Need help with a Banteng/Buff arrow
Equipment
Would like suggestions/advice from Bowsiters on what my arrow weight should be for a banteng and water buffalo hunt in Australia. I plan to shoot a Mathew VX3 at 70-72 # draw. My arrow is 28 inches and plan to use a dangerous game easton. It weighs 17.7 grains an inch. Add the brass insert and fletching grain will make that mid to lower 500 grains. Was thinking of putting a 210 grain german kinetic head on it for a final weight of upper 700s. just ballpark fiqures in my head as of now. Appreciate any feedback.
What did your outfitter suggest?
4 of us used 800-850g arrows with tempered steel 2 blades in 80# compounds to great success. One guy used a 560g arrow, he got poor penetration and wounded a buff and it stomped a mudhole in our assistant guide almost killing him. Lucky for Jonathan it was plowing him into bamboo sized brush instead of stomping him on hard ground- otherwise he would be dead instead of a few broken bones.
That was 15 yrs ago…so I wouldn’t worry about using a 70# bow…but I would get my arrow weight to 850g min and make sure its perfectly tuned.
Pic is my buff. Edit; we all used the old Steelforce 210g double bevel dangerous game head- discontinued. It was tempered steel so stronger than the regular steelforce heads and a pretty smooth design similar to the VPA. Of the 5 buff killed, 4 were complete pass through arrows. I shot my buff at 15y, pass through with the fletch hung up in the off side rib…then shot him again at 30 complete pass thru and never found the arrow.
I could be your caddy if you pay for my trip… Good Luck
When I went my set up was a Hoyt RX-3 at 28”/ 74lbs. The arrow was Easton DG wirh 75 brass insert, weight tube, and lighted nock. Broad head was an iron Will and I think it was 200grs. Total arrow weight (including head) was right about 1050 I believe. I was not particularly impressed with the IronWill heads I would use GK next time.
I honestly don’t know if all that weight was necessary. My outfitter instructed me to shoot a little higher and maybe back a bit than what I would have “felt” was right. When he came I shot him on a a slow walk. I hit a bit higher than I “thought” was good. Shot was 30 yards. Guide comes up and says “that was a perfect shot, but you didn’t get much penetration”. So after an Australian rodeo and a few bullets from a .375 we got him on the ground. I hit high on a rib and the broad head hit perfectly perpendicular to the rib bone. I got about 7-8” of penetration and arrow broke of inside. I feel like if the broad head would have hit vertical instead of horizontal it would have split the rib and gone all the way in, but it didn’t. Mail e sure your broadhead hits vertical ;)
I was extremely disappointed, but felt like I did basically everything right, just worked out wrong. 1” left or right would have been double lung down in 100 yards.
—jim
Rib hit and arrow recovered from inside
—jim
Shot placement,
The second bull I shot I hit right in the damn guts, penetration was not a problem on that one. Killing was a a problem though.
—jim
Great pics btw Jim! Buffs are super tough critters, I feel like you should shoot the heaviest bow u can shoot accurately. I wrote a thread on here a few years back about my trip to the Outback, it’s a Bowhunter’s paradise for sure. I used Widowmaker arrows and Widowmaker 175gr solid Broadheads, my completed 30” arrow weighed about 630grs and was traveling at 243 fps. The buff I shot was very slightly quartering away at 25 yds and my arrow buried to the fletch, it didn’t come out the far side. For my trip and the stuff I shot there, including a big scrub bull, I didn’t feel underbowed or under arrowed. Make sure your arrows r tuned perfectly for perfect flight! You are going to love it there, pls keep us posted with lots of pics and stories! Good luck 2 u!
I have a bunch of Easton Axis FMJ's and Easton FMJ's all 250's I don't need... They are all grand new.
