Recently it was brought to my attention that I was shooting too long a DL. I have shortened up from 32" to 30 and watched my groups shrink almost immediately. Also noticed a huge speed loss. I am not a speed guy really. I shoot an arrow that I would consider for my draw weight. 458 grain arrow with 30" draw at 55lb. Should I consider lightening my arrow up a little with the shorter DL. I know momentum and BH selection is what drives penetration but where is that point of diminishing return on weight vs. speed?
Your really asking/touching on two very different things. First you need to decide what/where you hunting then you can tailor your arrow weight to your wants and need. Seeing your location I am assuming deer. No 458 gains in itsself is not overly heavy at 55 pounds however you may not need that depending on your broad head selection. If you using mechanical heads I think the you probably should stay about were your at. However shooting a fixed blade head you can probably knock about 50 grains off them and you wont notice any diffidence. since your dumping 2 inches off your draw length did you shorten your arrows? If so you probably could/should move down in spine shaving some weight right there. Now the second issue you mentioned, although I don't think you meant in in the context I am going to discuses it. The point of diminishing returns. Yes there is a point of diminishing returns on both ends of the scale in regards to arrow weight. Each bow is different in how efficiently it transfers its energy to the arrow. How we have gone about measuring that is by shooting arrows in incremental weights and then plotting the speeds. With all bows you will reach a point in the graph were arrow speed and weight are at its most efficient. Sounds great doesn't it? Well its a big waste of time, and serves little practical purpose. Why do I say that? Because at most we might be talking about 1% to 3% gain in efficiency and even at that you might find the results will yield an arrow that inst suitable/or ideal for your use. The BEST possible scenario (which doesn't happen often) is that you find a the bow charts best at large range of weights...for example a 50-75 gain window. THEN you stumbled on good information....why is that? Because your able to use the most weight with in the RANGE at the highest efficiency.
I am thinking about cutting maybe an inch off although I don't think it's really necessary. I had them trimmed pretty close before. My arrow is 30.5" throat to the end of the carbon. I shoot 125 grain ST Standards and will not shoot mechanicals probably ever.
Considering your shooting a small diameter fixed blade head, I would be in the 375 grain finished weight. I honestly dont see why you need much more then that at 55 pounds if deer are your primary target.
The main reason I went heavier is the first 2 deer I killed I didn't get pass thrus shooting about 370grain with thunderheads. But that was also before I knew tuning a bow even was possible and shooting an older 60lb Jennings bow. When I started figuring all that out I went to my current arrow and never looked back. I was kind of thinking 400 range if anything. I don't think I would go all the down to 375. Even though I know it probably wouldn't make a big difference with deer and a tuned bow.
I personally wouldn't mess with it. Here's the thing. Even by lightening your arrows say.. 50 grains, you're not going to see much of a difference in impact point. If you're worried about the advantage of speed with miss judging yardage, its not going to matter much IMO. Especially at normal whitetail distances. Where I would look at that arrow is in terms of tuning it to the bow. Look at your FOC and make sure thats high enough. I personally like 15% as it seems to tune out and fly very well in my setups. Check the spine of the arrow as well and make sure its within the range. Here I always side with a stiffer spine within the range in terms of head weight and arrow length, etc.
Yes I would like to bump my FOC up. I rolling about 13% right now. Thought about going to the 150 or 175 grain Slicks which I think would get me to 15-17 which is adding even more weight to my current arrow. I know I need to probably build a whole new arrow to really achieve what I want in that department though.
Speed isn't really the point. I'm was looking to find a good balance or find out if I already had it. As far as 55lb goes, it's where I'm comfortable. I can draw from any position stay at full draw for long periods let Down and draw very slowly if need be and shoot A LOT with no ill effects. Those things couldn't be said when I shot at 65lb a year and a half ago. A set of 60 lb limbs later I'm a much happier shooter. In fact my next bow might have 50lb limbs on it just maxed out.
You are in a really good place as is. Your draw length makes up for alot of poundage,even though you shortened it,you're still at the upper end.
Sorry to bring the topic back up. But didn't want to start a new one. With my set up at 55lb 458gr arrow at 30" would I be able to shoot a Killzone for turkey ok. I'll be sticking with ST for big game but I keep seeing the standards are a little small for turkey and big expandable a seem to do the job well on turkey Thought maybe since it's such a smaller animal I may be able to shoot Killzones.
The size of the animal isn't as important as the makeup of what you could contact that would effect proper punching or penetration power. I don't hunt turkies personally but I don't know of a turkey out there with the shoulder blades of a deer or the knuckle joints. I would bet you'd be okay for turkies with no hesitation on my part.
That is poor advice. Not everybody can or wants to shoot heavy bows. I shoot 58# due to a bad right bicep and shot both a 379 grn arrow and a 404 gran arrow and get complete pass throughs with my fixed blade heads. If fact I shot both deer last season with the 379 grn arrow and both were buried 6-8" in the dirt. Yes shot placement is very important when you shoot a lighter arrow but I am ok with that. I also shoot NAP Gobbler Getter for turkey at this weight.
I assume you like them pretty good? Seems like agood concept. Just didn't know how it worked in real life.
I would cut the arrow to 1" in front of the rest, in most cases you will find tuning to be easier. I shoot a 388 grain and my draw is only 27". I shoot 70lbs and haven't had a problem with pass throughs. You shoot 55lbs with a 30" draw, the difference in 3" is 30 fps (10 fps per inch) and the difference between 70lbs and 55lbs is 30 fps (10 fps per 5lbs). Those differences pretty much cancel each other out and if we shot bows with the same IBO we would be shooting the same speed. Long story short you shouldn't have a problem shooting a arrow thats lighter than 458 grains with a 30" draw and 55lbs.
And to add to my first comment. If you don't want to lessen the weight of your arrow just use a heavier broadhead and cut to 1" in front of the rest.
I do like them a lot. They fly great and the blunt tips provide some shock. If you want to go for head shots I would consider one of the guillotine style heads though as they are better suited for that.
