Arrow Weight for Hunting

[letitgo]

#7566

Hello, looking for suggestions on arrow weight. I shoot a 45 lb recurve with carbon arrows and have noticed if the arrow weight gets too high my range decreases. New to hunting and want to know what folks think would be an adequate arrow weight for hunting deer and Russian boar without sacrificing too much distance. Not sure if I am confusing some principles here, thanks.

[drew4fur]

#63348

Hello!

I took my first white tail with a 45# recurve, but I honestly could not tell you what the total arrow weight was, though I do know that the broadhead was a 125 grain bear razorhead. The shot was not more than 7 yards.

All that being said, I was young, in-experienced and under-advised; and now I ask more from myself and my set ups.

What kind of range are you looking to achieve, and how much do your current arrows weigh, and how much has your range decreased?

[letitgo]

#63430

Current arrow weight is approx 485 gr (consisting of 100 gr inserts with 125 gr point). Looking to be accurate to 20 yards but have probably lost about 5-6 yds off my comfort zone using these heavier arrows.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#63451

letitgo –

Welcome to the forum! I think you’ll find a lot of good info here if you dig around, not to mention a pretty funny cast of characters…:D

So, you say that your bow is a #45 bow – are you actually drawing #45 @ 28″, or is your draw length more/less? If you’re drawing exactly #45, then a 485gr. arrow puts you at about 10.7 grains per pound – which is pretty squarely in the ‘normal’ range for a hunting arrow weight.

How long have you been shooting this bow/arrow combo? Are you coming from a compound bow background?

Also, I would say that a 485gr. arrow is probably on the light side for a Russian boar (not that it can’t be done, but most guys I know who hunt boar would say that’s on the lighter side). They are very tough animals, with a thick ‘shield’ that protects the vitals.

When you say you have “lost 5-6 yards off your comfort zone,” I’m assuming you mean that your arrows are dropping earlier than you think they should be? Or is it not that they are dropping, but that accuracy in general suffers? Sorry for all the questions, but helping people work through these things over the internet, without being able to see you shoot and see what’s happening can be a little challenging. But we’ll do our best to help you!

[David Coulter]

#63873

Hi Letigo, in terms of kills, I’m on the low end of experience on this forum to be sure. Because of that, when I started developing my hunting arrows I turned to the experience on this forum, which was backed up by my local mentor. I’m shooting a 46# longbow, by the way. I tried to prioritize the order of things. First on the list, I wanted a high foc arrow that would be well tuned to the bow. That is a recommendation you’ll find on this site quite a bit. I got my hands on some 225 gr Tuffheads and worked backward. I ended up with a total weight of 635gr and an arrow that flies bareshaft and paper tunes correctly. I practice quite a bit normally and feel confident in hunting range out to 15 yards. I practice 5 to 30 yards and take a bunch of long shots for fun and for form.

I guess what I’m getting at is to put the arrow set up tuned to your bow first and then practice to improve you abilities. You will find you’ll need to make adjustments and with a bit of practice you will be just fine. The advantages of a heavier, higher FOC arrow seem to worth the effort. Have fun with it! Dwc

[Jason Wesbrock]

#63946

Letitgo,

I agree with Smithhammer regarding your arrow weight being in the normal range. By “deer” I assume you mean whitetails. Truthfully, they are on the easy side of medium/large game with respect to penetration. If you put your arrow where it belongs, there just isn’t much there to stop it.

For what it’s worth, my paternal grandfather hunted for decades with a recurve pulling 42# at his 26″ draw length. His arrows weighed around the same weight as yours with three-blade heads and it was very, very rare when he didn’t have a total pass through on Midwestern whitetails. I grew up eating a lot of venison on account of that setup.

[grumpy]

#10262

Smithhammer wrote: letitgo –

Welcome to the forum! I think you’ll find a lot of good info here if you dig around, not to mention a pretty funny cast of characters…:D

The funny cast of characters is R2, right?

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#10294

grumpy wrote:

The funny cast of characters is R2, right?

Precisely. And maybe that “Doc” guy, but the jury’s still out…

[David Coulter]

#10334

Nope, I’m pretty sure Doc qualifies without much deliberation. dwc

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#10337

The Trad Bow Forum:

“We’re all here ‘cuz we’re not all there.”

[grumpy]

#17941

We could all use more ventilation when gluing the feathers on…

“Could also use a building a looooong way away from the house.” Audrey

[Ralph]

#17970

grumpy wrote: We could all use more ventilation when gluing the feathers on…

“Could also use a building a looooong way away from the house.” Audrey

Is that looooong way far away building gonna come with a tunnel so you can find it and get to it in the winter?

Just wonderin too, glue on too many feathers you might not find your way back. Bet it sucks to walk with snowshoes if you got a buzz going. 😀

[Ralph]

#18982

Letigo, just keep on shooting those heavier shafts and your hand, eye, brain threesome will get used to them then it’ll all become automatic.

Like it’s said, “Up and down is instinct, left and right is form”.

I shoot 46#-47# bows and my hunting arrows weigh in the 500gr.-520grs. They work fine but I haven’t shot a pig.

I do believe though that if I’m gonna be pig hunting I will be using my carbon shafts that have 225 gr or 245 gr up front rather than the woodies with 125 gr up front. I have no prob with the latter on deer though.

I don’t hunt elk anymore cause they ain’t no good to eat. 🙄 :D:D I don’t have a big spoon either.:wink:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#19015

R2 wrote:

I don’t hunt elk anymore cause they ain’t no good to eat. 🙄 :D:D I don’t have a big spoon either.:wink:

[Ralph]

#19092

Maybe I ate too fast?

But………………:D

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