Ok, so I have been lurking on here since last season & after doing enough reading to make my eyes bleed I have a couple questions. I have my bow ready to go minus some sighting & range practice with whatever new arrow set-up I go with before hunting. Here are the (3) arrow selections I have been looking at recently. I decided after reading on arrows that for my 27" draw 55# bow a 300-360 should fit the bill just about right. That is if I read those charts properly, LOL. I was looking at the following: Easton Axis RealTree N-Fused w/HIT insert & 2" Blazer vanes listed as 340 w/10.3 GPI Easton "ST" Axis Full Metal Jacket N-Fused Camo Carbon w/HIT insert & 2" Blazer vanes listed as 340 w/11.3 GPI Easton Bloodline N-Fused w/2" blazer vanes (insert type not listed, assume HIT) listed as 330 w/8.7 GPI My question is this & I might have missed it in my reading, but what is the GPI number & how does it effect my shooting & arrow performance? Also kinda caught my eye that the 2 Easton Axis arrows were identical 340's with different GPI. I'll be hunting Whitetail here in Oklahoma & was curious which of these arrows would best suit my bow & hunting needs. I'm also looking at using the G5 Outdoor Montec CS fixed blade broadheads in 100 grain with a set of their practice broadheads for target shooting in the same grain weight.
GPI is Grains Per Inch. That number allows you to estimate the weight based on your arrow length. For example, at 10.3 GPI a 29 inch arrow will be 298.7 grains. Now that's without nock, vanes, insert or head. Personally I prefer a heavier arrow. A heavier arrow will not fly as fast but will be easier to tune and have similar KE to a light, super fast arrow. There is some debate that a heavier arrow will also have better penetration because more mass means more momentum. I agree with the heavier arrow concept so I'm shooting 28" CX piledriver pass-thru shafts with 100 grain tip, 44 grain PTX insert, NAP quickfletch and a nockturnal lighted nock for a total weight of about 485 grains.
Ok, that makes sense. And I read all about the debate between lighter/heavier arrows & the effects on kinetic energy due to the weight differences. My bow already isn't the fastest with a rating of 257-265fps arrow speeds. So just to make sure I got the GPI right on those, even if sold with insert, nock & vanes installed it still only references the shaft weight, correct? Or is that a true statement only if buying bare shafts? I'm gonna take a guess here & say since my bow isn't the fastest the Bloodline arrows would most likely be the better choice for me seeing as how those are only 8.7GPI? Seems like the rest as far as insert & vanes are identical between the choices listed and the Bloodlines are listing $20 cheaper per half dozen as well. My thinking on that was a slightly lighter arrow with a 100 grain tip should still have plenty of KE downrange. Unless I'm thinking backwards today, LOL. I was planning on adding the nockturnal lighted nocks as well.
Yes, GPI is how much each inch of arrow shaft weights. It does not include nock, vanes or insert weight. Honestly, any 'hunting' arrow with the correct spine will be sufficient. Humans have been killing deer with far less advanced equipment for thousands of years. I also figure if my dad had no problem killing deer with a 45lb recurve and wooden shafts (probably shooting under 200 fps), then just about any modern bow & arrow combination will work fine as long as you don't take stupid shots. You just have to find a happy medium between arrow speed and arrow weight. At either end of the scale your KE will suffer. A light arrow will go very fast but will have low KE. A very heavy arrow will have lots of mass but at extreme weights if there's not enough power behind it, it'll go slow and have poor KE as well. Just keep in mind, when in doubt it's always better to go with a slightly stiffer, heavier arrow than an underspined or too light of an arrow. Tuning can be a pain with an underspined arrow. You can do a lot of research and use some online calculators to estimate your speed, weight, KE, etc. (which requires knowing a lot of stats on your bow like draw weight, cam type, IBO). Alternatively, you can buy a half dozen arrows that will most likely work and then get a feel for how they perform. Then you can go improve from there by tweaking your bow or trying a different arrow setup. Also, just for your reference, some weight ranges for arrow parts: Nocks: 4 - 6 grains Inserts: 10 - 15 grains 2" Blazer vanes: 6 grains each NAP quickfletch quickspin: 33 grains each Nockturnal X (for small diameter shafts): 20 grains Nockturnal S (standard diameter): 24 grains
Yea, I know technology has come a long ways in bow hunting. sometimes I feel like almost too much advancement cause now there are so many stinking options & critical things to consider it can get confusing quick. When talking underspined, am I off base in thinking there would not be a noticeable difference between the Easton Axis N-fused which is a 340 versus the Bloodline which is a 330? I see the biggest difference being the 8.7GPI of the Bloodline versus the 10.3 of the Axis N-fused. Now I'm double guessing & thinking I should use the Axis for the extra KE I'd get from the increased grain weight.
When looking at the charts I found linked in other threads it put me in the 300-360 range. Here is some info on my bow incase I'm off base. PSE Deer Hunter 27" Draw @ 55#'s axle to axle: 38 1/4" 65% let off brace height: 7 5/8" speed: 257-265fps Thankx again guys for helping out.
Only problem I found with that is they do not show the style of cam that is on the PSE Deer Hunter. My bow has just (2) round cams, no egg shaped cams on this one. Does that have any effect on spine requirement? The chart I went off of was just broke down into draw length by draw weight & then you followed the boxes & it showed what spine was suggested based on those 2 factors.
Here is the chart I used while reading about arrows. After looking again, it does show me as needing a (4) which is listed as a .380-.420. Guess I must have read it wrong yesterday. Carbon Arrow University - Arrow Spine & Tip Weight
I see what you mean there is no choice for soft cam. Just try it with the medium cam and it will get you close
Ok, the Easton calculator put me at the following: Size/spine/weight(gpi): 2215/0.419/10.7 2117/0.407/12.0 400/0.400/CarbWt 400/0.400/8.9 So according to Bass Pro's arrow listings I can still use the Bloodline N-fused arrows but just move from the 330/8.7gpi to the 400/7.7gpi which is a even lighter arrow. I also noticed a Bloodline Carbon listed on Bass Pro and it spec'd out to 400/8.4gpi & are $10 a half dozen more expensive. Besides the difference in GPI, which of those 2 arrows would be the better choice? Once again thankx for the help.
Well, after doing some more digging I discovered the cheapo Walmart arrows I have been shooting are actually made by Carbon Express, they are the Wolverine 5060's. From doing a little research on them seem like alot of guys get pretty good results from them. does anyone on here have any insight on those? I already have a set of (6) I bought when I got the bow. Would they be worth keeping & using to hunt? Could save me $55 on arrows if so, granted $55 isn't much but none of us like to spend money when we don't "have" to. Only thing bothering me is I could not find any spine info or total GPI numbers for these arrows.
Well I kinda got my answer, looking over my arrows last night I discovered 3 of them had cracks in the nock area. Tossed 2 in the trash & used the 3rd one to draw back & have the wife mark with a sharpie. Remeasured & it appears I need a 29" arrow instead of the 31" ones I have been shooting. Looks like time to go buy some good arrows. I was pretty set on the Bloodline's but Bass Pro has the same price on the Gold Tip Expedition hunter's pre-cut to length. Which of these 2 arrows would better suit me? I see the Bloodline's list the spine rating while the gold Tip's just show 5575 which should be in the same range I'd assume. I have seen alot of guys talk about being happy with the Gold Tip's & not much about the Bloodline's. So which is actually the better arrow for the money?
