What arrow weights are you guys shooting?

[BowmanMike]

I am curious what you guys shoot. How much FOC and arrow weight and fixed or mechanical heads. 

I am thinking of building a heavy set up,around 550 to 600 grains with a single bevel broadhead. I shoot 60# at 29.5 DL.

After hitting a doe high in the shoulder and maybe spine two years ago i seem to be afraid of hitting to far forward.

Edited February 11, 2020 by BowmanMike

[The_Real_TCIII]

I am curious what you guys shoot. Hiw much FOC and arrow weight and fixed or mechanical heads. 

I am thinking of building a heavy set up,around 550 to 600 grains with a single bevel broadhead. I shoot 60# at 29.5 DL.

After hitting a doe high in the shoulder and maybe spine i seem to be afraid of hitting to far forward.

I'm planning to do the exact same thing with the exact same specs

[NFA-ADK]

355 Da Torch/Hex 400 at 7.2 gpi.  Relatively light but at 65lbs and 28.5 it penetrates good enough for what I am doing.  Deer and 3D. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by NFA-ADK

[rob-c]

Myself i shoot 450 grain arrow 125 grain head . but I am a 32 inch draw pulling 65 lb so I have pretty good KE. 

My son I added 50 grain brass inserts 125 grain head his is around 450 also . he’s 28.5 Draw 60 pounds. 
 

My wife she’s 25 inch draw 40 lbs her arrows are 400 grains , 75 grain  brass inserts 125 head. She’s had no problems on deer. 

[Robhuntandfish]

i know zero about this stuff but if it helps since our specs are close - I shoot 29" draw at 64#'s and use 340 hunter IBS arrows with a 100 grain grim reaper whitetail special mechanical.  All three deer i have shot with it have been pass thru's.  One did stop when it hit the outside leg though.   

[BowmanMike]

I got pass throughs last season but hit both my does further back than i wanted,liver and one lung tip and on a quartering away guts liver one lung..Those arrows hit a rib or two,but nothing solid. My total arrow weight was only a tad over 350 grains,I didn't realize they were that light.

I also have been reading about the wobble of light arrows on impact and the resulting energy loss and the deer reaction. On one hit last year it looked like i hit high according to my lighted nock but i actually hit low and it seemed the exit was a little higher than the entry wound. I suspect my arrow flopped up and down on impact and that was the quartering away shot.

I am also curious about people claiming that deer dont run as hard after being hit by a heavier arrow because it doesn't loose as much energy on impact. Of course it depends where and what you hit,but as a general rule.

This is interesting stuff,keep it coming!!

[moog5050]

1 hour ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

I'm planning to do the exact same thing with the exact same specs

My axis FMJ tuned great with that bow.  300 cut to 29” with 125g heads.   Total weight is 525

[Robhuntandfish]

48 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i know zero about this stuff but if it helps since our specs are close - I shoot 29" draw at 64#'s and use 340 hunter IBS arrows with a 100 grain grim reaper whitetail special mechanical.  All three deer i have shot with it have been pass thru's.  One did stop when it hit the outside leg though.   

used an arrow weight calculator and came up with 415. 

[rob-c]

350 is rather light, there’s tons of positive reports going to a 500 grain plus arrows. I myself believe it’s where one gets that weight that’s important . By  installing a 50- 75 grain brass insert and a heavy broad head so one has 175 grain or more at the front seems to me would drive through better and have less wobble as you say. I think back to the lawn Jarts for those of us that are old enough to remember them and how they used to fly and burry into the ground . A high FOC arrow flys very well and having that much weight in the front to (pull) the arrow through a animal just makes sense to me .Just my opinion and what has worked for me. 

[BowmanMike]

3 hours ago, moog5050 said:

My axis FMJ tuned great with that bow.  300 cut to 29” with 125g heads.   Total weight is 525

The fmj makes it difficult to get the FOC up because the arrow itself is too heavy. Weight up front is important. My build will be over 20% FOC.

I have been sniffing ranch fairy dust,he is a charcter.

It might be easier for some to listen to some Dr Ashby podcasts.

[Swamp_bucks]

Im in the process as well.  Picked up victory vap elites.  Going with 29 or 29.5 inch arrows at 8.7gpi, magnus black hornets(100grain accidently i meant to order 125s), and then going 150 grain gold tip brass inserts.   Might end up only needing 100 grain.  So i should be between 460-515 when all said and done if my math is correct.  Which should give me a higher foc and will be alot heavier than previous setups. This is out of a 60lbs 28inch draw.

[OtiscoPaul]

FMJ 6mm w/stricklands 125 + 75 insert is 200 upfront out of 522...shooting almost 70lb

Will go through any part of a 2yr old (up to like 140 dressed) deer but I don’t suggest Fred Bear shots on mature whitetail do yourself a favor and still hit em thru the long ribs, blood trails will not be good if the hit is high or if the exit plugs these are not rages...I got lucky with my buck this season.

Also I shoot under 25 typically so I can still use one fixed pin (with judgment)...but if you want range you need multiple or sliding pins...this is not fast, just mighty

Edited February 11, 2020 by OtiscoPaul

[moog5050]

4 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

The fmj makes it difficult to get the FOC up because the arrow itself is too heavy. Weight up front is important. My build will be over 20% FOC.

I have been sniffing ranch fairy dust,he is a charcter.

It might be easier for some to listen to some Dr Ashby podcasts.

Not to disagree, but that arrow with a rage head has passed through every deer I have ever shot with it and thats more than a few.    I tend to have higher FOC on trad bows but if your flight is true (ie you can shoot a bareshaft with fletched to 30yds) total arrow weight means more for penetration than the FOC IMO.   FOC helps to correct/hide some tuning imperfections or a bad release which is a bigger issue on trad bows than a well tuned compound shot with a release.  Just my humble opinion and I could be wrong.

[LET EM GROW]

8 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

I am curious what you guys shoot. How much FOC and arrow weight and fixed or mechanical heads. 

I am thinking of building a heavy set up,around 550 to 600 grains with a single bevel broadhead. I shoot 60# at 29.5 DL.

After hitting a doe high in the shoulder and maybe spine two years ago i seem to be afraid of hitting to far forward.

Im building  a heavier arrow for this coming season also. I haven't had an issue yet but i don't want to run into one, when the only whitetail (besides a doe) Im pursuing is a mature buck, I want to penetrate the shoulder just in case. 

My current setup is a 28" 70# solocam, shooting a 390gr Beman ics with a rage hypodermic head.. always pass throughs so far if kept behind the shoulder. 

[OtiscoPaul]

8 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

I am also curious about people claiming that deer dont run as hard after being hit by a heavier arrow because it doesn't loose as much energy on impact. Of course it depends where and what you hit,but as a general rule.

This is interesting stuff,keep it coming!!

Fact IMO (ha)

IME Light setup w/Rages send em on a blood splattering 80-120 yard trail even when you hit the heart because they make a loud pop as that big split opens em up.

Most of my harvest with the heavy settup (all that I hit through both lungs) wobbled and dropped in their spot, including shoulder pass thrus

Edited February 11, 2020 by OtiscoPaul

[Jeremy K]

My hunting arrow is a HEXX  330 with 50g of brass up front and 100 g tip . Total weight 405 ,shooting 62 pounds. 

[chrisw]

Easton Axis 5mm. 460gr finished weight, NAP Spitfire broadheads. 70lb draw weight. Pass throughs every time for me.

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[Jeremy K]

For the people going heavier , how much stiffer of a spine are you going to once you stack a bunch of weight up front?  It seems to be a popular discussion on AT ,i wonder how many guys are just going to stack weight on their existing arrows .

[The_Real_TCIII]

My axis FMJ tuned great with that bow.  300 cut to 29” with 125g heads.   Total weight is 525

That bow is far too pretty for the woods! I’ll be hunting with my Pulse


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[moog5050]

16 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

That bow is far too pretty for the woods! I’ll be hunting with my Pulse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Get her bloody!  No bow is happy being a 3D queen. 

[mlammerhirt]

For the people going heavier , how much stiffer of a spine are you going to once you stack a bunch of weight up front?  It seems to be a popular discussion on AT ,i wonder how many guys are just going to stack weight on their existing arrows .

I agree with needing a stiffer spine.....by only stacking weight up front won't that cause a wobble.....just like the wobble people want to get away from in a light arrow?

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[Jeremy K]

10 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

I agree with needing a stiffer spine.....by only stacking weight up front won't that cause a wobble.....just like the wobble people want to get away from in a light arrow?

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

It will shoot like an underspinned arrow ,depending how bad, it will cause accuracy issues for sure. 

[Hock3y24]

Elite enforcer 350s ( victory vforce v1 rebnranded) 8.7 GPI . 150 grains up front comes in at 425 grains with a lighted nock. Magnus black hornets blow through deer with my arrow going 275 fps. 

[Hock3y24]

6 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

For the people going heavier , how much stiffer of a spine are you going to once you stack a bunch of weight up front?  It seems to be a popular discussion on AT ,i wonder how many guys are just going to stack weight on their existing arrows .

you can also mess with arrow length, IMO your better off over spined with a broad head hunting arrow. i shoot a 27" draw and could use a 25.5" 400 spine arrow but with with a 350 spine 27" arrow and extra weight up front. Improved arrow flight a lot. 

[Jeremy K]

5 hours ago, Hock3y24 said:

you can also mess with arrow length, IMO your better off over spined with a broad head hunting arrow. i shoot a 27" draw and could use a 25.5" 400 spine arrow but with with a 350 spine 27" arrow and extra weight up front. Improved arrow flight a lot. 

I dropped down a spine setting when going to brass but thats it ,i have no desire to get into these cape buffalo arrows for whitetail. I'm just curious how many threads will start popping up about guys who can't get their bows to tune once they start throwing a ton of weight up front.