Hello All, I am hunting Elk in NE Oregon this year and have been working on dialing my gear for the season. My current set-up is PSE at 62lbs with a 30-inch draw, and my arrows are 30.25-inch Gold Tip Hunter XT with 125 Grain Muzzy 3 Blade broadhead. My total arrow weight is approximately 450 grains. Curious if anyone has recommendations to improve my set up or wants to share their Elk set up. If anyone has hunted Elk in NE Oregon or surrounding areas, I would love to hear about your experience. Thanks!
May want a heavier arrow. 500gr+ is my target weight. And make sure you have ample practice and confidence in their flight & trajectory. I'd need to double check my arrows for my current weight. I'm shooting c around 60#, 28.5" CX with 125s. I may be switching up BH.
How are you achieving over 500-grain setups? Since you are shooting 125 BH, are you adding a weighted insert to your arrows to gain weight upfront for FOC, or are you shooting an arrow with a heavy GPI shaft?
Yes on gpi arrows. Dabbling with diff weights / inserts. Also may commit to an insert /outsert system, but that may be for next year.
I try for a 485-500 grain arrow for most hunting. I’ve also went to more of a coc broadhead. Not saying a Muzzy 3 blade won’t work, taken a lot of game with that head including all my African animals, but there’s better heads out there. SlickTrick ViperTricks is one or VPAs. If you put that arrow in the proper place, you’ll have your elk. It’s for that slightly off shot where a little more weight and a little better head will make the difference.
That makes sense to me. I have heard good things about the Slick Tricks, and need to look into those broadheads. Cut on contact broadheads probably have better penetration on larger animals such as elk. I have used Muzzy 100s in the past, which is why I now have them in 125s.
Elk are tough critters. I shoot 500 gr arrows. 70# Hoyt Pro D, 30.5 inch 300 spine Gold tips with 50 gr insert and 125gr Kudupoint BH. I did upgrade to the new Kudupoint Counter plus with the new bleeder blades. I would definitely go heavier. especially with your poundage. You really want a pass through. Elk can and do travel long distances with mortal wounds. Even with a double lung shot , if it is a high lung, they can go a long way before the leave much of a blood trail. I stuck a bull high (probably one lung) and lost him after tracking him for over a mile and found him a week later another mile up the drainage by the birds. That was with a Muzzy 100 on a lighter, shorter arrow. I was new to elk hunting and have a new motto. "NO EXCUSES". I made it my mission to have my equipment and myself in the best condition. Oh and as for Muzzy's, the good is they flew good for me and were cheap. The bad is the were cheap and not very durable. The blades are thin. QAD exodus or Slick tricks have way thicker blades. Thast said a cut on contact is still better.
For what it's worth OP, I'd hunt your set up with confidence. I'm a balance guy and I think 450 grains is a nice weight for your DL so you can maintain a bit of speed. Speed is a concern if you plan to call an elk in, often times they move after you've gotten drawn and you'll have to judge yardage to still get a shot. I do zap stumps, trees, etc. at a set up, but things can happen fast and mobility is important at times to be successful. You may have to adjust your position quickly with no time to risk the movement of using your rangefinder. Many times they are at the wrong angle, but if you wait for them to bugger out and then give them a cow call they'll stop again and may offer a good angle, but now 20 yards further. 1/8" pin gap vs. a 1/4" pin gap can be a big difference if you judge the yardage 5 yards off. Really depends on how you plan to hunt. Every elk I've killed has been with an arrow between 380 and 420 grains. I shoot a 27.5" DL at 70 lbs. Actually turned it down to 65 lbs last year. All were tipped with SHARP 3 blade Muzzy's. I can't put into words how important it is to keep blades sharp. I touch mine up after they've just sat in the quiver for a few hunts. Razor sharp blades nick something and cut it, less sharp blades just push it aside and don't cut it. That's detrimental in a weapon that kills by hemorrhaging. I've gotten a pass through every single time the shoulder wasn't hit. The ones that the arrow stopped in the far shoulder didn't go any more distance than the pass through ones, just a bit less blood to follow. High hits are the worst for blood trails, but if you got both lungs they'll expire within a couple of minutes. They'll be within 150 yards of you and many times within a 100. I shot a cow elk at 38 yards quartering away, arrow stopped in her far shoulder. Hit was half way up about 4" out from the shoulder. She ran full out until falling, which was only about 90 yards. Double lung hits are far and away my favorite. Elk are very tough and have an extremely strong will to live. A poor hit and they will punish you for it, especially if you take up the trail too soon. Your best weapon is your brain. Know the best place to aim for the biggest room for error. I hold center lungs, which is at mid body and a good 3" off that arrow slowing/stopping scapula. Know how long to give them if you aren't sure of the hit (I won't track before at least 7 hours). Don't "force" a shot, be it a poor angle, too far, limbs that you may hit, etc.
Personally, I cut them shafts by an inch maybe a bit more, add 50 grains of brass and stick with 125 grain fixed heads. With that long draw you might as well make the most of it.
Your set up will work, but going heavier won't hurt either. I've hit my only bull high as someone else mentioned above and we were very lucky to find him. I would say practice judging yardage by the blind eye is a good practice. My arrow hit opposite shoulder and bent the ferrel. I aimed high on purpose and ended up hitting right where I aimed which isn't what I was hoping for. He ran over a mile and died right away. Hit both lungs, but tracking was a nightmare. I was using 100 grain trophy taker shuttle t lock. They fly great, but I've switched to slick trick viper 125 grain. They fly well and a lot of people have had good luck. That still puts me at 419 grams for arrow. I've wanted to go heavier, but have stuck with this for now. Buddy lives in Oregon and he says it is very thick and very different than Rocky Mountains. Scouting if you have time will help a lot from what he has said. That is true for any area though.
+1 for a heavier arrow, elk are a wide animal to go all the way through not including bone tendons or anything else that arrow might encounter while getting through there. My and theathe wife's arrows are both north of 550 grains and we are going after whitetails and muleys this year. I would rather through a school bus at them....I always say "overkill is underrated".
