Hello everyone, I am a old member but a new poster. Back about 5-6 years ago I got into archery and like many of my hobbies i wanted a more hands on approach, so I got into making my own arrows. However as life would have it I fell into some really hard times and I have been out of practice for 4 years. I've come to find out I'm having to pretty much relearn everything bow hunting related. So my life story aside I need some help with all this arrow talk. I've been browsing the forums and reading articles about dynamic spines and static, about speed vs sound vs penetration and honestly I am more confused then when I started off. I have Beman ICS hunter arrows 400 8.4gpi, at 28 3/4 inchs with a 100 grain tip. I use feathers, why? I honestly can't remember but I do recall it have some advantages over other fletching and it was something that was different. Fletching itself is another science that confuses me. My bow is a Hoyt alphamax 35. I believe it is a 70-80 pound bow set at 70 pounds. My draw length is 30" if I recall correctly. I use a drop away trophey taker arrow rest. It's been a long time since I've shot so my aim isn't great as it is. But yet sometimes I'll have a great group and one arrow decides it wants to go far right or left. I honestly have little practice with my feather arrows, I use to shoot plastics and could get 1" groups at 100 yards. In the end though I just want an arrow that I can put down deer and pigs with. So now that you guys know what I use to shoot and what I own. Can anyone give me advice on what arrow and fletching combo I should use? Or should I just stick with what I have now? Thanks for any time and help you guys offer and I'm sorry for the long story. Just figured the more info the better you guys could help me.
Def underspined...I would shoot a 340 or a 300....weight depends on what you are trying to achieve in terms of total arrow weight. I shoot Gold Tip Kinetic XT's 300 spine 10.4 gpi with some weight up front for a FOC of 13% fletched with Norway Fusion 3" vanes. There are tons of great arrow out there, I would do some research on a bunch and see what catches your eye. Def go to a pro-shop and see what they offer there and let them steer you in the right direction also since you have been out of the game for a little bit. Welcome back and good luck!
If you think it may be one or two arrows, mark them and try shooting groups without them. See if you group better. It could be just those arrows giving you problems. If you're having problems with all your arrows then I agree with the above, you may be underspined with that arrow and your bow setup. To be sure you'd have to paper tune and see if your arrows are flying straight or not or get someone with a good eye to watch your arrow flight to see if they're flying tail-happy (Meaning you can see the arrow wobble back and forth in flight). If you are underspined, you need to change dynamic spine to make the arrow "act" more stiff. To do that you can change a few variables or get different arrows. Those variables are: total arrow weight, arrow stiffness and energy put into the arrow (draw weight). Obviously the easiest though not the cheapest method is to just get a stiffer arrow and shoot it with the same head and fletchings. If that's not an option, you can make a soft arrow "act" stiffer a few different ways. You can decrease your draw weight. This reduces the energy going into the arrow and brings it more inline to what a softer arrow can handle. You can also decrease head/point weight. This reduces the load at the front of the arrow at launch and can help correct flight problems right off the rest. If you're having flight problems out at range though, this may not help much. Lastly you can shorten your arrows. This helps to increase stiffness (think how easy it is to bend a long stick as opposed to a short one. Same principle applies here). The downside to this is you lose overall arrow weight, downrange momentum and penetration. Also obviously you can't "undo" this change since you're cutting shafts. I'd start with reducing draw weight and go from there. Lastly regarding fletching, I have no experience with feathers but I can say with certainty that if you want to go back to plastic, try out the NAP quickspins. They really do put a spin on the arrow and make them fly better in my opinion. Sorry for the long post but hope this helps you.
I also prefer feathers over vanes. you might try the 2 inch RAZR feather and see if that reminds me why you did. reasons for me: they are lighter than vanes which helps increase FOC a little. with a helical fletch has been very accurate with a variety of fixed broadheads. Feathers give if they brush something in flight. Only downside I see with feathers is possible increased wear if using a whisker biscuit, which I don't.
