Tbone and you both have great outlooks on this subject! I started shooting a super light and underspined arrow (400 spine,400 gr), then went full Ashby with a 610 grain setup for a year. With the light arrow I had trouble tuning and wasn’t happy with penetration, with the heavy setup I had great penetration, but my pin gaps were nuts!! Now I find myself at 500 grains with 16% FOC and love it!!! As for broadheads, I’ll never stop shooting my fixed single bevels because I enjoy the toughness and ability to sharpen them, but the G5 expandables look well put together and foolproof. I think that middle ground at 475-525gr with around 15% FOC is perfect for most folks.

I agree with you Kip. I really don't know how SOME of these big names hunters can misjudged the range when you can hear someone telling them the distance BUT they can. Your tops to the real hunters.

You are very accurate about your statement. I’m definitely in the middle. I think. 15% +/- 3% is a good range to shoot for. Many don’t realize heavy Arrow emphasis came from a time when bows were less tunable

Very interesting. I'll check back later for all know it all studs out there. The light weight studs and the heavy weight studs. There seems to be a BIG BUZZ going around in Archery right now. It cracks me up! Shoot what you want. "Celebrity" hunters don't determine what's in my quiver.

Excellent take! Unbiased and didn't come at it from an emotional standpoint like a lot of others do LOL. I agree with you Kip thanks for the endless content man!

I have shot 17 to 22 percent FOC for years. I started paying attention to FOC 25 years ago. I shot traditional archery. It. Works on a compound too. I am all ABOUT accuracy. We can do almost anything we want to with an arrow today. I don't care what other people shoot. I shoot what minimizes my tracking.

Both I and a friend went real heavy last year. Over 630 grains and 20% foc. We both backed off to the mid to upper 500s this year and around 18% foc after we both realized what we had was way overkill for whitetail. Good video. The only thing I disagree vehemently with is those razor blades on the front of that thing. I would hate to hit shoulder blade or humerus by accident with one of those and hope for a decent outcome. But...in the end, that's my opinion. Wish people wouldn't get so riled up.

I agree 100% I've always stayed in middle and leaned towards upper half of middle give or take which hoyt setup I'm using. And I have never had an issue. Kills speak for themselves. Great video. 👍

I've watched a lot of your videos, and damn near every shot you get a complete pass through. I would love to see someone argue with your testing. Great Channel.

Good on you Kip, That would have to be the best explanation on an arrow that l have ever herd. Troy the Ranch Fairy may have something to say about that.. F.O.C sick of hereing about it. Yes l believe its in the speed of the arrow so it doesn't drop so much. Cheers..

People always go to extremes ! I made a 530 gr. 5mm axis 16 to 17% FOC with a lighted nock. Its shoots perfect farther than I can and most of my shots here in the north woods are 25 yards at the most. Good luck this season

Love the video. Explanation was awesome and enough self awareness that not all hunters will shoot the same arrow! Good luck this year

I shoot white tail does.....I don't horn hunt anymore because my boss won't let me hang another mount! I'm ok with it. But I eat venison. I shoot 2 bows. A 2000 PSE Durango and a 2009 Matthew's switch back xt. Killing machine's. I can out run both! Over many years I've found the perfect whitetail doe arrow for both. Great videshow!

This year I went 250 total up front, 625 total weight, 14.5% FOC on the 300 spine day six HD’s. 29”@70#’s Bowtech rpm 360. I’m trying two broadheads: Iron Will Wide Solid 150’s, and Magnus killer Bee 150 (no bleeder). I tried a magnus at 10 on a fresh roadkill buck, arrow deflected heavy and stayed in the animal, but did make two holes. I was more impressed with the iron will, but didn’t want to waste one with the factory edge before season (my stay sharp guide wasn’t in yet.) flight is good on both out to 70. If this setup doesn’t impress me, I’m going “full Ashby” next year. I primarily hunt white tails and turkeys, but have an opportunity for elk and possibly moose in the next couple years. I want a setup I can build confidence with now so when it happens I don’t have to scramble and hope. It will be proven. The setup next year would be 370 total up front on a 250 Sirius Orion Micro Shaft. 3” custom Batwing Feathers, rabbit fur tracer, regular nock. It should come out to around 655 grains with 24.2% FOC. Around 250-260 fps. For broadheads, I’ll make a golf bag containing the following: Iron Will Wide Solid 200 Iron Will Single Bevel 200 no bleeder Tuffhead Meathead Classic w/ Glue on Adapter VPA 3 Blade Traditional 300 Grain Valkyrie JagerBomb 350 w/ center pin system Bishop 315 Single Bevel For Turkeys and coyotes: Crossbreed Elite 100 grain adapter with Simmons Tree Shark 190 grain Crossbreed Elite 100 Grain adapter with VPA Turkey Spur 150 Schwacker 150 3” and Crossbreed elite 100 Grain Adapter The inserts will vary by weight and all the arrows will be equal or as near equal as possible. I know it’s overkill for Missouri Whitetails, but I should be able to kill anything from turkeys to deer to hogs to moose and bear.

Great educational video! Very informative. As always.

I shoot the same arrow! I used the 50 grain outserts and 100 grain SWAT JUGGERNAUT broadhead. Mine come in at 450-455 grains! The arrows fly awesome! Defiantly can't wait to try this set up out of my 70 lb Monster Chill X on a big whitetail!

I agree with most things you have said. But I believe 2 holes are always better than one huge hole! I really good fix blade is hard to beat in my opinion.. Archery comes down in what u have confidence in!

Here's your sweet spot. Shoot as heavy an arrow possible white maintaining a speed of 260-280. That window is going to give you the best trajectory and best fixed broadhead flight so if you do misjudge a distance, it's still a kill shot.

Man I miss your commercials!!! They were the best! I ditched cable this year...hope all is well!!!

The heavy vs light debate happens in hunting rifle circles too, some uses a 300WM... while some uses a 30-30. I agree with you the answer often lies in the balance point between the extreme. But the only way to know is to experience it.

Bau bau great video. It's a good heart to heart about equipment. Thanks!!

Great stuff. I'll piggy back this example on the give and take you mention. "You should always use the heaviest arrow possible that has a trajectory that you still find acceptable." - Ashby, The Penetration Enhancing Factors That arrows trajectory is acceptable to you, use it! Kill stuff. Have fun!

Mega meat is good but if we're talking mechanical, grim reaper whitetail special 125 grain is my favorite and qad Exodus for fixed blades. Great video!

I’m seventeen shooting seventy pounds and I’m shooting four hundred and something grains don’t remember off the top of my head but so far it works amazing

Let bring up the old days eastons xx75 and 78s with 5" feather shooting thunderheads... i had a overdraw on my pse.... those days sucked ass tuning an arrow. Turning arrows with all the options we have is so much easier these days.... 361 grain arrow 65 lbs im driving tacks with my xpedite. I had the similar setup with my full throttle and it was driving tack. My arrow configuration i also switched to the tac vane and wrap and went to the deadmeat. 28 years bowhunting you know what works for you.

Thanks kip, you'll hate me for this but I use the kryptos from Walmart, I re fletch and use 100 grain ramkat broadheads. And with those 4 dollar arrows I pack my freezer full every year. I agree with everything you say but I can't afford all the higher price equipment and believe it or not my set up is great for me. Course never take a shot over 35 yards I believe you can kill anything if you put the arrow where it needs to be, I mean the Indians killed Buffalo with sticks and rocks so my compound bow and walmart arrows might be somewhat an upgrade from that, course it don't help that I shoot daily and know my stuff.

I was playing with 600 gr and like you said, out here in the west and heavy wind taking long(er) shots it just wasn't ideal. I built a easton axis long range 4mm with a 4 fletch for stability, 150gr BH and 55gr insert for right around 503gr with 17% FOC.. pretty much like the one you're talking about here. Perfect arrow imo.

Shooting 68 pound 28 inch length and my arrows are about 470gr . They fly great with no big drop. Almost always a pass thru. I believe I’m around 11-12% foc.

Kip, would love to see some of your autopsy results on the show. It’s something I know a lot of guys are interested in

Great information man. I have stayed down the worm hole of arrow building for myself and others and have learned a lot and have started to understand what my set up likes in an arrow. Keep up the great work man.

10 year old bowtech bow and 530ish grain arrow 225 grain up front. 25 yard mark is the same as the 30 yard. I like that a bunch lol. Almost got to see what the arrow would do last Saturday but I think I got the fever and or maybe hit a branch or both because the arrow flew 5ft over its back at 30 yards. I know it hit a branch for a fact, I just don't know if it was between me and the deer or the branches over his head. Lol. 17 good steps from where I found the arrow to where the deer was standing. Either way glad I missed not that my dumb ass wounded it.

You preach ke , as you should. But remember ke is a result of speed and mass. Your ping pong ball vs a brick Is grossly overexaggerated. With a 400 gr arrow vs a 600 gr arrow the ke just isn't that much different at whitetail ranges but ofc the lighter arrow loses ke faster at range. I fall in line with your belief that I like the 450-500 gr arrow shooting around 288 fps. Imo that gives you good arrow flight, trajectory and weight! Great video!

I like the heavy side jus for the simple fact I have better luck when the unplanned happens,deer jumps the string etc. Lighter set ups with mechanical is great if everything goes as planned lol. All a matter of opinion and personal experience

Interesting topic. There seems to be a lot of conflict going between the 2 sides of arrow building, heavy vs light. I have to admit that I dabbled in the very heavy arrow build, but it wasn't necessary for my Midwest whitetail hunting. I have settled on a 560gr RIP TKO. I have a 31" DL, so my arrows are inherently heavier than the average archer. I still use a 670gr Sirius Apollo and it shoots great out of my Halon 32-7. Like you you said, it's going to be different for everyone. I have to say, I see way too many KZfaq hunters shoot deer with lighter arrows that get little arrow penetration and track a deer 2 miles after "smoking him".

Great way to look at arrow weight, I shoot the RIP TKO as well but with the 50gr outsert weighing in at 415gr cause I shoot TAC as well as whitetail but really thinking of changing vanes to AAE or the ones you have. Elites are just too pricey for me to experiment with too much with

Love the information

Great post brother! Do what works for you. I have buddies that have killed a lot of deer with 400g arrows and guys that killed them with high 500g arrows. I think it boils down to shot placement period. That's my two cents do what works for you

I am building some new arrows that are going to be around 510 Grains. In my opinion 475-525 is a good range for Whitetail Deer. I don't understand how some people shoot 600+ Grain arrows. The amount of speed you suffer at that weight does not compensate for the small amount of pentration potential that you gain.

My arrows are a little lighter than I want right now. I'm at 411 looking to go to 450-475. I use 3 blade fixed broadheads. Switching to the Magnus black hornet serazor next season.

Totally agree with you. I’ve tried both ends of the spectrum. I like around 500, but where I hunt shots are 30 yards at most. How long is your arrow?

Lets see the rest of that room

I believe it's the other way around. Those that shot light arrows and expandable broadheads are those that don't know how to tune a bow. They take the easy way out

Thanks for the video man! I’m shooting a Matthews V3X. I’m shooting 60 pounds with a 422 gr arrow, hundred grain grim reaper I’m assuming if I’m accurate this will take a Southern Oregon blacktail down no problem… But I am thinking that I want to go up to bear and maybe even elk… So I am thinking about going up to about a 500 grain arrow and 70 pounds… What do you think?

They have the same ke but a heavy arrow have more momentum aka have the ability to do more work

What kind of insert you boys recommend for a 300 spine 29.5 inch arrow gold tip w 100 grain fixed blade broadhead. Running gt nocturnal lighted knock.

Just a heads up the flag behind you in this video should have the union in the upper left when hung in this configuration. Good video

I’m shooting a ventum 30 at 85 pounds 29 inch draw. 485 grain arrow at 290 feet a second give or take a few and have had great luck so far with all the deer I have shot with it this year. I shoot the mega meat and will shoot them till they stop making them!

Lower weight gives higher kinetic energy. Momentum is the term your looking for as it increases with arrow weight. Essentially it’s how hard it is to stop the object in motion. I think the middle ground is based off of arrow speed rather than weight and the number is somewhere around 275 FPS from my experience.

Really well said on the trade off

Good video. 6:05 made me laugh for ten mins straight. Lol

Good insight here. Question on your fletching set up. What size TAC vanes are you using and have you had any issues with them not adhering well to the shaft? I only ask because I was considering the 2.75" and 3.75" Drivers, but saw many reviews on Lancaster Archery's site for problems getting them to stick and am hesitant.

I like to hit a certain speed about 286fps I’ll add weight until my bow shoots that speed this year it was 482 grains I have clearance to shoot to 100 yards and my FOC is 16% I’ll drop my FOC for deer I’ll go down in broadhead size and that makes the drops better also great video make some more

What brand/kind of inserts and collars are you using and the grains?

My current setup is as follows... 11.50% FOC 455 Grain...is that good for whitetails/hogs and bears?

I still consider a 500- 580 grain arrow to be a light arrow 600 and up start getting in your adult arrow set up below 500 I consider to be ultra light arrows when you have a bow that is tuned and shooting spot on it doesn't matter what the weight of your arrow set up is and of course you have to shoot your equipment on a regular basis to be proficient and confident I have a tendency to favor a heavy arrow set up its what you as the shooter prefer .

I like the way he tells about his and different kinds of arrows. The guys who make Elder Scrolls like Skyrim should have him to have better archery details in the next game.

I'm shooting 483 grains at 67lbs, things a blast to shoot!

I shoot 23 foc out of my recurve with my point on being 34 yards, for some this maybe much point is you should use what works for you

Good information brother!!!!

Love your video... Your mind works like mine does..

What size inserts and footers are you shooting? Not weight wise but what size fits on your RIP TKO?

I just bought some RIP TKO’s. Is there anything wrong with the factory inserts? Or would you suggest another insert?

Horsepower (light weight)= how fast you get to the wall. Torque (heavy weight)= how far you push the wall after you hit it.

The ping pong v. Brick isn’t a good comparison. It would be more like would you rather be hit with a mens slow pitch softball vs a regulation baseball. That’s a lot better ratio comparison. Good video, middle of the road weight arrow (450-500 grain)gives you a useable pin gap, and down range momentum.

Awesome video.

For shits and giggles a buddy and I made some CRAZY heavy arrows. 920 grains with 23.8%FOC. Flew very slowly, very quietly, and no pig we chased could stop it. That said, it's nothing more than a fun arrow, definitely not my deer setup.

The brick and ping-pong ball reference is meaningless. Both of those objects are completely stopping and displacing all of their energy and weight into you. Arrow weight has more to do with penetration and so when a 600 grain arrow is passing straight through you it is displacing almost none of its energy into you. So if you can get a 400 grain arrow to pass straight through as well it is on the same playing field as the 600 grain arrow.

What type of insert and outsert are you using on that arrow build?

My setup is just around 400 grains, whatever you, however you shot practice practice practice.

Personally my arrows ( only426 grains)and draw weight 58 pounds to get a 4" hit diameter inside a 10 yard distance. Arrow speed is not too relevant to me. So if I were to misjudge distance like say 7 yards my arrow would still hit somewhere inside high or low a 4" circle. Like setting a rifle for point blank range hits. Everyone needs to know there arrow trajectory, especially when using a single pin. IMO

It’s all about balance and compromise but at the end of the day if you can’t hit your mark, it’s all a wash anyway.

Wading into dangerous waters! Lol Do what kills for you. Just remember that animals often don't stay still.

Well spoken!

what are the names to the inserts and outserts

What’s your DL ?

Man I've been bow hunting for almost 15 years and arrows have always confused the hell out of me.

Dude what insert and outsert collar are you using on those?

I had trouble with my tac vanes coming off easily. Have you not had that problem?

What happened with Afflictor broad heads? I’m curious to know why you stopped using them? Because they seemed to work vary well for you.

Watch the GrizzlyStik 650 Whitetail System video. Enjoy

This dude talks like every Campbell I’ve ever known haha

That G5 megameat mega sucks. The Montec is a way better head.

So you gave no info on a perfect arrow. I'll give you a perfect arrow. 420 to 550 grains. 25 to 28 draw length yall can use 420 to 440 grains

I had to delete all the heavy arrow groups on FB. Can't talk to those hard headed guys. They are bad for the industry.

492 is plenty

In the last 2 years alone i’ve killed 13 deer with a sub 400 grain arrow. (364 and 380 grains). With a Rage 2” on the front. Guys still tell me my arrow wont kill reliably while they have shot maybe one deer in that time period. 🤣 flatter trajectory kills more than weight/foc ever will.

My guy, love your stuff but your talking about heavy arrow guys can't tune a bow and your pimping an expandable broadhead LOL

Put some new freakin videos on, can't stand watching these other hunters. Did you retire?

Turn em new arrows red there Kip, good hunting and gods speed to the Campbell family, red arrow crew, and fans. 👍🇺🇸🏹🎥🦾🥇