Heavy Arrows for Bowhunting (600 Grain and Up)
A heavy arrow is any hunting build over roughly 550 grains, and true Ashby style setups start at 650 grains. Heavier arrows trade trajectory for momentum. On elk, moose, and hogs the payoff is real; on 20 yard whitetail it usually is not.
Why heavy at all
Momentum equals mass times velocity. A 650 grain arrow at 260 fps carries about 24 percent more momentum than a 500 grain arrow at the same 260 fps. That extra push is what drives a fixed blade through the offside shoulder blade of a mature bull elk. Dr Ed Ashby’s original tests, archived at bowhunterspgh.com, established the 650 grain and 19 percent FOC threshold above which single lung failures dropped dramatically.
Three heavy arrow builds worth copying
| Build | Shaft | Insert + point | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easton FMJ 5mm 340 | 31.5 in, 11.3 GPI = 356 gr | 100 gr brass HIT + 175 gr single bevel | 665 grains, 14 percent FOC |
| Black Eagle Spartan 300 | 31 in, 11.7 GPI = 363 gr | 75 gr steel collar + 200 gr single bevel | 674 grains, 17 percent FOC |
| Easton Axis 5mm 250 | 31.5 in, 11.5 GPI = 362 gr | 100 gr brass HIT + 200 gr single bevel | 700 grains, 19 percent FOC |
Trade-offs
You will lose 25 to 40 fps versus a 450 grain build off the same bow. At 40 yards that is roughly 9 inches of extra drop, which means precise ranging becomes mandatory. Wind drift also goes down, and audible bow noise drops because the string does less work fighting the arrow.
What Rokslide says
The 650 grain arrow crowd is right about elk. The 700 grain crowd shooting deer at 15 yards is solving a problem they do not have.
Rokslide arrow weight megathread, 2024