Hi all. I am not the most seasoned traditional bowhunter. I've been doing this for 3 years now and have a hog and a whitetail buck to my credit. I'm hoping the more experienced here can help me out.
Right now I shoot a 60lb Kodiak Magnum-at my 25" drawlength I'm guessing that's 50-52lbs.
I made up some high weight, high foc arrows- 630grains, 27.5% FOC. They fly great, couldn't ask for better flight. Then I shot a 3d course and got served a slice of humble pie. Talk about arc-goodness!
My question is this- do I, as primarily a deer hunter, need this kind of arrow? Range estimation is super critical with these feather rocks. I do have another arrow setup, 530 grains, that also works well. I'm starting to think that extra 100 grains ain't worth the hassle.
530gr is plenty to kill a whitetail. Hit well and you'll collect your deer. That is still a heavier set up than more than one of use is using. I'm drawing 45# with a 487gr arrow. There is a thread on here about deer taken with 40-45# bows; it went many pages.
I shoot a 47lb Palmer recurve at my 26" draw and hunt with arrows ranging from 480 grains thru 530 grains and have never had a problem with penetration on deer and hogs. I use big broad heads too like the Palmer Extreme Cut, snuffers and 4 blade Muzzy phantoms.
What has worked for me is to use a big broad head and not to crowd the shoulder.
450-460 grains will get you into the 9 grains per pound range and out of the 12.5 gpp range that you are currently in. You will notice quite an improvement in trajectory and plenty of arrow for hunting.
I used a 500 grn arrow out of my 50# longbow which I'm only pulling to about 26.5" so about 46-46# with a 175 grn vpa 3 blade last year. I shot a buck and had complete pass through with no problem. I'm sure the heavier weight will help with some other animals like hogs but don't think it's needed for whitetails
I'd hang on to the heavier arrows for hogs, where depending upon the size of the hog a heavy FOC arrow would be an asset. Deer being thin skinned and lightly boned are mostly made up of water and a well balanced arrow in the 9-10 gpp range is more than adequate, in addition to having a flatter trajectory.
I agree with Dave.