I want to get started in bow hunting. Here are my thoughts, what are ya'lls comments.

My friend recommended going to a good "pro shop", which I will.
He recommend the Mathews Switchback, but also stated to shoot some other bows.

As for arrows/ broadheads it is my plan to have ONE, and ONLY ONE, arrow/broadhead.
I will be mostly hunting wild pigs, and black bear, as well as deer.
I will NOT use ANY mechanical broadhead. I plan on using a cut on contact broadhead.
I want one "bullet" for my bow so when I get sighted in, I am SIGHTED IN.
Also I plan on using the whisker bisquit
as a lot of my shots at pigs will be while stalking so I need to be able to walk long distances with an arrow "nocked" ready for a quick shot. Also when hunting black bear many times you are shooting from an elevated stand.

So what do you bowhunters think of my plan?
All advice is appreciated.

N E 450, Mathews is a great bow, works for me. I love the 125 Diamonized Thunderheads and the appropriate Easton Aluminum arrows for your draw length and weight. I agree wholeheartedly with the wisker bisquit, it's the way to go. The sight choice has alot to do with your eyes, and your belief in how far is far enough with a bow. I believe in three pins, but currently am trying a single tritum pin from Savage sight systems. I limit my shots to under 25 yards, so I can hold over or under a few inches as necessary. Keeps it simple when things get interesting. ow is an awesome way to take game, though it is very challenging at times.

Before you go to the pro shop, you need to have in mind what you have to spend or you could wind up having some sticker shock. Your friend is right, shoot a varity of bows, you never now which one you will like/fits best. Brands like Mathews, Hoyt, and Bowtech can be expensive. There are other brands like Reflex that are owned by Hoyt that produce bows of equal arrow speeds at much lower price.

My advise on arrows is find a carbon arrow with a medium weight, heavier arrows retian more energy down range than lighter arrows. However, if you get too heavy you'll sacerfice velocity.

I also think mechanical broadheads are junk. Magnus Stingers are the chit. You can replace the main blade as well as the bleader blades. I haven't had any problems getting them to fly.

I would take a look at the Trophy Taker drop away rests. You can still have an arrow knocked and walk around since it rests on your riser (you may have to hold you finger on the arrow). I have never had a problem with it in a tree stand, plus wisker biscuit are hard on the fletching. There are a lot of drop away rests that look worthy.

My 2 pennies - FWIW

Gentlemen,
Thanks for the replies.
I am not to worried about "sticker shock". I am not a rich man but I lknow you get what you pay for, plus I want to buy ONE bow and stick with it.

Am I better off with carbon or aluminium arrows?

I have bow hunted for 30+ years. One thing I have learned is you never stop tweeking, even if it is just a little. I have only owned 3 bows in this time, a Bear Whitetail, (for one season), and 2 Oneidas. Is Oneida the best bow? I don't know, but with my long draw length, it is the best I have shot. You need to shoot alot of them and shoot them in different situations, sitting, kneeling, with light clothes and with heavy clothes. As far as accessories go,something new and improved comes out everyday. Good Luck.

Maybe you should consider an OL Adcock longbow!!!

Not much tweaking there at all. Light to carry. Silent shooting-something wheel bows have problems with. The sights don't get knocked out of alignment. You don't need a whisper bisquit. You won't mix up your sight pins when the chips are down. A twig won't get caught in the wheel. You won't need a pocketful of wrenches to adjust every friggin little thing. You won't have to come up with excuses like "jeeze I think I bumped something out of alignment" You'll get to spend time with your bow and learn to shoot it instead of pulling it out of the box and hitting the bullseye at 40 yards.

Most importantly someone like me won't have a nervous breakdown waiting for you to shoot!!! Damn I just about jump outta my skin waiting for wheel bow shooters to let 'er fly. Honestly it shouldn't take 20 or 30 seconds to make a shot. Maybe 3 seconds is more like it.


And a longbow is a true pleasure to shoot--until you shoot a longbow you haven't lived my friend. Just a little wump sound as the string hits home. God they're awesome.....truly

Just kidding I know you have your heart set on a wheel bow. I just had to try and convert you before the dark side sucked your soul.

Happy hunting

the chef

chef
Actually, strange enough I have a straight bow.
I have shot small game with a Ben Person wood 35 pounder and have the 55 lb composite wood fiberglas straight that I got from my father. I even have some wooden shaft arrows.
However, I think it is best if for big game I start out with more modern equipment.

A good plan. I like arrows in the 12 grain/inch range for deer/elk/bear hunting.

I like 125 grain SteelForce broadheads (no serrations) for those types of hunting.

It's been my experience that any arrow faster than 270 fps is hard to tune - they want to plane and act funny in the wind - so shoot an arrow heavy enough to get you into the 250 fps range.

Remember that nobody has all the best answers for you. Think for yourself. Think especially hard before you let yourself get talked into shooting 7 gpi arrows with 85 grain heads at game!

ne450,

definately try many options. I agree keep tweeking and find what works best for you. as Don_g knows I disagree with the heavy arrow theory. I get great tuning out of my mathews at 321 fps. and 5 grains per lb. it really depends on the bow that you end up with. some shoot 5 grains per lb great where others need to be 7 grains per lb or more to get it to shoot its best. In the 20+ years that I have been archery and the 15 or so years that mathews has been around I have owned 9 mathews bows and all of them preformed flawlessly at 5 grains per pound but the 2 hoyts that I have owned needed to be at 7+ grains per lb.

good luck and good shooting.

Gentlemen,
Thanks for the advice. I had looked at the Steel Force 125 grain broad heads. I was advised noty ot use the serrations as they tend to grab on thisk hair and turn when they hit bone.
I am kind of a big heavy bullet guy so I think I tend to think that way when it come to arrows.
However mechanical broadheads are not an option for me.

Tony,

I have a nice Hoyt and I like it a lot, but most of the folks I know who compete seriously use Matthews. I don't think you'll go wrong with either one.

I don't like the Whisker Biscuit myself, but lots of people do. It does keep your arrow from falling off the rest, and it's quiet.

Another vote for heavy arrows.

If you go to a good shop, the guy can set you up with a dozen arrows that he'll get the bow set up to shoot well.

Carbons are more expensive, but they're tougher. Aluminums can bend a little without you realizing they won't shoot straight anymore, whereas the carbon is either good or physically broken. Carbons are also more forgiving of front of center (FOC) weighting, or tip heaviness. So you can shoot a really light arrow with a heavy point.

But I shoot mostly aluminums. I like a heavier arrow.

Feathers or plastic fletches/vanes is the other question. Feathers will fly better when they get a little torn up. They are quieter. They allow you to shoot off the shelf of the bow. But if it rains, you have to coat them with waterproofing powder or they can fly funny.

Think you'll try a bow in Idaho for bear?

Steve

NE450

Definately go with carbon, they are tough as hell and will not bend, take a goood look at slick trick broadheads, they are awesome. As far as bows, as long as you are comfortable with the bow that all that really matters. I picked up a Bear TRX, single cam, quad carbon limbs, put a copper dead nuts sight on it, a QAD drop away rest, and it shoots great, for half the price of a Hoyt or Matthews. Killed a 132lb(weight with guts) spike that i walked up on while he was rubbing a tree. After a 1 hour wait, he decided to bed as i was putting on the moves, i slipped a slick trick into his lungs and a great blood trail led me to some great eating.That little guy was more of a trophy than most of my rifle kills.

When I began bowhunting I used aluminum arrows and 125 grain Thunderheads. Now I shoot a Mathews Utlra 2 and Gold Tip carbons, and 100 grain Muzzys.

You will read a variety of experiences on this topic. But I can tell you that my setup has never failed me.

If I bear hunted more than I do, I'd probably go back to the 125 weight head, but my 100 grain Muzzy punched right through my Alberta bear.

You can spend some serious $$ on broadheads these days, but I'm here to tell you straight up, save your money. I'd put a standard 3 blade Muzzy (my favorite), 4 blade Muzzy, or regular Thunderhead all in 100 or 125 against any other head out there. I usually go to our local Meijers grocery store during the deer season, especially when gun season is over and they have great deals. I just bought 4 boxes of 100 grain Thunderheads for $15 each and that is for 6 per box. That is less than half price.

Sink your cash into the bow and release, and good quality carbon arrows or aluminums, whichever you prefer. I have no use for aluminums anymore.

At the national shot show that takes place in the spring, Carbon Express' Maxima arrow took first place for absolute strength. It is a nice arrow. But my Gold Tips shoot just fine.

On the broadhead topic again, seems like so many companies are coming up with these new heads that are up to $15 each, and have new ways of mysterious killing ability....total BS.

I can brag a bit and I hope it's not offensive but I've killed a TON of game with a bow, and in a LOT of states. Keep the head simply but strong. Muzzy is my first choice, Thunderhead second. I've never ever had a problem tuning either one.

Go with a 6 degree right helical fletch, roughly a 4" vane should do. Offset works but helical is KING for stability.

I have no experience with the whisker bisquit rest. With spot and stalk hunting for hogs, it seems to be a good choice. I personally do not like any drag, so I shoot a drop away and would never consider anything else. I just spot and stalk with one finger over the arrow anyway, it adds stability in case the arrow hits anything.

My neighbor, ditched his bisquit after have problems with it, including episodic increases in drag, and noise. He lost a shot at a big Ohio buck because of it, but that could happen with any rest I suppose.

I use a peep sight and a peep turner. You better get used to your string stretching as it breaks in. I'd shoot it a good 75 times to "break it in." Even so, you peep can continue to turn.

Don't forget to wax, and keep spare leather to get the wax hot as you treat the string.

A simple stabilizer is all I use...I think it is a Doinker, and I paid all of $20 for it.

Don't get into all the MYSTERIOUS $100 accessories. IT is not necessary, IMO.

Many bowhunters shoot with a quiver on the bow. This is good for S & S. However, in a stand I prefer a simple Quiky Quiver that I remove when in the stand. I like the minimal wt. of the bow only. When I S&S, I use a hip quiver or stick one in my pack behind me.

Here is a website that can give you a TON of info on archery hunting. Just about everything you'd ever want to know about just about every arrow available too:

HuntersFriend.com

I'm with Don on the light arrows and attempting to shoot for IBO speeds with tiny arrows and tiny broadheads. Get a bit of weight to your arrows and shoot moderate speeds. I'm in the 270-280 range I think. If I recall, my total arrow weight is around 383 grains and I pull 72 pounds with a 28" draw

If you bowhunt a lot, it can be a good idea to restring every summer. I do it every other year.

I can't think of anything else right now.

You can't go wrong with what any of our fellow hunters have advised you. The most important thing is not what bow you buy but what bow fits you.. I just had a friend who had it in his head a Hoyt was the only bow for him went to his local pro shop shot a few bows most of the ones stated here and ended up buying a PSE W/75% let off.

This day and age carbon arrows are the only way to go. If your shop will let you try both do it. Most BH in 100 to 125gr will do what you want. I myself shoot Slick Tricks in 100gr. They fly great with my set up and I'm only using 3" fleching I like the way the blades lock together. Your also may want to take note most of your newer BH's that are smaller in size have the same cutting radis as the bigger heads. On your fleching make sure you pick colors you can see easy. When you need to go look for that arrow you'll be glad you did.

Treestand or blind: I say get both. Put your stand in one area and your blind in another works great and gives you more options.

For tweeking and tuning your bow a dealer is best; but if you are going to do it yourself go Eastens web site and down load their tuning guide..

Doc
Thinks for the info and the web site.

sportyg I plan to go to a "pro shop" and get set up right.

I appreciate all the advice.
Since I will hunt pigs a lot [ and black bears twice a year] I lean toward a 125 gr BH. I have heard of the Muzzy, the Slick Trick 4 blades look good to me too.

What do ya'll think about "peepless" bow sights like the Eradicator or the Hind Sight?

You are definitely on the right track. I have been shooting a Mathews LX for a couple years and it is outstanding. The Switchback is even better. All of your other items are right on too except I have no experience with the wiskers - I use a NAP drop away designed specificly for the Mathews roller cable guide bows. Works well.

I assume you are a rifle shooter and as such know triggers. True Fire makes a new release with a trigger that is adjustable both weight and travel. I intend to give one a try - maybe someone who has one can comment on them.

Sights, for me anyway, are the most problematic. I have tried many of them and they all seem to be a compromise. A number of shooters on our league are using the red dots. I have not tried this (yet) but they all swear by them. Something to consider.

Your gear is mostly a matter of personal preference. I would strongly urge you to get on a shooting league. You will improve your shooting skills and learn alot. It is a good way to try out gear too. Want to try different releases - borrow one from another shooter who owns one and give it a go. I do a winter indoor league and a summer 3-D league.

quote:

Originally posted by sportyg:
For tweeking and tuning your bow a dealer is best

I most certainly agree. Don't leave the dealer without shooting quite a bit. Learn good form with drawing the bow. That is key to consitent shooting.

I would not advise you try and tune your own bow.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
What do ya'll think about "peepless" bow sights like the Eradicator or the Hind Sight?

I think the peepless sights are a FAD. Good concept but I don't believe it will surpass the tried and true 2 sight system.

I forgot to mention, I prefer ONLY vertical pin sights. I've had over 42 different sights over the years. Nothing beats a vertical pin system IMO.

I shoot a Scott release because that is what I started with years ago. There are plenty of excellent releases on the market.

My arrows are fletched with all white vanes.

ne450,

what every you decide to do don't fall into the trap of thinking that you are shooting speed so you just need to set 1 pin and not worry about practicing at distance or that you are shooting a heavy arrow so all you have to do is hit them and they will fall down. The old I can hit a pie plate and that is good enough is *ull*hit!!! You owe it to the animal that you are hunting to be able to make an accurate shot. and you owe it to yourself to be able to make accurate shots so your not wasteing time setting in a tree stand. a good rule of thumb for accuracy is a 1" group per 10 yards. meaning with a little practice you should be able to shoot 2" groups at 20 yards and you should beable to keep it under 5" at 50 yards, and just because you would never take a shot at 50 yards doesn't mean that you shouldn't practice at 50. It will help you judge yardages and make you a better shot. bow hunting is a game of inches and the better shot you are the better chance you have to take the prize. well that is my soap box for the day.

The more anchor points that you use the more accurate you will be. I use peep, nose on string, kisser, knuckle behind ear. each one you add will make you noticable more accurate.
good luck and good hunting

doc,

you said that you would prefer a little more weight in your arrow, but you are still shooting 5.3 grains per lb. my arrows are only about 60 grains lighter than yours I am shooting 5 grains per lb. I am only drawing 64 lbs. I am shooting 321 fps. your kenetic energy is 66.69 lbs and mine is 73.23 lbs my point is that people want to talk weight versus speed and how heavier arrows have more knock down or kenetic energy, and that is not always true. for anyone who is interested here is a site that will allow you to check you KE.
kenetic Energy Calculator

Thanks for the info, the more I learn here the better I will do whe I go to the pro shop.
Doc I have seen verticle pin systems. It seems to me that several verticle pins would be very busy when aiming.
How many pins are necessary? I have seen a 7 pin sight but that seems to "busy" to me too.
Would a 5 pin sight be enough, with the pins set at 20,30,40,and 50 yards? For in between distances just shoot between the pins. Thisw was suggested to me by a friend.
Is 10 yards to far between pins?
I like the aspect of a peepless sight.
I have shot a couple of bows, and on some the peep would sometimes be "out of time". Also as pig hunting ois done early and late and black bear oer bait is also sone in bad light the hind sight looked pretty good to me. I have not seen one in person however.

I am thinking on having the bow set at 60 to 65 lbs. One of the hunters in Canada shot his bear with his bow at 56 lbs as he has shoulder problems. His arrow went right through the bear,and he stated it shoots through Michigan deer too. I shot his brothers Mathews set at, I think, 65 lbs with out probelm.

NE450

a 5 pin site is plenty. and 10 yards between marks is fine. you will brobably find that if you shoot more than 300 fps that you will have a hard time getting the pins close enough together. I have tried shooting between pins and I prefer to use the pin short of that mark and aim a little high. but some do like to shoot between pins so try it both ways.

good luck and good hunting

here is another article that may answer some questions for you and is very informative.

history of hunting

"A rough guide for hunting effectiveness based on kinetic energy (this is an archery chart) is:


Kinetic Energy Hunting Usage
< 25 ft. lbs. Small game
25 - 41 ft. lbs. Medium Game (deer, antelope, etc.)
42 - 65 ft. lbs. Large Game (elk, black bear, wild boar, etc.)
> 66 ft. lbs. Toughest Game (cape buffalo, grizzly, etc.) "

I have 3 pins. 20-30-40. I put the 40 on the back of an animal and it is good at 50.

quote:

doc,

you said that you would prefer a little more weight in your arrow, but you are still shooting 5.3 grains per lb. my arrows are only about 60 grains lighter than yours I am shooting 5 grains per lb. I am only drawing 64 lbs. I am shooting 321 fps. your kenetic energy is 66.69 lbs and mine is 73.23 lbs my point is that people want to talk weight versus speed and how heavier arrows have more knock down or kenetic energy, and that is not always true. for anyone who is interested here is a site that will allow you to check you KE.

I do not recall ever writing that a heavier arrow had more knock down power. I don't even consider knock down power a function of bowhunting at all. Arrows/BHs kill by hemorrhage. I knew what my KE was. But you left out some info. How long is your draw? What is IBO of YOUR bow. I did say I like "a little more weight" to my arrow. That is correct, and I do. That is why I have a medium weight arrow. It's not too heavy, not too light. 6-6.5 ft.lbs. of KE is a negligible difference. The question is how stable is the arrow in flight at the moment of impact.

I was in Nebraska hunting antelope with 2 friends this past August. One got his antelope at 72 yards. His bow was shooting about as fast as yours. He was shooting IBO for his setup and pulling about 64-66lbs. Many will argue that the shot was too far, but that is really the main purpose of shooting light, fast arrows---for trajectory. He found the antelope but his arrow only went in about 4". And his arrow had 7-8 MORE ft.lbs. of KE than mine does.

Guess what else. He took the very first animal with this new bow, I think it is AMA Innovations or something like that out of Canada. It was also, and obviously, the first antelope with the bow. He was raving about how fast it was, and accurate. I was happy for him. I ran into him again in October when I was in Colorado for my hunt. He is partners with my friend Adam. Since we had hunted together in August, this guy went to NM, and Nevada, for elk. His "sweet" setup cost him 2 big bull elk. The blazing speed of his arrows hit both elk behind the shoulder but somehow didn't penetrate at all. One shot was allegedly 22 yards, the other 35 yards. He shoots 100 grain WackEm BHs. So, what happened to all that KE? It went somewhere. But not INTO the vitals, or at least not deep enough.

So, guess where that bow is now? He hurled it over a cliff somewhere in NM.

To each his own. I've been around plenty of guys who prefer speedy arrows and I applaud them if that works for them. However, too many times I've been in the field with hunters shooting these "speed racer" setups and watched all of that KE dissipate upon impact.

Remember, KE can be lost on impact. It is a simple transfer. Most hunters don't get that. You can have 100 lbs of KE from an arrow (if achievable), and it can be lost in 2" of penetration, especially if the arrow is not 100% stable in flight upon impact. Sounds impossible but it happens.

With my first bow, I was shooting 29" 2213 Easton Aluminums with 125 BH, 28" draw, 70#. My arrows were 220fps. I was cajoled into an overdraw, cutting my arrow down about 3" and switching to 100 grain heads. Before I did that, I had 100% pass throughs on about 40+ deer in 3-5 years. After I made the switch, I had only 4 arrows pass all the way through out of 20 or so deer. Turns out, the gain in speed vs. the loss of wt. almost established an identical KE.

Lets convert this to bullets shooting into steel. If you take any rifle and load the same weight bullet but make them have the same KE (based on different BC's etc.), but you shoot a match grade bullet vs. a tough hunting bullet, say a failsafe or northfork or Aframe, why does the hunting bullet almost always create a deeper crater when they have the same KE upon impact?

It is energy that is just changed.

I'm not arguing with you by any means. If you have great success with your setup, that is great. That means your bow and arrows are well tuned. But my experiences and accounts tell me that when it comes to arrows, they do not act like bullets. So, I'll stick to my medium momentum based setup and keep killing.

doc,

I am not trying to argue with anyone especially you because many people would group us into the same archery catagory. I just trying to show that there really isn't a lot of difference in ur setups. What yor are calling mid-weight arrows many would call light-weight and a lot of people think that 5.3 grns per lb is pretty low. In fact I am shooting 5 grains per lb which is not much different. If I were drawing 72 lbs like you I would be shooting a 360 grain arrow just 20 grains difference. I just prefer to draw less weight. it makes it easier to draw with less movement and when it is extremly cold such as this week when it was 5 above 0 this morning. And as you said I have had great luck with this setup I have killed countless deer and a couple of hogs and got pass thru on everything.

I have seen many people missled to believe that there is no school like the old school. I would like to give the information and let the person buying make an informed choice. archery companies spend countless hours and dollars in an attempt to calculate the best speed and grain per lb ratios to make bows as accurate as possible.

It is called technology for a reason. It is to make life easier and better.

Here is another link that I thought was interesting.

factors of penetration

This is a great thread for this old newbie. Now I gotta get me some of that waterproofing powder! Has anyone got any experiences or opinions on TitePoint broadheads? TIA

NE450

Maybe im stuborn but i have never had a pro shop touch any of my bows and the reason is very simple. If your bow goes out of adjustment you are then forced to have them re-adjust, plus there are always tons of little tweeks to make, and if you didnt set up the bow you will really not have a full understanding of its mechanics.

There are no set parameters for bow hunters, shoot what you are comfortable with and damn them all. As an aside you may want to take a look at the "no-peep" it eliminates a peep site and its surgical tubing that seems to break at the worst possible time. Plus you will add at least 15 minutes of shooting time in dim light.

skl1
If I get my bow and have it set up in time AND I shoot a few pigs with it I will take it to Idaho in June.

fgulla
I plan of having the "pro" show me what and how he does it. As I am a belt and suspenders type I will also want to be able to change my "string" while in the field, if that is possible with out a big press of some type.
I am going to take a hard look at "peepless" sights. No pun intended.

As far as sights i would never put up 5 pins, way too much to go wrong and most people should not be shooting a bow at 50 yds. My personal maximum range is 30 yds, longer ranges can be done but in reality its hard to get a perfect presentation at 20 let alone 50 yds.YMMV

Cat Doctor, I wasn't taking this as arguing. You bring up good points.

fgulla: I find myself thinking like you. I prefer to do all of my own stuff, but that is because I learned from a Pro shop what to do. Then I worked in one years ago in Tucson.

If N E 450 is less than fully knowledgable on tuning bows and arrows, etc. I wouldn't advise a "learn as you go" method until his feet are wet from a mentor or two. There are lots of tricks to shooting with good form that come from a good coach and so on.

NE450, I still strongly advise you learn at the Pro Shop as you go, then when you are comfortable, take over. That is what I did, and also fgulla, so it sounds.

Gentlemen,
i know very little about the "modern" bow nhunting equipment, which is why I am seeking ya'lls advice.

However many, many years ago my dad and I shot straight bows. I hunted small game with one and even took it on a deer hunt but did not get a shot. We would shoot them into a haybale in the back yard.
My buddies and I would play archery golf on the high school football practice field and on to the adjacent land.

I remember a bow hunting supply catalog that had a half horse/half man on the cover drawing a bow. Anyone remember that company?
Also does anybody still use a judo point?
I know a little about the old time archery stuff, heck the arrows I have at the house are made of wood.
So I am trying to learn all I can about the new equipment.

Tony,

They do make a portable bow press for changing strings in the field. There are some caveat with using these on split limb bows, but they work great. They've also got a bench mountable type that you could use on the tailgate of a truck.

I use fsdiscountarchery.com for a lot of my stuff. They'll send you a free catalog. They may have had a man/horse on the cover. It's a black and white catalog.

I'm playing with a recurve without sights again after many years with a compound. Neat stuff. I think you'll like getting back into bowhunting. Good luck.

Steve

skl1
The catalog I was talking about was from the 60's, I wonder if they are even in business today. Thanks for the info.

What do ya'll think of the Wasp Hammer SST 125 Broad Heads for use on the animals I have described?

I think Wasp makes a decent BH. I've got a buddy in AZ that uses Wasp exclusively from Havelina to elk. So, I think you'd be fine.

IMO, the Muzzy and Thunderhead are superior quality heads and have been easier to tune. I tried just about every fixed blade and mechanical you can think of that has come out since 1988 because working in the archery shop allowed for either freebees or greatly discounted stuff to try.

I would agree with doc on this. the muzzy and thunterheads seam to work as well or better than anything I have ever tried. I use muzzy now because I like the cut on contact head, and I have better luck with muzzy heads balancing. meaning they fly and tune better.

I have had a few recommendations for Steel Force
Broadheads, the 125 grain premium 4 blade model.
From what I have read I like the cut on contact of the Steel Force for the animals I will hunt most.

You will see a lot of people talk about KE on their bows, including me. But there is no such thing as "knock down power" with a bow - penetration is king.

I like to know the KE of my bow because a simple formula lets you then predict your arrow speed and Momentum for any arrow weight. (The KE of a bow slowly increases with arrow weight, maybe 10% from IBO (5 gr/lb) to IBO 9 (gr/lb)).

But in my opinion - and those of many experienced hunters - Momentum is what gives you penetration with an arrow. Momentum increases with increasing arrow weight - that's why I like to shoot more towards the IBO-weight arrows. I like to shoot arrows in the 500-550 grain range for hunting. That's pretty heavy.

Your arrows also need to be flying true. No spiralling/fishtailing/porpoising allowed. All that momentum needs to be directly in line behind the head at the point of impact, to shove your knife home!