Heavy V.S. Light - Hit and Miss

[BT]

When speaking strictly to the Compound bow....
Here is the reason why I shoot light. I think this is the reason most people shoot light.

I don't carry a range finder and generally don't have the time to use one even if I did. Generally don't need to carry one when in a stand because I set up within the first pin distance of my bows trajectory.

If I were hunting wide open fields I guess I would feel differently.... Because I would use and be able to use a range finder without it becoming another thing I have to have.

Its pretty nice being able to hold dead on out to 35 yards and not having to take notice of what pin is on the deer.

Just wondering how many other people go light for these reasons and how much it has advanced their successes since going hot.

* Note that the bow used for this chart is not a fast bow.
I believe it was rated at 290fps if memory serves.

[BT]

I truly do use light arrows first and foremost for trajectory but I also use them based on the fact that any compound is less effective with a heavier arrow when speaking to penetration.
I am not suggesting that the lighter the arrow the better but I am suggesting that there is no one rule fits all for all bow designs.

Why the Ashby Theory does not apply to compounds but does apply to stick bows.

Ashby (the traditional archer) took note of the fact that a heavy arrow out penetrated a lighter arrow and found the extreme, rather than looking at what would work. I agree with Ashby when speaking of the traditional bow... Sort of.
While Ashby focused on a fixed weight, he did not spend any time focusing on the arrow weight pertaining to the bow weight as does standards such as A.M.M.O.
Ashby also does not recognize the difference between the limbs cast difference between a compound and traditional bow.

Ashby ended up with an arrow that weighed in at 12 gpp (you never hear people talk about this fact) which is not dramatic for a 54# tradbow. The reason that the same effective results Ashby saw are not equal to a compound bow of the same speed is because a compound bow's limb deflection difference (between full draw and at rest) is substantially less than any stick bows deflection difference.

Lets me give an illustration as to why the traditional bow works better with a heavy arrow and a compound does not.

Visualize two men pushing two women in a swing.
One Woman is 140# and the other is 280#

Both men share the same strength but one man has a reach of only half of the other.
The man with the short arms is much faster than the man with the longer arms but can only push half the distance when standing in place.

See where this is going?.

While both men could get that lighter lady pretty high with their best push, when the heavier lady gets in the seat, the guy with the longer arms is going to get her higher.
It's the difference between a push and a shove.

On a light load, a fast shove (even if limited in distance of contact) will get the load further away then slower push. Just the opposite on a heavy load. This is why a heavier arrow does not respond the same in a compound as it does when shot from a stick bow. This is why a heavier arrow works against penetration in a compound but not a longbow.

Momentum works both ways. You gain momentum through travel and travel allows something heavier to be thrown further.
Again... between two men of equal strength, the one with the longest arms will throw a bowling ball further given the same throwing style.

Ashby does not address this fact nor has anyone else because the Ashby theory is proven out.... Just not with a compound

[ccwilder3]

There are always issues when things are taken to the extreme. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that jumped on the super heavy arrow band wagon and jumped right back off after a season or two. While a super heavy arrow may out penetrate a super light arrow, it first needs to strike the animal in the proper place. Penetration means nothing when the deer is ducking the arrow. Penetration means nothing when that 37 yard shot was actually 40 yards and the arch of the arrow drops it totally under the animal.

I grew up with the perfect test media, hogs. I learned early on that a lighter arrow with the proper broadhead resulted in a lot less lost animals than a super heavy arrow.

I also learned that light arrows paired with the wrong broadhead resulted in angry hogs and an appreciation of trees with low hanging limbs.

I once had the opportunity to talk to Fred Bear and Frank Scott at the Fred Bear museum in Gainesville Florida. When the subject of arrow weight came up they both agreed that 9 grs per pound of draw weight was perfect for recurve bows for the purpose of hunting. It gave you a flatter trajectory while still having enough weight to penetrate.

This year I am going back to a recurve for most of my hunting. My arrow weight will be around 9 grs per pound.

For my compound, I will be right around 5 grs per pound. I love me some flat trajectory and short time of flight.