Fat boys!

[RoscoeP]

I had a HD motorcycle with that name in 97, but what about these fat arrows? My Maxxis 35 is coming together, put on the Spott-Hogg sight today but still waiting the rest. I ordered some hunting arrows today for my Maxxis 31 but wanted to wait until I put the rest on my new bow just to be sure of arrow length.
The guy I got the hunting arrows from recommended the fat boys for target and 3D. One guy at our club calls them cheater arrows, I guess a 10 is better than a 8. He also mentioned that alot of people use dark nocks and fletching so as not to give someone else something bright to aim at. Anybody here do that. As always thanks for everybody's help around here. Cheers Roscoe

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Fat arrows are not cheater arrows .....you still gotta make the shot at the end of the day ...those that put the arrow in the middle will continue to do so those that dont , well wont . That said I have had days that a fatter shaft would bring me a few extra points ie: A c-hair of foam between the arrow and the 10 line ..but overall not enough to state that it would put me at a differant level .... now that said ... Fatshafts for outdoor ... in alot of peoples eyes suck simply because of the cross section of them and wind drift

Dark nocks and fletching is a funny thing ... I dont get it .... in a group of 4 ... you shoot first every 4th shot ... you shoot last every 4th shot ... it dont make a differance to me personally ... some people whine and bitch about dark nock shooters ..those are the ones that need a point of referance .... those in my expiriance are those that dont take the time to know the targets as well as they should if they want to be competitive.

My advice : Shoot what groups best for you .... and whatever colors suit you .... I personally like white fletches on my target arrows ... as far as Nock color goes ... its usually whatever G-nock I happen to grab as I am building my arrows

[oldtimer]

What Mikey said !! I think Fatter arrows for indoor 18 meter fita makes sense. I tried some outdoors and was not happy.
Fletching and knocks is all a matter of taste for color, usually I will use whatever there is the most of in Willyq's supply.
Mike

[Bow Walker]

My brother (who only shoots target or 3D) is into "fat" shafts. he swears that it gives him at least 5 more points per round. Fat shafts are great when you're shooting consistently well - that is, getting into or very close tot he 10-ring almost every shot. As Mikey said, they can get you that "10" instead of an "8".

I used to shoot those Easton fat Boys - until they jumped way too high in price for me (and I was getting them wholesale at the time). I now use my venerable GT's and have not dropped significantly in points. It's all up to the shooter.

Also - arrows that are built properly and tuned to the bow will give you just as many points as "sneaking" an extra few points with fat shafts. I repeat - it's all up to the shooter.

[RoscoeP]

If I did go for FatBoys or any other arrow for that matter foor 3D shooting(mostly outdoors) what would be the preferred fletching. I have been using blazer vanes up till now and am getting them on the hunting arrows I just ordered. My Rest showed up today, a Fuse Acculaunch blade type rest .010, I will put it on tomorrow fire a couple dozen shots then get a peep installed. Now if we could get some nice weather? Have a great weekend everyone! Cheers Roscoe

[Grantmac]

If I did go for FatBoys or any other arrow for that matter foor 3D shooting(mostly outdoors) what would be the preferred fletching. I have been using blazer vanes up till now and am getting them on the hunting arrows I just ordered. My Rest showed up today, a Fuse Acculaunch blade type rest .010, I will put it on tomorrow fire a couple dozen shots then get a peep installed. Now if we could get some nice weather? Have a great weekend everyone! Cheers Roscoe

You might want to look at Carbon Express CXL Pros, they are substantially lighter then fatboys. I'm very weight conscious on my arrows, a few grains here and there makes for a lot overall.
The fatter shafts would not be my choice if I was shooting flatfield 3D, they don't buck the wind well, especially when set-up with a low FOC.

As for vanes:
Full sized Blazers are definitely overkill for target arrows, there are smaller versions by many companies. However I have been shooting the Vanetec Super Spines (the 1.75" FITA ones) on my last set and I really, really like them. Flexible enough to conform to the helical/offset you use, but stiff enough for good steering and great memory if they are hit.
You don't need much helical but a little bit can make things more forgiving. But they will still fly just fine straight fletched.

-Grant

[Jonas111]

I've tried them all, from 2712 to nano arrows and in my experience I chose the nano arrows simply because they group the best.

I do a Lot of reading about archery and have emailed Tim Gillingham from GT arrows to ask his advice and I received some great information. The short of what he told me was obviously if you can get a fat arrow to be as consistent as a skinny arrow then you are at an advantage. He also said setting up a fat arrow is much harder then setting up a skinny arrow for tuning. He gets 3 dozen and shoots them all through paper and picks 12 arrows and uses them if he was to shoot fat arrows.

I have picked up points by going with the victory VAP arrows simply because they fly the best for me. I use archers advantage software to figure out my spine and i am also meticulous when checking for vane clearance on my blade launcher. I set my arrow a touch nock high so the fletching clears the blade.

Good luck with your decision.

[Bow Walker]

When I shot the 'big boy' arrows I used Blazers - the smaller ones. They still guided th0se timber logs just fine and they weighed a heckova lot less than any other vane I had on hand.

I custom built my arrows just for my setup. I used a shaft that was under-spined and then cut it as short as I could - thereby getting within spine tolerances with an under-spined shaft. The weight savings were significant.

I took glue-in 85 grain points and shaved them down to between 60 and 65 grains each. Overall the arrows wee light enough to give me ots of speed and yet they were still "built right" so that they flew perfectly. I was able to achieve a speed of over 300 fps - even with my shorter draw length and lighter draw weight.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

I used the Micro Blazers on some Fatboys a while back and they flew fine ... As well as some Flex Fletch products that I have been very happy with .... specifically the FFP150 and FFP175s