The land I plan to hunt deer on next year has Black Bear and Moose. so I figure after a year or 2 of bowhunting experience, I'll be willing to try my hand at a black bear or a moose. What is lowest KE you would consider hunting a moose with? This is affecting my decision on my first bow as I want something that I can hunt bigger game with when i'm ready
FPS means nothing and it isn't the same as KE. I could elaborate but their are far more knowledgable guys than me when it comes to discussing arrows builds and momentum (tfox to mention one). However, I will state one must stop focusing so much on how fast an object is going and not lose sight of focusing on the object. I'd rather get hit by one of those swimming pool noodle floaty things going 80mph than a 4 foot cut section of a sampling going 40mph.
One often gets wrapped around ke and momentum when in reality, they're just numbers. Yes higher energy setups have greater penetration POTENTIAL but without proper tune and arrow combinations along with adequate foc and proper broadhead design for the quarry, it really means nothing. I would focus on proper arrow build and broadhead design to match my bow and it's setup. A single bevel broadhead can make a huge difference on an arrows penetration as well as foc so those would be my main focus if going after large game. I would not hesitate to use and arrow with 20% FOC plus range with a Helix single bevel from my 57# bow with less than 60 ft/lb of ke for moose
Ke can be a deceiving indicator of potential penetration abilities because momentum plays a larger role (ke does play a role) Many a Moose have been killed with recurve bows which tend to have lower ke numbers due to not storing much energy so arrow weight is increased to build up momentum. However, a compound can yield the same momentum with lower arrow weights and will have much higher ke values so like I stated earlier, they're just numbers that confuse the hell out of most people.
I know you stated your draw length is 28" In another thread but what kind of poundage are you looking at shooting?
Most hunting bows are in the 330 fps ibo area and at 28" 60#, that should be sufficient. If you were in the 50# range, I would probably say go with a higher ibo bow to get the energy up but you should be fine. I would advise going with a heavier arrow concentrating on getting FOC up over 20%. This would mean shooting brass inserts and heavy,150 gr + single bevel broadheads if going after moose size game. This is something you can easily change to for the trip. For whitetail, a moderately weighted arrow (400 gr or so) will suffice.
