My 55#Bear Montana that I picked up from MATT/PA showed up today. I picked it up at the post office and headed straight for Everything Archery in Memphis, TN. I couldn't wait to shoot it. I got there, and he recommended Carbon Express Heritage 350s cut to 28 1/2". Spine deflection was .330, and they are 11 gpi, but he was sold out and would have to order them. When he told me the specs, I immediately had a question. My Gold Tip 7595's in Hardwoods HD are 28 1/2" with a spine deflection of .300. The Heritage 350s are only 11 grains per inch according to him. With feathers and a 125 grain point, my current arrow weight for my compound is 491 grains.

Questions: How close would I be to a good starting point if I switched out the 125 grain points for 160 grains on the front end? Total arrow weight would be around 526 grains with a healty FOC%. Should I go even heavier since the 7595's are so stiff, or should I pick up different shafts? 180 grains maybe???

Oh yeah, here's a partial pic I managed to get before my camera batteries died:

I'm gonna bump this up. I could use some answers and it's looking like some insignificant little twit with no life is going to push this off the page.

You may want to try a 250 at that length. The 350 is going to be way stiff. I shoot a 30 1/4 350 from my 60lb Bow with a 225 gr head and it's a bit stiff.

Yeah I would say you probably couldn't get the spine down low enough on the 7595's. With my Chek-mate Hunter II at 51lbs I shoot Full length Gold Tip Traditional Xt 3555's with a 175 grn point and they fly great. My guess Gold Tip 3555's cut down some would work well with a heavy point for you.

225 grain head on a 32 1/4" 350 and it's still stiff? Maybe I'd better re-think things. The 7595s I've got have a spine that's even more stiff than the 350's. Just out of curiosity, what head do you shoot that's 225 grains? (or do you use a weighted insert?)

That's getting into the point weight range that I was looking for. Something along the lines of a 3555 @ 29" with a 180 grain point should be close at 55#, shouldn't it? Interesting.... I bought the bow from MATT/PA and another PA guy gives me some help.... all in the same month that I find out I've got a place to hunt in PA. Go figure....... maybe it's an omen.

Johnny,
To give you an idea.........I shot that thing with 31.5" Gt 5575 Traditional XT'sand 165grs of tip weight at almost 62# (145head and 20grs of insert weight plus the insert itself, and GT Nock adapters and Bohning signature nocks out back)

Most likely you'll be looking 3555 like was mentioned. If you can stretch your arms a bit and horse that puppy back to a little over 30" I know it likes those!! In fact I don't think I ever saw a bare shaft fly so nice. LOL

See if the guy has any bare shafts you can play around with. That will tell you about everything you need to know.

Holy cow little, that guy has you too stiff.

BC,
I'm figuring that out, which is why I really needed the input from some of the knowledgeable folks on here. I only have two shop options and I can't seem to get reliable inputs from either.

That was my second thought. My first thought was, "how could the guy at the shop know with out testing the shafts for/with the head of choice." I always have to bare shaft my arrows and cut them to size. Or you can bare shaft them and change heads till you get the right arrow.

If I were you, id get the shafts closest to the spine PA mentioned, then bare shaft them and change your heads or cut the arrow to length for the head you want. Either way, you need to get the right spine for your weight in respect to your draw length. Its a good looking bow, your just about ready to getter done.