My new arrow
 

Due to many of the great posts in this section I have made a new arrow for myself. The arrow is a Carbon Tech whitetail XP, the shaft is 30", total arrow length is 31.75". I currently have 3 blazer vanes. Last night I was shooting a 250gr tip for a total weight of 584gr and a FOC a little over 17%. When I shoot again I am going to use a 200gr tip and that will give me 534gr and a FOC of 16%. I got them grouping pretty good at 40 yards but I really liked that when it would smack into the target it was LOUD :D. I only made 3 out of the dozen but when I spun all 12 shafts they were fantastically straight. I am going to make some more the next couple of nights and I'll probably try some 4" vanes on some of them. I am thinking these will be some fun arrows to work with and eventually get setup for this fall. I want to use a 200gr broadhead but have not bought any that size yet.

I have learned a great deal from some of you here and hopefully I can put that knowledge to good use. This is MUCH more fun than firearms.

RE: My new arrow
 

200 grain broadhead, What are you hunting GODZILLA? What head comes in 200 grain?

RE: My new arrow
 

My thoughts too.

RE: My new arrow
 

Why shoot such a heavy arrow? Are you drawing back 90lbs?

RE: My new arrow
 

I wanted a heavy FOC so I got an arrow with a stiff spine. The heavy tip balances things out. Muzzy Phantom comes in 200 and 220. The Razorcap comes in weights from 100-200 and the Steelforce premium comes in a 210 weight. The broadheads are not any bigger than the ones you use, just heavier. Is there a good reason NOT to use a heavy broadhead? (I do have other arrows that use lighter tips).

RE: My new arrow
 

70lbs DW. Like I said after reading what some of the folks here had to say about heavier arrows, heavy FOC's, momentum and penetration I thought it would be fun to make the arrows and shoot them. If we are shooting deer inside of 30 yds why not a heavy arrow?

RE: My new arrow
 

Why not indeed!! The arrows I am currently working are very similar. I have one that is 524 grains total weight, with a 200 grain tip and 3 - 4" inch feathers that has a FOC of 19%! I hunt elk out here in the big wild west - sometimes shots get a little farther than 30 yards.

RE: My new arrow
 

Great choice , should be silent and deadly

RE: My new arrow
 

I just made upmy new hunting arrows for whitetail. 500 grains with a 125 grain tip. You'll see them, Bruce, when you come to the seminar. We'll also have a lot more discussion about arrows and what makes them work better for penetration.

RE: My new arrow
 

Sounds great! Speaking of heavy tips, everything I hear about these Silverflames seems to be fantastic, they have 100, 125, 150 180 and 210's. They are expensive but if I were elkhunting I think I would seriously consider them. You can buy them in the USA here.

RE: My new arrow
 

LOL You don't know how much I am looking forward to this seminar. See you then!

RE: My new arrow
 

You don't know how much I wish there were pro shops in my area that offered these types of seminars!! I'm jealous!

Bruce, thanks for the link to the Silverflame's. I have seen them before, they are EXPENSIVE, but I think they are a thing of beauty!!

RE: My new arrow
 

The Silver Flames have a great reputation, and it is probably well deserved. However, one of Dr Ashby's reports dealt with broad heads. The silver flame didn't do as well for himas several much cheaper broadheads.

Dr Ashby settled on the Grizzley two blade. I think that he used the 190 grain, but don't have time right now to look it up.

There are several of Dr Ashby's reports posted on Tradgang.com They have a whole section just for him.

Bruce, I look forward to meeting you at the seminar. Be sure to bring lots of questions for Len. My list is already about 20 questions long.:D

RE: My new arrow
 

I have only seen pictures but the silverflames do not look as thin, thickness wise, as the other broadheads and maybe that had something to do with it. The one thing I have read about them consistantly is their ability to hold a razor edge and I think that is because they are made more like a knife instead of a razor. Perhaps that is why they appear thicker.

It will be a pleasure to meet you, Allen, and everyone else there. I have so many questions I am afraid to write them down and, being so new to this, I think I will be better served by just listening to Len and everyone else, at least for the first day LOL.

RE: My new arrow
 

True, the Grizzly broadhead in Dr. Ashby's study turned out to be the best of the best. The drawback to that, from my persepctive, is that the Grizzly is a glue on broadhead, as were many of the cheaper broadheads that performed better than the Silverflame. The Silverflame, on the other hand, was reported to be the best of the screw-in broadheads in the study (at least if memory serves me correctly, typically a BAD assumption!).

I hope you and Bruce will pass along any delightful tidbits you learn atLen's seminar, ;)....

RE: My new arrow
 

At 3RiversArchery they sell broadhead adaptersthat screw in and then you can glue on broadheads. They also sell heavier steel adaptersif you want to increase your tip point weight ;).

RE: My new arrow
 

Thanks Bruce! One question - if I were to get a broadhead adapter, which would turn a glue-on into a screw on, what have I gained over an already built screw on - like the Muzzy Phantom SS? (which looks like a dandy broadhead to me).

RE: My new arrow
 

I suppose it would just give you more broadhead options, such as the Grizzly, but me, I am going to go with the Muzzy (for the 2 bladedesign)and/or the Razorcap (for the 3 blade) when using a heavy broadhead.

Another thing to think about is inserts. They make 50 and 100 grain brass inserts so you can use those and then select an 85,100 or 125 grain broadhead. More options LMAO[:-][8D]

RE: My new arrow
 

You are easily amused!! When I get around to broadhead selection, I am planning on getting a few Muzzy Phantom's (200 g), a few Stingers (150 g+ 50 g insert), and perhaps a Steelforce premium (210 g, and I wouldget a few more, butbudget constraints are, well, budget constraints)get them all dialed in, and see which ones fly and group the best.

RE: My new arrow
 

Just finished measuring the speed of the arrow. 200gr point, 534gr total weight, FOC 16.% and I get 233FPS out of the bow. At 20 yds it gets down to 227FPS and, according to my software it should be 225FPS at 30yds. I will know for sure tomorrow. I am liking this arrow.

RE: My new arrow
 

bruce

Have you thought about shortening the arrow a little to up FOC? It will probably only give you a small percentage change but will raise the FOC. Making the arrow 30" will give you about 3/4 of a percent increase if I have your arrow numbers close in Ontarget.

Also, anything that is done to lighten up the nock end will increase FOC.

RE: My new arrow
 

Wow 16 and 17% FOC, I think mine is almost 11%. 27inch goldtip prohunter with three blazers and a wrap on the back, and a 100 grain tip. Whatever works, think my total arrow weight is about 360grains.

RE: My new arrow
 

I use OT2 also and if I understand it correctly I thought the shaft length is just the shaft not counting the nock or the insert/point. That is why I made the shaft itself 30". Adding the point and the nock made it longer. Actually I am about as high at FOC as I am wanting to go with this particular arrow.I may experiment with some heavy inserts so that I can use a different point/broadhead ( I have6 more to experiment with).

RE: My new arrow
 

Something interesting I noticed after making this arrow and putting the measured FPS numbers into OT was that my bow speed increased. I adjust the IBO speed so that the calculated speed matches the measured speed and I had the IBO speed at 285 for a lighter (434gr) arrow. When I adjusted the IBO speed to get the calculated speed to match the 534gr arrow I had to increase it to 293. I am assuming that there was a more efficient energy transfer to the arrow with the heavier weight. I thought that was interesting.

RE: My new arrow
 

The next arrow I want to try and make will be 500+ grains but about a 12+% FOC. That won't be for a while though.

RE: My new arrow
 

Something seems off on the increased IBO speed. You shouldn't need to adjust the IBO speed of your bow. It is what it is. Just change the input numbers for the heavier arrow.

I've had the same thing happen to me with OT2. I was checking about 4 different arrows. The speeds were all over the place and then realized thatI needed to reset my basic inputs and then it would work fine.

The 500 gr arrow with a 12% FOC isn't to hard to build. Just get an arrow with camoon it that weighs about 12.2 gpi. Blazers, and about 29.5 inches long.

RE: My new arrow
 

I use to shoot a 75grain tip, that made my FOC pretty crappy. But still had very good arrow flight and awsome penetration.

RE: My new arrow
 

This is from the help file of OT2:
The bold is from OT2, the italics and underline are my highlight. If I read this correctly then When I take my known arrow weight (and known weights of all the parts - 22gr insert, blazers weighed @ 6gr each, nock weighed @ 12gr, 200gr point and the shaft) and shoot it and then get my known chrono speed then I should be able to adjust the IBO speed to match my known chrono speed.

OT2 is only as accurate as the numbers put it. I put in as many measured, known numbers as possible. Anyway all I did was synch the program calculation to my known velocity as outlined in the help file. And it seems that the numbers say my bow is more efficient at a higher arrow weight.

RE: My new arrow
 

I am new to bow hunting but it seems to me that with todays equipment we can probably get away with a lot of stuff way outside the recommended average margins and still be very effective.