too heavy an arrow for deer?

zze86 · April 10, 2012, 10:50:00 AM

My buddy and I were shooting, he with his compound and I with my recurve (AMO 50#@28" but I shoot a 26" draw) and he mentioned that my arrows looked like they were dropping a lot. I was hitting where I wanted to but he said it looked like I was adjusting quite a bit for the arrow drop. While this is true, it has been something I've gotten used to.

My friend then asked what weight arrow I was shooting. When I told him he was like :eek: . I mentioned this to other archers at my archery club (all compound shooters, no trads) and they looked at me like

. Most of them were shooting 350gr or so arrows a couple heavier but no where near as heavy as mine.

I am using a 16gr/inch arrow with a 250gr tip/BH, so roughly 700gr arrow. The only big game I go after is deer so am I shooting too heavy an arrow for deer? What gr/inch is everyone else using for trad archery?

What's nice though is that although I have to compensate quite a bit on flat ground, from a tree, it's almost natural pointing and I get almost as much penetration with my bow/arrow as my buddy does with his fancy Mathews compound and arrows at 25 yards. :D

rolltidehunter · April 10, 2012, 11:01:00 AM

you need to shoot what you are accurate with. if you are confident in that set up then stick with it.personally i feel that 700 grains is on the heavy side for whitetail. but alot of folks like to shoot heavy arrows. i shoot 53lbs. i have a couple of diffrent arrows set-ups that weight from 475- 575grains. im not trying to tell you to change your arrows.

tell your compound buddy to shoot a real bow! lol

Plumber · April 10, 2012, 11:18:00 AM

thats like saying can a girl be to pretty.the other guys are all about being fast.we trad guys are all about being heavey its about penatration.you may lighten up some to achive better flight.but need to decide whats flying best for you.good luck p.s you can blow up your bow by going too light.

JamesKerr · April 10, 2012, 11:20:00 AM

There is no such thing as overkill in bowhunting. That 700 grain arrow will most definately out penetrate their light 350 grain arrows almost every time, especially if bone is encountered. I shoot a 55# bow and try to get my arrows around 625-650 grains. I find this gives me a flat trajectory out to about 20-25 yards and has enough weight to penetrate just about anything I want to shoot.

LBshooter2 · April 10, 2012, 11:22:00 AM

zze86, I am trying to boost my arrow weight from 500 to around 600. I read an article in bowhunter mag and they were talking about how few trad hunters use heavy arrows and the benefit. If you are hitting what your looking at I wouldn't change, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you ever go after other Bigger game then your aall set for it.

magnus · April 10, 2012, 11:22:00 AM

I like 600++ on my arrows. They hit hard and will quiet down a bow. Shoot what you like and have fun. If your accurate with it then there ya go. Who cares what the wheelie guys think.

Kip · April 10, 2012, 11:23:00 AM

You should be shooting about 44/45 lbs. so I think maybe kinda heavy at 700 grain arrow.Just for fun bring them down to about 450/500 and see if you like the speed and trajectory better.Kip

Bjorn · April 10, 2012, 11:40:00 AM

Generally if you are getting too many misses high and low your arrows are heavier than they need to be, otherwise they are fine.
Getting arrow advise from a compound shooter? Smile and nod and ignore.

wingnut · April 10, 2012, 11:45:00 AM

Just smile, nod and walk away slowly. You are maximizing the performance of you bow and arrow in the animal . . .where it counts. How many shots do you see on TV with the latest and greatest bows that don't get 6 inches of penetration? You won't have that problem.

Even with a compound they should be shooting around 500 grains.

Mike

Forrest Halley · April 10, 2012, 11:48:00 AM

When I was actively shooting my 50# longbow I had an arrow that was 625 gr. and it was excellent for 3d and had great penetration with a broadhead. The bullet points didn't penetrate deeply on foam but the broadheads were the exact opposite. Flight time and drop were less than ideal for hunting so I moved on.

KentuckyTJ · April 10, 2012, 12:06:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Kip:
You should be shooting about 44/45 lbs. so I think maybe kinda heavy at 700 grain arrow.Just for fun bring them down to about 450/500 and see if you like the speed and trajectory better.Kip

Agree with Kip, I also shoot 50lb bows and my hunting bullets weigh right at 525 grains total. Do what you want though, try a lighter shaft and if you don't care for it go back to what works for you. Tinkering is fun!

KentuckyTJ · April 10, 2012, 12:06:00 PM

Oops

Bill Carlsen · April 10, 2012, 12:11:00 PM

What is actually more important than arrow weight, per se, is how perfectly your arrow is flying. It must enter the target/animal going perfectly straight. With 700 grain arrows I would expect you to be shooting thru everything you hit with 50#. Your statement "...I get almost as much penetration with my bow/arrow as my buddy does..." concerns me. My wife shoots only 45# @ 26" recurve and she always gets 2 holes on deer and bear with 3 blade heads. Her arrows fly perfectly and they are 500 grains with 200 grains up front. I would expect a 700 grain arrow, built the way you describe it, to shoot thru any deer from any legal weight hunting bow. Hope I am being clear as I am not trying to be critical, just helpful.

gringol · April 10, 2012, 12:11:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Plumber:
thats like saying can a girl be to pretty.

Exactly. An arrow can't be too heavy for a deer. It can be too heavy for a bow, but it sounds like they fly just fine for you. Heavy arrows also reduce bow noise, so they may actually make you more successful.

zze86 · April 10, 2012, 12:49:00 PM

Thanks for the advice guys. From my science classes I just knew I had to up the mass to get more energy and momentum into the deer but wasn't sure what to go with so I sort of choose a 700gr weight arbitrarily. I think I'll try playing around with my arrows up a bit to see if I can get it to shoot a bit flatter.

zze86 · April 10, 2012, 12:55:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Bill Carlsen:
What is actually more important than arrow weight, per se, is how perfectly your arrow is flying. It must enter the target/animal going perfectly straight. With 700 grain arrows I would expect you to be shooting thru everything you hit with 50#. Your statement "...I get almost as much penetration with my bow/arrow as my buddy does..." concerns me. My wife shoots only 45# @ 26" recurve and she always gets 2 holes on deer and bear with 3 blade heads. Her arrows fly perfectly and they are 500 grains with 200 grains up front. I would expect a 700 grain arrow, built the way you describe it, to shoot thru any deer from any legal weight hunting bow. Hope I am being clear as I am not trying to be critical, just helpful.

This was just target shooting at a foam block. I've only recently taken up archery so have not had a chance to see what sort of damage my arrows can do to a deer. I know my buddy can shoot clean through a deer so I hope mine will do the same. Your wife's example gives me hope! I was concerned I was just going to stick the arrow in there and have the deer run off with it which would suck for the deer.

jonsimoneau · April 10, 2012, 02:03:00 PM

No such thing as an arrow that is too heavy for deer. However I prefer to keep my arrows at 10 grains per pound or even a little less. My arrows generally weigh around 500 grains. This way I still get good penetration and can enjoy flatter arrow trajectory.

Jeff Strubberg · April 10, 2012, 02:05:00 PM

If you are missing short and long, maybe you need to worry about trajectory.

If not, shoot and enjoy a quiet, efficient arrow.

Bill Carlsen · April 10, 2012, 02:09:00 PM

Enjoy the journey. It's fun, frustrating and fulfilling.

April 10, 2012, 02:24:00 PM

If you try a lighter arrow and find that you are more accurate and can extend your consistent accuracy range by a bit, then perhaps a lighter arrow would be good for you. If not, why change anything?