Hi Everyone, I am getting back into archery and archery hunting from a lengthy amount of time, kind of. I say kind of because when I got my first bow for Christmas in 2006 I didn't really know what I was doing as a teenager. I just went to the pro-shop and said I need some arrows and accessories so I can shoot. I have all of my gear still and I would like to spend more time in the woods hunting this coming fall and spend time this spring and summer practicing for it. I will be hunting whitetails in central, MN Here's what I have, Mathews Switchback XT 28" draw length 63# draw which I can get back to 70 or anywhere inbetween, My arrows are in the 395gr range, 27" easton axis 400 Ripcord I feel like I should be in the 425-475 range for a mid weight arrow for deer hunting? I also think my spine should be .340" or .300"? Is this correct? Just because I listened to some of the Nock On podcasts I see John Dudley sells an axis and a FMJ arrow (I know there are a ton of other options, I'm open to anything) The axis 340 9.5 gpi would put me roughly at 435gr with the 50gr insert and 100gr broadheads including vanes and nock. The FMJ 340 11.3 gpi would put me roughly at 485gr with the 50gr insert and 100gr broadheads including vanes and nock. Is my thinking above on arrows in the ballpark or am I in no man's land? Should I be looking at other things as well? Thanks in advance, I look forward to diving back into archery!
If you are planning on shooting between 63, where you are set now, and 70 pounds, I would go with the 300 spine arrow if you are going with one of dudleys options. I really like the axis arrow and the ones he sells are killer, albeit expensive. You could build the same thing for cheaper if you don't do the "match grade" option. Standard axis arrows are .003 straightness (compared to .001 with match grades). Cut that down to 27" and you're going to be splitting hairs on which one is straighter. You can buy the brass inserts separately and probably save 20 bucks. I'm not a fan of the FMJ really.. but lots of guys like them.
Hey Dave, just to follow up I ended up going to a local proshop and going the route of the standard AXIS 300's
Just for my own knowledge...my arrows are 27" carbon to carbon, 27.5" draw, 295 FPS and in the 65-69 lbs range. According to GT charts this puts me right on the edge of a 400 spine with a 100 grain tip and a 340 spine with a 125 tip. Why did the OP need a 300 spine? I realize being over spined is better than under spined, but it seems like the OP would be solidly in the range of a 340 spine. Is it the extra tip weight insert he is adding? Does FOC come into play much when selecting spine? Thanks.
I also ended up adding a little bit of length to my arrow, its closer to 28.25" now. I had one bow shop sell me arrows just long enough to reach past my ripcord, I blindly asked two different bow shops about arrow length and they said what I had previously was on the extremely close to being dangerously short. For the comfort of safety I added an inch. A 28" easton axis with a 50 grain insert at 63-68# suggests a .340"or .300" deflection spine and at 69-74# it only suggests the .300" spine. On a digital bow scale my draw weight was 68.3# I erred on the side of caution and went with the .300" spine.
Ok that makes sense. Having the extra tip weight and being in the 70lbs range I see the reason for a 300 spine now.
Yeah as he said the extra weight on the insert made the stiffer arrow the better option... FOC I guess would technically be contributing to spine selection since when you add weight it goes on the front of the shaft. But take say a FMJ vs an axis running the same brass insert, FOC is going to be drastically different but you still want a stiffer spine
