Hunting Bow and Arrow Requirements

[Pheroze]

Fantastic advice and much appreciated, thanks guys.

 

[Khaleesi]

My wife shoots 50lbs of draw @ 28" draw length. She shoots a 385 grn total weight arrow with a Muzzy MX-3 fixed blade broadhead. She gets complete pass-throughs on most animals with a properly placed shot... Which, by the way, will be key to your son's bowhunting success on African game. Have him study and practice shot placement on African game.....I don't care what ANYONE tells you, do not have him shoot a mechanical broadhead with that low of a draw weight. He will not be carrying the necessay amount of momentum, speed, or kenetic energy necessary to properly deploy an expandible broadhead. Any compact, heavy duty, cut-on-contact broadhead that flys true to his set-up will give him the best performance and reliability.

This is excellent advice. I shoot 48lbs. with a 27"draw. My arrows are just about 370 grains with a 100 grain Slick Trick broad head. I get many pass through shots, and at the least, very good penetration. I made the mistake of trying out a mechanical broad head after getting caught up in the attractive marketing instead of actually considering the physics of the process. On my first and last experience with one of these brand name mechanical heads, I made a decent shot on a young boar hog and got barely 4" of penetration. I lost the animal and I was sick over it. Bottom line is that I just don't shoot enough poundage to push these style of heads. Energy requirements should be something the manufacturers' of these heads should disclose, but they obviously do not. I'm just thankful that I did not learn this lesson in Africa.

 

[nuval.J2711]

Pheroze,

No official is going to come out and scale your son's bow or weigh his arrows. The minimum requirements should be regarded as recommeded guidelines for an ethical hunt.... Ethics alone should be the reason for having the right set-up for your hunting situation. 45 lbs of draw with a 350-400 grn total arrow weight should be just about right for good performance on most plainsgame animals. If he can shoot more poundage by June, that would be an added plus. However, no one should be drawing more poundage than they can handle comfortably and safely. As a rule of thumb, if he can sit cross-legged on the ground and draw his bow smoothly without contorting his body, he is shooting the proper draw weight.

My wife shoots 50lbs of draw @ 28" draw length. She shoots a 385 grn total weight arrow with a Muzzy MX-3 fixed blade broadhead. She gets complete pass-throughs on most animals with a properly placed shot... Which, by the way, will be key to your son's bowhunting success on African game. Have him study and practice shot placement on African game.....I don't care what ANYONE tells you, do not have him shoot a mechanical broadhead with that low of a draw weight. He will not be carrying the necessay amount of momentum, speed, or kenetic energy necessary to properly deploy an expandible broadhead. Any compact, heavy duty, cut-on-contact broadhead that flys true to his set-up will give him the best performance and reliability.

Best of luck to you and your son in June! I will look forward to seeing the trophy photos....

Hi. I am Pheroze's son.
I have recently turned my bow up to 52lbs and have purchased a set of grim reaper mechanical brodhead. Is this an effective weight to deploy propperly? I have been considering the Magnus stinger 2 blade with bleeder which were recommened by Brickburn. Are there any other fixed blades you recommend?

 

[Diamondhitch]

Hi. I am Pheroze's son.
I have recently turned my bow up to 52lbs and have purchased a set of grim reaper mechanical brodhead. Is this an effective weight to deploy propperly? I have been considering the Magnus stinger 2 blade with bleeder which were recommened by Brickburn. Are there any other fixed blades you recommend?

Steel force and good old bear cut on impacts are what I use. For your poundage I would recommend just using them as a 2 blade and forgetting the bleeders, I have used mine this way for 25 years on game up to the size of a moose with excellent results. 2 blades are far better penetrating especially if you are unlucky enough to hit a shoulder blade, the 2 blade will have a much better chance of penetrating sufficiently for a clean kill.

 

[nuval.J2711]

Steel force and good old bear cut on impacts are what I use. For your poundage I would recommend just using them as a 2 blade and forgetting the bleeders, I have used mine this way for 25 years on game up to the size of a moose with excellent results. 2 blades are far better penetrating especially if you are unlucky enough to hit a shoulder blade, the 2 blade will have a much better chance of penetrating sufficiently for a clean kill.

I will look into those. So bleeder effect penetration?

 

[Lrntolive]

I will look into those. So bleeder effect penetration?

Nuval,

Even though I've never bow hunted in Africa, I've hunted with bow for over ten years. I will say that time and again the expandables will work on thin skinned game like whitetail deer, but with larger or thick skinned game, a fixed, cut on contact is always a better choice. Just remember that shot placement is more important as arrows need to hit a vital organ or arteries, unlike a rifle that carries more force and ruptures internals on pass through.

 

[firehuntfish]

Hi. I am Pheroze's son.
I have recently turned my bow up to 52lbs and have purchased a set of grim reaper mechanical brodhead. Is this an effective weight to deploy propperly? I have been considering the Magnus stinger 2 blade with bleeder which were recommened by Brickburn. Are there any other fixed blades you recommend?

NO! In fact, Grim Reapers would be the worst choice in my opinion because they are an "over the top" style of mechanical that requires the most amount of energy to open. I agree that a 2-blade cut on contact broadhead may be your most dependable choice, assuming that you can tune them to fly properly. (that is the biggest issue with those big 2-blade cut on contact heads).

The broadheads for your poundage that I would recommend are Slick Tricks, and Muzzy MX-3's, or any similar style to these. A design that has heavy-duty stainless steel blades, and a short, compact head with a short nose and trocar tip would be your best bet. These designs fly like a field point and require little if any broadhead tuning. With lower poundage bows, the smaller the surface area of the broad head, the more penetration you will get. Smaller diameter carbon arrow shafts will also increase your penetration when shooting lower poundage.

 

[nuval.J2711]

Nuval,

Even though I've never bow hunted in Africa, I've hunted with bow for over ten years. I will say that time and again the expandables will work on thin skinned game like whitetail deer, but with larger or thick skinned game, a fixed, cut on contact is always a better choice. Just remember that shot placement is more important as arrows need to hit a vital organ or arteries, unlike a rifle that carries more force and ruptures internals on pass through.

I will look into fixed then. Thanks for the advice

 

[nuval.J2711]

NO! In fact, Grim Reapers would be the worst choice in my opinion because they are an "over the top" style of mechanical that requires the most amount of energy to open. I agree that a 2-blade cut on contact broadhead may be your most dependable choice, assuming that you can tune them to fly properly. (that is the biggest issue with those big 2-blade cut on contact heads).

The broadheads for your poundage that I would recommend are Slick Tricks, and Muzzy MX-3's, or any similar style to these. A design that has heavy-duty stainless steel blades, and a short, compact head with a short nose and trocar tip would be your best bet. These designs fly like a field point and require little if any broadhead tuning. With lower poundage bows, the smaller the surface area of the broad head, the more penetration you will get. Smaller diameter carbon arrow shafts will also increase your penetration when shooting lower poundage.

I will look into those. Thank you

 

[Diamondhitch]

I will look into those. So bleeder effect penetration?

Anything that increases the size of the hole will decrease penetration. 4 blade heads must cut 2x as much skin, muscle and bone than a 2 blade of similar design as it penetrates. The same is true for cutting diameter. Heads with steep cutting angle will also decrease penetration so longer heads with a lower angle will have an advantage over more compact heads.

I have shot enough animals of all sizes to know that a 1" 2 blade cut on impact style broadhead will kill cleanly and leave an ample blood trail for easy recovery, any more is overkill and important only in the mind of the shooter. Place those 2 blades in the right place and the day will end with a smile on your face.

 

[Synergy]

Hi. I am Pheroze's son.
I have recently turned my bow up to 52lbs and have purchased a set of grim reaper mechanical brodhead. Is this an effective weight to deploy propperly? I have been considering the Magnus stinger 2 blade with bleeder which were recommened by Brickburn. Are there any other fixed blades you recommend?

Try a cut on contact broadhead, not a mechanical one. I'm very pleased with the DRT single bevel.