OfcHiggy

I have only been bow huntimg for a very short while and every where I go it seems you have two differnt types of guys. The ones who like super light very fast arrows or the ones who like heavy arrows and put speed on the back burner.
I shoot a Ross and easton fmj with a total arrow weight of almost 500 grains. Some guys say that is great, then some say that isnt necessary. Just trying to get a feel for everyones opinion with supporting reasons.

Thanks for the help. Kerry

halfbakedi420

as long as yer tuned good, it wont matter. i guess im slow at 250fps, and i use a 125 bh, but i get through and through shots over and over....only ones that never were through and through were the spit fire mech's...ughhh
are yer shots through and through? if so, great.. if not..maybe you havnt found a median in weight vs speed yet, or shot placement could be a factor.
bottom line, what works is good!

HDMontana

I prefer a fast arrow. My hunting arrows at 390 grains are moving at 312 fps. A slightly better window for yardages estimation if range finder can't be used.

bigbulls

Slow and heavy wins every time. The bow is quieter, broadhead flight is better, wear and tear on the bow is reduced, KE and momentum is higher initially and is retained better over distance.

You would be surprised at how little trajectory difference there really is when comparing light and heavy arrows out of the same bow.

For instance...
A 350 grain arrow shot at 340 fps and sighted in at 20 yards will drop 12.6 inches at 40 yards. It will start out with about 90 foot pounds of KE.

A 500 grain arrow shot at 290 fps and sighted in at 20 yards will drop 17.4 inches at 40 yards. It will start out with about 93 foot pounds of KE.

scottycoyote

slow and heavy penetrates better, fast and light lets you be off a bit on your range estimation and still hit the mark. I try to fall somewhere in between and get the best of both worlds....if i had to choose one id go heavier.

Bible_Man

Well said.

bronko22000

I think Bibbulls estimates are even being a bit conservative. The normal average speed loss/gain is roughly about 1 fps per 5 grains of arrow weight. So in his estimates (or calculations) the speeds would be 340 and 310 from the same bow with the 350 and 500 gr arrows respectfully - all else being equal. So the trajectory would be even flatter for the heavier arrow and KE greater.
Additionally, I believe it is also determined by what you are hunting. A big burly animial like a moose, big bear, bison etc have heavy ribs and a lot of body mass to get through. Your heavier arrow stands a much better chance of pushing through all that mass of muscle and bone.

BGfisher

Pretty good explanation here. Another thing rarely mentioned is that the slower heavier arrow will retain a greater percentage of it's initial velocity over longer distances.

True, for most eastern hardwoods hunting longer shots are not the norm, but then there is even more reason not to go crazy with speed. Out west I can see it, but only to a point.

It's fairly common knowledge that a heavier arrow will be more stable and have a little less wind drift. Also makes the bow shoot more quietly and over time less stress on the bow itself.

To that end I'm not in either camp. I'd shoot something in the middle of the range, maybe 6 to 7 gr per pound of draw weight. Reach a happy medium.

BTM

What bigbulls and BGfisher said. Once I started chronographing arrows, looking at kinetic energy, and comparing trajectories, it didn't make much sense to drop below 450 grains.

Krypt Keeper

I asked this question on Archery Talk, its now 6 or 7 pages of people arguing.

Recently just changed my setup, was shooting a 417gr arrow at 248fps, now I am shooting a lighter arrow 351gr at 266fps.

I lost 1 ft pound of KE but gained 18fps and still not done tuning my bow. Will probably gain the KE back and maybe 1 or 2 feet.

Find a good happy medium between the two. I could go lighter but would drop my KE too low.