bow help

[lmbhngr]

I am shooting a 25" draw and I`m trying to figure out the best combo for speed and penetration when I set up my new bow. Right now I`m shooting a Gold Tip arrow with a mechanical broadhead. I hit a 4 pointer in the front shoulder this weekend and watched the arrow fall out as the deer ran away. Granted the broadhead never opened!! I`m debating on switching back to a fixed blade and maybe even aluminum shafts but I`m afraid I`ll lose to much speed. Any ideas??

[Kylongspur88]

What poundage are you pulling, and what weight arrow? Can the draw length be let out any? If it is a slower bow i would say stick with fixed blades.

[merocustomcalls]

Since your draw length is on the shorter side it will always be hard to generate a lot of energy.  Take someone shooting your same bow and same poundage but a 30" draw.....their arrow will travel 50-60 feet per sec faster simply because of the longer draw. 

Arrow choice needs to be matched to the draw weight and poundage first and foremost.  There should be a chart on the back of the package of arrows to tell you what shaft to select.  This is very important to follow in order to get the most true arrow flight.  The spline of the shaft is matched to a certain draw length and poundage.  The more true the arrow flight....the better penetration you will get.  Make sure your bow is tuned so that the arrow flies like a dart and doesn't flutter around in flight. 

Switching to aluminum may work for you provided you still have the same energy.  You can calculate the energy in foot/lbs if you have access to a chronograph and a grain scale.  Measure the weight of the arrow including the tip.  Shoot the arrow through the chronograph and then apply the numbers in the following formula:   Mass X Velocity X Velocity / 450,240.  The number you get is the energy in foot/lbs.  For example, a 420 grain arrow going 285 feet/sec equates to 75.77 foot/lbs of energy.  I've heard that it takes about 38-40 foot/lbs of energy to go through the ribs of a whitetail, the shoulder blade is a different story. 

The extra weight of an aluminum shaft may or may not generate more energy.  If the speed of the aluminum shaft is much slower than the carbon then it may even produce less energy.  You may try to shoot several different arrows at your local archery shop and apply the results in the formula.  Carbon shafts are so popular these days because they go so much faster versus the aluminum that they still produce about the same energy. 

As far as broadheads goes, I've always liked a fixed blade.  I've been shooting Muzzy's for many years and I really don't worry about whether or not I hit the shoulder.  If you were to use a blade front broadhead it will have more penetration but might not be as durable as a carbide tip if you hit the shoulder.  My broadheads fly slightly different than my field points.  I have several sets of old dull broadheads that I use for practice and then I switch to brand new broadheads for hunting. 

Hope this helps
Good luck hunting

[drenalinld]

Speed can be overrated. The advantage of speed is arrow trajectory. If you make an error judging distance, a faster bow will be off target by a smaller margin. This is important when considering which bow you purchase.

If you have a bow and don't have the option of changing bows, I would think about it from a different perspective than speed. If the draw weight and draw length remain the same, a heavier arrow will always have more KE (kinetic energy) than a lighter arrow shot from that same bow. This is true with any bow, it becomes more efficient with respect to energy as you shoot heavier arrows. A heavier arrow also has the added benefit of making the bow quieter. That being said, KE is only part of the penetration dilemma. Penetration is also affected by arrow diameter, broadhead design, sharpness of the broadhead, surface of the arrow, and maybe most important - shot placement.

My recommendation would be to shoot a two blade fixed blade broad head such as the Magnus 2 blade pictured below. In many tests they seem to give the best penetration. Mechanical broad heads require energy to deploy that you don't have to spare. At that draw length I would avoid shoulder shots. If you want to change arrows I would recommend a small diameter arrow shaft. One of the best is the Easton Full Metal Jacket. These arrows are a carbon shaft wrapped in aluminum. They are very small diameter, tough as nails, slick surface that penetrate like crazy.

Don't get discouraged, there is plenty of horsepower there to blow through both lungs!

[fallhnt]

You need to shoot fixed blade heads and practice with them so you know how they fly.I too have a short draw length but shoot 70# to get more KE.

[redarrow]

My opinion on speed is it only buries your arrow a bit deeper in the dirt after it passes through.Concentrate on silence first. Then tune your rig to shoot as accurately as possible.Dont get caught up in the speed trap.Shoot what ya got and shoot it often.Practice is your friend.

[TalksToTurkeys]

Plenty of good advice given.
I shoot GoldTips, they are fine arrows, as long as they are matched to your draw length and poundage to get the correct spine, as with any arrow.
You may want to go with a quality fixed blade cut on contact broadhead, and by all means be sure your bow is tuned. Take your bow to an archery pro shop. They will get you set up properly.

[lmbhngr]

Great advice guys thanks so much!! My bow goes to the shop every year for the "tune up". I shoot a 25" dl. and 58# dw. we checked the chart for the gold tip arrows when I bought them. Thinking about giving my bow to my son and buying myself the hoyt maxxis 31. I like the shorter bows and like the way this one felt in my hand. Still have to shoot it. Torn between the hoyt and elite. I have read alot about the elite and common census is:: great drawing bow but you will give up speed. I don`t mind sacrificing speed but if both bows are neck and neck with all the important factors the I`ll take that little extra speed if I can get it. I shoot a 100 grain mech. broadhead.

[longbox]

Lmbhngr

Some good advise here, but you have what to deal with is kintic energy (KE) with a 25" draw lenght and 58# draw weight. A few options are to incease arrow gpi and go with a small diameter shaft such as the Easton Axis arrows. While 100 gr broadheads will give you more speed, I'd run the calculation on KE for the speed of your bow and total arrow weight with both 100 gr and 125 gr broadheads then make a decsion. A bow shop with a good chrongraph should help.

[hookedspur]

I shoot a 25 " draw ,Maxima Carbon express  arrows and Muzzy 100 gr with no problems ,I do draw 70lbs though

[VAHUNTER]

my wife has a 26"DL and is pulling 40#. i set her up with 85gr. slicktricks and she blew through a front shoulder and into the ribs of her first buck with a bow at 20yds.we had a 40yd. recovery

[pabossie255]

Rage just dont hit the bone and I shot 40 lbs before my back operation now back to 60 lbs never had one go more than 30 yards.

[archery1]

which  100 grain mech. broadhead ?

? i shot alot of deer with muzzy broadheads,,, but just last year went to a mech.. because they shoot like my f. tips.. didnt get to shoot a deer this year with my new b.heads  so i am still keepin my muzzy;s till i see if i like them.. my buddy has the rage broadheads.. every deer he shoots messed up his  blades and  he either replaces blades or junks them.. very costly to shoot mechanicals... heck its cheaper to shoot one of ur 300 win mag shells  at a deer than shoot a arrow,, especially if u cant find it.

[captpete]

I would stay away from the expandables with your draw length & draw weight. They burn up to much energy opening up the blades. I only shoot 56lbs. and blew through the ribs & through the off-side shoulder on a big doe this year using a Slick Trick Razortrick. Didn't get a complete pass-through, but far enough that the arrow fell out the rest of the way as she ran off. I've tried several different expandables(still shooting 56lbs.) and just never got any penetration. I recovered the animals, but they where pretty long & very spotty bloodtrails.

[ryersonhill]

The Rage has the lower rated expandable for under 40# K.E. and the rep for Rage i met at the show last year advised me that they are lethal on lower pound compounds and recurves, my set up is 26"@55# I have 3 sets of arrows light, medium and heavy and as advised above the FMJ will increase your K.E. a cut on contact broadhead at your present set up will help, the Montec G5 broadhead are cut on contact and will not rob you of energy upon impact, i have used both and had great luck with both, the Rage 100gr. 2 blade behind Bemans worked flawless and dropped the bird, my big bird i got with the G5 i had to chase across the field but he was not going far