I shoot a 27 inch draw with a VPA 100 grain vented broadhead out of a 60# Hoyt Nitrum turbo. A 500 spine VAP arrow is pretty light by the standards of a lot of discussions I have read on the site lately. I just don't want to take a chance if I have a great animal in front of the pins, but boy do I like the way these things fly at targets!
I like an arrow weight of at least 470 grs. I shoot 64# at 250 fps with my arrow set up using 125 gr BH and Gold Tip small dia arrows at 9.5 gpi.
I am sure you will get all sorts of opinions.
My best, Paul
Per the charts, a .400 spine was fine but I went with the .300 spine to gain arrow weight and strength and then tipped it with the 92 GR SS insert/outsert for a total weight of 440 grains.
The VAPS are an extremely accurate and consistent arrow (practiced with them out to 100 yds).
What I didn't like was I felt they broke too easily, so I tested the Easton Injexion (.330 spine) and have found them to be a very accurate AND durable arrow....it is rare that I ever break one.
IF you wanted to shoot the VAPS, I would really suggested spining up to at least the .350 and .300 would be better. Even though you will be "technically way overspined" I am sure they will shoot great.
My "theory" is that the Injexions have a weave embedded in the carbon that makes it more durable VS the 100% carbon VAPS.
Good luck, lots of good options out there today,
Mark
With that said, I killed my first bull in 2012 with a VAP. Skinny shafts do have advantages (bucking crosswind, arguably better penetration), but their Achilles heel is a weaker insert/outsert.
I have a really fine shop where I live and they love these arrows so I bought some and have been shooting them in the back 40 at targets for several months. At 60 yards in the wind they are awesome for accuracy. However, just a little concerned about animal penetration. I have not seen an outsert bend but probably just not used them enough so I really appreciate the advice. I have had problems with the factory "green" nocks. They are awful and all had to be replaced.
Good advice on the Easton injection.
Love reading the site. I am a busy doctor at a children's hospital and this is my way of connecting with something I love and a little way to get away from the stress.
These are the arrows!
ElkNut1
BTW, I tore the medial head of my gastroc 2 years ago and it was very painful, but did heal nicely, so hang in there and do the rehab.
Thanks also for the suggestion on easton deep six FMJ. I did not know there were non-Easton outserts which solves the deep six broadhead limitation. I have always liked FMJ's, but the micro diameter seem to have flight advantages especially in wind.
I do not hunt large meadows where the wind might be an issue with arrow flight. I would expect this might be similar with other elk hunters on this site.
Paul
Trying to figure out how to load a pic...
krieger's Link
ElkNut1
My set-up shoots through elk like there made of butter.
So is there a real benefit to micro diameter arrows for hunting?
Make sure you get your BH's to spin perfect- which was hard to do. The shafts were fine but the system failed. The tolerances of those outserts were bad and the weak spot of that whole system in more ways than one.
To answer your question, IMHO, there are two advantages:
-when paired with the right broadhead, they have "significantly" less wind drift than standard sized shafts but you have to shoot beyond 40 yards to see the real benefit.
-long distance (beyond 60 yards) consistent accuracy in practice is excellent. I enjoy shooting a lot at 80-100 yards and it has drastically helped me fine tune my shooting. Now a 40 yard shot with the pressure of a live animal comes much easier.
-although the micros penetrate much better than standard sized shafts on targets, I don't necessarily buy the mfgs penetration argument on live game. I was getting pass throughs just as much with standard sized shafts when I shot them 4+ years ago... A pass through is a pass through.
Hope this helps,
Mark
But the VAP elites look great spec wise. I might try a few out?
It would be nice if Easton would use that manufacturing process to make a larger dia. shaft to fit standard components.
I've been using Goldtips for some time now, but their quality last year wasnt very good in the Pro series shafts. I'm looking into other arrows because of this.
The Easton injections they are skinny and thick walled and very tough.