Which Weight Arrow Should I Go With? 8.4 or 9.3 per/inch

[jasonprox700]

I am looking at ordering new arrows, but I am not sure which ones I should go with. I can go with the 8.4 grains/inch or 9.3 grains/inch. I realize the 9.3 will probably give me better penetration, but the 8.4 will give me a flatter trajectory.

I shoot a Mathews Switchback XT maxed out at 73lbs. I would like these arrows to be a "do all" for both target/league and hunting. I hunt whitetails and turkey in midwest Wisconsin. I also shoot league in the off season and turn my bow down to 58lbs for indoor target league (60 arrows @ 20 yards per night).

I haven't weighed them, but the arrows these will be replacing are the standard Carbon Express 300 series. Not sure what their weight per inch is. Any help would be greatly appreciated because I am on a mixed batch of arrows, and I think my scores at league are suffering (or maybe I suck!)

 

[winmag]

Id say 9.3 gr per in for a couple of reasons. 1 theyre easier to come by with the correct splined arrows you will need (for both draw wt.'s 2 different splines) and my personal experience is lighter arrows are more ''finniky'' to paper-tune and get dialed. Just my experience with lighter arrows. And 2, some states like Washington St. have a minnimum arrow wt. for hunting, so if you were to go lighter arrows and and tune your bow to them, youd have to re-do everything again to hunt in some other states.
Youll do well with any choice you make. Technology changes daily and Im sure in the year and a half since I sold my Bowtech, lots of things changed for the better in archery equipment.

 

[azsugarbear]

There are a lot of factors that come into play when selecting a shaft. Out west, we often end up taking shots at longer distances than hunters back east. The country is wide open and more often than not, you have to go to where the game is. Blind or stand hunting occurs, but at a much lower level. I would venture to say that the primary way to take game out west is the spot-and-stalk method. Things happen fast and sometimes there is just no way to quickly range the animal. A lighter shaft/arrow shoots flatter, therefore there is more margin for error when judging distances. Even when elk are on the menu, I go with the lighter shaft. I use the Montec 125 gr. fixed braodhead. My 28.5" draw length brings the total weight of my arrow to approx. 430 grains. My Matthews is set @ 70 lbs. and moves the 430 gr. arrow at 285 fps.

 

[sniperjwt]

I would go with the 8.4. I know the whole arguement about heavier gets more penatration but with a good sharp broadhead the lighter one will still slice right through. I shoot the Beman 400s that i belive are 8.4 gpi and shoot them at 330 fps. Killed a deer 2 years ago at 88 yards and it was a complete pass through so speed does kill

 

[lamiglas]

your type of cam, arrow length, and weight all play a part in which arrow you should use. check out bemans shaft selector tool. keep in mind that if you are on the line and could go either way, a stiffer shaft is usually easier to tune. with that being said, i am shooting 84 lbs with a 25" arrow on a new maxxis at 321 fps, and i am using the ics 400. I was planning on going stiffer with the 340 but the 400 tuned very nicely so i am using it. for what its worth I was shooting a 29" 400 out of my old bow so i could shoot the same arrows as my dad and the 29" 400 wouldnt tune through paper. it started to tune around 27" and at 25" was perfect. here's a link to the shaft selector, good luck.

Beman - First in Carbon Arrows | Shaft Selector

 

[J E Custom]

Id say 9.3 gr per in for a couple of reasons. 1 theyre easier to come by with the correct splined arrows you will need (for both draw wt.'s 2 different splines) and my personal experience is lighter arrows are more ''finniky'' to paper-tune and get dialed. Just my experience with lighter arrows. And 2, some states like Washington St. have a minnimum arrow wt. for hunting, so if you were to go lighter arrows and and tune your bow to them, youd have to re-do everything again to hunt in some other states.
Youll do well with any choice you make. Technology changes daily and Im sure in the year and a half since I sold my Bowtech, lots of things changed for the better in archery equipment.

+1

Heavy arrows are just like heavy bullets they have all of the advantages except trajectory.

Go with the heaviest you feel comfortable with and dont worry about trajectory because
if you do a lot of shooting there is no down side.

Just my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Ol'Gator]

Heavy is my choice. Maybe not yours. Try both then decide for yourself.

 

[winmag]

Hey Jason, what did you decide for arrows? Did you go on your Idaho bear hunt yet with your new AR?

 

[jasonprox700]

I think I am going with the 8.4's. The Carbon Expresses I shoot are pretty close to that and I have never had problems. I have always had complete pass thrus on deer (except for a finishing shot that spined one). I have some heavier arrows from my old bow that I shoot on occasion. Once you get past 40 yards, there is a significant difference in trajectory.

It'll be this fall when I go on my hunt. I'm pretty excited. A taxidermist I shoot bow with killed a 615lb bear last fall here in Wisconsin. He also had 3 other smaller boars coming into his bait. I should have enough points built up for a tag in '11 and I will most likely be hunting about 1/2 mile from where he killed his. It would be awesome to kill a bear in in Idaho this fall, and one here the following fall.

 

[eyeball 2]

my 8.4's in a matthews drenaline with 100 gr muzzy blows through bull elk, deer, and bears. get the heavys for elephant and cape buffalo. heavy works, you just miss more so you get more meat with light arrows. dr rc

 

[nate-lab]

i used 8.4 gr per/inch for hunting and used maxima blue streak 250 7.4 gr per/inch for targets

 

[SpencerSS]

There's alot of factors that go into arrow performance. I refer you to the Ashby reports.

If the arrows are spined correctly in both sets, it won't make a big difference. If just the weight is munipulated, you'll have to step it up a bit more to see substantial gains. Total arrow weights around 650gn show sig. increases in penetration over lesser weights. If you're keeping the same points, vanes and nocks, then you're not changing the weight much; 27gn on a 30" arrow.



As far as elephants total arrow weights of 1200gn+ are the norm, and heavy single bevel, two blade broadheads.

 

[eyeball 2]

i agree, but i'm talking deer and elk. i expect your ligt arrows would have plenty of penetration from what i've seen happen with mine on deer and elk.

 

[eyeball 2]

darn, i forgot, those arrows i shot through with were the g tip ultralight in size 400 which is 7.4 gr/inch. i would go lighter except for worrying about the effect on my bow. also, year before last i drilled a recalcitrant bear with it with a 90 gr. old 4 blade muzzy which also blew through the bear.