a moderate set up, 500-550 grains will get you flat shooting arrows and pass thru shots. Its just a little heavier & doesn't lose speed as fast as lighter arrows. Probably 15-20% Foc. It works well. Mike
That's a great attitude with the"if it ain't broke don't fix it" idea until you make a bad shot or the deer moves before the arrow gets there and you hit his shoulder or elsewhere that you didn't want to hit. Or your shot is deflected by a twig you didn't see. It hasn't happened to you yet but it will. You might start thinking then that it is broke and does need fixing. I'm not saying that your current set up will not be enough to compensate for that because you didn't share what your setup is but that stuff does happen and when it does then being "over arrowed" might just save the day. While I'm at it I would like to address the huge drop in arrow poi everybody seems to complain about. If you don't shoot your rig enough to know where that arrow is gonna hit at a certain yardage then you shouldn't be taking that shot anyways. I have shot with just one pin for the last 30 some odd years and I have missed maybe 2 or 3 deer in my that time. Those shots were all missed because of my form being bad ( made a bad release, dropped my bow arm etc)not because I missed judged the distance or didn't know where my arrow would hit.I am a tinkerer by nature. I like messing with things and improving through DIY almost to a fault. That being said and its worth mentioning that I am new to archery hunting, so take my opinion on this as you will.
I am aware of the 'fairy dust' thing but only slightly, as in I know what the general idea is. I have almost zero interest in it. I have the arrows I bought when I bought my bow. I did a crap load of research and a lot of asking around about what kind of broadhead to use. So far I'm 2/2 this season with pass throughs and easy recoveries. If it's not broke, dont fix it. I know enough to know to leave well enough alone. I'm not interested in taking long shots or questionable shots and the arrows im using work just fine. This is my answer to the original question.
Totally Agree - This is a shot that should have never been taken. Equipment would not have mattered as the angle was so poor. He just shot at ribs. A heavy arrow would have just done the same thing. A light or heavy arrow probably would broke the Deer's rib and that is it.That was not a good angle. Not sure what arrow/broadhead he was using, or if a different one would have changed that outcome. The ribs were basically all stacked, and it glanced off.
Might could have got a better shot opportunity if the deer wasn't friggin looking at him the whole time.
This is one issue where I think, "If it ain't broke don't fix it". Perhaps if I hit a deer in heavy bone and have trouble recovering it I will change my mind.
I killed my first whitetail buck in 1977 with a 42# Wing recurve and a Bear broadhead. I was 12, blew through him like butter!!
Absolutely!One thing about this whole conversation......which probably needed a poke from someone to start i.e. Ranch Ferry, is that people were shooting light setups with mechanical broadheads. This IMO caused some bad problems in wounding deer and alot of hunters crying LOL. People are more aware their setup and what is going on with their arrows ability to penetrate.....broadhead sharpness.....total weight and bow tuning. This is exactly what the ethical hunter needs to apply to their setup. Like him or not.....we are talking about how to make our stuff a better killer .....isn't that what we all want? We spend countless hrs preparing for the moment of truth.....let's make the best of it. It's all gain if we do so.
You also have to take evrything you read on here and anywhere else with a grain of salt., The guys who say they have misseed 2 or 3 deer in the last 30 years may have only shot at 30 or 40 deer in that time. The guy who says I never lost one to a bad hit may have only shot at 40 or 50 deer in their lives. Shot placement is very important but no way are you hitting where you hold everytime. I killed my first whitetail buck in 1977 with a 42# Wing recurve and a Bear broadhead. I was 12, blew through him like butter!! I never thought about FOC or even how much my arrow weighed and the deer did not care either. As I progressed in my hunting and started killing a lot of deer I learned a few things and the most important is to have confidence in what you are shooting and know what has worked for you and not really care what all the so called experts say or think cause a lot of them have killed 30 or 50 deer their whole life and think they know it all!! Shawn