Penetration Test from Bowsite

[deadeye]

I saw this on the Bowsite and got the OK to post the link here. Seems Pat LeFemine is going after cape buffalo and decided to test arrow weights, heads and arrows.

What I found interesting is the results of the heavy arrow versus light.

www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/equipment/penetration/

[BT]

I am not surprised with the rig that he is using but as to the tests....not what I would be satisfied with

Look at it this way....

Water Buffalo is the only animal who's ribs over lap (they do) and a piece of ply wood is an extremely poor test subject when trying to make a comparison

A better comparison would have been a grid of 3/4" hardwood dowels shot at an angle.

None the less....

I would never consider hunting a water Buffalo with a bow.

I have seen it done many times and only once with a successful (meaning) quick kill.

This is one animal that deserves more respect for itself and oneself.

Back to the Plywood....

At 30 yards with a 300 grain arrow I would blow through 3/4" CDX ply all day long.

I could kill a deer with a pass through to boot , behind the plywood at 15yrds ;D

Don't get me wrong !....I wish Pat the best and I hope that he lucks out with a good and quick kill but with that said....the testing is weak

[Greg Krause]

I'd like to see different weight arrows with the SAME Ke compared. I would have figured that the arrow with the highest KE would penetrate the best. The question would be if the arrows had the same KE would momentum of the heavier arrow drive it deeper.....and if so by how much?

[bloodtrailer]

I wish him luck, those cape buffalo are a nasty 1 , better kill it before it kills you

[BT]

The heavier arrow would penetrate further with the same K.E.

The heavier arrow would also penetrate better with less K.E. once it was past the apex of it's trajectory comparative to that lighter arrow under the same point past it's own apex.

The problem is .... to get the same K.E. out of the heavier arrow you must shoot additional Bow weight to get speed back up at the same draw length.

Pat (in this case) is hunting Africa which has mandated restrictions as to arrow weight and and therefore bow weight must be far higher.

Pats bow is generating less K.E. than mine yet his arrow is 3X heavier and bow weight perhaps 30% more.

Now what I don't understand is where in Africa is he hunting?.

Last I knew there was a minimum K.E. requirement of 90# to hunt Buffalo or elephant in Africa.

Of course I don't hunt Africa so I am hardly the one to be quoting facts on the matter of current law.

[Greg Krause]

I'm not 100% sure but I think it is 80#'s KE for the Big 5.....inwhich case he would still fall short. Last year I was considering a cape buffalo hunt ( decided against it, gonna save for a brown bear instead) and did a bit of research and the guys who have done it before were saying they wouldn't want to use only 80#'s KE. There are a few guys who go to africa like we go to 3D shoots, at the local bow shop. They all are shooting custom arrrows in the 1000+ grain range and 90-110# draw weight. I had decided if I was gonna go I would use similar set ups. I have shot a bunch of their bows in the 100# range and while it wasn't something I'd shoot all day it wasn't horrible either. I forget what KE they were getting but putting a 1000grain arrow out of a 100# bow seems more like the ticket to me. If you can't handle it, pick a smaller animal or pick up a rifle. These guys are driving the arrows in to the fletch on hippos and buffs, as long as you pick the spot and hit it they go down quick...so I'm told.

[BT]

There is a minimum arrow weight as well as K.E. and that is why they were shooting 100# bows....to get the speed back.

I am going to grab a 3/4 Ply and show you what a 370gr. arrow does @ 310fps compaired to that bow of Pat's.

At least these are the numbers I am shooting for.

I will use the 125gr. silver flame to keep up with Pats cut size and a CX200 w/ 4" plastic vanes out of the BK2

[michihunter]

I can tell you that with my 29"/71# Bowtech Tech 29 shooting a CX Terminator Select tipped with a Montec I have shot clean through a Black Hole and into a 3/4" piece of plywood up to the fletchings before. The plywood acts as somewhat of a backstop, but not much of one.

[BT]

Nope!....360 @ 289fps @ 20yrds w/ 67# K.E.

Oh well....lets see what we come away with here using 100fps x-tra and 600grns. less weight on a 7/8" hardwood finished cabinet ply with a 3/4" interior sandwich of 1/4" which is far stronger than CDX














The board was cross screwed and braced hence the cracking in the veneer towards the edges.

But....This made the board less crack resistant so that no fingers could be pointed

The arrow is 29" and the fletch is 4" so you can see what the result was.

I stayed with the feathers to keep weight since my FOC was still only 14%.

The shot was at 20yards.

I must say that if it were not for the X-tra width of the Silver flame I believe it would have been a blow out since I dropped 10# of K.E. in this process and used a head that was 1/4" wider than I typically might use.

[mahly]

Amazing. He actually found that a 2 blade head with more KE would penetrate better than a 2 or 4 blade head with less KE.
AND he found that with the same tip, 2 blades penetrate better than 4.
In all honesty, I am of the belief that arrows with the SAME KE will penetrate pretty much identical. even if they have a large difference in weight.