How much kinetic energy do you need for brown / grizzly bear?
Brown / grizzly bear is heavy & dangerous game (North America). The widely used bowhunting guideline puts the minimum at roughly 70 foot-pounds of kinetic energy, with heavy single-bevel. Dangerous game with heavy bone. Over-build and never take the frontal.
Check your setup for brown / grizzly bear
Total finished-arrow weight (250 to 750).
Measured or IBO speed (100 to 450).
What can you hunt with this?
Your setup against real game, worldwide. Tap an animal for the full verdict.
Your 73 ft-lbs clears the ~70 ft-lb guideline, but brown / grizzly bear is heavy-boned and your momentum (0.52 slug-ft/s) is on the light side for driving through bone.
Add arrow weight to lift momentum toward 0.55+ slug-ft/s and run a heavy single-bevel, kept broadside behind the shoulder.
A general guideline built on the published bowhunting energy bands and penetration research, not a rule. Shot placement, a sharp broadhead and clean arrow flight matter more than any single number. Check your local minimum-energy regulations.
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Brown / grizzly bear: common questions
How much energy do you need to shoot a brown / grizzly bear with a bow?
Brown / grizzly bear sits in the heavy & dangerous game band, with a widely used guideline minimum of about 70 foot-pounds of kinetic energy, paired with heavy single-bevel and a well-placed, broadside shot. It is a guideline, not a rule: shot placement and a sharp broadhead matter more than any single number.
Is my bow enough for brown / grizzly bear?
Enter your arrow weight and speed in the calculator above and it tells you instantly whether your setup clears the ~70 ft-lb guideline for brown / grizzly bear, and what to change if it does not.
What broadhead is best for brown / grizzly bear?
Heavy single-bevel is a sound choice for brown / grizzly bear. Dangerous game with heavy bone. Over-build and never take the frontal.
Is momentum important for brown / grizzly bear?
Yes. Brown / grizzly bear is heavy-boned, so momentum, arrow weight and a strong single-bevel broadhead drive penetration as much as raw kinetic energy. Build a heavier arrow and keep the shot broadside behind the shoulder.
Method & sources
- The physics.Kinetic energy and momentum use the standard archery constants (7,000 grains per pound, 32.174 ft/s² for gravity), so results match the Easton and Realtree calculators to the decimal.
- The energy guidelines. The minimum kinetic-energy bands by game size are the long-established bowhunting guideline popularised by Easton Archery and widely used across the sport.
- The heavy-game refinement. For large, heavy-boned animals we weight the verdict toward momentum and arrow mass, following the penetration research of the Ashby Bowhunting Foundation (Dr. Ed Ashby), which found momentum, arrow weight and structural integrity, not raw speed, drive penetration through heavy bone.
- Speed figures. Arrow speed relates to the IBO and ATA rating standards published by bow manufacturers; a chronograph reading of your own arrow is always the most accurate.
- Regulations first. These are guidelines, not law. Always meet your local minimum draw-weight and kinetic-energy requirements, and let shot placement and a sharp broadhead lead every decision.
Maintained by the HuntDesk team. Last reviewed July 2026.
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