I am a female archery hunter for deer. I currently am shooting a Hoyt Sierra Tec bow. My draw length is 24" and my draw weight is 48 lbs. I am shooting with a fixed tri-blade 100 grain arrow. My arrow flies flat from about 10-20 yards and then starts dramatically dropping off between 20 and 30 yards. I won't take a shot over 30 yards. I have a difficult time getting a pass through shot on large deer. I am looking to increase speed and power of my arrow in order to increase my pass through capabilities. I understand that if you lighten your arrow for greater speed often times loose some power. What is more important speed or the weight for power? Any advice would be appreciated!
IMHO it is the sweet spot this is a great article that i think will help you https://www.qdma.com/articles/momentum-beats-speed-for-lethal-arrow-hits by Bill Badgley on June 18, 2013 Good luck
This is some neat reading on the topic too. He has 25 years of hunt data collected on the topic. Pretty cool. Links on the side to that stuff. Here is the page specifically for arrows, in the context of killing elk but I am sure the concepts still apply. http://www.tuffhead.com/education/arrows_for_elk.html
Yeah but that the same time, a broadhead bouncing around in the body cavity of a deer is a damned vicious and deadly scenario. A lot of times, the pass through goal turns out to be as much a matter of shot placement and anticipation of the exit as it does the balance of energies (velocity vs. kinetic e.)
Striving for consistent pass through is a good thing. Having two holes to leave a blood trail as apposed to a single hole is a huge advantage in adding in recovery. Regardless of arrow weight with your specs the best tool you will have is the use of a good COC broadhead. I would recommend something with no more then 1 1/8 cutting diameter. For example a three bladed VPA would be prefect.
As a women shooting similar dw and dl (50 lbs, 25.5"), I completely agree with the cut on contact broadhead suggestion. Both deer I shot this year were with COC heads that are 1 1/8" cutting diameter and both were pass throughs.
I have more than a few kids shooting compounds and a bunch of animals taken with traditional gear (very slow compared to any compound). 1. Make sure arrow flight is spot on, paper tune. 2. COC like the Magnus Buzzcut will increase penetration significantly. 3. If you really want to push the penetration up, add 100 grain brass inserts to your arrows. Using the buzzcut and 100 inserts the arrows go through deer almost effortlessly. Always strive for a passthrough on chest shots. That should always be the goal. Animals with an arrow hanging out of them tend to run very, very, fast. No reason to push it.
