Ranch Ferry.

[TravisB]

Somebody should tell him to not drink the bong water. Heavy arrows are definitely ideal as long as you know the yardage. That way your "rainbows" fall into the kill zone. Aside from my sarcasm, everybody takes things to the extreme. I've found for whitetails a decently flat shooting bow with arrows around 400 grain is always better than a slow bow shooting arching logs. But if your good at judging yardage then heavy arrows are for you.

Yeah there are a lot of setups that will effectively kill whitetails at normal hunting distances. A guy should use what gives them confidence...topics like these can start flame wars and we don't want that.

Yes, to each their own, it’s intriguing to me because I have never shot a deer more then 27
yards, they just seem so far out there over 30 for me. I have a tendency to shoulder shoot deer also so seems like the best of all worlds for me. But I know guys who shoot out to 50/60 yards and I doubt it would be in their wheel house.

I shoot axis that weigh 550 grains finished. 340 axis cut 26.5 carbon to carbon, 50 grain brass hit, 16 grain footer a and 200 grain cut throats. 26 inch draw and have bows from 60-80 lbs.

I love frontals. If I’m on the ground or low in the saddle and they are under 20 yards the frontal or quartering too shot is deadly.

In 2015 I lost a deer that was qrt away, I was shooting a 70lb Hoyt turbo with a 400 grain arrow with a slick trick mag and it’s just flat out deflected up the rib cage into the shoulder. I was sick over it. That winter added all the tip weight and foc and went to 150 grain stingers and it really helped. I contacted Troy back then when he first started to put out info and he helped me with my set up. Talk to him all the time now and he’s a wealth of knowledge.

I’m kinda on the extreme side with a single bevels but I want max penetration. I shot a whitetail in Nebraska a few years ago at 59 yards and the arrow was 25 yards past the deer. Still practice out to 70-80 yards even with the 60lbs bows shooting in the low 230s. The trajectory for typical tree stand hunters really is not bad even with my slow set ups.

Seeing what heavy arrows do to pigs and deer shoulders made me a believer. I tend to always aim towards the shoulder and have zero issues or worries about getting through into the vitals. In fact since going to a heavier set up most the deer don’t even know they are hit. They just take it and normally don’t even react. Walk a couple steps and fall over.

The blood trials have been decent with single bevels but I have yet to have a deer go more then 30 yards. They just seem to die in sight .

You have some damn good eyes if you can see an arrow deflect up the rib cage and into the shoulder at the shot.

[tbunao]

I'm not going to invest in new arrows as mine are fine. I'm going to push the limit on point weight though. I have .340 shafts and am going to switch out my hundred grain heads to 125's and maybe screw in some insert weights. See how far I can push that noodle skeet load shaft. Lol.

Yeah I bought some 50 and 100 grain brass inserts that I can screw on extra weight to play around with.

I shoot gold tip so I can use their FACT system screw in weights. I had them for years so I just had the factory aluminum inserts installed, so I think I'm stuck with them.

Those are the inserts and additional weights I bought too...along with the wrench thing

Depending on the length of the arrow you may want to watch out on how much you add. Ive been running the same system for a few years. I originally had 20g and then added another 10g. That pushed it to much and had to step up a spine to get it shooting straight. Also with these arrows going super heavy up front have seen some snapping of arrows from mine ( went with 50g and a 125 point) and a few other people. Just a heads up. Great arrows but DaySix are calling

[Bowhuntercoop]

Somebody should tell him to not drink the bong water. Heavy arrows are definitely ideal as long as you know the yardage. That way your "rainbows" fall into the kill zone. Aside from my sarcasm, everybody takes things to the extreme. I've found for whitetails a decently flat shooting bow with arrows around 400 grain is always better than a slow bow shooting arching logs. But if your good at judging yardage then heavy arrows are for you.

Yeah there are a lot of setups that will effectively kill whitetails at normal hunting distances. A guy should use what gives them confidence...topics like these can start flame wars and we don't want that.

Yes, to each their own, it’s intriguing to me because I have never shot a deer more then 27
yards, they just seem so far out there over 30 for me. I have a tendency to shoulder shoot deer also so seems like the best of all worlds for me. But I know guys who shoot out to 50/60 yards and I doubt it would be in their wheel house.

I shoot axis that weigh 550 grains finished. 340 axis cut 26.5 carbon to carbon, 50 grain brass hit, 16 grain footer a and 200 grain cut throats. 26 inch draw and have bows from 60-80 lbs.

I love frontals. If I’m on the ground or low in the saddle and they are under 20 yards the frontal or quartering too shot is deadly.

In 2015 I lost a deer that was qrt away, I was shooting a 70lb Hoyt turbo with a 400 grain arrow with a slick trick mag and it’s just flat out deflected up the rib cage into the shoulder. I was sick over it. That winter added all the tip weight and foc and went to 150 grain stingers and it really helped. I contacted Troy back then when he first started to put out info and he helped me with my set up. Talk to him all the time now and he’s a wealth of knowledge.

I’m kinda on the extreme side with a single bevels but I want max penetration. I shot a whitetail in Nebraska a few years ago at 59 yards and the arrow was 25 yards past the deer. Still practice out to 70-80 yards even with the 60lbs bows shooting in the low 230s. The trajectory for typical tree stand hunters really is not bad even with my slow set ups.

Seeing what heavy arrows do to pigs and deer shoulders made me a believer. I tend to always aim towards the shoulder and have zero issues or worries about getting through into the vitals. In fact since going to a heavier set up most the deer don’t even know they are hit. They just take it and normally don’t even react. Walk a couple steps and fall over.

The blood trials have been decent with single bevels but I have yet to have a deer go more then 30 yards. They just seem to die in sight .

You have some damn good eyes if you can see an arrow deflect up the rib cage and into the shoulder at the shot.

It was 23 yards, I watched the arrow skirt the outside and into the shoulder. Got ZERO penetration. My fault as he was prolly quartering away more then I thought. No doubt in my mind if I was shoot 550-600 grain set up that buck would be on the wall.

I will never shoot an arrow under 550 grain and you couldn’t pay me to shoot a mechanical. Zero advantage to me for light, fast, huge cut set ups.

All the guys complaining about tracjecory and arch have prolly never even shoot a 550-700 grain arrow. It’s not as bad as you would think. Under 30 yards it’s minimum at best. I can take a 400 grain arrow and then a 550 grain arrow and at 20 yards point of impact is almost the same. 30 yards it’s a couple inches low.

Very similar to shooting an 06 with 150 grain then switching to a 220 grain. You re sight the gun in. Same goes for your bow sight. For the average tree stand hunter that’s shooting under 40 yards heavy arrow set ups have way more pros then cons.

[ThePreBanMan]

Youre trading trajectory for penetration.

Penetration wont matter when youre hitting too high and too low. Its cool though, you can brag about penetration while grid searching for a deer thats alive the next day and 800 yards away...

You do realize that regardless of arrow weight, you still have to practice with what you shoot. If you practice and your setup is sighted in, trajectory isn't going to make your arrow hit higher or lower.

If youre shooting at a feeder its perfect but most people dont hunt from a feeder and wild animals seem to move frequently.

How many times have you seen on video "I ranged him at XX but he angled away more than I thought and was at XX when I released" resulting in a bad or no hit? Now add more "arch" and that multiplies the chances at a bad hit.

There is a reason most of the bigger 3D tournaments have a FPS limit. Its almost like speed has an advantage in accuracy when shooting at unknown distances.

Target archery is a whole different world with very different goals. Shots are much farther out, targets don't move, you're not shooting broadheads, and you're not trying to penetrate and kill what you're aiming at, etc, etc, etc. It's not a fair comparison. In target archery, all you care about is breaking rings. In hunting, you're trying to break bone and keep on trucking... Very different things requiring very different projectiles.

[ThePreBanMan]

I'm not going to invest in new arrows as mine are fine. I'm going to push the limit on point weight though. I have .340 shafts and am going to switch out my hundred grain heads to 125's and maybe screw in some insert weights. See how far I can push that noodle skeet load shaft. Lol.

Yeah I bought some 50 and 100 grain brass inserts that I can screw on extra weight to play around with.

I shoot gold tip so I can use their FACT system screw in weights. I had them for years so I just had the factory aluminum inserts installed, so I think I'm stuck with them.

Those are the inserts and additional weights I bought too...along with the wrench thing

Depending on the length of the arrow you may want to watch out on how much you add. Ive been running the same system for a few years. I originally had 20g and then added another 10g. That pushed it to much and had to step up a spine to get it shooting straight. Also with these arrows going super heavy up front have seen some snapping of arrows from mine ( went with 50g and a 125 point) and a few other people. Just a heads up. Great arrows but DaySix are calling

You can't just add weight to your existing arrows. You have to spine up (new shafts).

[Bowhunting Brian]

I'm not going to invest in new arrows as mine are fine. I'm going to push the limit on point weight though. I have .340 shafts and am going to switch out my hundred grain heads to 125's and maybe screw in some insert weights. See how far I can push that noodle skeet load shaft. Lol.

Yeah I bought some 50 and 100 grain brass inserts that I can screw on extra weight to play around with.

I shoot gold tip so I can use their FACT system screw in weights. I had them for years so I just had the factory aluminum inserts installed, so I think I'm stuck with them.

Those are the inserts and additional weights I bought too...along with the wrench thing

Depending on the length of the arrow you may want to watch out on how much you add. Ive been running the same system for a few years. I originally had 20g and then added another 10g. That pushed it to much and had to step up a spine to get it shooting straight. Also with these arrows going super heavy up front have seen some snapping of arrows from mine ( went with 50g and a 125 point) and a few other people. Just a heads up. Great arrows but DaySix are calling

I know I'm on the cusp so I have to be careful. I'm at 28.5 inches. Right now I shoot 62 lbs with 100 grain heads. The chart says I'm good with 125 grain heads. I'm going to go slow and bare shaft tune as I go. I'd like to get at least (1) 10 grain weight behind the 125 grain heads. If I have to buy stiffer arrows so be it, but I have 2 dozen in great shape so I want to keep them if I can. I got these brand new for 33 bucks a dozen. Gold Tip Hunter XT's.

[Hawthorne]

You can add weight to the nock end to make your arrow stiffer. Gold Tip used to have weighted inserts for the nock end. Then it throws off your FOC. Decisions

[ThePreBanMan]

You can add weight to the rear to make your arrow stiffer. Gold Tip used to have weighted inserts for the rear

That's counter to the high FoC goal though...

[MrT]

Been researching a lot lately since the THP topic a week or so back. I was sceptical at first, but after reading comments and taking the time to research and watching videos by Ranch Fairy and others, I think I will do some experimenting on some new setups between now and bow season.

What really hooked me was the videos of arrow penetration on hogs. I plan to bowhunt hogs this year, and these videos made me realize my current setup is not ideal.

[The_Real_Jmill]

I will say all hunters should use whatever hunting setup floats their boat as long as they are proficient and it is legal.

But I do find it intriguing so many are jumping on the wagon to completely overhaul their arrow setups for whitetail. Maybe somebody is better versed than me in deer anatomy but do we actually know what percentage of a whitetails vitals are covered by the socket/humerus/scapula? Looking online leads me to believe it is a very small percentage, so while some may find a benefit in penetration I think most will be let down by the results of this complete overhaul in equipment, dead is dead as long as the shot is where it should be.

There is no magic in heavy arrow setups, yes they penetrate better but the hunter still has to do their part making an accurate and ethical shot.

[Bowhuntercoop]

I will say all hunters should use whatever hunting setup floats their boat as long as they are proficient and it is legal.

But I do find it intriguing so many are jumping on the wagon to completely overhaul their arrow setups for whitetail. Maybe somebody is better versed than me in deer anatomy but do we actually know what percentage of a whitetails vitals are covered by the socket/humerus/scapula? Looking online leads me to believe it is a very small percentage, so while some may find a benefit in penetration I think most will be let down by the results of this complete overhaul in equipment, dead is dead as long as the shot is where it should be.

There is no magic in heavy arrow setups, yes they penetrate better but the hunter still has to do their part making an accurate and ethical shot.

You’re right In a sense, the magic with heavy arrows is when the animal turns, ducts, dives, or dips and I hit those hard bones I have enough to break em and get a pass through. Light arrows with mechanical it just ain’t happening.

[The_Real_Jmill]

I will say all hunters should use whatever hunting setup floats their boat as long as they are proficient and it is legal.

But I do find it intriguing so many are jumping on the wagon to completely overhaul their arrow setups for whitetail. Maybe somebody is better versed than me in deer anatomy but do we actually know what percentage of a whitetails vitals are covered by the socket/humerus/scapula? Looking online leads me to believe it is a very small percentage, so while some may find a benefit in penetration I think most will be let down by the results of this complete overhaul in equipment, dead is dead as long as the shot is where it should be.

There is no magic in heavy arrow setups, yes they penetrate better but the hunter still has to do their part making an accurate and ethical shot.

You’re right In a sense, the magic with heavy arrows is when the animal turns, ducts, dives, or dips and I hit those hard bones I have enough to break em and get a pass through. Light arrows with mechanical it just ain’t happening.

I don't disagree generally speaking but what percentage of heavy bone actually covers the vitals? The flipside is when you get into the paunch hits which make up a higher overall percentage of area to hit on a whitetail a wide cut diameter mechanical shines because the sheer difference in wound channel/less clogging allowing for easier track jobs vs. smaller diameter fixed heads.

Each has its merits but there is no magic bullet in this game and I feel some are being misled especially for whitetail sized game.

The bigger thicker animals hog etc. then the equation is a little different.....

But either way all hunters should use what they are confident in and proficient with, cause at the end of the day they are the ones taking the shot at their quarry.

[ThePreBanMan]

I will say all hunters should use whatever hunting setup floats their boat as long as they are proficient and it is legal.

But I do find it intriguing so many are jumping on the wagon to completely overhaul their arrow setups for whitetail. Maybe somebody is better versed than me in deer anatomy but do we actually know what percentage of a whitetails vitals are covered by the socket/humerus/scapula? Looking online leads me to believe it is a very small percentage, so while some may find a benefit in penetration I think most will be let down by the results of this complete overhaul in equipment, dead is dead as long as the shot is where it should be.

There is no magic in heavy arrow setups, yes they penetrate better but the hunter still has to do their part making an accurate and ethical shot.

In a perfect world where the animal is perfectly broadside, unobstructed, not moving, doesn't jump the string, etc... Sure. Heavy, high FoC arrows really aren't going to help in perfect situations like that. They're for situations like quartering to shots, or partially obstructed shots where the only angle at both lungs is through the shoulder, or for when we make a mistake and hit "a little too far forward". When everything goes absolutely perfect, even a light arrow with a field point will kill a deer. But that's not what we're discussing.

[Dewey]

You guys are WAY overthinking this stuff.

[Jackson Marsh]

You guys are WAY overthinking this stuff.

but, but, but, but the internet guy says I need to change

I'm gonna play around with it prior to summer shooting and see what happens....might end up back where I started