I recently dropped my draw weight from 68 to 62lbs because i was getting tired too fast when shooting...now I need to get new arrows. I cant decide whether I want to stick with the heavier 10.4gpi CE pile drivers or go with something lighter. Obviously with the heavier arrow my arrow speed would be slower but my bow would be a little quieter and I'd have more KE vs a faster arrow slightly louder bow and slightly less KE...What do you all shoot for arrows and whats more important to you?
I think it is more important to use a heavier arrow when shooting lower poundages. Stick with the pile driver for more KE and Momentum. I wouldn't worry about the speed. It won't matter when your hunting.
Also it may make a difference in the spine. That's a pretty torquy set-up, and you might find you actually can tune it better slowed down as well. The fact that you've dropped down to 62# isn't the same really as someone shooting "LOW poundage" bow and needing because that bow at 62# is easily capable of putting out more energy than a lot of bows would at 70#. The "poundage" of a bow is really a misnomer when figuring out the energy it puts out, because what really should be measured is the "stored energy," and you're bow with the "MAX DRAW" at 62# may still have more "stored energy" than another guy's bow does even those the max draw of his bow is 72#. It's all in the FORCE CURVE This drawing show force curves based roughly on various cam types. Notice the amount of gray area under the curve increases as the cam style gets more aggressive. Your bow has the last cam style, it ramps up in a hurry, then drops into a shallow valley . By definition, in comparison with a 315-320fps rated bow, you're bow has a harsh draw. Many guys will "swear" that their bow has a "smooth draw," then they draw a bow that has a smooth draw and are surprised how smooth a truly smooth bow is. The great thing about these more aggressive cam styles is that a guy who may not physically be able to draw 70#, can get more energy out of an aggressive cam style shooting 58# sometimes, and he can physically get the 58# of draw through the draw cycle of a more aggressive cam style, and actually build up the same energy as a 70# bow of a different cam style. At 62# your bow is more than capable of 70ft/# of kinetic energy, which a lot of bows 10yrs. ago couldn't get even at 70#!!!! OK, class adjourned. Oh and making your bow quieter, causing less vibration which means accessories last longer and need re-tightened less often, and hand-shock is lessened also would be benefits, but only if the spine is right, which with that bow @ 62#, a CE 350 series should be about right.
Thanks for the lesson OHbowhntr! Yes it does put out alot of energy at that lower weight and it does have quite an aggressive cam but, I like it! It will grab you pretty harshly if you have to let down and your not ready! The CE 350's were giving me roughly 278fps with 79 ft/lbs @459gpi. While if i go with the 250's they should give me about 286fps and 79ft/lbs @ 434gpi. So theres not much of a difference. However, the 350 (300) spine is too stiff for 62#s. At 20yds theres no difference but shooting at 30 and 40yds arrows go to the left of my aiming point...I inreased draw weight back to 65#'s and I was hitting dead on with the 350's. I also had an extra, properly spined arrow, from an older bow (400 spine) and @ 62#'s it was shooting dead on as well! I guess I'll be sticking with the heavier arrow. As far as quieting it down a little...It has a string stop, stabilizer/vibe dampener, and a few accessories on the strings...anything else you would recommend?
The 350's are a .340 spine (actually static .345), and unless you have a DL shorter than 28" (and based on you're numbers you post, I suspect you're pulling 28.5 or 29"), you can make those 350's work out of that bow even at 60#. I've shot .320 spined arrows out of a 58# bow, that only had a 308 IBO, and tuned them to shooting perfectly @ 40yds. with BH's and FP's. If you find you're trending left, you may need to adjust your rest. Do a walkback tune, and see if that reveals the rest isn't properly aligned. If you're pulling 27" and putting a 26.5" 250 Piledriver with a 75gr tip, you'd be pretty close on the spine, but you'd also not be nearly as fast.... Have you BH tuned the bow??? If not, put on some BH's and see that they tell you. As far as vibration dampening, string stops and a couple string leeches and whatever the bow came with on the limbs would be more than sufficient. The reason the heavier arrow is better is because if absorbs more of the energy. Generally most modern bows will actually peak around 500-700grs on the energy absorption into the arrow. But with the two weights, you're talking about, the difference would be minimal.
I did a walk back tune 25-40yds and the trend is to the left @ 62lbs, @ 65 there is no trend its almost perfect. As far as BH tuning...I really didn't need to They are flying pretty close to my field points...not enough to need to make any adjustments. As far as draw length its 29". One of the reasons I was going with a heavier arrow was in fact to help quiet my bow down...The difference is minimal like you say! Maybe an extra string leech wouldn't hurt! Thanks for the help!
Another option is to increase the point weight on the slightly stiff shafts. This would address your issues without having to get new shafts. It would also benefit your FOC balance.
The 350's currently have an FOC of 11%...I thought any where between 8-12% for hunting arrows was good...but between those numbers would 8 and 9 be better?
That's highly debatable. My feeling is that more is better. Many hunters are shooting over 15% and some over 20%. I like as much weight on the tip as I can reasonably get. For me that's a 125 grain head and a 100 grain insert.
Get the best of both worlds (speed, penetration, & weight) with the CX Mayhem. I shoot the 350's. my bow is at 70# and 29'' Draw lenght. I was using the piledrivers, but i was worried about ''jumping tthe string''. IMHO the Mayhems are faster and have almost the same penetration
My overall weight is heavier than most people need because I hunt things that are bigger than deer (mtn. goats). I wouldn't use this arrow if I was just deer, elk or black bear hunting but here are the spec.'s; 29" Axis N-fused Carbon 300 w/ Muzzy 100 grain insert, 7" wrap, 3 - 2" Blazers, 125 grain head = 560 grains
