What's more important?

B

BHC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2011
Messages
915
Reaction score
0
Location
Wayne Co. , Tennessee
In a hunting bow.. Arrow weight(max KE, Momentum, speed combo), arrow spine, arrow length... From the research I've been doing before purchasing new arrows you cannot have it all you have to give and take to get what you can...

For instance I could get the kinetic big game hunters by gold tip at 11.6gr/in(giving me max KE/Mo) and should still be shooting 290fps, however to do this I have to shoot .200 spine arrows when optimal spine is .280... I also normally shoot 27" arrows which means that .200 spine is actually gunna be even stiffer...
I could go down to a 10.4gr/in arrow lose a litte on the penetration side, gain a little speed, and be shooting a .300 spine arrow a little more than desired flex however if I'm not mistaken since my arrows are 3" shorter than the 30" manufacturer's spine testing standard I should be a little stiffer than that .300

Am I understanding this all correctly, and how do you guys find that balance?
 
the question is how much ke do you need to kill an animal or are you wanting to kill the animal and a foot of dirt on the other side of it. no way im shooting any arrows over 9gpi for any thing in N/A, just no sense in it. the 300 spine should be fine if your goin that short on your arrows, the difference in the 11.6 and the 10.4 isnt enough to worry about, your still gonna get plenty of dirt on the other side in my opinion which doesnt count for much
 
Well your right the difference in 11.6 and 10.4 with my bow is only approximately 0.5 ft- lbs of kinetic energy. And I don't know exactly how much is needed .. I could also drop down to about 9.6 and only lose about 1ft-lb of energy, staying at .298 spine... The variation between these three arrow weights is between 78.4 - 79.6 ft-lbs of energy... But I lose 10-12 ftps with each increase in weight .. Any advantages of using a longer arrow?
 
I don't really pay to much attention to arrow weight, kinetic energy or arrow speed. I do try to stay with arrow spine. The one aspect I do try to go with is FOC. I like to stay within 12-15%. This will improve arrow flight, which will result in better overall performance.
 
Listen to Phil!!

.200 spine seems awful stiff to me. Maybe there are different ways to check that, but I shoot .300 deflection for the spine on my 2317 alumminum for a 31.5 inch arrow at 78 lbs. So for a .200 deflection spine at 27 inches you are shooting how much weight??? Maybe different arrow manufacturers have different ways of measuring spine. For Easton shafts the lower the number the stiffer the spine.
 
It's a 70# bow and I realise to not all 70# bows are created equal, but it's pretty quick, at 315fps right now... However regardless .200 arrow spine is too stiff no matter what.. I think I'm coming to agree that the 9.6 gr arrows will serve me better in a slightly quicker/ flatter shot.. Even tho I lose a tad on energy... The one aspect I do not understand that well is FOC, is it effected by cutting the arrow?

My grandpaw just finished building me a bow press so I'm dying to get my new arrows in and tune the mess out of my bow..
 
I think you have to consider the game you are going after too.

If you are talking white tail. Anything that falls on the charts will be MORE than effective IMHO?

when it comes to hogs, bear and elk is where we need to start being more selective ..again IMHO.

For me I am going to go with the lightest arrow within the charts to get the flattest trajectory I can in a hunting arrow. I'm using a single fixed pin.

If I am going to go after hogs or bear I am going to go to the next stiffest in the chart"
 
FOC is the balancing the arrow. It is effected by cutting the arrow and/or adding weight. The longer the arrow the is, it does move the balance point back some but it is easier to leave the arrows at a reasonable length and add weight as in a heavier head. If you add weight to the front end of the arrow it will weaken the spine. Add the weight to the fletching end and it stiffens it up. There are several different ways to achieve any of these solutions. If you have any heavier broadheads laying around try that firs. Easier and also cost effective. You can shoot the .200 arrows and go with 4 or 5 inch vanes. This is something that will take a few days of playing with to actually figure it out but when you hit upon the right combination you will know it. Like I said I wouldn't go solely on arrow speed, there are more factors involved as to getting Optimum arrow flight.
 
knightrider said:
the question is how much ke do you need to kill an animal or are you wanting to kill the animal and a foot of dirt on the other side of it. no way im shooting any arrows over 9gpi for any thing in N/A, just no sense in it. the 300 spine should be fine if your goin that short on your arrows, the difference in the 11.6 and the 10.4 isnt enough to worry about, your still gonna get plenty of dirt on the other side in my opinion which doesnt count for much
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Watch out for Archery Talk...there are people that will make you think you need 600 grain arrows to ethically kill a 100 lb deer.
 
That is where you need to play with your equipment. 600 grain isn't needed but it isn't all wrong. One thing I will bet is that if you do shoot 600 gr that bow will be quiet as a church house mouse. If you have the FOC around 13% I also bet that bow will shoot as fine as any bow you ever have had, provided that the bow is an average hunting bow and not a lower weight bow. If you played with the bow/arrow combination you can find a good set up. I know most folks are loyal to certain brands and most companies today are good. Stay with quality arrows. If you have a bow press, arrow saw, fletching jig and grain scales you can play and find an ideal set up with the arrow and get the FOC dead on.
 
1st decide if you want light and faster or heavy and a little slower. Then get some with the spine you need. Now after this take all this computer generated, formula this, signature, professional grade, mumbo jumbo crap and throw it away. For decades the simple decision of weight and spine was all that was needed to pick out what arrow would work. Don't let's this get to complicated, just decide on arrow weight/speed, stiff enough spine, and practice practice practice. Forgot straightness but thats up to you and how much $ you want to put into it. Seen more than one get spanked with their perfectly tuned, computer diagnosed, sceintically proved, signature crap by one that kept it simple and spent time practicing.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top