Im curious to hear from you guys who shoot some big heavy game - perhaps in Africa or if you get to nail bison, moose, elk or bear (did i miss anything?!) What big game setup do you use? Particularly arrow/broadhead combos would be really interesting. And feel free to post up some pics of anything you harvested with the setup! cheers benno
I personally shoot the same hunting arrow for everything from turkeys to elk. I'm shooting a Easton ST Axis 340 with a 100 gr. Slick Trick (or mechanical head for turks). My total arrow weight isn't super heavy at 420gr. Here are some of the animals that have fallen to this combination...
Benno, It is just me...I like a bow which is pulling somewhere near 75-80 pounds. My arrow weight is usally around 450 grains, and I love Eastman Outfitter Silver Strike 100 gr. mechanical heads. My younger sister, on the other hand, has killed a mess of deer and elk. Her bow set up is 52 pounds and she shoot a 20 something alum arrow tipped with a Rocket 75 gr. Miniblaster. She gets em on the spot and in deep enough to get the job done. Very few could argue with her success.
Actually benno bear aren't as tough to penetrate as most think. There skin Is pretty soft. In saying that though the really big bear have some pretty good size rib bones. My arrow set up for my recurve was always a 2216 aluminum arrow tipped with a 125 grain 3 blade Magnus Snuffer. I had a total arrow weight of 560 grains and had awesome results with that arrow. I'd say 90 to 95 percent were complete pass throughs. This year I'm trying a whole new arrow set up- FMJ 340 weighing In at 685 grains tipped with the biggest broadhead Magnus makes (160 grain glue on Snuffer). I'm excited as heck to see what this set up does.
Benno..Since you are new to the site I'll give you a brief rundown of the answers you've recieved. There are some serious hunters above me with there own opinions. You can see Dubbya's pictorial resume and it speaks for itself. Iamyourhuckleberry, travels the globe and may have more big game expirience than the rest of us combined. Schultzy is a bear/whitetail enthusiast who is passionate about traditional gear, and GMMAT is primarily a Whitetail guy, who's killed more in the past 4 years than most kill in a lifetime. He is making the switch to trad gear and broadening his horizons in the upcoming years. It seems to run the table from shoot what you have... to go heavier. Above all stay within your abilities to make a good shot. Your a pleasure to have on the site..can't wait to hear of more of your adventures.
I would use my current arrow on any big game. It is 605 grains total weight with a 200 grain BH, a 100grain brass insert on a 30" Carbon Tech Whitetail XP.
Thanks very much for that - very handy to know im getting info from experienced guys! And thanks for all your comments, its very interesting to hear how other hunters do things. My standard arrow setup now for Aussie big game - if anyone is interested is 220g solid steel 2 blade broadhead with a single bevel edge if you want to have a look, these are a great big game head Easton axis 300 shafts, Total arrow weight around 600g For buffalo I used the brass inserts and weight tubes so the arrows come in at about 800g total. I shoot a 70lb compound standard and for buffalo i use the 80lb bow. Buffalo bulls astound me - the toughness of their skin and how thick the ribs are just has to be seen to be believed. Ive shot a bull right on the sweet spot with 70lbs, using a 450g arrow and 2 blade broadhead and got less than 2 inches of penetration... you can see me almost crying on the video!! that was when I went back and re-did my arrow setup for them =)
I've taken a few "big" critters but my rig never changes from what I use for whitetails to what I use for moose or brown bear. 300# Hog: 70#/30" draw, 28" XX78 2413 and 125 gr. Thunderhead; 30 yd. shot, broadhead just made it through the far side, 30 yard recovery. Moose: 70#/30" draw, 29" XX78 2512 and 100 grain Thunderhead; 10 yd. shot, penetrated one rib on entry, no exit hole, 70 yd recovery. Brown Bear: 70#/30" draw, 29" A/C/C 3-60 and 125 grain Muzzy; 18 yd. shot, complete pass-through, 50 yard recovery. Mt. Goat: 70#/29.5" draw, 29" A/C/C 3-60, 125 gr. Thunderhead; 8 yard shot, hit top of shoulder on down angle, 2" penetration, no kill. Mt. Goat: 70#/29.5" draw, 29" A/C Kinetic, 125 gr. Thunderhead; 25 yard shot, hit apex of shoulder, 3" penetration, no kill. Feral Reindeer: 70#/29.5" draw, 29" A/C Superslim, 125 gr. Spitfire; 40 yd. shot, complete pass-through, 100 yard recovery. Getting in close and avoiding bone are the two biggest factors in penetrating big critters, heavy poundage and heavy arrows come second.
