real world arrow differences

[pin_head]

'Afternoon Archers,

I'm looking to hear opinions an real world experience with different arrows.

I've generally used Gold tip hunter expedition and xt, mainly based on price and reputation. I've got some carbon express maxima hunters as well and they are near double the price.

I'm curious about some of the Easton offerings but they too are pricy compared to the gold tips.

Keep in mind I am still fairly new to archery and haven't actually shot anything with the bow yet. I'll be trying for a spring bear again. Hunting/3D is my main interest.

Cheers,
Brad

[RoscoeP]

Are you shooting a compound or traditional bow? The Radial X-weaves are a very good arrow at a pretty good price, just be aware that the numbers on the arrows are "series" and not the spine which confuses people even the ones selling them. A 200 series is just over 400 spine and the 300 series is around 340 spine. The 100 series are very weak spine 500 or more. The GT's you shoot are also good arrows, I am shooting them now out of my Trad bows.

[Ambush]

I've been through a lot of arrows in my archery career. The last few seasons its been Easton Axis with great results and only one negative. Easton FMJ's for one season before that and done with those.
Nothing wrong with your present arrows and they have a solid reputation, unless something has changed with quality recently. Maybe your best bang-for-buck.
Most of us don't shoot well enough to notice the difference between premium arrows and just good arrows. And likely 95% of the bows being shot are not tuned well enough to take advantage of the "best" arrows.

Although I think everybody should use all the same gear as me, just to validate my choices, it's not necessary at all for functionality.

Sometimes an archer has certain criteria that will dictate a particular arrow because of favourable features, such as GPI or extreme toughness. But other than that, a combination of quality and cost is a good guide.

[pin_head]

Was there anything in particular you disliked about the Easton FMJ's? That was one of the ones I was particularly curious about.

Should have added that I'm shooting a compound at 60lbs and 26" draw.

Brad

[Ambush]

Was there anything in particular you disliked about the Easton FMJ's? That was one of the ones I was particularly curious about

The quality, diameter and weight were all attractive. BUT. They do bend and you have to spin them after use and particularly before hunting them. And they are very weak at the juncture of shaft and broadhead. Not too bad with a short head like the Exodus or Slick Trick but longer heads exert enough leverage on the thin wall to regularly breakout sideways when the broadhead glances on a hard object. Such as bones in an animal. Super easy to pull from 3D targets though.

Those two things were enough to make me quit using the FMJ. The Axis has the same problem with breakage at the end, but not near as severe. I'll be buying a couple dozen Axis here soon [down to nine hunting arrows] and I'll cut them an inch longer and "foot" the front with about 3/4" of easton aluminum shaft. Then I think the Axis will be pretty much the perfect hunting arrow.

[pappy]

I have been using Easton axis 400's at 26.5" long with some 100 grain thunderheads in the front. My compound bow is set at 62 pounds. I have taken a black bear with a complete pass thru, one grouse and one escaped farm buffalo with this set up. The Buffalo took 4 shots all together, all arrows got both lungs. The first and second shots went all the way into the bull and just poked out the far side. The third shot had the nock just sticking out the entrance wound. The last shot was slightly quartering away and the arrow had about 3-4 inches sticking out of the entrance wound. The Buffalo traveled just under 80 yards from the first shot to the fourth shot, it fell over and broke the one arrow sticking out. I am very happy with the performance of the axis 400's. I chronied them at 287 to 290 fps if I remember correctly.

[nicktrehearne]

Most of us don't shoot well enough to notice the difference between premium arrows and just good arrows. And likely 95% of the bows being shot are not tuned well enough to take advantage of the "best" arrows.



This sums it up perfectly. Unless you have your shooting form 100% mastered and have your bow tuned to be shooting bullet holes through paper, almost any arrow will work for you given it's the correct spine. For hunting, I tend to lean towards heavier arrows, just so I can get more kenetic energy. My shafts are typically a minimum of 9.5 grains/inch.

With all that said, if you really want performance, paper tune your bow and find the one that shoots the best, not just the one with the right price tag.

[NorBC]

Gold tips are popular, and like said before if you're paper tuning or even better bare shaft tunning you can get any arrow spitting darts. From my personal experience I would say stray away from the FMJs. I've seen more hunters wreck them on the hike up the mountain than well shooting them. If you're interested in a small diameter arrow like that look into the injections. Grizzlystik just came out with a new tapered shaft that is also small diameter. Both arrows are pricier, but it's for good reason.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

GT are a decent arrow for hunting, , That said I just put together some for my Daughters target rig. I have always been happy with most of the Easton offerings, FMJs are tough as hell, and just as good tolorance wise as ACCs ... Seen the PSE explode ... wont touch them with a 10 foot pole.

for small Diameter Hunting shafts ... nothing beats Victory VAPs V1s .... Period.

[gmachine19]

Just gonna throw another brand to the bunch. Although I use these for my crossbow, they make arrows for bow mainly.

http://www.blackeaglearrows.com/Zombie-Slayer-Arrows-s/1902.htm

Has +/-0.001" straightness tolerance. Really accurate arrows for me.

[Eastbranch]

Hey ambush do you think the deep six inserts were eastons attempt to address the torque issue with broadheads? I just ordered a half dozen 4mm fmj injexions (deep six) and some quikspin vanes. I got rage hypodermic and slick trick both in 100gr. See what flies well I guess.

I was listening to i think the gritty bowmen podcast and they had a lot of good things to say about black eagle shafts. Very detailed review. Im an easton homer though.

[Ambush]

Hey ambush do you think the deep six inserts were eastons attempt to address the torque issue with broadheads?

No, I think the Injexions are an attempt to stay on the top of the "thin is in" game. Thin, high density shafts definitely have some real world advantages, but every gain comes at some cost and it's a fine line that gets crossed when you try to gain too much in one particular area.

Extremes, in almost all cases have some inherent drawbacks for general use. The Injexions are an extreme and suffer in a few aspects that are important. One was/is the proprietary insert size and thread. The other and most important to me, is the lack of broadhead shoulder support and radial support [same for the FMJ]. If you were to "foot" them, then you have corrected one of the two most serious problem. The other problem being they do bend. And without turning under a dial indicator, you just don't know if your plus/minus .003" arrow has actually become a .015" arced shaft. And it can happen by falling with your bow in your hand and the quiver hits the ground first, with your weight on it. That sucks when you're trip has just started and new arrows are hours or days away.

And to my mind, some of the "outserts" are not really a good solution as they only transfer the problem onto another component.

IMO, the Axis has all the advantages, just not to the extreme, and is much more user friendly. The Injexion is thinner, but the gain is too minimal for the trade-offs.
Thinner shafts are also more finicky to fletch.

[Eastbranch]

Thanks that is very helpful. I'll have to revist my dismissal of the axis shafts. I think I decided against them because they werent heavy enough without sacrificing foc.

[pin_head]

I just picked up a half dozen of the carbon express pile driver hunters to try out. I appreciate the weight gain at 10.4 gpi.


I had no problem with my gold tip hunters but at a 26.5" draw and 60 lb bow I wanted some more weight pushing my heads.

First impressions are good, must be old stock that's not updated in price. Every other arrow has hit $100/6. These suckers were $69.99. They don't have the straightness specs of the "pro" arrows but I haven't drank the kool-aid yet to make me believe that will make a basement shooter like me any more accurate. So far they seem just as accurate as my gold tips and maximas, but I haven't stretched past 20 yards yet.

I'm amazed how much quieter the heavy arrows shoot. Like I mentioned I shoot in my basement so the sound difference is very noticeable.

If these suckers fly straight at distance then I will be trying to stick one through a bear. I've also settled on the QAD exodus for a broad head.

Specs should be something around 430gr finished weight, which I feel much better about than what I was getting with my other arrows.

Thoughts and opinions are welcome and encouraged.

Cheers,
Brad

[Bowzone_Mikey]

did you buy pre boxed and fletched or raw shafts

I prefere raw shafts that way you can trim to lenth from both ends without having to do a bunch of extra work ....

doing that will turn a .005 straightness arrow into a .001-.002 straightness typically ... as majojority of runout is the ends of the shaft where they are cut at factory

the pile drivers are a good arrow ... your rig will do well with a about a 26 -27" finished arrow and 100 grain head

Your about right on finished weight depending on the Vanes, insert and nock system you use ... shoukld carry enough KE and Momentum to plow through most anything

[pin_head]

I appreciate your response, good to know I'm on the right track. IBO on my bow is 330, so I feel like I should be getting decent enough speed, even at my short draw.

I buy my arrows pre-fletched, I'm not set up to "roll my own", hopefully will be before too long. I mainly just want to dick around with some wraps and personalized vanes. I've tried some of the shrink on tube style wraps with vanes and haven't been impressed.

Cheers,
Brad