How fast, how hard, how much
 

How much velocity AND how much KE before you reach the point of unnecessary?

Hypothetically, if you could come up with a design that approached 400fps with a hunting arrow, would it necessarily make a great hunting bow?

Of you guys that shoot hot bows, how fast do you really fling a hunting-weight arrow?

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

It would absolutely make a great hunting bow. The question again comes back to necessity. Do we really need to be shooting 400+ fps? Some would argue yes and others would argue no.

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

For a properly placed shot, the amount of KE is almost neglegable. If nothing solid is hit, and the broadhead is sharp it will pass through without a problem.

When it becomes necessary is when things don't go as planned. You get a rib, clip the shoulder, hit the shield on a hog, etc... In that case, I want all of the KE I can get to turn that marginal hit into a recovered animal. Another thought is if you have energy to burn, why not use a larger diameter head. This will increase the size of the wound channel, which will speed the demise of your prey.

While I don't consider my hunting rig super fast, it is flinging a 412gr arrow at 288fps which gives me 76 ft-lbs of KE. Probably overkill for whitetail but I can shoot it comfortably in any weather so that is what I use.

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

The determining factor here is " energy in = energy out " in other words a bow that shoots a hunting weight arrow " lots of oppinions there " , at 400 fps , is going to rip most pepoles shoulder apart .

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

Yep. There are guys out there who say one has to be able to take 50 yard shots and have a lot of speed for some game animals because that's as close as you can get to them. Then you've got other guys who are shooting bows they hacked out of a tree limb with arrows they made from scratch, taking the very same animals at well under 20 yards. Some guys are simply better hunters than others, and better hunters get close. When you're close enough, you don't need a lot of speed.

As far as I'm concerned, if they ever come out with a bow that's capable of 400 fps, they can darn well keep it. I'll stick with 560 gn arrows and my under-200 fps recurve. ;)

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

Maybe for some, but I don't think it is necessary. In fact I am in the opinion that traditional gear with it's quick pointing, aiming and releasing can actually more beneficial then speed. It takes a bit of work to achieve this however.

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

I do not feel that I need a bow pshing 400fps with a hunting arrow. I'm quite sucessful shooting my 450g arrows out around 260fps. It's plenty fast enough and my bow is still quiet.

There are few animals of North America that I couldn't take with my current set up. I'd have no problem hunting black bears, moose, whitetails, muley, elk, ect,ect,ect. Actually about the only three animals I would want more bow to hunt would be the three big bears, brown, grizzley and polar. I'm confiedent that 70 ft/lbs of ke is plenty to retire all the animals of NA but the bigger bears demand "respect" in a diffrent manner then the other animals. I use the word respect meaning if you screw up they may well rip you apart. I'd consider them as equals on Darwin's pyramid.

So to answer you question, if I had to slap a number on the optimum ke for NA big game I would say 70 ft/lbs.

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

For the average setup today I think there is an excess of KE for the typical pass through shot on a whitetail deer....assuming the bow is tuned ofcourse. You ask how much is enough? Good question. The only thing I see benefiting somewhat by the increased energy storage of bows is that now you can have good KE and or momentum numbers coupled with a relatively fast arrows....at low noise levels and from an entirely safe setup. Could you say the same thing 10 years ago? How many bows back then shot in the 270s or 280s with a 420-450 grain arrow without resorting to a heavy draw weight or a noisy bow?

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

I could see how a 400 fps bow could be useful but aren't we all doing fine with the gear we have now? It would take some pretty complicated engineering trick as well as a very light arrow to attain those speeds but I'm sure it could be done. The question is how stable would such a light arrow be when launched at such blazing high speeds?

RE: How fast, how hard, how much
 

Thats probably what they said 10 years ago about 300 fps.

I shoot a sub-200fps Oneida with a 510 grain arrow. Im not sure on my KE, but Im more than confident to shoot any whitetail that walks in front of me. I see no need to have a 280fps hunting rig. Would I shoot one if I could still have the same smoothness and quietness of my bow now? Heck yes I would, but that doesnt mean I need it.