I just received my Hill Wesley Special. I am drawing between 31-31" . I am shooting 55/75 carbon arrows uncut. My bow is 50 lbs @ 30". What broadhead/tip weight should I look at shooting. I am shooting cxarbon arrows because thewy are tough, if there is a better arrow combo when I figure this bow out I would gladly shoot them. Thank you
what kind of point/BH do You shoot now? With carbon arrows I have seen most ppl load the front end heavy. Heavy inserts and heavy points.
100grn insert + 125grn steel adopter + 160grn point = 385grn ( just example of front end weight) You can play with any part to get the point weight You want or need.
You need to accumulate a little kit of various adaptor weights, and then test.
I am only shooting 125 gr field points, That is what I had. Are you saying you have 385 gr just in the front of the arrow ? Not counting the arrow weight ? Thank you. I am pretty green at this all info welcome
Yep, he was indeed talking about the weight of the tip (insert, adaptor and glue-on point / broadhead combined). You may find that you can increase the weight and get better flight / tighter groups / more accuracy / broadheads grouping with field points / bullet hole in paper. I don't know what kind of insert you have at the moment, but if it is one of those little light-weight aluminium ones, chances are you will be able to make an improvement by going heavier up-front.
But don't stop shooting while you wait to get all the ingredients! Keep having fun with what you have. Your arrow may just be quite stiff, but it will still be fun shooting!
Great bows, those Wesley Specials. Love 'em!
QuoteOriginally posted by Ben Kleinig:
You need to accumulate a little kit of various adaptor weights, and then test.
X2
What does adding weight do to arrow trajectory ? If I am heavier is the arrow going to drop like a rock? Thank you
Yes, the trajectory will have more of an arc with more weight in the arrow. But it shouldn't affect things at hunting range. But tuning (an arrow that flies straight and true with no wobbling) is the most important thing. How heavy is your arrow currently? For the hunting of whitetail, I gather there is no magic number that your arrow weight has to be; instead, good flight is the most important thing. So, out of that 50# bow, especially seeing that you've a long draw length, anything from 450 grains to 650 grains would kill. Anything heavier would kill, too, if you wanted. Don't worry about the weight of the arrow, just get that flight right! Oh, and many say that with Hills you need to shoot heavier arrows. You may find the same, but I haven't. My Wesley Special likes an arrow that is roughly around 8.5 grains per pound - it hoots it out, and it is quiet and not shocky at all.
I am trying to become proficient enough with this bow to hunt elk with it in September. I probably should have posted that first. I would use the same set up for whitetail when I returned home but the elk hunt would be first. Thanbk you
Yes when I posted 385grn that was total point weight (insert,adopter and point). as ben had said, it comes down to arrow flight over arrow weight.
Yes, You do need weight in the arrow to take the force from the bow/string to send that arrow home. The best thing to do is get all Your parts and find what works best for You and Your bow..
I don't know, except from what I've read here. Some lads have used arrows in the 400 to 500 grain range for elk, but most seem to use arrows over 500 grains, and even over 600 grains. Do a search for elk, and you should come-up with some great discussion on the subject.
I am worried I will have to aim over the elk's back if I go too heavy. I will keep researching . Thank you
Well, check those threads about enough arrow for elk. Some will say light is fine, others will disagree. But, I reckon if you keep your shots to under twenty yards, you shouldn't have to aim over even with a 650 grain arrow.
Most bowyers recommend a minimum of 8-9 grains of arrow weight per # of draw weight and in your case this would be around 400-450 grains. This is simply the recommended weight to avoid long term damage to the bow from shooting too light an arrow.
However, if you listen to most experienced Hill Bow shooters they (and I) will tell you that Hill style bows love heavier arrows and you would be well served to try and get your arrow weight above 550 grains. Yes, you loose trajectory. Inside of 20 yards this is mostly inconsequential. Beyond 20 yards you have to know how high to hold regardless of how fast your trad bow shoots. It matters not--you need to know how much.
What a heavier arrow buys you is penetration AND stability. Heavy arrows also have the effect of making your bow quieter!
You need to look at tuning those shafts to your bow by trying them with various weight points. You can buy a test kit from 3 Rivers for less than $10.
Since you asked: What I would do is look at broadheads that weigh around 170 grain with a minimum 50 grain insert for ~225 grains up front.
That might or might not work with your shafts.
I think I will order the test kit maybe two. I also need to buy some more arrows. Are those Gold Tip 55/75's OK ? Thank you
Nothing wrong with those arrows! Go for it!
Query ... If Chain2 is shooting properly spined arrows now, wouldn't adding all of that tip weight potentially make his arrows too weak? Since his arrows are full length, he may be able to trim the length to return proper spine.
Chain,
I'm not as familiar with GT spine charts as others. But I will tell you that most people here have experience with 27-28" draws and they tend to make recommendations based on their experience which simply doesn't translate to 31 or 32" arrows (as you said yours are uncut). Their intentions are good but they simply don't have the same frame of reference as someone like me who actually shoots longer arrows. Again, I'm not trying to disparage other people. But early on I got lots of advice from people who shoot 28" arrows and almost none of it was worth the time it took them to type it and it cost me some wasted time and money.
You can dramatically affect the dynamic spine of an arrow by cutting 1/2" off the length of a shaft. So those people shooting 28" shafts are doing so based on a significantly different dynamic spine than someone shooting the same shaft at 32" and their advice has to be interpreted through that lens. Problem is when you are new you don't get this.
So, my advice is to talk with a good trad archery retailer who knows his stuff. 3River and Kustom King here on this site are very good. Let them know how much you want your shafts to weigh, how long they need to be, and the type and poundage of your bow and ask them to make a recommendation. Also, ask your bowyer.
I had people on these forums telling me I should be shooting 500 spined shafts in my 55# bows with 225 grains up front and 31" shafts. Those shafts paper tuned so weak it was ridiculous and I ended up with .300s when it was all said and done. Might have worked for someone with a 28" arrow fine. But in my bows at my draw length they were like pushing a wet noodle. Again, all with good intentions but from a profoundly different set of physical paramaters to work around.
As an example, in my 66" ACS longbow, which pulls 57# at my 30" draw, I ended up with Easton .300 FMJ shafts 31 3/8" long with a 75 grain insert and 170 grain Aboyer broadheads. There are more than a few people here who would tell you I am way overspined for a 57# bow. Yet this is exactly the shaft recommended to me by the folks at ACS and the Easton chart! But an ACS longbow is a high performance bow compared to a Hill bow plus the shelf is cut past center which also makes a big difference. In a Hill bow using the same paramters I would probably end up dropping down to .340s or even .400 spined shafts to get good flight.
Personally, I figure out what broadhead I want to use first, the desired total weight of the arrow second, and then back into the kind of shafting and inserts that get me there with only small adjustments in shaft length etc.
Kentucky Jeff is absolutely right regarding the arrow length question. I draw about 26 1/2 with my Hill bows, so there is no way I am going to be able to recommend the correct combination for you. However, I will say that if you are in fact drawing 50# at 30 inches you are not going to have any worries about arrow speed, trajectory or penetration even if you are using a 600 grain or over arrow. I personally would not go below 600 grain for elk, but for deer it will not matter as long as it is tuned to fly straight.
My only caution at this point would be to spend a little time determining for sure that your draw length is what you think it is. Once you get settled into comfortable form with your Hill bow you need to have someone check your average draw length while actually shooting. Oftentimes it is not as long as you think.
I an calling 3 rivers in an hour. I am also going to re check my drawlength. Thank you