Minimum Arrow Weight
 

This has certainly been asked before, so pls bear with me.

I shoot an AR 34 (2003, Ram Cam). The botom limb (with the sticker that tells the serial #, draw weight, etc.) says that you should shoot a minimum 420 grain arrow. My arrows w/o the crest (and with feathers instead of vanes) are 378 grains and my arrows with crests and vanes (instead of feathers) are 410. Both seem to shoot great for me. What gives?

BTW, I'm shooting PSE Carbon Force Extremes 400's (28") with 100 grain field tips/Muzzy 3-blades.

Also, what is an acceptable tolerance in weight for arrows? Mine seem to be +/- 5 grains or so.

Thx for the help.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

some bow manufacturers like PSE/Archery Research
Require arrows to weigh 6 grains per pound of draw weight so if your bows peak drawweight is 70 they want you to shoot a 429 grain arrow

most other companys require to shoot at least 5 grains per pound

only 2 companys will warrant their bow to shoot less than 5 grains per pound, High Country Archery and Archery Pro LLC.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

IMO shooting a 378 grain arrow will not hurt the bow I think that grain requirement is a little overkill on AR's part.

a plus minus 5 grains is acceptable number
you will get a plus minus of every componert you put on the shaft
any one who builds their own arrows need to invest in a grain scale to get their arrows weighing as close together as possible.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

As BPS made reference to, that 420 grain recommendation is if the bow is set at its peak draw weight of 70 lbs....70 x 6 = 420 grains. However, it should also be noted that this recommended weight is also with a 30 inch draw length in mind. If your draw length is less than 30 inches then you can get away with less than 6 grains per pound of arrow weight....going by AMO/ATA recommendations.

To make it really easy...if you are shooting the bow at 65 lbs with a 28 inch draw length then a 378 grain arrow would be nothing to worry about.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

Use this calculator to find the minimum AMO arrow weight for your setup:

http://home.att.net/~sajackson/amochart.html

Hope this helps. Be safe.
Shoot Straight
Derbytown :D

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

I own a jeweler's scale that measures in grains. When I referenced the +/- 5 grains per arrow, I was referring to the actual dispersion between my completed hunting arrows (407 to 412) . Is that 5 grains of dispersion good, bad, or indifferent?

Incidentally, I've sent a note to AR. I'll post their response to my question regarding minimum arrow weight if/when it's received.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

JMO, but I never shoot below 6 grains per lb and never will!
I believe, even though manufacturers warrant for 5 grs per lb it is still too low.
Most bow manufacturers never did want to warrant for under 6 grs per lb.
They do only because they finally gave in to pressure from those first manufacturers who began to warrant for the 5 gr. limit.
My current arrows for my Bowman and Merlin bows are 6.7 to over 7 grs per lb.
You almost never hear of limb problems with heavier arrows like you do with 5 grs. per lb and below.
Anytime I read a post about someone's limb exploding or cracking, I can't help wondering they probably shoot 5 grs or less.


Sag.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

ufg8r93,

That 5 grain range isn't bad and won't make a noticable difference at short hunting distances. You wouldn't want to have that range if you were shooting 80+ yards in field archery, but the amount of difference in impact point at 20-30 yards is negligible in a hunting situation.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

Sag, makes me wonder how they'll respond to the Speed pro arrows HCA/Newberry bows...

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

I agree and would further add that many shafts are listed as having as much as as a +/- 5 grain difference from one shaft to the next.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

I don't think they'll have to.

Running some numbers through the ballistics program pretty much eased my mind about the safety issues I thought I'd see with those SpeedPro arrows. The way HCA gains speed by decreasing arrow weight? There's not much trajectory benefit over a 350 gn arrow at 290 fps. You pick up maybe 1 yard of effective range on the tail end.

According to the program, which has proven to be pretty darn accurate, if you're shooting at a deer with your 40 pin centered on his lungs, you better hope that sucker's not at 45 yards, whether you're shooting either a 350 gn arrow at 290 or a 250 gn arrow at 350.

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

Here we go agin:eek:

Arthur P
there are too many variables to make any assumption from a ballistics program such as more FOC% will cause more of a drop rate
and even different sizeFletchings will give an arrow different flight charicteristics.

I have my 20 yard pin sighted in at 40 and aim 2 inches below my intended point of inpact at 20 to hit dead on center at 45 yards I would aim in between my 40 and 50 yard pin.

I can guarantee you less likely to miss with a flatter shooting set up opposed to one with more of a rainbow trajectory.

you seem to be pretty bent on trying to disproove this fact.
may I ask why and what does it really matter to you if people want to use lighter faster set ups especially when we are making fast clean ethical kills with them?

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

Though I am not Arthur I would say for myself that I have no problem at all with people using light, fast setups in certain situations. Just not too light or too fast and just not next to me on the practice range....;)

:D

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

PAB

I have several thousand shots out of my Newberry at 75 LB, TSS at 74LB and My Max Xtreme at 70 LB shooting a 250 to 275 grain arrow with absolutley no problems what so ever and still have the original strings on the newberry and the TSS which is made from Brownell D75 thin and ultra cam, materials.
and I would also be willing to bet that any of my bows shoot as quiet if not more quiet than any ones bow on this forum.

not to mention flatter and faster:)

Un fortunately you wont have to worry too much about me shooting the speed pros at most 3D shoots unless they are fun shoots. because neither ASA or IBO allow me to shoot an arrow that light so I am stuck using the ACC 3-49 super lite at 3D shoots.
but when I am in the woods hunting you better bet your sweet bippy I will be using my Speed Pro arrows!

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

The arrows in question should be fine, especially with your 28" draw.

IMO, the whole light arrow thing is mostly a sales tactic. The archery industry is very competitive. Most companies are probably trying to figure out 1. How they can get the average archer to buy a new bow every year, even though the bow they currently have is more than adequate. 2. How to get the archer in #1 to buy something other than a Mathews or Hoyt. Bowtech did it first with speed, and now that customer interest is there, offered some smoother, slower bows (Freedom cam) as well. How are you gonna get the archer looking for a new bow to buy a High Country instead of one of the big 3 or 4 (if you include PSE)? They are pushing the envelope to be sure. Maybe their bows can take it. The IBO and ASA arrow weight minimums are the only standards we currently have for a safety margin, so many archers are going to be upset when those standard lines are crossed. For the average guy, you probably only need to have one bow blow up on you to get the idea it is not something to do to alleviate boredom.;)

The 3-3.5 gr. per pound guys are our current "Guinea Pigs." They can continue to test their bows and see how they hold up. I'm personally not interested in this testing, but don't really care if someone else is.:)

As far as the noise thing, it certainly does vary with individual bows. I remember a mid '90's HCA Machined Supreme I had. The difference in noise between a 500 gr. and 400 gr. arrow was almost unbelievable. Great shooter, but I wouldn't hunt with something that noisy (with the 400 gr.). The Newberry bow that I still have is certainly more efficient with lighter arrows than any other bow I have, and the noise level doesn't change much when I shot light arrows to test it. BUT, I currently have 4 other bows that are at least a little quieter than it is even with "normal" arrows which for me is 6 - 6.5 gr. per pound. I have had the pleasure of shooting 3 of PA Bowhntr's Bowtechs in the last year. I would say that the way he has them set up, they are at least a little quieter than my best bows for noise. I think you would be surprised just how quiet some forum members' bows actually are.;)

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

You know... that is EXACTLY what the ballistics program predicted. Thank you for verifying the figures.

Are you trying to insult my intelligence? I think most people have the mental snap to know to aim between the 40 and 50 pins for a 45 yard shot. Duh.

I'd like to see you tell the rest of the story. How the 55 gn Speed Pro broadhead has only a 1" cutting diameter. Like someone would use with a light hunting bow. Frankly, I'd rather use the heavier arrow, sacrifice 1 yard of effective range, and use the extra energy and momentum to force a larger cut head thru the vitals; for more tissue damage, more bleeding, better blood trail and a faster, cleaner kill.

You use ultralight fishin' poles and 4 pound test line for marlin?

:eek:

RE: Minimum Arrow Weight
 

I would never insullt your intelegence Arthur P
Because you show your ignorance every time you start bad mouthing my arrows[>:]


noI dont use poles to catch fish but I use a 40# bow and a fiberglass arrow with a 150 lb test line hooked to it for Grass ,Buffalo carp, 60 # cat fish and Alligator Gar.

Arthur P I dont care what you use but youre mentality thinking the arrows I preferr to use to hunt with are inferior to yours well lets just say you are very much WRONG!


And oh by the way the Speed pro broadheads has the same cutting Diamiter as My Wasdp Boss Broad heads as does Muzzy and several other brands on the market I will also add that the blades will shave you smoothe as a babys ass and Leaves a big blood trail and a nasty exit wound.

Not to mention that the buck I took last Bow season the arrow passed through the deer so fast he didnt even know he was hit untilabout 5 minuites later as he bled out and piled up right in the spot I shot him.
and thats the rest of the story!