Arrow weight
 

i was wondering what a good arrow weight is for a 55lb bow that is shooting 237FPS. I am setting my old martin up for my friend.

Any suggestions?

RE: Arrow weight
 

Here is a question, what weight arrow is that bow shooting at 237fps?

RE: Arrow weight
 

i had a Gold Tip Expedition Hunter lying around and shot it throught the chrono...i was wonder to have more or less weight

RE: Arrow weight
 

It all depends, if I knew the weight of the arrow I could calculate the Kenetic Energy for you and let you know what way you needed to go.

RE: Arrow weight
 

My fiance is shooting a 40lbs bow with a 385 grain arrow at about 200fps and Im sure that will be more than enough for deer at ranges less than 25 yards. You really need to look at what your hunting, how far, what broadhead, arrow etc.

RE: Arrow weight
 

what poundage is it at

RE: Arrow weight
 

For hunting, I won't recommend anything under 400 grains, and I'd use heavy enough points to get FOC up to at least 12%.

RE: Arrow weight
 

I'm not arguing, I'm just asking.....I shoot a 368 gr. arrow @ 310 fps, giving me a KE of 78.5 ft. lbs.....I would THINK that should do it, no? I also have momentum of .50something slug pounds, whatever that is....I forget, what's the formula for FOC??

RE: Arrow weight
 

Go read through the 'physics is fun' thread, mobow. Not to put you off or anything, but I've typed my fingers to the bone in that thread responding to the exact things you ask. My piddies are tired.;)

As for the FOC formula, I just go to Jackson's and let the 'puter do the work. www.bowjackson.com

RE: Arrow weight
 

Cool...thanks bud.

RE: Arrow weight
 

Mobowhuntr, Arthur doesnt like light arrows. He deffinetly prefers them around 500grains or so. I would deffinetly say your setup is plenty for anything walking in north america. My allegiance was set up shooting a 360 grain arrow at around 310-312 and I dont think there is a deer alive that could say that arrow wouldnt blow through them.

RE: Arrow weight
 

I agree, but Arthur by God knows what he's talking about, and his view is certainly worth exploring. What I am about to say isn't meant negatively....The folks that grew up in the "old school" days of archery HAD to shoot big heavy arrows....No way around it. And with reason. Heavy arrows by golly carry more momentum, there's no arguing that.

But here's my point.....Today's compounds are SO efficient, it just isn't as necessary as it once was.....I am pulling 70 pounds, and kicking almost 79 pounds of KE....that's what, 110% or so? Go back just 10 years, if you had a bow hitting 85 or 90% you were kicking butt! Physics are physics, and the principles are the same.....BUT, 50 grains just isn't that much weight and coupled w/ the efficiency of today's compounds.....It wasa no brainer for me. I will say, though, that if I were hunting animals bigger than deer I would reconsider.....

RE: Arrow weight
 

mobowhuntr,

Would it surprise you to find out that KE has no correlation to penetration on live animals? It's been clearly demonstrated in Ashby's studies.

Check this link out: http://www.tradgang.com/ashby/2005update5.pdf

Read at least the first 4 pages and study the graph on pg 11. It would be very difficult to refute this info if you understand it.

RE: Arrow weight
 

that may be true straightarrow, but KE is somewhat of a good indicator to determine if your producing enough energy to get enough penetration. The KE may not dictate penetration but in order to get what does dictate penetration KE has to be present.

RE: Arrow weight
 

Of course KE has to be presentl. It just doesn't matter if it's relatively high or relatively low.

RE: Arrow weight
 

So what your saying having a high KE doesnt in any way have anything to do with penetration. From what I understand KE may not actualy effect penetration is more of a biproduct, but the higher the KE is the more potential there is for penetration because the higher the ke is the higher momentum and the other factors that dictate penetration are.

RE: Arrow weight
 

KE is not an indicator of penetration. Carefully read the link I placed above. Ashby explains it very well - better than I can. Study his graph that charts KE vs Penetration on 364 shots into animals. Notice the distribution is totally random. Then, look at his momentum charting of the same 364 shots and see the clear correlation to penetration.

RE: Arrow weight
 

The one thing that many of the speed freaks leave out of this discussion on heavy/light is the effects of light arrows on the equipment. Arthur and I both grew up from old school as you say. Old school physics is still valid. Heavier arrows are easier on your modern day space age bows. It slays me that people say I have 80 pounds of KE and they're shooting a combination that could explode tomorrow. If you buy a reasonably heavy arrow(doesn't have to be outrageously heavy) you won't be anymore than a foot pound or two away in total KE than you would with a speed arrow that didn't push the envelope on weight. Heavy arrows also make for a quieter bow. I'm shooting a real light arrow now, 467 grains. I remember when I used to shoot heavy stuff.[8D]

RE: Arrow weight
 

The only reason we archers are attracted to the light arrows is because they shoot flatter. You can shoot one pin out to maybe 35 yards. For animals like Antelope, an arrow in the 300 to 350 grain total weight is not a bad choice. They are pretty light boned and not hard to penetrate. But for larger game - particularly elk and moose - I'm in total agreement with the heavier arrow proponents.

RE: Arrow weight
 

To the best of my knowledge the majority of todays bows are warrantied for arrows of 350grains. I personaly shoot around 365 grains and I dont think my bow is going to blow up tomorrow as DavidMil stated. Now granted you will get a little more vibration and hand shock out of a 365 grain arrow compared to that whopper of a arrow he shoots, but with the high quality bows and vibration dampening devices they have today its pretty much a minimal difference. As for Straightarrow's comment about KE and being all over the chart for Dr. Ashby's test. Im pretty sure regardless of arrow weight, KE, Speed pretty much anything the results on live animals is going to be all over the place. It all dependds on where you hit them, and further more I never said KE determines penetration, read my post a little more carefuly.

RE: Arrow weight
 

This post is starting to sound eerily familiar to me. There's already 33 pages discussing the physics of the arrow. The guy is asking what arrow is a good set-up.

I'll give Arthur credit for just answering the guy's question on why or why not.

Hoytteen, Give me the specs for your set-up and I'll send you an Ontarget2 screen shot for the arrow you have now.

Supply what you have on your string and also arrow length and size.

Just an example. A 28.5" GT Expedition Hunter black with a 100 gr tip is 340 grains or so. If it's a 27" arrow the weight goes down a little and FOC rises.

Also, according to the quick runs are legit. His Vectrix would be around 270 fps at 55 lbs w 27" arrow and 100 gr tip.