Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Real Arrow speeds

I was at the pro shop today and checked my Mathews Rezen 7.0 again today on there cronograph and the speed was 264 for 4 arrows. This was with the ICS Camo Hunter/340, 100gr tip with Fusion vanes. If you ask me that's plenty fast enough to nail down a deer at 20-30 yards and pertty flat shooting to boot. It's been said that once you go over 300 fps the arrow flight can really get finicky. Suppose to be to much power starts to unstablize the arrow flight being there is just to much power for the shaft to handel. Just something i read in one of the major bow magazines.

agreed, a good friend of mine is a very archery savvy hunter. He told me that he has never had more trouble then when he started shooting broadheads over 300fps. It was his feeling that the faster over 300fps the more strange things began to happen with consistant flight, adding to this shots over 40 yards also became more erratic.

I'm sure things can be done to solve this stuff, but it was his opinion that speeds close to, but under 300fps were far more stable for use with broadheads in general. I've never owned a bow that shot hunting weight arrows faster then 300fps, the best I've ever had was about 275fps. I've had no struggle killing anything up to elk size in North America and up to Kudu size in Africa. Rare to have an arrow remain inside game as well.

Have you ever seen "Family Traditions" with Haley Heath? She is shooting 47lbs and zips arrows through about everything she shoots. She is a hella good bow shot and using what most macho guys would laugh at. It's impressive to watch her and see how great such a low power bow works when used at "hunting" range by a great shot.

Penetration can have a LOT to do with choice of arrow weight and a ton to do with broadhead choice, correct choice there can make up for weight issues quickly...

As to 300 and above, sure it gets squirrely, and its NOT new either, just the speed issue is a bit new, we used to do it way back trying to shoot light enough arrows to bump speed.... found out that penetration was lost, the ping pong/vs golf ball thing, and that it got really squirrely spine wise vs accuracy. Same thing goes on there in high speed, IMHO, you have to have X bow, and X arrow and if you have trouble, simply get more spine via more arrow weight, you solve the problem but also drop below 300 most likely.

The other issue involved is that until arrows are around 1200 fps there will always be the noise factor... that noise factor cries for closer shots to be sure, not the 30-50 yard flings I see on TV a lot. Most every one of those deer is moving before the arrow hits, WHY take the chance?