I have a short draw and had shoulder surgery. Because of the surgery I have had to drop bow weight to around 47lbs. I checked my arrows and they are only flying around 135fps. They fly really well and are 650 grains. Am I better off dropping arrow weight down to around 550 or not worrying about it? Thanks guys.
It depends on what you do with the bow.If hunting and only taking close shots you will get used to it.If you are not always taking between the feet shots and shoot 3ds and other things I would get rid of some arrow weight myself.Get below 500gns and you will still have plenty of arrow weight for most things and get rid of some of that arch.jmo
thats kind of a personal decison, myself i wouldnt like 135 one bit but that will still kill critters, i like the looks of flat fast flight. it would seem to mee that you are in the arrow weight range of diminishing returns
If your inside 20 yards that speed will kill and provide good penetration. Out past 25 yards your going to see serious drop off on trajectory.
My opinion is that your arrows are needlessly heavy.
ChuckC
daniel,I use 650 gr for my 60-65# bows when hunting elk.Since you hunt whitetails you can drop in arrow wheight still mantaining a good penetration,I like a high FOC,but sometime the balance of your set up is much more important,accuracy is always the main factor bowhunting.
All good suggestions, Loose some arrow weight, and if you can, reasonably work work up in bow weight. Injuries excluded, I think most people could shoot slightly heavier bows with just a little extra work. H
No brain - no gain.
Try a 475-500 grain arrow and they will fly like darts compared to 650 grain. I notice a big difference in flatness of trajectory between a 430 grain and a 520 grain arrow out of 45# bows shooting 3-D. These are wood arrows by the way.
I'd go with a 400-500grain arrow. What are the current specs of your arrows?
I am shooting a checkmate hunter II that is 47lbs.
I am using Easton epic st 500's with standard inserts 1" aluminum footing and a point wieght of 200 grains. It puts me around 450 grains and it shoots about 181 FPS @ my draw of 28.
I think if you shoot a lighter arrow and have a good point wieght once you dial it in and put the arrow where it needs to be you should have no issues!
What is your draw length by the way?
Try yo stay around 10grs. per bow weight.and you will be ok for medium size game.
QuoteOriginally posted by ChuckC:
My opinion is that your arrows are needlessly heavy.
ChuckC
:thumbsup:
You only need 470 to be at the magical 10gr per #.
Are you shooting 47# at your "short" draw or is the bow 47# at 28'? If you have 25-26" draw with the later, then your bow is pulling only about 40#.
Otherwise, I agree with the mob that 10 gpi is just fine.
I mainly shoot around 47#@26" and use a 27" 1916 with 125gr. head. Not sure what they weigh but have had pass thru's on Whitetail deer. My arrows are flat to about 25 yards and then they drop off pretty quick. For hunting within 20 yards you shouldn't have a problem..........IJ
I agree with the above suggestions. 47#'s is enough for whitetail deer. After my shoulder surgery I shot a 42# bow with a 500 grain arrow. I shot the largest body buck I had ever shot with a complete pass through. I did shoot a two bladed head.
N.J state minimum # for deer is 35#'s.So you should be good and lighten the arrow a little and your set.
Agreed - 47# is plenty. If you'd feel more secure with more speed, go down to a 400gr arrow - that's plenty for whitetails. When you get right down to it, the secret remains use a razor sharp broadhead and put it in the right place.
I am shooting 47lbs @ my 26" draw. It is amazing how much speed we short draw guys get robbed of. I used arrows at about 550 the first year and had a passthrough on a black bear so I know that it is enough. The reason for going up in grains is better penetration on marginal hits. I currently am shooting CX 250s with a lot of weight up front. I bought some Ashby 315 grain BH but I think I am going to drop back to a 225 head & 50 grain inserts. I am going to see what combo shoots well between 550-600 and go from there I guess. I can always drop more weight if need be. My shoulder surgery was pretty massive and don't want a second one. I can still shoot my 60 lb @26" bow but only for 20-30 shots before the pain gets bad. Boy does it spit an arrow though. Thanks for the advice. Obviously I am a fan of Dr. Ashby's work on BH & FOC.
I think those cx 250's are too stiff for that poundage. I would try a 150 with the 250 grains up front.
I would work on tuning to see if your arrows are to stiff. 600 spine might be a better shaft for you.
Light of heavy-both will kill Whitetails-the choice is up to you, does not matter what we think, whatever combo gets it to the vitals best for you is all that counts.
i shoot 46 @27. I recently went to shoot 3d with some friends and the day before lost 2 arrows and broke one. (they were flying threw the target). So i was forced to quick tune some 250s for it. I got them flying good but they were over 640g. At shots less than 20 yards i was able to hit fine with a little learning curve. Anything over that and forget about it. My arrows wouldn't hold enough energy to withstand any breeze and would tailspin into the dirt.
I made up some 11 gpp arrows and they seem almost flat out to 30 yards. I like to shoot distances to practice form and insure tuning and concentration. I would not hesitate to shoot my new arrows at anything that came across me.
.30 caliber is the magic rifle caliber, .50 the magic muzzleloader, and it seems somewhere around 10 gpp is it for arrow weight.
I'm another with short draw (25") and due to physical problems have to shoot really light most of the time. I can edge up to 40# for hunting, where you only take an occasional shot, but for 3D and general knocking around, where I might take up to 100 shots in a day, I stay way down in weight. 27# is normal and I'm currently laying up a new 20# bow. With light arrows, about 8.5 gpp, I am able to enjoy 3D shoots with this setup and have for a couple of years. I have shot 3D with as low as 17#. My hunting arrows are 10 gpp and produced a clean pass through double lung shot on the javelina I took last fall. I took the smaller of two animals in range because it was the closer and more sure shot.
About 10-15 fps slower than fast. That is in trad bows. Don't worry about speed if you can hit what you are aiming at.LCH
Too slow is when I shoot an arrow, drop my bow and beat the arrow in a race to the target. I'm guessing about 25fps..... :biglaugh:
I hunt where there are lots of bears. I am almost as likely to see a black bear as a deer. I have CX 150s that I will be working with. I will be dropping weight until I get a good mix of speed but still good FOC.
personaly heavy is great but there is a point where acuracy actualy can suffer due to really heavy arrows. now this is just my observation but 20 fps difference in two arrows means the slower heavyer one will be on the string a bit longer leaving a little bit more time to screw up, not to say they cant be shot verry well, kinda like a flintlock vs modern muzzle loader, there is a little more time for error
I like heavy arrows. I like how they feel on the release, I like how they fly, and I like how they hit. :thumbsup:
If you like them lighter then have at it. You're not going to have any problems with them.
I shot 45lb with a 480g arrow for a long time,it was more than up to the job.
Like a lot here,I also belive over 600g from 45lb is wasting energy that could be better used to up the speed a bit without losing terminal performance.
Mind you,,,I'm not standing in front of a 600 grainer traveling at any speed.
Interesting isn't it because at 10 & 15 yards I can't see a diference in speed but @ 20 it is noticeable. I, myself would not shoot beyond 20 but many are able to. I still feel like 135fps is to slow even if it doesn't effect my hunting range. I can still achieve the FOC I am looking for and go down some in weight. Will be interesting to see where I end up. I think 150fps would be my minimum.
A really good release can be a tremendous asset; and 10-20 FPS faster than a 'normal' one-check it out.
Is there a ballpark speed you should stay above no matter what you shoot?
I like to stay around 10grn per pound on what ever I am tuning. and I go by what I pull not what bow is marked.