Wooden arrow weight

[jstone]

I am going to use my long bow for the  late archery deer. I have some wooden arrows for my 64 pound long bow. I pull it alittle past the 28 inch draw. I have a 30 inch draw. I am thinking about using my 510 grain arrows. Or should i use the 462 grain?? Heavier better when you shoot a long ow with low speed??

[Snapshot]

Heavier means 'it takes longer to come to a stop' which means 'deeper penetration' which means 'more bleeding'. I shoot each of my broadhead tipped hunting arrows to be certain all of them fly right. Then I sharpen all but one so I can still shoot that broadhead arrow for practice. And I practice with it and only it, daily now, until my late hunt starts. Good luck.

[Ray]

I would go with the heavier arrow setup. That is if it shoots good out of your bow.. At 20-30 yards the weight difference you describe may not be noticable while shooting anyways. The heavier arrow will tend to penetrate better.

[jstone]

Thanks that is the direction that i was headed. I have been practicing everyday after work. Out to 20 yards. feel pretty good about it. killed a doe with this set up about 10 years ago. I want to get back into it. we will see. I also need some advice on sharpening the broadheads. Never done that, should i find someone to do it or is there someone close to Tacoma area that will do it.??

[Ray]

I use a KME broadhead sharpener but would also consider one of these http://www.3riversarchery.com/product.asp?i=4233 Some people do it by hand with a stone too. I don't know someone who will do it for you in Tacoma.

[carpsniperg2]

use what ever weight shoots best for you. both will be do the trick for you. at 20 yards there will not be much diffrence. good luck to you.

[rooselk]

You should definitely go with the heavier arrow - and not just because of better penetration (though that's certainly a good and valid reason). For most traditional bows you want an arrow at least 8 or 9 grains per draw weight. Using this formula a 64 lb @ 28" bow should have at a minimum an arrow weighting between 512 grains and 576 grains. But if you're drawing to 30 inches then you're actually pulling about 6 lbs more, or around 70 lbs. With too light an arrow you risk damaging the bow and possibly even injuring yourself.

[Snapshot]

I respectfull submit that if it is a well made bow there isn't much of a safety issue at hand with the specifications posted. It is on the light side, yes. But a well made bow should handle 6 or 7 grains per pound.

I like my arrows to weigh about 9 grains per pound of bow weight, too. Another advantage of the heavier arrow is that the heavier arrow will absorb more of the vibration and your bow will shoot much quieter.

[Snapshot]

I use fixed two-blade broadheads and sharpen them with a *censored* file and/or stone. There are sharpening tutorials (videos) on line that you might find by doing a search on 'how to sharpen broadheads' or something similar; maybe try tradgang.com or stickbow.com, too, and use their search engine to find the topic in their archives. Good luck.