Im going elk hunting this fall. I will be using a 50# Hoyt dorado and 400 gr arrows. I read about dr ashby testing broadheads and think I might go with a 2 blade broadhead for better penetration but I'm not sure. Right now I have 100 gr muzzy phantoms. Will those work or should I get a two blade broadhead. Also is it good to have a heavier broadhead for better penetration?

Trick is getting a heavy arrow shooting properly w/hair shaving bh for best penetration. 50# is enough if you put it in the boiler room deep? Figure your setup will be fine around 550-600gr total? My preference is Ace hair shaving 2-blades.

400 grain TOTAL weight,  head arrow and all, seems a little light to me.
That's only 8 grains per pound...will shooting that void your warranty on the bow?

heavier arrows have more energy.
whether the weight comes from the shaft or the head..or both.

If my shaft weighed 300 grains, I'd be thinking hard about a 200 grain head. Grizzly ,Tusker, VPA , ACE come to  mind...

Who knows how that head will effect your flight with the shafts you have...sometimes it takes some tinkering, or maybe one step back two steps forward type a thing to get it right.

My choices would be two blade and if you're using carbons or aluminums, I like the 2 blade VPA heads.  If you're using wood arrows and need a glue on head, I would look at the Grizzly heads.

Re-think your arrow weight,400 grains is way to light in my view.

I would bump up total arrow weight with a stiffer shaft and a heavy VPA 3 bld up front if it were me.


Rob

AS said above more weight brother......
,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,

I'd want at least another 250 grains in arrow weight, and I'd want to add it to the front as much as possible.  A good two blade, or a long lean multi blade such as a Woodsman Elite or Zwickey No Mercy weighted with a steel adapter would be my picks over the light 4 blade Phantoms you currently have.

Concur with the comments above. For your bow I'd set a target weight of my arrows to 550gr+, with 200gr+ up front. The up front weight can be either the broadhead or insert + broadhead...I prefer 2 blade heads.
Having said all this you can see that adding this up front weight will affect your arrow (spine). I'd expect you will need a stiffer spined arrow shaft than your current 400gr arrows.
Might you be able to get together or contact one of the members who are also from Wy. Two skilled bowhunters, ferret and shedrock come to mind...I've no doubt if you shot them a PM (personal msg) they could greatly help you.
Kudos to you for asking for help, you can find many top notch bowhunters as members of this forum!

I am shooting 690 grains out of a 49 pound longbow,Zwickey Delta   up front with a 75 grain Woody weight to get there in weight.4 blade for whitetails and 2 blade for moose if I draw a tag  today in the Maine moose lottery.

With 50lbs on a elk I would definitely stick with a two blade 3/1 ratio type head. The new Grizzly's are super easy to sharpen, spin very true and are not expensive.


 

Those have me thinking hard TJ.  Thing is, I have so many others sitting around.

Thank you everyone, I will try to get my arrow weight up to around 600 and get a good 2 blade broadhead.

I agree with Tj, I shoot Grizzlys and they work very well.

A another great 2 blade broadhead which will definitely get the job done is a STOS glue on broadhead.

I personally believe the best no-fail, 2-blade, heavyweight broadhead in our solar system is the Abowyer line. I shoot their Wapiti head on my Alaska hunts, and I simply know there isn't a better broadhead being made today.

My 'best' may not be best for you, however. Variety is a good thing.