Whitetail Arrow Weight

[bigbassin]

So long story short here, I know nothing about archery. Played around with it last year, but didn’t really dive into anything on the technical side.

This will be used for just white tails at this point in time.

I’m shooting a 70 lb bow, 29” draw with a 350 grain arrow (250 grain shaft, 100 grain broadhead).

Spent the last two weekends dialing this in and am very comfortable with taking a shot out to 30 with it. 40 my windage is consistently within a 5” circle, shooting single pin so I do need some work reigning in the elevation. May practice out to 50 eventually but will never plan to take a shot on a whitetail past 40.

Is this a heavy enough arrow as long as I do my job or do I need to step that arrow up in weight?

 

[bigbassin]

Added info: arrow spines are 350s if that impacts the discussion.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

that's the lightest possible set up, under 5 grains per pound you're risking damage to the bow. 350 spine is probably a bit weak at your specs unless it's a slow bow or you've got them cut pretty short. that being said, if they work, they work.

how do broadheads fly?

 

[bigbassin]

Not sure on broadheads, field points seem pretty good at 20 and 30, seem to have some visible spiraling at 40.

 

[Beendare]

Many factors influence your arrow decision...not just weight.
Perfect arrow flight
Tuning
Durability
Penetration
Quiet

I've seen arrows in that weight perform well.......and seen some fail when paired with a big over the top BH.

My take;
1) I've come to like carbons that are 9 GPI or more- those make for a durable arrow

2) I like to be over spined in a compound- being under spined kills you with inconsistency and tuning issues, over spined tunes well and gives me a more durable hunt arrow

3) BH tuning is key to any setup

4) Perfect arrow assembly matters- a lot. If you're BH has a tiny wobble- Ugh no, thats trouble

5) matching the BH to your setup is important; If you use an efficient BH- they work with anything...but match an inefficient head to a light weak spined arrow- and its just not going to perform well all the time.

Arrow weight is way down the list of importance. Yes, heavier arrows penetrate better...and they make your bow quieter which is more important to me personally than any supposed penetration benefit......but they also have a bigger arc which can hurt shot locations at distances past about 35y. If you use the important principles above...arrow weight is not a big issue.

Bottom line- your setup will work fine BUT If I were you I would bump it up to 420-450g, you won't see much difference in trajectory.

*edited* for spelling and clarity

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Not sure on broadheads, field points seem pretty good at 20 and 30, seem to have some visible spiraling at 40.

visible spiral at 40 = wildly inaccurate with a broadhead attached. time to start tuning for perfect arrow flight, that'st the #1 priority. the threads below can also give some ideas on set ups that are working for other guys.

I am sure this has been asked a ton. What is your arrow weight

I build all of my own arrows all the time, Pretty much do all of my own work and tuning. This past year I built my arrows like normal and they were 510 grain. I shoot Gold Tip Hunter XT This has been a 3 fletch, with 3" vanes, Q2I is what i have been shooting at the front I have a 100gr head...

rokslide.com

Arrow weight

So i typically would like to run the same arrow through all of the 2023 archery seasons. I hunt elk, deer and bear with my bow, and I have some questions on arrow weight. As of right now I’m running easton axis 5mm 300 spine, 50g outsert, 100g broadhead, and I end up about 480g total. I thought...

rokslide.com

 

[Long Cut]

I’ve similar specs to you 28.5” DL at 70# DW shooting 380 grain 28” arrows.

I tried the 650 grain heavy arrows and the trajectory was awful. I’m switching to insanely light arrows with small 3/4 blade broadheads.

I was shooting the 650 grain arrows with 1.5” Sevr & Grim Reaper Whitetail Special mechanicals. When they connected, it was lethal but I was missing high or low more often than I’d like to admit.

You’re new, shoot what you’ve got. Just understand you don’t want to use a large mechanical broadhead, stick to smaller fixed blades and you’ll be alright.

IF you really want to comfortably shoot mechanicals I’d bump that arrow weight up into the 450-500gr range personally

 

[2blade]

350 spine seems weak to me for a 70 lb bow unless its really slow. I shoot a 60 pounder at 29 and use 300's with a 50 gr insert, 125 gr head. total weight is 460. But then my bow ibo's at 350 fps.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Great advice above from @Beendare

You'll be well north of 300 fps at 29"/70# with a 350 gr arrow. It can be difficult to get consistent flight with fixed blade broadheads at high speeds. I would recommend that you start practicing with whatever broadheads you plan to hunt with to see if you can get them grouping well alongside field points. I would personally increase total arrow weight by 50-100 gr, but 350 gr TAW will do the trick just fine if you put it in the right spot. Just make sure that your bow is tuned and that you're confident in your ability to put the arrow in the right spot.

 

[Bump79]

Personally, I don't dip below my weight of 445 grains just due to shaft & component durability. Which is what I shoot at 70# 30" for 10 years or so at 294ish fps. I won't shoot faster than that with a fixed because things get weird quick. Just not as forgiving I guess is better way to put it.

I really like my arrow setup as I feel it's about as good as I can get it. Element Storm (or X Impact) 300, Nexxus 75 gr Titanium outsert, Easton Diamond 280 3 fletch with a small profile machined fixed head. It's quite, flies amazing, penetrates well and is durable.

Element Arrows run a preseason 35% off sale and those Element Storms come with Ethics components. Killer deal.

 

[Bump79]

I would personally increase total arrow weight by 50-100 gr

I concur. Personally I like the range forgiveness that a arrow at 294 fps gives but it's diminishing returns after that. Same goes with the heavy arrow setups in my opinion. A 650 grain arrow has little tangible gain on penetration or reduction in bow noise over a 550 but a noticeable decrease in range forgiveness

 

[N2TRKYS]

Goldtip Hunter or Hunter XT 300 spine cut to around an inch in front of arrow rest. A 50 grain GT insert, 100 grain broadheads, and 3 vanes will put you in 430 grain total arrow weight range. This is the easy button and will serve you very well.

I’ve been using this setup for years with zero issues.

Good luck.

You will notice a big trajectory difference between your current setup and the 430 grain, but a single pin will get you 0-40 yards while still holding on the animal.

 

[mod-it]

Very light setup for your specs, and I'd bet the bow has a pretty good pop to it when it goes off. You'd be amazed how much 50 to 100 grains more in arrow weight will quiet bow shot noise.

If you can get your current arrows to fly well with a broadhead, yes, they'll kill deer if you hit them right. But...

Beendare and Mighty Mouse give great advice, and N2TRKYS arrow spine and weight he recommends would be what I'd recommend too. 430 to 450 grains will give you great performance at your draw length and draw weight. Speed will still be good, bow shot noise will be noticeably quieter, better penetration, more forgiving to broadhead tune, and once sighted in you won't hardly notice the trajectory difference at normal whitetail shot distances.

 

[eltx]

Goldtip Hunter or Hunter XT 300 spine cut to around an inch in front of arrow rest. A 50 grain GT insert, 100 grain broadheads, and 3 vanes will put you in 430 grain total arrow weight range. This is the easy button and will serve you very well.

I’ve been using this setup for years with zero issues.

Good luck.

You will notice a big trajectory difference between your current setup and the 430 grain, but a single pin will get you 0-40 yards while still holding on the animal.

This is pretty much my setup but with a 100gr insert so to be able to use the same arrow for elk. I’m right around 490gr

 

[Zac]

I think you are probably mistaking grains for spine. The number on the side of the shaft has nothing to do with the weight. Put the arrow on a grain scale and report back.

 

[Fire power]

I am also in the heavier camp. I have 60# draw at 28" and have tuned well with a 490 grain arrow and also a 560 grain arrow. Killed many deer with the 490 with full pass throughs, breaking and cutting bone when it hits it. I think I'll be trying something in the 520 range next.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Don’t overthink it the arrows you have are absolutely fine you have zero need to change anything at all. Just work on consistent form and practice.

Personally, i don’t shoot at Whitetail over 20 anymore forget 30+ that’s all the rage nowadays and that’s after 35 years with a bow in my hand. I highly suggest you try to get closer and keep your shots at around 20 on a Whitetail it will absolutely maximize your kill shots on such wound up twitchy animals. The deer i’ve lost over the decades have always been around 30-35 yards i’ve never lost one at 20 or less.

Best of luck, archery is where it’s at.

 

[N2TRKYS]

This is pretty much my setup but with a 100gr insert so to be able to use the same arrow for elk. I’m right around 490gr

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll add weight via the broadhead. It’s easier to swap back and forth. However, I’ll be elk hunting with my 430 grain arrows the next time I get to go.

 

[doc holiday13]

*insert Ashby loverboi comment*

less than 650g is inhumane and you're a horrible person for shooting less than that

 

[ddowning]

Holy shit, this again. Ask the guys shooting ibo what they run. Most run similar for hunting whitetails. I quit shooting ibo in 2003. My bow setup has not changed. My arrows are around 365 grains. Old school carbon express 400 (before they switched to real spine #'s) with 2.3 3d duravanes and rocket miniblaster 75's. I have had complete pass throughs on deer at over 50 yards with this set-up and it has stacked over 60 deer. I have shot through one or both shoulder blades a few time with no issues. Also no issues with steep quartering away shots. Most of the time I have more problems with deer jumping the string on close shots than I do long ones. I have spined one buck at 40 yards and everything else spined was 30 and in. I had a doe that knew I was there. The shot was around 18-22 yards or thereabouts. I held the bottom of the hair and hit 2/3 of the way up the body. That is the only time I have aimed low on purpose and the number of deer I have hit high can be counted on one hand.



For whatever reason people are looking for the new shiney. Since the trend was higher arrow speeds someone decided to be different and everyone hopped on the bandwagon. I'm sure if you're shooting trad bows there's something to it. Maybe even for low poundage short draw compounds. Probably for really big game.

Whitetails aren't that big or hard to kill. Pull 60 pounds at 28" or more. Tune your bow. Make sure your broadhead blades are SHARP (some aren't out of the package). Put a hole through both lungs. It will result in a dead deer. Shoot whatever the hell you want. I personally like a flat trajectory. If you want to shoot bricks with broadheads attached or something that is a balance of the two, have at it. They will all kill if you know how to use them.