Arrow weight advice.

[arrowchukker]

Picked up a new Proven 34 this year.
Set at 64lbs
dl is 31.4 ( I have Inspector Gadget like arms)

I shooting an Altra 300 spine arrow cut to 30”.

I have been shooting both 100 grain heads and 125 grain heads with absolutely no change in POI anywhere from 10 to 45 yards. The two different weights hit together in a good group. I was slightly baffled by this, especially as the yardage increased. But after a month of testing and probably about 800 shots, both weights hit together.
Now, the question is this:
I am going to give a single bevel head a try this year. Probably one on the top of end of the broad head market, so it’s a pretty healthy money investment.
Which head weight would you go with and why? Real world experiences if you have any to offer. The finished arrow weights are 442 and 467. I think the FOC on the lighter is around 10% and 13% for the heavier.

 

[BowhunterXC]

I've been shooting a heavy arrow weight with high FOC, for 6 years and will never go back. Two holes are better than one! Love the penetration!

I've had good luck with Grizzly single bevels in 150 gr. However, in the 100 and 125 weights the will have the same performance. Spending more on a broadhead is a great choice!!! It's the most important part of your arrow and the extra quality will be money well spent.
Your FOC and TAW (Total Arrow Weight) are showing good performance for accuracy, which will give you great penetration.

*** The only thing that I will add is that the bevel must match your fletching direction 100%. I have left helical or left off-set fletching and therefore I shoot left bevel broadheads. The matched spin will increase penetration, but if they don't match the arrow must stop spinning one direction to penetrate in another direction and that will definitely hurt the penetration performance of the broadhead.

 

[arrowchukker]

I've been shooting a heavy arrow weight with high FOC, for 6 years and will never go back. Two holes are better than one! Love the penetration!

I've had good luck with Grizzly single bevels in 150 gr. However, in the 100 and 125 weights the will have the same performance. Spending more on a broadhead is a great choice!!! It's the most important part of your arrow and the extra quality will be money well spent.
Your FOC and TAW (Total Arrow Weight) are showing good performance for accuracy, which will give you great penetration.

*** The only thing that I will add is that the bevel must match your fletching direction 100%. I have left helical or left off-set fletching and therefore I shoot left bevel broadheads. The matched spin will increase penetration, but if they don't match the arrow must stop spinning one direction to penetrate in another direction and that will definitely hurt the penetration performance of the broadhead.

Will be left helical for sure.

 

[Blacksmith]

You asked for opinions and will get many different!. I like my foc higher than that and my TAW above 500. I shoot a 175 fixed blade. Haven't had a critter go out of sight since bumping mine up. JMO!

 

[arrowchukker]

You asked for opinions and will get many different!. I like my foc higher than that and my TAW above 500. I shoot a 175 fixed blade. Haven't had a critter go out of sight since bumping mine up. JMO!

I totally understand that TAW is very personal.
I am just torn on which to go with. Obviously, with my draw length I have speed/KE/momentum that a lot of guys don’t. i usually never have an issues with pass through’s no matter what I have shot. I honestly sometimes I just feel like we are splitting hairs with this stuff.

 

[BowhunterXC]

@arrowchukker
Here's my setup: Elite Ritual 30, 57# at 29" DL.
Gold Tip Hunter XT 300 spine at 27", with 100 gr. brass insert, 150 gr. tip weight and 3" feathers. TAW 525 and 22% FOC.

I shot this doe at 22 yards and it zipped thru her like she wasn't even there. She ran 35 yards and tipped over dead.
2 weeks earlier I had 2 does passing thru and I rushed the shot on the biggest doe of the two. The arrow appeared to slap her on the back, which spooked her out of the woods. I was not happy with myself for rushing the shot and figured I wouldn't see her for another month. I changed locations and 2 weeks later I had a calmer shot opportunity and closed the deal. It wasn't until I rolled her over to examine the wounds, that I found the huge gash from the shot, 2 weeks prior. It felt good to redeem myself with that second shot opportunity.

 

[Exhumis]

I’d go with a 125 to get you a bit more FOC since you already have tight groups.

 

[raisins]

I'd go 125 grains. I'm not a big FOC guy, but I keep it somewhat in mind. The heavier head will balance that long arrow out a bit more. Also, the heavier heads often are built a bit thicker to make up the weight if the other dimensions are the same for 100 and 125 grain. Your bow is probably too fast and the ranges too short to see a change in POI. Not commenting on your shooting, but the smaller your groups, obviously the easier it is to see deviation, also. I bet if you step out to 70 yards you would start to see a change. But now you're in the enviable position of seeing no difference at your hunting ranges, so I would always go up in weight. You'll also get slightly better penetration. I'm glad you aren't building a super high FOC build with a super stiff arrow. People tend to have more tuning problems with those, on average.

I shoot a 340 spine GT Velocity arrow, and I shoot standard (lightweight) GT inserts and a 125 grain head, it gives me around 420 grain total arrow weight, and I'm very happy with it.

 

[arrowchukker]

I'd go 125 grains. I'm not a big FOC guy, but I keep it somewhat in mind. The heavier head will balance that long arrow out a bit more. Also, the heavier heads often are built a bit thicker to make up the weight if the other dimensions are the same for 100 and 125 grain. Your bow is probably too fast and the ranges too short to see a change in POI. Not commenting on your shooting, but the smaller your groups, obviously the easier it is to see deviation, also. I bet if you step out to 70 yards you would start to see a change. But now you're in the enviable position of seeing no difference at your hunting ranges, so I would always go up in weight. You'll also get slightly better penetration. I'm glad you aren't building a super high FOC build with a super stiff arrow. People tend to have more tuning problems with those, on average.

I shoot a 340 spine GT Velocity arrow, and I shoot standard (lightweight) GT inserts and a 125 grain head, it gives me around 420 grain total arrow weight, and I'm very happy with it.

I think you are spot on at, 70, I’m seeing a difference. But I’m an eastern woods tree stand guy, and thirty yards is a long shot.

 

[BowhunterXC]

@arrowchukker
It's good to know the long yardage differences, for tuning purposes.
I'm in Ohio and taking a shot past 30 yards is a rare occasion.

 

[enkriss]

It’s only 25 grains. Not going to make much difference.

I will take the higher foc option if the spine will handle it.

I am shooting 430gr arrows with 175gr up front between insert and head.

 

[weekender21]

Picked up a new Proven 34 this year.
Set at 64lbs
dl is 31.4 ( I have Inspector Gadget like arms)

I shooting an Altra 300 spine arrow cut to 30”.

I have been shooting both 100 grain heads and 125 grain heads with absolutely no change in POI anywhere from 10 to 45 yards. The two different weights hit together in a good group. I was slightly baffled by this, especially as the yardage increased. But after a month of testing and probably about 800 shots, both weights hit together.
Now, the question is this:
I am going to give a single bevel head a try this year. Probably one on the top of end of the broad head market, so it’s a pretty healthy money investment.
Which head weight would you go with and why? Real world experiences if you have any to offer. The finished arrow weights are 442 and 467. I think the FOC on the lighter is around 10% and 13% for the heavier.

I prefer an FOC in the teens but you won’t likely notice a tangible difference in impact with 25 grains. Even with a 50 grain bump I’ve have the same POI inside 40. It’s setup dependent but arrow weight doesn’t make as big a difference at reasonable ranges unless you’re on the extreme end of light or heavy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HawRiverArcher]

I use 125 grain broadheads on my compound setups and 150 grain heads for my trad stuff. If I want more FOC I just go with a heavier insert. 125 and 150 grain broadheads are common, easy to find, and generally not too expensive.

Once you start going past 150 grains you start limiting your choices somewhat and the price reflects it. Single bevels are cool and I like how easy they are to sharpen, but I'm also aware and honest with myself that they can cause tracking issues if you're used to massive blood trails from big holes. But it's not enough of an issue to dissuade me from using them.

Both my compound and trad arrows run in the 460-480 TAW. I find it to be a good compromise between weight and velocity out of both and I've had good results the last 32 seasons.

 

[BowhunterXC]

Single bevels are cool and I like how easy they are to sharpen, but I'm also aware and honest with myself that they can cause tracking issues if you're used to massive blood trails from big holes. But it's not enough of an issue to dissuade me from using them.

I'm curious as to what kind of issues you've had with tracking, when using a single bevel broadhead. I've had nearly every deer drop in front of me, except 1 and that deer had an outrageous blood trail for 140+ yards and died on his feet. In all of my years, I've never followed a blood trail that heavy, that far and in the dark and at a casual walking pace.
If nothing else, it has showed me that blood trails are not determined by broadheads.

 

[HawRiverArcher]

I'm curious as to what kind of issues you've had with tracking, when using a single bevel broadhead. I've had nearly every deer drop in front of me, except 1 and that deer had an outrageous blood trail for 140+ yards and died on his feet. In all of my years, I've never followed a blood trail that heavy, that far and in the dark and at a casual walking pace.
If nothing else, it has showed me that blood trails are not determined by broadheads.

I said they CAN cause tracking issues if YOU'RE used to big blood trails. Didn't say I had issues tracking deer using them. However many of my hunting buddies have, because they're used to tracking deer using blood trails. I use 2 blade single bevels with no bleeders almost exclusively. They zip through deer so well they hardly seem to notice and usually take a few steps and keel over. I've also been tracking deer for 32 years a blood trails is the least of my worries. But if you're lacking in woodmanship skills I can see where it would cause some issues.

 

[woodsdog2]

I agree with everyone go heavier up front for higher foc. Im at 436gr. in TAW. Shooting, 150 grains up front (50 gr brass inserts with 100gr heads). I’ve found this to be the best balance for me between penetration and trajectory. My bows are usually at around 65lbs DW.

My hunting setup is best tuned at about 27 to 27.5” in DL depending on the release I’m using. so therefore I try to shoot a bow and cam that can store as much potential energy as possible but still has a decent draw cycle. If your bow dumps hard at full draw the “hump” can be a problem when you’ve been in a saddle all day in November. I’ve had no problems with passthroughs with this setup.

Because of my shorter DL I could probably reduce my TAW even a little more but I would still want more weight up front. I would only consider this if I were going to hunt out west. I’ve found a bit heavier arrow makes for a much quieter bow and easier tuning as well.

I was shooting over 500gr. A few years ago but I wasn’t happy with my trajectory. If I had a 29-30” DL I’d probably still be shooting that higher arrow weight.

 

[BowhunterXC]

A hunting buddy was shooting a Mathews No Cam, set at 62# with a 30" DL. He built a 655 grain arrow, 300 gr. single bevel broadhead and it had 24% FOC. He shot a mature doe at 18 yards, thru both shoulders...on purpose. The arrow penetrated both shoulders with the broadhead sticking out 6" on the opposite side. The doe face planted, since both shoulders were broken and pushed herself with her hind legs, for 10 yards and fell over dead.

He said it was a nice test to see what a seriously heavy setup would do in a hunting situation.
He regularly hunts with a Bear Kodiak recurve.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

A hunting buddy was shooting a Mathews No Cam, set at 62# with a 30" DL. He built a 655 grain arrow, 300 gr. single bevel broadhead and it had 24% FOC. He shot a mature doe at 18 yards, thru both shoulders...on purpose. The arrow penetrated both shoulders with the broadhead sticking out 6" on the opposite side. The doe face planted, since both shoulders were broken and pushed herself with her hind legs, for 10 yards and fell over dead.

He said it was a nice test to see what a seriously heavy setup would do in a hunting situation.
He regularly hunts with a Bear Kodiak recurve.

Several years ago, I shot a big Ohio buck at about 12 yards through both shoulders on purpose with a 650 grain 28%+/- FOC arrow with a Grizzly single bevel broadhead. Upon receipt of the arrow, the buck went to take another step and neither of his front legs worked any longer. He face planted and pushed himself along on his nose with his hind legs off into a creek where he expired shortly afterward. The arrow went through the onside shoulder and completely severed the offside humorous bone. This was with a 60 pound draw weight Mathews Helim compound.

Season before last, I shot a buck slight quartering too through the shoulder and out behind the shoulder at about 17 yards with a lighter arrow setup weighing 585 grains and about 22% FOC. This was another grizzly single bevel. It went through the scapula on the onside and ribs on exit. The buck trotted 25 yards, stood there nervously, then tipped over dead. This buck I killed with the 44 pound bow.

I mostly shoot this 585 grain setup since it tunes to both of my compounds, one 44 and one 60 pounds. It is plenty for our smaller bodied Southern deer. If I go up North again, I will likely pack a little more heat, lol.

 

[BowhunterXC]

@NMSbowhunter
It's good to hear such good results out of the Grizzly broadhead. I shoot them on a regular basis out of my ILF recurve at 45#. I've only shot 1 deer with this recurve, while using a Grizzly and it put her down quick.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

@NMSbowhunter
It's good to hear such good results out of the Grizzly broadhead. I shoot them on a regular basis out of my ILF recurve at 45#. I've only shot 1 deer with this recurve, while using a Grizzly and it put her down quick.

I really like Grizzly broadheads. They take some work to get ready out of the pack. I usually glue them on 100 or 125 grain steel adapters, get them spinning true then rough them in on a set of three files that I clamp to a table and use a KME jig to set the bevel. Once the roughing in is done, I proceed to ever increasingly finer grits of sandpaper until I reach 2000 grit. I then strop them on leather or denim to a hair popping edge.

Grizzlys break bone. No doubt about it. They also slip through a deer so effortlessly on non-bone hits that a lot of the time the deer don't realize they have been hit and just trot off a short way and drop.

The second pic below is a grizzly that went through a doe and buried up in a tree. It's my avatar picture.