I'm looking for a new hunting arrow and was just wondering everyone's opinion on the two. I shot a Hoyt Defiant 34 at 65 lbs and 29 inch draw. Will primarily be shooting whitetail
I shot reds for years but last year went to black eagle renegades and love them. Their accuracy is amazing and they're as tough as they get. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Gotcha. I'm not familiar with either as I shoot Gold Tip XT Hunters. Really like them. Nothing bad to say about them at all. A good buddy of mine shoots maxima blues. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had the exact same decision, I went with carnivores and man I can not complain they're so tough and shoot extremely well Sent from my SM-G920V using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
No experience with BEA arrows but Maxima Reds are the opposite of tough. Every one I've put in an animal snapped at either the beginning or end of the "flex" zone. I no longer use them.
I absolutely love my reds. I don't think you can go wrong with either. I have no experience with the carnivores, but I am going to switch to the new maxima red SD. They are some sweet bullets.
I've never been a fan of the Carbon Express standard diameter arrows. They are brittle compared to many of their competitors. The red's IMO would be a downgrade from your beans.
I have been shooting the Black Eagle Rampages lately, I like a 5mm(.204) or smaller shaft and these things are great. I'm shooting the same setup as the OP and I'm getting 17.3%FOC.
Switched to Reds last year and am plenty happy. No complaints and shoot approx 56/57 lbs. I switched because I wanted to try something new and needed a dozen more arrows. For what and how I shoot, I could have switched to the highest-end or lowest-end arrow and likely achieved the same results. Now I enjoy my older arrows for groundhogs. I think I had more fun picking the arrows, cutting them, picking out fletchings, spineing them the same when fletched, etc than anything else. Was good to look at FOC and weight as well while doing it all. Thought I would experiment more but, the first arrow shot well, so I just went with the standard setup. Can't comment on other brands.
There's a video on youtube of a comparison of the carbon express reds against easton axis. I won't be switching from my axis anytime soon.
Out of those two, choose the Carnivores. I shoot them and love them. The new Goldtips seem pretty awesome and a couple of my buddies have them and are super happy with them. If I was going to start from scratch, that's probably where I would start.