“The speed will increase as weight drops, getting faster and faster.” Go too light, however, and too much kinetic energy will be left in the bow rather than the arrow, making for poor penetration, he notes. “The simple way to get more speed out of a given bow is to shoot a lighter projectile,” says Gary Cornum, marketing director of Easton Archery Products. To determine if you’re giving up too much penetration in exchange for a faster-flying arrow, take some test shots at targets. After all, speed doesn’t kill, penetration does. When reducing the weight of your arrow or broadhead, you need to ensure you still have enough overall weight to properly penetrate your target. If you can still shoot comfortably and consistently afterwards, it’s a viable way to get more speed.Īlberta’s Brad Fenson always tunes his bow in the off-season. But to shoot with proper form at a longer draw, you’ll likely need to adjust the length of your release.
You’ll soon learn why it’s the most popular weight in the marketplace.Ī longer draw length will often provide a few more feet per second. If you currently shoot 125-grain heads, for example, try switching to 100 grains. To get more speed, try shooting lighter than what you’re used to. You can still shorten up your arrows to reduce their weight, however, and gain more speed.īroadheads come in many different weights, with some fixed blades weighing as little as 55 grains.
With modern equipment, though, most risers have rests set closer to the shooter, doing away with the need for an overdraw. The need for speed is nothing new, and it wasn’t that many years ago that bowhunters used overdraw rests and shorter arrows to increase velocity. The Deep Six line from Easton started the trend to smaller arrows, and Carbon Express recently jumped on board with the Maxima Red SD. Not only do they offer less resistance in flight, they also penetrate deeper. Stay within the manufacturer’s spine limits and you can safely make a switch to a lighter option.Īnother great option to increase speed is to switch to arrows with a smaller diameter. Manufacturers make this easy by providing charts online and with every box of arrows. When going lighter, just be sure the arrow’s spine rating, measuring its stiffness, matches your bow’s draw weight. Remember a few years back when everyone switched from aluminum to lighter carbon arrows, for example? It was a monumental leap forward for arrow speed. It doesn’t take a physics major to figure out that a lighter arrow will shoot faster. Gain more speed with a longer draw length Be sure to make the same adjustment to the top and bottom limbs to keep them balanced and tuned. If you can see a space between the limb and the back of the pocket that holds it in place, you likely have room to increase the weight. So, one obvious way to increase your bow speed is to crank up the draw weight. All bows have a draw-weight range, but they often come adjusted below the maximum.