Okay, so I have read a lot about people shooting arrows that are 10gpp all of the way to 14gpp.

I was curious so I finally bought a digital grain scale to see where I was. I shoot 60-70 lb ASL's. My arrows are Doug Firs that I finish with Danish Oil, fletch with 3 5inch feathers and use 160 gr points on the 70# and 125s on the 60#. Some arrows are self nocked some Bohning.

When I weighed my arrows I found i was in the 520-600 grain area depending on the arrow and point. This only puts me between 8 and 9 gpp depending on the bow. Is this okay? I dont know what else to do except really load up the front end and I am pretty happy with the points I have, the arrows fly great. Is 10+ gpp necessary? I want to take care of my equipment but I also dont really want an unreasonable amount of FOC.

Just looking for opinions as i am not an expert!

Pretty lite for the 70# bow. Get heavier shafts next time around

9-10 puts you in the sweet spot so you should be good to go with 60# bow. A little heavier for 70# bow won't hurt but not really needed. With those bow weights I would never worry about foc if they shoot good unless your after really large game.

A 520 grain arrow out of a 52 pound asl will probably not have any where near the penetrating force as a 520 grain arrow out of a 65 pounds asl. In my heavy bow years my cedars weighed under 600 grains. Depending on the particular set, I was under 7 gpp at times. It is more about how much shock your bow gives than killing capabilities. I never had a game animal stop an arrow out of my heavy bows. Now, if I were going after cape buffalo steaks, I would reconsider the arrow choice.

You're fine just go shoot.

Way too much made of the 10gr. per pound thing. And no it won't hurt the bow.

What he said. - lbg

I wouldnt worry. i shoot 8.5-9gpp and zip through whitetail. i enjoy a tad faster arrow. you should be fine imo

I'm no expert but using higher weight bows the lighter gpp isn't much of a problem, with lighter weight bows 45 pounds and under a 10 gpp or higher is needed for hunting. That 10 gpp is a middle of the road weight, you can go higher or lower. Self bows really like heavy arrows.

The "general rule" for arrow weight has always been 9 grains per pound of draw weight. Some guys like to go lighter for a faster arrow, some like heavier for quieter bow or harder hitting arrow, whatever. Shooting 70 pounds with 2219's, I found I was at about 8 gpp. Ash and hickory shafts are 10-12 gpp. You just need to find one you like that shoots well. If you like what you shoot now, stick with it.

I have been shooting a stick bow for 30-35 years and I was told general rule was/is 8-10 GPP. Now my opinion on this is if a bowyer can't make a bow that can't handle 7 GPP I will not buy from him.

I did talk to a well know bow company in Germany and he said with his bows nothing less then 6 GPP. Shoot what you like/want and have fun.

The so called general rule for arrow to bow weight was arrived at through observation back in the day. A wood arrow (usually POC) with a relatively standard weight head - -125 grains or -- just happened to come out to about 9-10 grains of arrow weight to pound of bow draw weight. It's a nice starting/end point, but there's nothing sacred about it.

Your arrow weight is fine. Could go heavier without increasing the FOC just by ordering shafts in a heavier weight range the next time you buy them. As Dean points out, the only drawback to a lighter arrow on an ASL is potential increased hand shock.

So if your arrows were flying like they are supposed to, your bow is quiet, if they killed the animals they came in contact with. Then these two things are your only problems: 1)You bought a grain scale and used it. 2)You second guess your experiences, and let the people here influence those experiences. How dead is dead? DANNY

I only shoot 8grs per lb and never had a penetration promblem

Thanks everyone who responded. I was less concerned about penetration as I was about abusing my equipment by shooting arrows between 8-9 grains. Sounds like I am okay. The internet is a great source for learning but I also find it keeps me second guessing myself vs. just going out and shooting like I did years ago when I knew nothing about spine and arrow weight!

Unbelievable...

Once an arrow hits 450 grains - or maybe 500, if you’re into Elk and Moose - the only reasons to go any heavier (regardless of draw weight) are:

1) You can’t find an arrow that light that you can tune for good flight (which is a pretty flimsy argument)

2) Your bow is excessively noisy or shocky at the release

3) You have lower-poundage bows shooting higher GPP and you want to match the trajectory of the lighter bows so that you can switch back and forth without having to adjust your elevation

4) You’ve tested EXTENSIVELY with a chrono and you have hard data showing that YOUR bow, with YOU shooting it, is more efficient with the heavier arrow, producing more foot-pounds or slug-feet of energy, AND the energy/momentum figure matters more to you than the flatter trajectory

5) You’re really worried about damaging your bow

Personally, I don’t want to go any lighter than 400 grains in a hunting arrow (450 for Elk), so the math alone keeps me basically at or above 8 GPP....

Regarding reason #4 above -- all bows are more efficient with a heavier arrow, producing more energy and more momentum. To be perfectly clear, any arrow, no matter how heavy, will have less energy than a slightly heavier arrow, when shot from the same bow. That's just basic physics. The question is, how much of that extra energy do you want to trade for flatter trajectory. Sound like a personal decision to me.

You're fine. Go shoot. :)

Human nature is to have a standard this or that. We have trouble operating if we aren't in sync with the standard. It's odd though because someone will doubt themselves when they have an arrow that's 8 gpp and that same arrow is 11 gpp for another guy with a lighter bow. Weird how that works.

Here is my answer; you are fine. It's okay being a non-standard. Be a rebel. ;)

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