After being on this website for a bit now, I have seen the strong recommendation to go for heavier arrows, which makes sense to me as far as getting more penetration goes. Question I have is what is the best way to do this with existing arrows? I still have about 8 left from a dozen I bought a year ago and the inserts are already installed. Would like to add some weight to these without having to buy new arrows.
How much weight are you looking to add? It could be as simple as changing tips. There are also weights that will screw into the back side of some inserts via a long wrench and also flexible weights that slide inside of the arrow shaft. Sent from my XT1030 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Thanks, I was unaware of this. I am assuming that you want the weight as far forward on the arrow as possible?
Yes - you want the weight on the front of the arrow. If you're looking at arrows that already have inserts in them something like the Gold Tip FACT system works great. They are small weights that screw onto the back of your insert using a long allen key to install and remove them. You can stack them up for various weight combinations. IMO it's a better system than just shooting a 125 grain broadhead namely because it allows you to experiment with different combinations, AND some of the more popular broadheads are only made in 100 grains. Keep in mind that adding weight to the front of your arrow is going to reduce your spine a bit. So if you're already underspined, or close to it, adding too much weight can be a bad thing. Obviously you'll also need to readjust your sight to accommodate for the added weight. https://www.goldtip.com/Components/FACT-System/FACT-Weight-System.aspx
Awesome, thanks for the link. What do you mean by under-spined? Is that the flexibility/hardness of the spine?
HI Bob yes the spine is the stiffness of the arrow the factors at play are the length of the arrow the draw weight of the bow and the weight of the other items aft weight adds to the spine and forward or tip weight subtracts from the spine. As much weight as possible forward is a good thing heavy foc (front of center) Get on line and you will find your arrow in a chart that will show the correct spine for the length and draw weight from that point you can start your build. I look for the lightest GPI arrow so that I end up at the max foc. Also QDMA has some good articles on this as well as hunters Freind arrow school (ha ha )
Thanks for the help everyone! It's cool learning more and more about ways to become more proficient with my equipment.
This is something I have been thinking about since our season ended. Right now I am shooting a 383 grain arrow with an 11.9% FOC. My arrow weight is low compared to all of the reading I have been doing on here and elsewhere. I currently shoot 100 grain heads so I could bump them up to 125 to help some. The Gold Tip weights that Justin posted would be a cheaper alternative to buying 6 new heads and would also give me more flexibility in how much I want to add. I had an old 125 grain head laying around and putting it on my arrow moved my FOC to 13.6%. Considering my current weight and FOC, can you guys recommend which route might be best for me? If I choose to go with the weight system for my inserts, about how much I should add to start with?
What type of broadhead are you shooting? I shot sub-400 grain arrows for a few years with a small fixed-blade head and still passed cleanly through 90% of the deer I shot
Many of my Traditional setups shoot heavy shafts. There are a few things you can do for more weight without adding more FOC or changing your spine. You can get weight tubes that fit inside the arrows you are currently shooting, while adding weight they do not alter the arrow spine. I have also had luck with filling the arrows with dry coffee grounds. I have a friend who has even used salt( this will add a great deal of weight) doubled over weed whacker line works too, you may need to twist this up a bit to keep it from rattling. Most of this is just for experimentation without a lot of expense( weight tubes run about a buck apiece in 3, 5 and 8 grains per inch)
I guess the real question is what arrow are you shooting and what is your set-up... Lots of guys don't really know what the actual weight is... I'm not assuming you don't, but not assuming you do either... An average insert weighs 21 grains, blazer vanes weigh 5 grains per vane, and nocks if using a standard nock are 7-11 grains... adding that plus the weight of your tip/FP/BH to the actual arrow weight may change your thought a little. There is no doubt that shooting a little heavier arrow can be your friend because it helps maintain momentum, and arguably, oftentimes makes your bow more efficient as well as quieter, but those gains also come at a loss of speed, and require some re-tuning. Also haphazardly adding weight may throw your spine off and create tuning problems you don't want to deal with. In the overall realm, you may be just as well off to buy a dozen arrows that are a better fit for your set-up, rather than trying to tweak arrows that may or may not be a good fit...
