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02-28-2018, 06:12 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 314
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Arrow weights
what’s everyone’s preferred hunting arrows weight including broad head .
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02-28-2018, 06:42 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,780
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I use an 400gr arrow.
LC
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02-28-2018, 06:45 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Edson
Posts: 108
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Mine came in at 406 last year
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02-28-2018, 06:56 PM
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Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 130
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415 at 300fps last year giving a heavier insert a try this year arrows are 490 now haven’t chronyed them yet should be 280fps ish hope is that slower speed and higher FOC will help with fixed blade flight.
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02-28-2018, 11:20 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Edmonton Area
Posts: 4,102
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465 grains at 292 fps.
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02-28-2018, 11:24 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,697
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At least 10 grains per pound of draw weight...
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02-28-2018, 11:39 PM
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Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by calgarychef
At least 10 grains per pound of draw weight...
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Curious about your reasoning behind this that seems excessively heavy. 700grain arrow for my 70lb bow seems crazy heavy.
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03-01-2018, 12:55 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Alberta
Posts: 2,824
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Depending on the bow, and what I am hunting ,my arrows weigh from around 500 gr on the light side to 800 gr. Most come in around 620gr.
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03-01-2018, 03:03 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Oz
Posts: 2,124
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For the past 7 years, most of the time I’m shooting 530 grains at 290+ fps. If I’m hunting bigger stuff I’ll go heavier but the mid 500 range works well. I’ve had more penetration issues with 400-450 grain arrows then I care to remember and have never had a 550-700 grain arrow stay in any animal on any hit so I like to keep the weight up by today’s standards. Those in vogue, soda straw arrows leave you vulnerable on any bad hit or angle that requires 3’ of penetration. If you do a bit of testing, a heavier arrow (within reason) does very little to your trajectory within “normal” bow range.
I used to have a picture on my phone of two arrows I shot from my bow at 70 yards. They were 420 and 530 grains, difference in vertical POI was about 4”. Difference in penetration potential is significant.
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03-01-2018, 06:57 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Usually the office, but the bush when I can
Posts: 1,289
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525 grains out of 70# bow, speeding along at whatever speed they fly - doesn't matter what speed they fly 'cause they haven't met an animal that likes them yet.
Have gone through almost all of the animals I've shot at. The ones that didn't make it through still brought the animal down fast (more to do with BH that arrow weight). But the arrow weight does play into whether there's only one hole, or two.
J.
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My $0.02.... Please feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt
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03-01-2018, 04:40 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,697
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freerider
Curious about your reasoning behind this that seems excessively heavy. 700grain arrow for my 70lb bow seems crazy heavy.
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The OP didn't say what kind of bow
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03-02-2018, 07:47 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,780
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coiloil37
For the past 7 years, most of the time I’m shooting 530 grains at 290+ fps. If I’m hunting bigger stuff I’ll go heavier but the mid 500 range works well. I’ve had more penetration issues with 400-450 grain arrows then I care to remember and have never had a 550-700 grain arrow stay in any animal on any hit so I like to keep the weight up by today’s standards. Those in vogue, soda straw arrows leave you vulnerable on any bad hit or angle that requires 3’ of penetration. If you do a bit of testing, a heavier arrow (within reason) does very little to your trajectory within “normal” bow range.
I used to have a picture on my phone of two arrows I shot from my bow at 70 yards. They were 420 and 530 grains, difference in vertical POI was about 4”. Difference in penetration potential is significant.
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A pass through is a pass through, I have put a few 400gr arrows clean through elk. The old cliche about shot placement is truth.
LC
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03-02-2018, 08:42 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Okotoks
Posts: 775
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538 gr arrow ----- 80 lb bow
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03-02-2018, 08:59 AM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 204
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425 grain arrow @ 60lbs. Gold tip kinetic pierce with 140gr up front.
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03-02-2018, 09:50 AM
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 782
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Arrow weight
I shoot a 400 grain arrow. It is what shoots most consistently and offers the most accuracy. With that I know when the time comes I can put the arrow right where it needs to be. Hitting where you aim is more important than the weight of the arrow IMo.
Morb
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To speak without thinking is like shooting without aiming!!
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03-02-2018, 10:13 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 616
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I feel as if I'm shooting light compared to others. If I calculated right my arrow set up comes in at 376 grains. 27" draw. 65 lbs. Had a clean passthrough on a mule buck this year. Almost a clean passthrough on a moose last year but my broad got stuck in the opposite shoulder blade.
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I used to walk into a room full of people and wonder if they like me ...
Now I look around and wonder if I like them!
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03-03-2018, 12:09 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 971
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I'm using 530 grain hunting arrows with a 60 pound bow.
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03-03-2018, 08:11 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Usually the office, but the bush when I can
Posts: 1,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathews z7
what’s everyone’s preferred hunting arrows weight including broad head .
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcrayford
525 grains out of 70# bow, speeding along at whatever speed they fly - doesn't matter what speed they fly 'cause they haven't met an animal that likes them yet.
Have gone through almost all of the animals I've shot at. The ones that didn't make it through still brought the animal down fast (more to do with BH that arrow weight). But the arrow weight does play into whether there's only one hole, or two.
J.
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Sorry, I didn't read your whole post Mathews. 525 grains total weight that includes a 125 grain BH. At least I think those are the numbers. It's been a while since I put the completed arrows on a scale.
J.
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My $0.02.... Please feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt
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03-03-2018, 08:16 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Usually the office, but the bush when I can
Posts: 1,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coiloil37
For the past 7 years, most of the time I’m shooting 530 grains at 290+ fps. If I’m hunting bigger stuff I’ll go heavier but the mid 500 range works well. I’ve had more penetration issues with 400-450 grain arrows then I care to remember and have never had a 550-700 grain arrow stay in any animal on any hit so I like to keep the weight up by today’s standards. Those in vogue, soda straw arrows leave you vulnerable on any bad hit or angle that requires 3’ of penetration. If you do a bit of testing, a heavier arrow (within reason) does very little to your trajectory within “normal” bow range.
I used to have a picture on my phone of two arrows I shot from my bow at 70 yards. They were 420 and 530 grains, difference in vertical POI was about 4”. Difference in penetration potential is significant.
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Hey Coil, I'm just wondering what is the differences in flight characteristics at 40 yards between your 530 & 700 weight arrows? Did you ever measure and was it enough to start moving pins?
J.
__________________
My $0.02.... Please feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt
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03-04-2018, 11:52 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Oz
Posts: 2,124
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcrayford
Hey Coil, I'm just wondering what is the differences in flight characteristics at 40 yards between your 530 & 700 weight arrows? Did you ever measure and was it enough to start moving pins?
J.
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It’s significant. I ran a totally separate sight for them so I could switch between setups by changing the sight. The rest and knocking point didn’t need to change between the two setups and both arrows would group fieldpoints with broadheads and bareshafts. From memory they were probably 8-10” lower at 40 yards.
The biggest difference was penetration. I typically practice into a natural sand bank. 400-420 grain shafts go in about 4-5”, 530 grains go in about 12-15”. My 700 grain arrows would bury a 30” shaft, the broadhead and nock about 4-5” under the sand. I had to dig them out.
I did some penetration tests on moose leg bones, my 530 grain arrows break the legs and scapula fairly easily. I’ve done the same thing on animals when I shot a bedded bull elk in the leg where the bone was about the size of a sledgehammer handle. It broke the leg, got both lungs and an exit wound. Anyway, back to the testing on moose legs, the sinewy hocks I couldn’t break at 530 grains. The 700 grain arrows sailed through and buried themselves into my rhino block about 8”.
I initially set them up for water buff, the hunt however fell apart on the way up to the Northern Territory when we stopped at a gas station for fuel and water. The pig dogs got into 1080 and we had to shoot all five of them. The guy who lost the dogs was pretty sad and inevitably irritated the land owner who did a 180 from “come and shoot whatever you want for free” to “water buff are 50k trophy fee, pigs are $500, you want to put your boat in the water? $200 to put it in the water. Needless to say it I didn’t shoot a buff and haven’t made the effort to find another property up there yet.
For north America I’m pretty happy in the mid 500 range. I’ve been let down multiple times with 420 grain arrows so to me they’re a non starter. They work when the hit is perfect but your shot angles are limited and life isn’t perfect.
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03-05-2018, 06:53 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Usually the office, but the bush when I can
Posts: 1,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coiloil37
It’s significant. I ran a totally separate sight for them so I could switch between setups by changing the sight. The rest and knocking point didn’t need to change between the two setups and both arrows would group fieldpoints with broadheads and bareshafts. From memory they were probably 8-10” lower at 40 yards.
The biggest difference was penetration. I typically practice into a natural sand bank. 400-420 grain shafts go in about 4-5”, 530 grains go in about 12-15”. My 700 grain arrows would bury a 30” shaft, the broadhead and nock about 4-5” under the sand. I had to dig them out.
I did some penetration tests on moose leg bones, my 530 grain arrows break the legs and scapula fairly easily. I’ve done the same thing on animals when I shot a bedded bull elk in the leg where the bone was about the size of a sledgehammer handle. It broke the leg, got both lungs and an exit wound. Anyway, back to the testing on moose legs, the sinewy hocks I couldn’t break at 530 grains. The 700 grain arrows sailed through and buried themselves into my rhino block about 8”.
I initially set them up for water buff, the hunt however fell apart on the way up to the Northern Territory when we stopped at a gas station for fuel and water. The pig dogs got into 1080 and we had to shoot all five of them. The guy who lost the dogs was pretty sad and inevitably irritated the land owner who did a 180 from “come and shoot whatever you want for free” to “water buff are 50k trophy fee, pigs are $500, you want to put your boat in the water? $200 to put it in the water. Needless to say it I didn’t shoot a buff and haven’t made the effort to find another property up there yet.
For north America I’m pretty happy in the mid 500 range. I’ve been let down multiple times with 420 grain arrows so to me they’re a non starter. They work when the hit is perfect but your shot angles are limited and life isn’t perfect.
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Wow! That's a ton of information - thanks!
Must've been hard to deal with the hunt that never worked out, knowing that all the work you put into it was for nothing. But you did come away with some valuable information (who not to deal with again, heavy arrow testing).
Thanks for the input
J.
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My $0.02.... Please feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt
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03-05-2018, 02:42 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,519
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80 lbs, 700 grain, 175gr up front. 150 spine. Hammers I call em.
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03-06-2018, 07:37 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: St Albert
Posts: 848
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My current arrows are sitting at 426gr. I do have a few brass weights kicking around. Was thinking of trying testing out 500 to 550-ish. My 426gr are currently traveling at 301fps. will be interesting to see and try them out.
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