I've shot 'em all. 460 grain arrows all the way down to 351. For MY set up, a 400 grain arrow is the perfect mix. Good speed that's not so fast to be difficult to shoot, but to take advantage of the benefit of the speed, but a heavy enough arrow to provide plenty of penetration. In all of my research (VERY unofficial, so take it with a grain of salt) there's a sweet spot for every bow. TOO heavy is pointless, but too light is equally as pointless. There's a point of no return in both directions. What that point is depends on draw length, draw weight and cam type. And really, the absolute bottom line is........it just really don't make a hill of beans worth of difference either direction. Range 'em, hit 'em right and recover 'em. This is a subject that can be "what if'd" all day and night long. Shoot what you're comfortable with, and can shoot accurately.
Nope,will not see a difference in impact at those distances on an animal.NONE.The deer will be dead,even if we missed the spot be a 1/4". Remeber,the bow will be sighted in for the arrow we are using.
A lighter, faster arrow has less and loses more energy faster during penetration. That's where I want my energy.
PLUS,it is Feet Per Second,Not miles per hour.BIG difference.240 FPS is 163 mph and 260 FPS is 177 mph.
As well as loses it at a faster rate during flight.Not really enough to worry about but it does lose it faster.
Just ran some numbers on my hunting setup. My bow shoots 249 fps with a 418 grain arrow.At 40 yards it is shooting 226 fps.Drops 2.4 yards per inch. Changed the settings to a 343 grain arrow and the result was 270 fps but at 40 yards was still 226 fps.Yielding a drop of 2.1 inch per yard. A 5 yard miss in yardage estimation will be 12" verses 10.5" Please explain how this is an advantage.BOTH miss the deer.
Thanks for the help. My family has always shot bows but we have never really gotten into the tech side of things. We just usually shoot good equipment with your average set up. I wounded a deer last year with a dumb decision by hitting a branch and honestly don't want to go through the feeling of wounding a deer again. I know these are minor changes to my set up but I just feel like I should do what I can to increase my odds by doing more than just practicing
Jay, This is a huge game of trial and error with many variables. Take the animal being pursued, for example. A fox, which can dart out of the way of an arrow lickety split, requires a lot less KE and penetration than say a Cape Buffalo. Speed kills the fox, whereas penetration kills the buff. Evolve your setup while keeping all the different variables associated with your hunt in mind. Bottom line, you have to hit your intended target. Own your bow and those things you hunt with it...you're doing the right thing by asking the questions.
No, there is no way a little more speed is going to help me "kill" a deer in any situation. A little more momentum in certain situations will help IMO. I have two bucks I have killed to do my heavier setups. Speed is the most over hyped part of modern bowhunting rig.
I'll take KE over speed for hunting whitetail 30 yards and under. Within those parameters, the advantages of 20fps would be negligible. You'll kill a deer either way though, as long as the shot is true. Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing.
I have personally witnessed coyotes, javalina, deer, elk and a whole host of other animals step out of the way of slow lumbering arrows. I'm not so sure speed is just "hype". Here's a clip from a warthog I shot in Africa (http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/...ry/?action=view¤t=Title4-Chapter6-0.flv). My bow was shooting 302 fps. This warthog was 18 yards away. I hit him right behind the right shoulder. The arrow exited behind his ribs and was in his stomach region on the opposite side. He spun that fast on what I thought was a pretty quiet bow (I was even shooting from inside a wooden blind). At 25 yards and with the rate this hog spun, I would have hit him in the arse. At thirty yards, I would have cleanly missed. I can only speculate more had I been shooting a slower arrow... There's a balance which has to be acheived. This balance comes from a lot of trial and error. When I hunt pronghorn, I'll take the 20 fps. When I hunt elk, I'll take the mass.
Something else to note is that your bow will very likely be quieter with a heavier arrow. Another factor to consider.
I agree with this. In order to gain enough speed to compensate for a reaction time you would have to gain more speed than is reasonably possible with an archery set up. I'll take a slower (note not slow, I do prefer faster bows), heavier arrow, that will allow my bow to be as quiet as possible and provide the maximum amount of penetration I can get. I like a lot of KE so I can compensate for my short draw length and shoot large cutting diameter broadheads. My set up is designed for maximum damage.
