Choosing new arrows for hunting

[FallAirFever]

I am thinking about buying some new arrows for hunting season. Right now I am shooting Beman ICS bowhunters, but want to "upgrade".
I am shooting 28.5" draw, pulling 64lbs, arrows are 27" long and plan on working my way up close to 70 before hunting season.

Right now I am leaning towards the heavier side for an arrow. My first hunt will be for elk and I will pack my bow along if I draw my moose tage as well.
I am internally going through the KE vs Speed argument in my head and was hoping for some of you guys to jump in with your opinions...

The arrows that I have been thinking of getting are Easton: Full Metal Jackets or Axix ST OR Carbon Express: Piledriver (hunters) or Maxima (Hunters)

All thoughts and opinions are appreciated!! Thanks!

[Hunter Trav]

I've used both of the Easton's you mentioned, and as much as I like them, I couldn't justify the price. I have been shooting their Powerflights in a 340 spine, and they have been pretty good to me. And I can get almost 2 doz of them for the price of 1 doz of the FMJ. The 340's are 9.3 or 9.5 GPI, can't remember exactly as I don't have them in front of me. Basically the same as the regular axis though. As far as the speed thing goes, I prefer to shoot a heavier arrow, than try and get the most speed as I can. Makes your bow quieter too. But each to their own...

[hunter10]

I would get FMJ's or maxima hunters. CX builds an awesome arrow and I really like them. But i have heard FMJs are great. ( I would get them but they are too heavy for my liking)

[ishootbambi]

all the arrows you mentioned are good choices. KE is overrated in my mind. arrows kill via hemmorage from the broadhead. shock value from energy is low enough to be considered a useless number in practical terms. just make sure to choose a properly spined arrow whichever one you choose. trav does make a good point about weight though. it does make the shot a little quieter if it matters to you.

[nicholal]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

all the arrows you mentioned are good choices. KE is overrated in my mind. arrows kill via hemmorage from the broadhead. shock value from energy is low enough to be considered a useless number in practical terms. just make sure to choose a properly spined arrow whichever one you choose. trav does make a good point about weight though. it does make the shot a little quieter if it matters to you.

KE is not over rated. You do need enough force to penerate and past through an animal barring it dont hit a bone then that is where you want max KE

I dont think people think of shock value as like in a bullet shock energy displacement.
nuff said

Al

[ishootbambi]

sigh.......read it again. thats pretty well what i said. sorry if you didnt understand the big words. as long as the broadhead gets where it needs to go KE is irrelevant. at the ranges it may be argued to become an issue, the vast majority of archers have no hope of putting that arrow in the right spot. MOST modern compound bows fire arrows retaining enough KE to do the job out to 100 yards plus. MOST archers cannot consider this a reasonable distance for archery hunting. therefore like i said KE is pretty well a useless number in archery terms. are ya baggin what im mowin????

[Rackmastr]

I am shooting the CX Maxima 350 3-D Selects this year. Wraps, Blazers, and 125gr point, they are working pretty good out of my setup and should be a good mix of speed and weight.

I have shot the Easton Axis for a few years and they are a VERY tough arrow with great weight and amazing penetration. They fly great in the wind and are a very good arrow IMO.

I dont think you can go wrong with any of the choices you listed there. Find the arrow that spines good and is weighted good for you and do some tinkering around on a program like OnTarget to see the changes in speeds, weights, KE, etc to do some of your own calculations and decisions beforehand.

[hunter10]

Check out Gold tip aswell. the expedition hunter 5575. They have some weight to them.

http://www.goldtip.com/expedition.htm

[russ]

there seems to be some confusion about KE again. You can't magically increase KE by simply increasing arrow weight. KE isn't a property of the arrow it's a property of the bow. So when you set a bow @ X pounds the kinetic energy basically stays the same. Changing arrow weight changes arrow speed, not the arrows KE.

[wctbowtech]

Originally Posted by russ

there seems to be some confusion about KE again. You can't magically increase KE by simply increasing arrow weight. KE isn't a property of the arrow it's a property of the bow. So when you set a bow @ X pounds the kinetic energy basically stays the same. Changing arrow weight changes arrow speed, not the arrows KE.

Here's the formula for KE

Kinetic Energy = arrow weight x velocity x velocity ÷ 450,240

If you increase arrow weight you will lose velocity (speed) therefore you may not get an increase in KE. Although, most bows are more efficient when you use a heavier arrow so ussually you will see an increase in KE by increasing you arrow weight.

[russ]

The last time I fiddled with it, the one bow I tested worked out to about a 5% improvement between heavy & light. I considered that to be statistically insignificant. In other words, shoot the arrow that best suits your needs.

[pseelk]

Originally Posted by russ

The last time I fiddled with it, the one bow I tested worked out to about a 5% improvement between heavy & light. I considered that to be statistically insignificant. In other words, shoot the arrow that best suits your needs.

Any modern bow set at 60# useing the proper arrow has more than enough ke to pass through most game,any more you might gain with a heavier arrow or by turning your bow up to 70# will only make your arrow stick deeper in the dirt on the other side

[jim-bo]

Any of the arrows that you choose would work superbly, check out gold tip as well I shoot the XT HUNTERS and I really like them.

[spurly]

another vote for Goldtip, I like the ultralight entrada, in a 400.When shooting through the chrono I gained 12-15fps between the hunters and the ultralights.