that, too. A light arrow simply won't absorb as much energy as a heavy one will. That results in more vibrations for the bow and the shooter to absorb.

I personally prefer a really heavy arrow, for a number of reasons. The main one being that my bows shoot a lot quieter with a heavy arrow. Also remember that momentum is the key, and that a heavy, slow arrow will penetrate better than a fast, light one, if heavy resistance is encountered.

Have you tuned your arrow to that bow?

[Looper]

It looks like for a 2016 with a 125 grain point to weigh 425 grains, it needs to be around 27" long. That arrow with that point will spine out around 80#.

[Steelhead]

I usually shoot around 10-12 grains per pound.My hunting arrows are around 525 to 600 grains depending on the bow I am shooting for deer.I hunt with around 50#s at 30 inches draw for deer.

I think great arrow flight and a strong razorsharp broadhead and good shot placement are the most important factors for deer and think your 425 grain arrow is fine providing you are getting superb flight.I would probably consider trying to bump up the weight a little though.

[sawtoothscream]

doesnt sound like you need much. guy on archerytalk killed 3 this year using a 47# bow at his 29 3/4" dl with 346gr arrows tipped with rage 40 ke (1.5" 2 blade mech head). passthroughs and one that was qautering away and broke the off side shoulder. Pretty impressive

think mine are 520 area

[Plumber]

I shoot 52lbs out of a 62 inch silver tip I use afull lenth 35-55 shaft, 50 gr insert an a 150 gr broadhead.flys great.hits hard.there are not the same set up but they are close.when I beefed up my front end I started getting pass throughs you got wiggle room on the front end.you could do a little better up front.If you need any points in differnt weights let me know I got a bunch I will send you some to play around with free of charge.good luck ED

[Bowwild]

I've had complete pass throughs with 414 grain and 505 grain arrows the past two years. Double lung shots. Out of 46# bows.

[SS Snuffer]

A little more weight wouldn't hurt.

[cbCrow]

I try to always shoot with an arrow that weighs in the 10-12gpp range, it works for me, but if your arrow does the job I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.  

[PeteA]

I shoot 2016 cut to 29.5 with 125 gr heads from my 46@28 Predator Hunter. I draw 27.5. these shoot great I believe they're 10.8gpp. I use the same arrows in my 2009 Bear Takedown 50@28.

[Bill Carlsen]

My wife shoots 45# and her arrows just happen to come it at around 500 grains when completed. They are 27" MFX or FMJ, 500's, 200 grains up front. I think you will find that even with a lighter arrow, weight forward will give you better penetration than an equally weighted arrow that does not have the weight up front. That is what my experience has demonstrated to me. Where the weight is is important so the total arrow weight, for me, is secondary to where the weight is distributed. Up front is better. IMO.

[stick hunter]

I would say a good weight for hunting Is a weight that you can shoot well and are confident with, plus a good sharp broadhead. I will also add that It Is very Important that your arrows are flying perfect!! I have harvested deer with as low as 41 pounds with no trouble, take good ethical shots with your setup and you will have no problems. (Sam you came a long way with your shooting and are doing well!!)

[drewsbow]

I like to be over 700 gr with my bows pulling around 50 at my draw . This for me gets my point on close at 20 yds and helps with the hold under effect. I have had great results on game with this set up, ymmv . Drew

[1screagle]

I am not a seasoned veteran when it comes to harvesting deer, I'm learning, but I do shoot alot. I have 3 longbows and 3 recurves all by one maker but all different in limb length and weight. To me there is an addiction to the speed of which I can drive a 450gr arrow to speeds well into the 200 fps mark at an absolute flat line to 20yds with amazing accuracy feeling like a shot out of a gun. The pure beauty and poetry of an arrow at 740gr launching whisper quiet from the smooth propulsion complete opposite of the explosion of the lighter is so beautiful, this quietness and stealthness is felt while watching the arrow in it's flight come to the point where your eyes are focused, so amazingly beautiful! I may not see the arrows flight near as clear on the fast one, seems I blink and the arrow is there, pretty cool, pretty awesome, but very different. I think both ways can be good on deer. All my bows, with no exception seem to enjoy a balance around 10.5 to 11 gpi. Always seems to me from my perspective, just recently revisited my heavier setups, are better for hunting for every reason I can think of. There has to be a point where you cross a line and start to experience deminished returns in performance in one way or another. 10.5-11gpi is where it is just short of that point for me. The lighter ones are better for target shooting, the heavier better for hunting. Beware of the man who only has one bow, and one setup he probably knows how to shoot it! You could shoot a rabbit with your elk hunting setup and it may not be wrong, but shoot an elk with your rabbit hunting set up and it would be criminal. We owe it to ourselves and our game to think, use sound judgement and hunt with honor leaving a legacy worthy of repeating. Live with passion!

[Night Wing]

If a poll was taken, I think most trad bownunters will be shooting arrows which are between 10-12 GPP (grains per pound).

Since I shoot light poundage bows, there are trade offs between heavy and light arrow setups.

With a heavy arrow, everyone knows about penetration, but the arrow is traveling slower.

With a light arrow setup, most people think a light arrow won't penetrate very well compared with a light arrow.

But, my experimentation with my own light arrow setups says penetration is just a little less than with a heavy arrow because of the great increase in FPS (feet per second) the light arrow setup produces.

Also, 20 yards or less broadside lung shots is very deadly with a light arrow setup even when these light arrows are shot from low poundage bows.

Try a little experimentation and you may be pleasantly surprised in your results comparing a light arrow setup to a heavy arrow setup.

I always strive to get right at 10gpp. I would rather have a WELL TUNED little bit lighter arrow than a NOT WELL TUNED heavier arrow any day though.


That being said though, I always keep tuning until I end up with a WELL TUNED 10gpp arrow.

Bisch

[duncan idaho]

using 600 to 650 grain arrows, I have had no problems getting pass throughs on deer and hogs.

[KentuckyTJ]

I like 10 g/lb. of draw weight as well. As Bisch says, a quick recovering straight flying shaft is most important. Most my shots at deer are from 7-20 yards so if my arrow isn't ripping a perfect hole at 7 yards I keep tuning.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Bisch touched on a critical and often overlooked aspect of penetration: arrow flight. I can’t begin to recall how many folks I’ve shot with at 3D shoots over the years who use heavier bows and arrows than mine (with similar broadheads), yet experience consistent penetration problems on whitetail deer. After watching their arrows fly like rattlesnakes hopped up on Starbucks, it’s no wonder why their penetration suffers. And since you can only tune as consistently as you can shoot, when a person’s draw length varies by a few inches from shot to shot, or they never seem to release the string the same way twice, it’s no wonder why they have difficulty shooting through something as fragile as a whitetail deer with normal arrows. It’s not an equipment problem; it’s an operator malfunction.