capoeirajosh Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Just wanted to know what everyone's opinion is on this, especially for elk. Is kinetic energy more important or arrow weight. Right now I am shooting a 396 grain arrow at 300 fps. I'm getting right at about 80 lbs of kinetic energy. I have been thinking about bumping up my arrow weight, but am wondering if I even need to. 80 lbs sounds like a lot, but my arrow weight seems a bit light when compared to others. Shooting a 100 grain COC grave digger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Energy = mass x velocity. You go up in arrow weight, you will go down in speed. I say leave it alone if you are shooting well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Not again 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Arrows with broadheads kill by arterial hemorrhage not kinetic energy. Are you hitting you're target with a very sharp Broadhead consistently? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norteno Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Not againHaha 440gr FMJ @280ft/s COC Grave Digger. You'll have no issues don't mess with it. Maybe make a better shot than I did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Shot placement > all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Agree with leaving it alone if shooting well. If you wanna tweak something try a 125gr head...a little more weight and increased FOC. When I did this my groups at longer range improved and theoretically better penetration at longer range too. But yeah...shot placement. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capoeirajosh Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Arrows with broadheads kill by arterial hemorrhage not kinetic energy. Are you hitting you're target with a very sharp Broadhead consistently? Yes, I am. Just made me wonder, cause I hear most people using around 500 grains for elk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capoeirajosh Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Not again Sorry, for crapping in your chicken soup, hahaha! Just wanted to know what folks thought about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Ive yet to put one in an elk, but my 380 grain arrows at 278fps are making something like 65#ke and they blow through coues deer mule deer and Nebraska whitetails like they're made out of paper. The only change I'll make before elk hunt is to put on a fb head instead of a mechanical. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Arrows with broadheads kill by arterial hemorrhage not kinetic energy. Are you hitting you're target with a very sharp Broadhead consistently? Yes, I am. Just made me wonder, cause I hear most people using around 500 grains for elk. They're entitled to their belief. My belief from personal experience is 12-20" of penetration and you hit all of the important stuff in an elks vital area. Lighter arrows generally mean flatter shooting which lessen one very important variable. I.E Is it 47 yards or 53? That being said, i have switched to a slightly heavier arrow because my practice time is less, they seam to fly a bit better. So if you are hitting where you are aiming at than don't mess with it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Report post Posted September 17, 2016 The heavier your arrow is, the slower the string moves at release. Even adding a nock, will slow your string, and then arrow drops (slower arrow) more. Reducing accuracy. 100 gr is fine for elk. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Arrows with broadheads kill by arterial hemorrhage not kinetic energy. Are you hitting you're target with a very sharp Broadhead consistently? Yes, I am. Just made me wonder, cause I hear most people using around 500 grains for elk. They're entitled to their belief. My belief from personal experience is 12-20" of penetration and you hit all of the important stuff in an elks vital area. Lighter arrows generally mean flatter shooting which lessen one very important variable. I.E Is it 47 yards or 53? That being said, i have switched to a slightly heavier arrow because my practice time is less, they seam to fly a bit better. So if you are hitting where you are aiming at than don't mess with it. This is definitely a variable that should not be overlooked. Even if you range the animal, they can still move a couple yards this way or that way changing the range slightly by the time you put your range finder back in your pocket, click your release on your string, draw and aim. A flatter arrow would be very useful here. For me though, it's a question of balancing accuracy, trajectory, and your own personal shooting ability. I've been shooting compound bows for almost 25 years and am novist level at best. So I like a moderately fast, more forgiving set-up. I intentionally shoot 270-280 fps with an arrow that runs about 12% FOC. For me this is a very forgiving set-up that still hits pretty hard and has a pretty flat trajectory out to 60-70 yards. I can see the gap between my 50 & 60 yard pin is slightly greater than between my 40 & 50 but not much. I've played around with set-ups that were faster, closer to the 300 fps range, but I did not shoot as well with them at 50+ranges. I don't know any real serious competitive field archers, but I've read that these guys often shoot 20% foc or more, due to forgiveness and accuracy, but for them at know yardage a flat trajectory is irrelevant. They don't have to worry about misjudging. You could really drive yourself crazy messing with different arrow recipes, but there is certainly a point of diminishing returns, especially for a working-guy class recreational bowhunter. If you have a good set-up that shoots well and you're accurate with it, I'd leave it be. There's more important things to worry about, like finding animals and learning how to get close to them. Virtually any arrow coming off a 60# bow is sufficient to kill an elk. Remember: women and youth hunters kill lots of them with 250 grain arrows off 25-27" draw length 40# bows! If they can do it with that tackle, than arrow weight and KE is really not a profitable thing to waste your time thinking about when you're pulling 20# more draw weight and shooting a couple extra inches of draw length. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest oneshot Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Black Widow recurve recomends 8-10 grns per bow poundage... 49#'s, @30inches, 540grns. arrow/broadhead wt for me right now,so at the low end of BW recommendation,17% FOC, want to up that, even with the increase in total arrow/bh weight, no clue, and don't realy care what the arrow speed is... Muzzy's have been good to me over the years, picky about shot angle... With all the info out there, it seems there is a "sweet-spot" for everyone... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted September 17, 2016 Not againSorry, for crapping in your chicken soup, hahaha! Just wanted to know what folks thought about it. Lol no worries I'm staying out of it this time! Have fun! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
