ORIGINAL: MeanV2
Shot an Elk at 84 yards with a 400 grain arrow, and blew clean through him. It was wide open country and I had stalked this Bull for 3 hours. We had been shooting up to 90 yards all summer and I felt confident in the shot.
I never did find the arrow, but the Bull only went 60 yards.
Did I hit major bone? Nope! but if I had it would have been a poor shot. A poor shot is a poor shot, and IMHO another 100 to 150 grains on the arrow would not have made a difference if the shot was poor.
I've been chasing critters all over the US and Canada for over 40 years. A medium weight arrow 6 to 7 grains per pound is adequate for anything I hunt, although like I stated I will under certain circumstances use a heavier arrow as I am not really Pro light or Pro Heavy.
I had rather match the setup for the game intended.
One mind set that is totally wrong IMO is that Big broadheads or Heavy arrows will fix poor shots. They will NOT!! Only take a shot where you know you can place the arrow where it needs to be.
I will not use expandables because of things seen and experienced.
Dan
That is all good for you. You have the experience and skillset to accomplish that with a lighter arrow. Do you actually believe that the majority of bowhunters can do the same thing? And no one is saying heavy arrows will "fix poor shots", that is you making something up. What is being said is that a heavier arrow will help
compensate for a poor shot. Do you think the majority of bowhunters out there have you experience and skillset? I don't and that is why I would agree with idahoelkinstructor that bowhunters should err on the side of heavy rather than light.
It's always funny in these kinds of debates that a person will say something like " I can use/do this thing just fine so it should apply to everyone". Well, if everyone had person's experience and skillset then that would be fine. Unfortunately, most of the bowhunters I run into don't have the faintest idea of how to tune their bow, what arrow spine is and what it affects and don't practice except right before their bow season opener.