What is the BEST Arrow Weight for Elk Hunting?

Elk are as majestic as they are monstrous, and taking one down with a bow is a major feat. But even if you make the perfect shot, if your arrow is not heavy enough, it will not penetrate the elk’s vitals. This leaves the elk injured or doomed to an agonizingly slow death. Being a responsible hunter means ensuring you are doing your best to harvest your game as humanly and responsibly. That is why it is so important to choose the correct arrow weight. I’ll explain the best arrow weight for elk hunting below…

450-550 grain is how heavy an arrow needs to be to effectively harvest elk. Choosing an arrow weight depends on your bow draw weight. A simple way to figure out the arrow weight needed for your personal bow set up is to make your arrow weigh about 6-7 grains for every 1lb of draw weight. So if your draw weight was set at 70lbs, (7x70lbs) then a 490gr arrow will serve you well. It is important for your arrow to be the correct weight so it will have enough kinetic energy to cleanly kill an elk.

Keep reading to learn more about arrow weight and kinetic energy for bow hunting elk.

Best Tips for Configuring Arrow weight

There are a few basic tips to know so you ensure you will have the correct arrow set up for you.

1. Do Not Use Mechanical Broadheads – Despite how cool they are, mechanical broadheads are not reliable enough to use for elk hunting due to their moving parts. The moving parts introduce an extra factor of unpredictability so it is wise to only use fixed broadheads. Fixed broadheads are sturdy and will ensure you can replicate the same results over and over.
2. Choosing Correct Arrow Weight – As mentioned in the second paragraph, your correct arrow weight can be quickly determined by multiplying the poundage of your bow by the number 7. For example, a bow set at a 60lb draw weight multiplied by 7 equals a 420gr arrow.
3. Perfect Arrow Flight Must Be Maintained – When configuring your arrows, make sure a smooth flight is not sacrificed. Also, make sure your arrows are not underspined. An underspined arrow will flex and fly unpredictably, making your shots completely inaccurate. A severely underspined arrow can even explode when released! This is because the arrow will not be able to handle the sudden pressure of the string being released. If you could see it in slow-motion, the string will basically split in half, starting at the notch and slicing through the middle of the shaft, launching arrow fragments everywhere. Not to mention your face! To ensure your arrow is not underspined, you will need to follow a spine selector chart. Golden Tip Archery has a great spine selection tool you can use (HERE).
4. Shot Placement – Shot placement is still the top priority, even if you have the perfect arrow set up but hit solid shoulder bone, you will not take down the animal effectively. Prepare for a long day/night of tracking…

Best Arrow Speed for Elk

Considering elk are such larch and tough creatures, one would think a blazing fast arrow is needed to take one down. That is simply not the case. The main factor you should pay attention to is how much kinetic energy your arrow is producing. Without enough kinetic energy stored in your arrow during flight, it will not stand a chance to effectively penetrate an elk’s vitals.

The recommended kinetic energy for elk is about 50-65ft. lbs. The formula for finding your arrow’s kinetic energy is : KE = (m*v²)/450,800, where M stands for arrow weight(arrow grains), V for arrow speed, and KE for kinetic energy. The result of the equation will be in ft. lbs of kinetic energy. To find the kinetic energy multiply the arrow weight (arrow grains), by the arrow speed squared(found with a Chronograph), and divide the answer to that multiplication by 450,800.

For example: If you have a 450gr arrow that is shot at 270fps, you will multiply m=450 with v=270 squared equaling 32,805,000. Now just divide the answer of the multiplication by 450,800 to get the result of 73ft. lbs

(For those of you that have been out of math class for a few decades, “squared” is just when a number is multiplied by itself.)

Check out this great video on kinetic energy from Bowhunt 101 below!

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Conclusion

Thank you for reading this guide for choosing the correct arrow weight for elk hunting.

To recap, we have learned the best arrow weight for elk is between 450-550 grains. And you can roughly find the weight you need by multiplying the draw weight poundage of your bow by the number 7.

We have also learned that kinetic energy is extremely important to effectively take down an elk. And that by using the formula KE = (m*v²)/450,800 you can find out how much kinetic force your setup produces so you can be sure you have enough power to hunt elk.

Again thanks for reading and here’s to many adventures ahead!