doublelunginem

I shot the Maxima Hunters last year...killed with them, they are very durable. I ONLY switched to the FMJ to get more weight. I really with the Maxima Hunters were around 10 or 11 gpi, i would still be shooting them..

As far as the Axis or Axis FMJ penetrating further, this is true on a target or gelatin block. Think about it logically, in a target or gelatin block, the material you are "penetrating" is tight and doesnt open up as does the would channel of a shot through a deer. The targets and gelatin close in around the shaft causing drag the whole time the arrow is penetrating it. Of course, the smaller the shaft, the less surface area to cause friction with the target material, therefore, more penetration.

In an actual hunting situation (which is the ONLY place that penetration matters), you are shooting a broadhead that is at least 1" in diameter. This is significantly larger that the shaft, no matter the diameter. Not to mention the blood and other bodily fluids present in the wound channel that act with much less friction than target material. Case in point, I was practicing last year between morning and evening hunts and a coyote came by at 30 yards and I shot it with a field tip....perfect shot behind the shoulders, broadside, caught NO shoulder bone. The arrow only stuck out about 8" on the back side. Later that evening, I shot a deer at 35 yards, caught part of the front shoulder (slightly quartering towards me) and had a complete passthrough.

There is no point in an arrow blowing through a deer and sticking 6" in the ground behind it....that's a waist of KE. The perfect energy transferand volume of wound channel cut combination would be maximizing the cutting diameter of your tip to a point that the arrow slows down just enough as it passes through the animal, that the arrow passes through the animal and just as the nock is leaving the animal, the arrow falls to the ground. Obviously, this can't be achieved due to the inconsistancy of where you can hit the animal i.e. hitting a should vs. hitting nothing but ribs. But I do try to maximize the cut volume and still get a pass through.

I'm sorry that I got so carried away....all said, dont worry about the shaft diameter, get the most energy transfer from your bow to your arrow. Go with an arrow weight that you can still achieve 280 to 300 fps....that's all the speed you need anyway.

Maxima's are Great arrows!!!! Just too light for me.