Martin Cougar

Hi all

New to the board, I have been following for awhile and enjoy everything I have seen so far.

I have been doing a little reading about arrow weights - a lot of what I have seen is saying 450-550gr is preferred.

I have been using alum and just switched to some Beman ICSH 400' s yesterday. Haven' t shot them yet. They are 29.5 inches (8.4gpi) - i shoot a 100gr tip on them and my bow is set-up at 64lbs. My bow is advertised at an IBO of 315fps - I am guessing I am at the high end of the 200' s.

To my best guest - my arrow weight is about 382gr - am I too light for this set-up?

Rangeball

64# x 5 grains per # = 320 grains. For your set up, this is the minimum arrow weight you want. You could go a little lower than this if you draw is below 30" , but not much.

As long as you are happy with the flight and grouping of your arrows, you' re good to go. Beyond making sure your arrow weight passes the saftey issue, everything else is personal choice.

Arthur P

At 5 grains per pound, your arrows would shoot faster, but you' d have more noise and vibration to control, more maintenance to do, more frequent tuning sessions, and more frequent need to replace the bow. At six grains per pound like you are now, you' ve got a bit of a buffer. Your arrows won' t fly as fast, but you' ll get better and longer service life from your bow and accessories and avoid a number of potential headaches. Plus, the extra weight does help penetration on game.

I saw too many bows blown up and injured shooters in the early days of IBO when there was no minimum arrow weight rule and guys were shooting ultra heavy poundages with ultra light arrows. That was enough to prove to me that there are people shooting bows that are entirely lacking in common sense, and will gladly sacrifice their personal safety, as well as the safety of those around them, so they can be successful. That' s why I view this speed craze with so much distaste.

Anyway, my preference is for arrows running between 7 grains per pound (for 3D) and 11 grains per pound.

muzzyman88

I agree with Arthur P. You and I are shooting about the same weight. I have great arrow flight and so far, complete pass throughs on game. Your bow with be quieter, and like Arthur said, save you a lot of tuning headaches. Plus, broadhead flight will be easier to control.

JoshKeller

I agree. With my 541 grain arrow, I am shooting 230 fps.. It may not reach a deer at supersonic speeds, but it goes through them and buries itself into the ground..and since my bow is so much quieter, they rarely move at all. [:-]

Orions_Bow

If you take your time & really tune your bow you can shoot great groups at 290fps or better.

It just takes more time. Most of the bows today have no problems shooting 5 grains per pound of arrow weight. In the old days of IBO we blew up a lot of bows but the ones out today are really sturdy & really hold up very well.

UpNorth

How are your arrows grouping at 20 and 30 yards? If your arrows are grouping then I would not worry about it. I do not know much about the arrows that you are shooting, but I believe their are some web sites that you can go to see if you have the correct spine. I think it is bowjacksons.com or something like that, can some one help him out here who knows the sight.

Your arrow weight is fine. It all comes down to personal preference on heavy of an arrow you want to shoot. Anything over the 5 grains per pound is fine.

Good Luck.

Martin Cougar

Thanks to all that replied. That' s the information I am looking for. I pick up my arrows and bow tomorrow (it was due to for a new string). I hate not having my bow to shoot in the evenings.