Arrow weight and velocities with elk

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
Just bought the 2017 Hoyt Carbon Defiant 34 on sale (never seen bows go on sale). I'm able to keep my current arrows which are 501 grain FMJs. I'm dropping about 10 fps with the new bow vs my old. I'm debating on whether to go down to an Axis arrow or similar, put a brass 50 gr insert in it and run those at about 450 grains to gain back some speed, but don't want to go too light for elk. I'm shooting 260 fps with the new bow and think I would get back to the 270-275 range with a little bit lighter arrow.

Which would you choose, slower and heavier FMJ at 500 grains and 260fps or go to a lighter carbon arrow with slightly higher foc at 450 grains and estimated 270-275 fps.

I try to hunt elk every year, but hunt more deer than elk.
 

johnsd16

Active Member
Mar 16, 2014
353
4
N Idaho
Only you can decide based on your shooting and hunting style, and how you feel about ranging and adjusting for shot distance. I have never been a speed chaser and always hunted deer until I moved to ID last year. I have my first elk season coming up. I am around 424gr with my current arrows and am around 290fps. Your arrows are plenty heavy, and if you wanted to lighten up to get some speed back you’ll be fine, but heavier arrows help with noise and shock as well as group better with good foc. No wrong answer but if I were in your shoes I’d keep what I had and spend the money and effort to swap out, re-tune and re-sight in and use it on something else.
 

Maxhunter

Veteran member
Apr 10, 2011
1,291
849
Wyoming
I would say a drop in speed of 10fps isn't a big deal. Also your bow is quieter. If you want to go to the lighter arrow that will be good also.
 

CrimsonArrow

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
850
355
Minnesota
It depends how far your average shot distance is for deer at home. If you shoot several deer each season, and take longer shots, lightening up your arrow would make sense to me. I'm definitely not a speed freak either, but as long as you maintain enough weight for elk, some extra speed is always nice
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,811
3,011
A lot of guys may disagree with me but IMHO I wouldn't overthink the K.E. part...

Point in case: My wife shot clear through a moose with minimum archery tackle this past season. And I mean the bare minimum.
 

DanPickar

Active Member
Mar 4, 2014
290
99
Wyoming
If you're mostly a deer guy I would got with a lighter arrow to gain some speed and better trajectory. I like 420-450 grains for my all around arrow.
 

bowrunner

Active Member
Oct 13, 2015
299
9
Illinois
I am shooting Easton axis 300s with 50 grains of brass and a 28.5 inch arrow, with a 29 in draw and 68lb. My setup fly’s great, but I think I would need to drop an inch or 1.5 inches in arrow length if I went to a 330 spine with 50 grains of brass. The heavier point definitely breaks down the spine. If you have a short enough arrow, I would agree to go with the axis and 50 grains of brass, but you need to watch your spine. My arrow weight is 497graina with standard nocks and 508 grains with lighted nocks.
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,796
2,162
Eastern Nebraska
Both options will penetrate well on elk if your bow is tuned properly. I'm not a speed freak either but I do like a little flatter trajectory. I'm currently shooting just over 300 fps- It's nice to run my top pin dead at 30 yards and be comfortable with it from 0-40 yards with very little adjustment. My next pin is set at 45 yards and then I have them set in 10 yard increments after that.
 

Bwht4x4

Member
Aug 29, 2012
65
12
I've shot clean through two mature bull elk shooting my old bow set at 68 lbs and a 390 grain arrow tipped with either a Montec or Slick Trick standard. One of the shots took out a rib going in and coming out and I never found the arrow!!

I've just recently bought a new Halon 32 and lowered my draw weight a bit (64 lbs) and increased to a 300 spine arrow with a total weight of 448 grains (shooting about 292 fps). I have no doubt the new set up will zip right through anything I hit.
 

DanPickar

Active Member
Mar 4, 2014
290
99
Wyoming
If I were you I would just hunt with the arrows that you have until you use them up. If you feel like you want an extra 10 fps then by all means. Either setup is on the heavier side and will perform just fine on elk. My arrows this year are 440 grains which is up from my usual of 420 grains. I like a flatter trajectory with my single pin slider so that is why I keep it in the low 400 gr. if I can.
 

JEandAsGuide

Active Member
Dec 11, 2012
475
1
Zachary, LA
I have a very similar situation. My old bow was plenty fast enough but had penetration issues at times on whitetails. I wanted to build a heavier arrow with my new bow especially since I will start taking it on elk and mule deer hunts. I got the Bowtech Reign with a 508gr arrow and I?m shooting 265fps. A little slower than I hoped so I am also debating on dropping about 50grains to pick up a little speed but I will see how it performs with heavier arrows this year since I already have them. I also switched to Slick Trick Vipertrick broadheads this year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cmbbulldog

Active Member
Jul 18, 2011
264
21
I shoot a lighter arrow than most, just under 400... but very quick. I have killed a few elk with this setup, but I think when I run out of arrows and make the switch, I will move to something slightly heavier in the 440 range.
 

Spudman

Member
Jun 12, 2017
144
2
Idaho
450 grain arrow cruising at 265 fps....tight groups and a little more forgiving vs when I was shooting 300 fps with a 400 grain arrow.