Good all around arrow weight for Antelope and larger game?

[tbowers]

I hunt mainly whitetails currently and switched to a heavier arrow last year- total arrow weight is about 530 grains. I'm going to be hunting Antelope this year however and I'm afraid of the potential issues I will run into with trajectory. I'll have a rangefinder but in talking to guys who have chased Lopes, getting a range on them certainly isnt a given prior to the shot. You may be laying down and cant get a good range thru the grass, or you get the lope ranged- get drawn back and it bounds out 15 yards. With a 530 grain arrow if you think its 45yds, and its actually 50yds- you are going to almost certainly miss it.

Also one thing i havent even looked at is if my single pin sight will have enough room to even get up to 60 yards- right now i only have it dialed up to 40 but its quite a ways up the sight tape. Anyway all this to ask what are guys shooting for arrow weight that go after both WT/Mulies/Elk and also Antelope? Trying to find that happy medium between having good momentum and FOC with still having some decent speed and trajectory out to 60 yards or so. I really dont want to have to mess around with two different arrow setups, and having to sight in my bow for each- would be a huge pain.

 

[Blktailhtr]

I shoot a 510gr 15foc at 270 fps with no problems at 60+ for antelope thru Kudu

If i use a 400gr in the high 290fps it drops over 6" between 57 to 60 yards so you still really need to range for that distance regardless of arrow weight

 

[Samdemarais]

I hunt mainly whitetails currently and switched to a heavier arrow last year- total arrow weight is about 530 grains. I'm going to be hunting Antelope this year however and I'm afraid of the potential issues I will run into with trajectory. I'll have a rangefinder but in talking to guys who have chased Lopes, getting a range on them certainly isnt a given prior to the shot. You may be laying down and cant get a good range thru the grass, or you get the lope ranged- get drawn back and it bounds out 15 yards. With a 530 grain arrow if you think its 45yds, and its actually 50yds- you are going to almost certainly miss it.

Also one thing i havent even looked at is if my single pin sight will have enough room to even get up to 60 yards- right now i only have it dialed up to 40 but its quite a ways up the sight tape. Anyway all this to ask what are guys shooting for arrow weight that go after both WT/Mulies/Elk and also Antelope? Trying to find that happy medium between having good momentum and FOC with still having some decent speed and trajectory out to 60 yards or so. I really dont want to have to mess around with two different arrow setups, and having to sight in my bow for each- would be a huge pain.

Brian Barney shoots a 450 gr arrow at everything. Kills a lot of stuff with a bow and mechanical head. Don’t worry about weight so much and try to shoot a perfectly flying arrow that is going 270-290 and a quality broadhead

 

[danwattsmessick]

I prefer my arrows to weigh anywhere from 420 - 500 grains finished weight. Not much you can't kill with them.

 

[dkime]

I hunt mainly whitetails currently and switched to a heavier arrow last year- total arrow weight is about 530 grains. I'm going to be hunting Antelope this year however and I'm afraid of the potential issues I will run into with trajectory. I'll have a rangefinder but in talking to guys who have chased Lopes, getting a range on them certainly isnt a given prior to the shot. You may be laying down and cant get a good range thru the grass, or you get the lope ranged- get drawn back and it bounds out 15 yards. With a 530 grain arrow if you think its 45yds, and its actually 50yds- you are going to almost certainly miss it.

Also one thing i havent even looked at is if my single pin sight will have enough room to even get up to 60 yards- right now i only have it dialed up to 40 but its quite a ways up the sight tape. Anyway all this to ask what are guys shooting for arrow weight that go after both WT/Mulies/Elk and also Antelope? Trying to find that happy medium between having good momentum and FOC with still having some decent speed and trajectory out to 60 yards or so. I really dont want to have to mess around with two different arrow setups, and having to sight in my bow for each- would be a huge pain.

I killed my antelope last year with an arrow weight identical to what you listed at a distance much further than you listed. My mule deer and the few whitetails I shot didnt seem to mind the arrow weight either. If you have a goat standing at 50yds, you will have time to range him, if you dont have time to range him I wouldnt shoot (unless its inside 30). Thats my logic. Youd be better off just buying an extra dozen of your setup and spending more time shooting rather than worrying about weight. At distances outside of 60 it really doesnt matter what weight youre shooting, theyre all dropping at around 4-5"/yard. The secret to killing antelope is taking enough bullets.

 

[tbowers]

I bare shaft paper tuned last year and was grouping my single bevels with my field tips out to 40- like I say didnt shoot beyond that. I guess I'll see what I can get for additonal range out of my existing slider sight- I'm also only shooting around 60lbs, 27.5" draw so if needed I could crank it up even to 65lbs and it will flatten it out a little anyway.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I bet that arrow does have quite the ark to it. What’s your speed with that setup?

 

[tbowers]

I bet that arrow does have quite the ark to it. What’s your speed with that setup?

Not sure, never ran thru the chrono. What I do know is with my former 400 spine light arrows that were around 350 grains- the 40 yard mark on my sight tape is now 65 yards with the 530 grain arrows....

 

[tbowers]

I killed my antelope last year with an arrow weight identical to what you listed at a distance much further than you listed. My mule deer and the few whitetails I shot didnt seem to mind the arrow weight either. If you have a goat standing at 50yds, you will have time to range him, if you dont have time to range him I wouldnt shoot (unless its inside 30). Thats my logic. Youd be better off just buying an extra dozen of your setup and spending more time shooting rather than worrying about weight. At distances outside of 60 it really doesnt matter what weight youre shooting, theyre all dropping at around 4-5"/yard. The secret to killing antelope is taking enough bullets.

What is your bow setup? I'm shooting a Halon w/ 6" brace, 60-ish lbs, 27.5 draw. For reference IBO on this bow is around 345fps- I havent shot thru a chrono but using calculator online I'm shooting around 230fps. Estimate with old arrow was 290fps

 

[dkime]

What is your bow setup? I'm shooting a Halon w/ 6" brace, 60-ish lbs, 27.5 draw. For reference IBO on this bow is around 345fps- I havent shot thru a chrono but using calculator online I'm shooting around 230fps. Estimate with old arrow was 290fps

28.75" 70# but the bow varies each and every year. FWIW, my wife shot her goat at a distance also further than you mentioned last year (blew through like butter) with a 480gr arrow moving around 234fps (26.5-50#) At 60# I would say you could end up with an arrow around 475gr and let it cover all of your bases. Keep in mind that even at a distance of 100yds your 530gr arrow will still be moving faster than most trad setups at brace (not that I am recommending you shoot that far) so pair it with a good broadhead that is going to aid in penetration. It's all going to be about clean arrow flight and a good performing broadhead in this situation, at your specs chasing speed and trajectory is going to be fruitless just based on your DL. It just isn't gonna happen and if it does happen you'll be shooting a shaft that will be less durable than I personally would want to take hunting, especially when you throw elk and big bodied mule deer into the mix.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I like 400-430 grains with a 60lbs draw weight.

 

[tbowers]

I do think i will back off my insert weight and see how that does- I'm running 100gr GT brass inserts with 150 grain heads currently. If I just run standard inserts that are around 15 grains that would put my total weight around 460 grains. Should be a decent compromise to take a little of the arc our the trajectory but still have plenty of momentum and FOC to pull the arrow to the critter

 

[dkime]

Here are your specs, I roughed everything in but by dropping down weight wise you're saving yourself an extra 3/8" of drop per yard in one arrow vs the other. You arrow is dropping 4.2" per yard vs 4.6" per yard at 60yds. Total drop means nothing to me because you will have a pin for that. If you're off by 5yds in your range estimation you're going to be missing by 17" or you're missing by 16".

 

[N2TRKYS]

I heard all that noise about “calculated” drops and speed doesn’t matter. Instead of listening to that, I actually shot my bow and found that it made a bigger difference for me than proclaimed.

Shoot your bow to confirm everything and adjust accordingly to what you can live with.

 

[MountainZ]

Arrow weight should really be based on the efficiency (IBO) of your bow, your draw length, and draw weight. If you are more familiar with rifle ballistics, think about asking someone shooting a 7mm mag how much your bullet should weigh if you have all of the other constraints of a 22LR.

 

[tbowers]

Here are your specs, I roughed everything in but by dropping down weight wise you're saving yourself an extra 3/8" of drop per yard in one arrow vs the other. You arrow is dropping 4.2" per yard vs 4.6" per yard at 60yds. Total drop means nothing to me because you will have a pin for that. If you're off by 5yds in your range estimation you're going to be missing by 17" or you're missing by 16".


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Interesting chart. Would guess that even with a 375gr arrow that if you guess 55yds and its 60yds you are going to be in trouble- you arent going to be 17" low but low none the less.

I'll have to just get out and do some shooting and see what my arrows do when I hold for 35yds at 40, hold for 55yds at 60yds, etc. At least then I'll have real numbers and will know what to expect and can change my arrow setup from there and see how much of a difference it really makes if I shave off 75 grains.

 

[dkime]

Interesting chart. Would guess that even with a 375gr arrow that if you guess 55yds and its 60yds you are going to be in trouble- you arent going to be 17" low but low none the less.

I'll have to just get out and do some shooting and see what my arrows do when I hold for 35yds at 40, hold for 55yds at 60yds, etc. At least then I'll have real numbers and will know what to expect and can change my arrow setup from there and see how much of a difference it really makes if I shave off 75 grains.

For sure man, ALL shafts really start to fall off the table beyond 50yds in terms of Inches/Yard of drop. I'm just making sure you don't go into the archery shop thinking a lighter arrow is going to make a huge difference in terms of what you are seeing trajectory wise. It'll probably do a better job of making your bow louder though. The biggest thing most folks get confused by is that when we are shooting our bow we are looking at a cross section of a trajectory curve. The curve itself is very similar from arrow to arrow, we just change what section of that curve we are staring at when shooting. If I swap between a 500gr shaft and a 700gr shaft, all I do is dial my 20yd zero for my 700gr shaft to my 25yd mark for my 500gr shaft and everything else is plenty close to go hunting from a whitetail perspective. Again, I'm simply just trying to get you to NOT spend money but at the same time variety is the spice of life.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Just as little as 30-50 grains made a world of difference for me in trajectory for my setup, but I had no noticeable noise increase.

Good luck in finding your sweet spot. The byproduct of your testing is you’ll be getting in more practice. It’s a win-win, really.

 

[tbowers]

Just as little as 30-50 grains made a world of difference for me in trajectory for my setup, but I had no noticeable noise increase.

Good luck in finding your sweet spot. The byproduct of your testing is you’ll be getting in more practice. It’s a win-win, really.

Right, and its a quick/easy change to just pull my 100 grain insert and throw in a stock one and drop 80 grains or so and see what happens.

 

[Billy Goat]

Right, and its a quick/easy change to just pull my 100 grain insert and throw in a stock one and drop 80 grains or so and see what happens.

Just make sure that when you are playing with weight you sight in with that weight.

What I mean is once you take the heavy insert out, sight in again at 50 or 60 or wherever you would like. Then shoot 5-6-7 however many yards further and measure the drop between. Like dkime was saying at distance the drop isn't that significant until your talking about a fair amount of speed discrepancy, like 30 fps in my experience.

I'd certainly play with it, I found that I definitely didn't need the speed I thought I did, but that I wanted to stay above a certain point as well. You need to find your sweet spot as others have said. I definitely like to maximize my +,- within reason.