Arrow build
General Topic
Contributors to this thread:
I currently shoot a 340 FMJs, standard HIT insert, 125 grain broad head. Shooting at 273 FPS. I am thinking of trying out a 340 Axis, 50 grain brass insert, 25 grain Iron Will Collar, 125 grain head. My new set up would be 10 grains heavier and give me more weight up front. Trying to create an arrow that will be tougher and give me better penetration. Input would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds solid. What is your draw length, draw weight, and bow?
Shooting a Hoyt Double XL, 28 inch draw, 73 lbs.
Might be better to go to a 300 Axis. The collar will fix the inherent problem with HIT equipped shafts. You will have a nearly indestructible arrow with that set up.
If I went with a 10 grain collar and 300 Axis, I would be about 30 grains heavier than my current set up, and probably shooting 12 FPS slower. That would put me in the 261 FPS range I am guessing. Not sure if I would really notice that or not.
If I went with 300 Axis, 10 grain Collar, 50 grain brass insert and switched from 125 grain broad head to 100 grain I would be 5 grains Heavier than my current setup.
The small amount of drop in trajectory is more than worth the benefits of momentum.
At 73 pounds you could go up 100s of grains in weight and not see much loss in trajectory until you get past 40 yards.
What does your current arrow weigh, all in, with the 125 head?
Appreciate the reply’s! Current arrow weight is 501 grains. My thought process going into this was to build an arrow similar in weight, that would tougher and give me better penetration. Trying not to lose FPS or trajectory if possible.
Are you having penetration issues now?
JMO, if you want tougher and more penetration, look at your broadhead first. Narrower heads with less aggressive blade angles (longer, slimmer profile) just penetrate more easily...
I started shooting QAD Exodus last year. Unfortunately I never got to shoot an elk. I did shoot a deer and antelope and had no penetration issues. I really have zero complaints with my current setup. If I found a setup that I thought would be even better I wouldn’t be afraid to try it though. Maybe I am overthinking it, reading to many forums and listening to to many podcasts as I wait for season to start. Haha
Check the charts, but I think your proposed arrow would be way underspined. I shoot a 340 Axis cut at 27.5", std HIT, 10 gr footer and 125 gr. pt. It spines fine for my 65# bow but it is too weak at 70# (27.5 DL, Hoyt Turbo cam).
All I can tell you is that a lot of guys have zero penetration issues with trad gear that puts out a modest fraction of the KE that you’ve got to work with.... but the head you’re using is not particularly efficient. The manufacturer may think there’s an up-side to a short, stubby head, but look at it this way - if you had to push a very large wheelbarrow full of gravel up a ramp to a height of 6’... would you rather have a 10-foot ramp or a 20-footer?
Because the ramp angle on that Exodus looking more like an 8-foot.
And when a steep-angled blade like that contacts something hard like a leg bone, laws of physics say that the head is going to be deflected at about 90 degrees from its initial line of travel, which will kick the nock-end of your arrow HARD off-line, and now you’re trying to push your arrow through the animal at some really challenging angle; instead of following the point all the way through, the nock end is now trying to pass on the outside.
A longer, slimmer head - or even a longer head of the same width - is far less disruptive to the arrow’s line of settled flight, so a lot more of the KE is conserved for straight-line penetration.
And I know a lot of guys will say “Oh, but that doesn’t apply to compounds, because they have so much KE to begin with...”
Which OBVIOUSLY explains how it is that guys shooting 40 or 45 pound longbows at 150 fps can sail their entire arrow clean out the far side of a deer while the celebrity hotshots shooting 70 pound hard-cam speedbows seemingly can’t put one of their sponsor’s big mechanicals more than half-way through a deer of comparable size....
So when you shoot that Elk you’ve always dreamed of, do you want to smack him really hard to make sure he runs like hell, or do you want him to stand there wondering where that big-ass horsefly came from?
Efficiency - it’s A Thing!