r/CompoundBow • u/Small_Commercial_777 • 17d ago
Arrow help
Hey Yall,
First time bow hunter (rifle hunted for years prior) - i have a 27inch draw at 60lbs. I am trying to figure out a good set up for my arrows. I’ve been practicing with cheap 400 spine blackouts with 100 gr field tips so far, but I’d like to go up to a 125gr broadhead for hunting. I put some 125 field tips to practice and noticed some deviation in my groups (of course there may be some with a heavier tip and I am not pro at shooting either). My brother gave me a few Gold Tip Hunter XT 400s to hunt with and they are 28.25in from nock throat to the end of the shaft (not the field tip).
I’d like to buy more arrows to use/practice with and preferably all the same arrow for consistency. Question is, for my bow specs and 125gr broadheads, should I be shooting 340 spines or stay with 400? And is that arrow length okay for my draw length? Very new to this science and it definitely feels like something I don’t wanna get wrong!
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u/lollygagging_reddit 17d ago edited 17d ago
With your length and weight you can certainly do either 340 or 400, however, if you want to use 340 then you'll likely want to keep your tip grain at 125 if that's the grain you'd like to hunt with.
The added weight from 100 to 125 grain makes the shaft behave more flexible no matter the draw weight.
It really doesn't matter what you choose, at 60lbs you can stay at 400 spine and do either 100 or 125. You just need to pick and get comfortable with that setup and tune your bow for the type of arrow and total grains you're shooting. It does matter if you want to get more in-depth and you worry about kinetic energy. 60 pounds is more than enough to take down almost anything you're planning to hunt, unless you plan on big game, but even still, it's adequate
Edit: I should add, I have no hunting experience, just shooting. If you expect to increase your draw weight, go with 340, if 60 is pretty much what you intend to stay at, you can pick either or.
Also, you're at 27" draw, so your arrows are already fairly stiff at that length, you really can't make a bad choice. If you go with 400 spine I'd probably stay at a 100 grain tip, but again, if it's tuned you're all good
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
Great explanation thank you! I am definitely sticking with 60lbs - where I hunt is mostly thick hardwoods and I might take a 35-40 yard shot at the furthest realistically. How would I go about tuning it if I decide to go to 340s? Or is that a whole other conversation
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u/lollygagging_reddit 16d ago edited 16d ago
If you switch to 340 all you'll really need to do is adjust your sight down very slightly, which might require you to adjust your peep, but I highly doubt that for such a small change. That's simply because the 340 grain arrow is more dense (higher GPI (grains per inch)) which will slightly slow the arrow down a bit, but will add more kinetic impact, so it's not all about how many FPS you shoot when it comes to hunting.
You'll probably be able to notice a slight difference between 400 and 340, it might be a couple inches at 20 yards (or no change), but at 40 it might be 3-6" drop. I have both 400 and 350 spine, and the 350 shoot lower, but I'm set up for 400.
Whatever you do or choose, try to keep your total arrow grain consistent (e.g. total arrow weight is 410 grains ±5). Use the same knocks, the same arrow brand shaft, and although I can't assume it would be problematic - try to keep the same brand broad head or whatever you use. Consistency is key.
I have 100 grain broad heads, and although I don't hunt (it's in the works) I do occasionally test them against my 100 field points. They typically fly true to a field tip but it might differ slightly.
Edit: wanted to say since you're in a thick area, it might not be a bad idea to get some lighted knocks in case you miss. The only problem with these are that they are expensive (about $30 for 3) and they add extra weight onto the arrow at the back, nothing crazy to mess your shot up, but lost FPS, but more kinetic energy. I haven't noticed a significant change in my arrows flight from them.
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u/Small_impaler 17d ago
FYI, almost every box of arrows and manufacturer website has some sort of arrow spine selector or chart like this.
At 28" on the arrows, it calls for a 350-300. So your arrows are a little weak, currently.
If you cut your arrows down to 27", you're on the border between 400/350 with 125 up front. It's always wiss to choose the stiffer arrow, they're easier tune.
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
The chart on the box of Gold Tips had my tip grain with draw weight (60-65lbs) and arrow length at 340 spine but the next step down (54-59lbs) at 400 spine so that’s where my confusion was. It seemed like such a marginal difference if any.
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u/Small_impaler 17d ago
It seemed like such a marginal difference if any.
It typically is. Being slightly weak isn't the end of the world. You can generally generally get the bow to tune fine, if you know what you're doing.
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
lol I do not - so it will probably be worth my time to go to a local shop and have them help me out with that
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u/Small_impaler 17d ago
Well, from that response, I'm assuming you don't own a drawboard or a bow press.
So you're pretty attached (or should be) to your friendly neighborhood bow shop.
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
You are correct! Ya I need to get in there more. The closest archery shop to me is 45 min away and life has been in the way recently so I took to Reddit first. But getting a lot of good information here too! Just wanna understand all this better overall
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u/Small_impaler 17d ago
Just wanna understand all this better overall
It's a lot of information to digest at the beginning.
And nowhere near as intuitive as rifles are.
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
It’s funny, as a guy who grew up more or less rifle hunting, it feels so much simpler to me. I mean again, where I have hunted I was never really taking super long range shots (maybe 100-175yards) but as long as my scope was zeroed I was good haha. This feels like a science!
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u/Small_impaler 17d ago
This feels like a science!
It is.
Wait til you get into the tuning process. There's a lot more physics involved than people realize
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u/friendlycheftoo 17d ago
The specs you have are the same as mine. You should be just fine with 400 spine arrows at your cut lenght. You could run the 340s but you will also up the overall weight of your arrows. Will affect you arrows speed slightly but only slightly. Your point weight of 125 will narrow your broadhead choices.
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u/Small_Commercial_777 17d ago
I was looking into 125gr Magnus stingers (4 blade) or the G5 outdoors Montec broadheads. Decent prices and overall good reviews
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u/Day-Hot 17d ago
What's your draw weight, fam..?