Before we start: A) I know most folks kill a mess of deer with light & fast arrow set-ups, I already agree they work the vast majority of the time. B) I'm not suggesting that anyone else change what they are doing. If you have killed a ton of deer with your arrow & broadhead combo, that's awesome. C) I'm not even trying to give the impression that I know what I'm doing. That said, a couple weeks ago I ordered up one of Sirius Archery's Ranch Fairy test kits, and ran through the 'handload' process. Doing this I figured out what my bow likes when I'm shooting it. So I ordered up 1/2 dozen of the Ranch Fairy easy button arrows which arrived this weekend. I finally got the chance to go out back and shoot them & re-sight in my bow with the new arrows. They are shooting great, bow is very quiet, and they are hitting hard. Very happy so far. Finished arrows with 100gr insert and 200gr head came out at ~680gr total, 19.2% FOC. (Pictures are groups from 15yds)
Curious... if sig is right your DW is 62lbs and draw is 28.5 - nearly identical to me. What was the lightest arrow in your run throughs you shot and what was your heaviest? At what weight did you start feeling like you'd hit the sweet spot for your bow?
Yes, sig is correct. 62#, 28.5 drawlength I got the 250/300 spine set up with points from 200-300gr. My bow liked all the weights with the 250, the 300s wouldn't fly well with any of the weights. Since mine liked the 200s, and it is relatively easy to get 200gr heads, that's what I went with. I'll probably order the 100-200 set of points and try those again with the 300's at some point.
I may not have explained, but I parsed together from your response what I was asking. Folks pulling at least 60 lbs and more than 27 inch draw...I've always found somewhere from 550 total arrow eight to 650 total arrow weight to be what the bow likes most.
I didn't know Ranch Fairy made arrows up for people. That's pretty sweet! Glad to hear they are working out.
Hehe, he doesn't the folks at Sirius have one they call this. Apollo or Vulcan shafts, 100gr Ethics insert and 4 fletched. I'm very pleased with them. Had to nock tune 1 out of the 6, that's it.
Gotcha! I think you are probably right, that's why I'll circle back and try the 300's with lighter points. Mine just happened to like ~680-780, but I only had the heavier points to try, as I was looking to get over 650 if possible.
I don't know that there is a criteria, Shooting different spines with different point weights helps you figure out what flies best bareshaft.
A note passed from a friend; "do you like me, check yes or no." That, and a swipe right pretty much guarantees a coffee date.
Okay - this is what I was looking for. I'm trying to understand the process. So you shoot a bare shaft with different point weights to determine which flies the best?
it is amazing how things swing along the spectrum.. back in the the 2000-2012 era, light arrows and speed were everything. Even still today every company touts their IBO speeds. the industry was all about hitting that 300 fps with a hunting set up, I am assuming with most of these 550+ gr arrows are 250 and under, unless you have a 30'+ DL..no?
yep, I got 250 spine and 300 spine shafts, cut to my length, and field points in 200, 225, 250, 275, and 300 grains.
550 can be done with a 300 pretty easy, depending on draw weight, etc. I can't speak from experience on those. 650+ is probably going to be a 250 or under unless the bow is lighter. my bow is rated IBO at 330 (70# draw weight I think), but with a super light arrow.
@Justin The process for me all started with arrow selection....and I errored just on the stiffer side of spine when I settled on my Black Eagle Deep Impacts. Once I settled on it, I'll fully admit I bought mine pre-fletched which I shouldn't have and done this all bareshaft, but yup like Tate said you essentially start shooting various set ups and weights...get ready to try inserts of various weights as well as tips. I'm not going to be able to do weights purely off memory but I know my combos were as follows on top of my arrows: Standard Outsert + 100 gr Standard Outsert + 125 gr Standard Outsert + 200 gr Stainless Outsert + 100 gr Stainless Outsert + 125 gr Stainless Outsert + 200 gr Now I had already planned on desiring a heavier than most build...I honestly should have purchased two different spines and also ran through stuff in the same style. The higher weight I went the more consistent I was flinging arrows, target wobble got less and less (penetration killer) and groupings honestly kept getting tighter. These are all things you can tangibly see and witness, watching the wobble disappear and your arrows not shake at impact is insane if you film them and slow it down. For me feel is a large part of it as well....and purely in my hand and head the heavier I got the better it felt. Chalk that up purely as a pre-conceived biasness after reading up on Ashby and all his works...or the simple fact I'm not addicted to speed and love how quieter the bow's actual shot gets the heavier you get (I keep saying I want to see if I can decibel check this somehow).
Only those swayed by marketing ploys fell for that mindset though. Honestly I'd love to see IBO's listed with various weights, to truly assist folks in realistic expectations. I always knew any modern compound was plenty fast enough and didn't care - fully admit minority mindset however.
Im looking at going heavier. not sure if i should go with the piledrivers in 350 cut to 26.5" with 100 gr tip or GT kenetic hunter 340 cut the same length and 100 gr tip. the piledriver will be in the 445 gr range bit the GT will would about 425 gr.. For me, that would be heavy since I currently shoot sub 400 gr.
Where do you guys find the time? Seriously it would take me a month of sundays to shoot all those setups
