Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Question on Arrows for 45lb Bear Grizzly

Good Day,
Thinking seriously about getting back into Trad Archery. Been fooling around with old Pearson 45lb Cougar and mixed bag or hand me down arrows. Saw a new Grizzly 45lb the other day and thinking it may be worth going new as Pearson has holes from previous owners sights and not sure how old, etc. It shoots ok.
Question on arrows for either bow. What should I be using? Also, would like to get some broadheads. Looking for suggestions, comments, etc.
Have a quiver, glove, tab. No arm guard and not sure if I need one as I have not twapped arm yet.
Thanks a lot

I jumped into Trad this year. Had zero arrows from my compound days that were spined for my 45 and 41# Trad bows I wanted to use for hunting. I also picked up a Ben Pearson Colt at 35#. All 3 use a different arrow.

The Colt at 35# will shoot 1816 aluminum and 700 carbons like a dart

The 41# Darton Trad shoots a 600 carbon with 225 grs up front

The 45# Wing Trad shoots a 500 carbon with 175 grs up front

All tuned for my 28 1/2" draw to have fp's and broadheads to hit the same location out to 25 yds. And I don't hunt past 20-22. So, you have some work to do.



Do you build your own arrows?

I’m shooting easton carbon 500s at 31” with 175gr broadheads out of my 4028 longbow that I pull to 29” and change. They fly like darts bareshaft and killed the heck out of the deer I shot Saturday evening. I messed up and shot a couple inches right of the armpit and hit the shoulder knuckle. Shattered the knuckle and severed an artery, massive bleeding and pretty easy recovery.

My two 45 lb reflex defiex longbows both tune with a 400 spine shaft and a 200 grain total up front. I use a 100 gr stainless insert from ethics archery and a 100gr broadhead or field point. Bare shaft will tell you how close you are with the spine. I needed the extra weight up front to weaken the 400 a bit to get it to tune. I did not want to cut my arrow shafts so use weight to get the spine to tune.
You can also get the test kit from ethics which is different weight target points and use the stock aluminum inserts that come with the arrow shafts to find your best flight bare shaft.

45# is way too light for bears. Hit the gym.

Below are current regulations for Alaska. So if your draw is 30" and your bow still has a draw weight as originally manufactured it would just meet minimums.

"You MAY NOT hunt big game with a bow,
UNLESS:
• the bow is at least:
» 40 pounds peak draw weight when
hunting black bear, Dall sheep,
caribou, Sitka black-tailed deer,
wolf, wolverine;
» 50 pounds peak draw weight when
hunting bison, brown/grizzly bear,
elk, moose, mountain goat, muskox;"

Interesting fact, the Plains Indian bows typically ran around 40# draw @ 26" draw. IIRC, they killed everything on the Plains including elk, grizzlies, bison, and moose with said bows.
This tidbit came from none other than Glenn St. Charles on one of my visits to his shop/home/museum.
He and the other folks who were deeply involved in getting bowhunting revived as a legitimate hunting method did a ton of research including building bows of the same wood, size, and shapes of the Plains Indian bows in Glenn's collection.

As to the OP's question; It depends on broadhead weight, style, and arrow construction. Currently I shoot 400 series carbons and 1816 Eastons out of my 45# Nirk Rebel.

I get the Alaska Fish & Game's recommendations since not all archers are competent to stick that arrow exactly where it needs to go without hitting big bones.

Ed

For aluminum, go 1916s. Carbon 500s with a little more weight up front.

600 spine carbons about 30" long with 100 or 125gr points and 3) 4" Feathers.

If it was me, I'd use the Pearson for a year or two. That should give you a chance to make sure you really want to get back into it. Go to an archery shop----your arrows that you use for the Pearson should work for the Bear.

I run a bit heavier spine but my bows are cut past center.
Also dont like a longer than needed arrow. May help w aiming but I still dont like em.

Just run my normal length and add weight as needed.
35/55 w reg insert and 125gr shoots fine from.current stick.
But I want more FOC so will be adding some up front to run 55/75.

Like the Gold Tip system.
Have a bunch of 20.and 50 gr weights, plus 100gr inserts.
You hit a wall if you keep adding weights to an insert.
Just use up length that helps w flex.

If I need more than one 50gr brass weight to a reg alum RPS insert i just yank it and go w 100 gr brass insert.

Looks like 400s w 100 gr insert and 125gr tip are gonna work from my 45# recurve ( fast flite strung ).

Have eleven shafts from my old B50 rig, GT hunters 35/55 ( 500 spine). Theyre light and be a decent target arrow.
One bare shafts, others fletched. Anybody got a kid that needs em, PM and ill ship.em out.

Found a half dozen GT hunter 300s bare shaft. Think one cut down for testing.

Just collecting dust so if anybody needs those lwmme know.

Trying to unclutter.

I’m sure they’re probably too short for me but I bet my boy could lose them in the yard if you don’t have another use for them.

i wish i could get back to traditional archery again but can`t anymore health problems. my setup was and still is for my son is 2219 - 32 inch , 3 fletched , 5 inch right wing helical , with hot glued in inserts not the screw in type and a Zwickey Eskimo broadhead hot glue in , turned and spun correctly that must be hand sharpened.

The 35/55 have been spoken local.
Still got a half dozen 300 spine unfletched, one cut to maybe 30".

I have a metal riser 54# Blackwidow HS thats FF rated.
Right handed. 58".

They dont make limbs for these old metal riser rigs so if ya blow it up youre done. Was my hunting bow last yr and yr before.

I can take pics if anybody interested.

I've shot a semi-truck load of animals with a 58# and a 62# flat bows myself I wouldn't use any thing less....exercise start out practicing with the 45# after a year should be no problem shooting close to 60#....
When I was younger 70# was my normal draw weight.....now pushing 70 years old and a stroke lower draw weight is a little easer....

Tuned my bow yesterday and broadheads flying great.

So decided to double check w the 3 Rivers dynamic spine calculator.
I was 4 # off between bow and arrow.

But they fly great. Paper tune is bullet hole.

NOTE..........using the calculator, it doesn't factor in the added length of heavier/longer inserts.
So I just changed the shaft input less an inch and was over. Barely. Input doesn't allow half inch adj.
But splitting the diff, yeah, I'm dead on.

Assuming no +/- form issues. Left that at Zero.

So.....if youre off a little w the calculator, keep in mind a longer insert or added weights to, gobbled available length for flex.
Have to fudge that in.