Anyone go back to .246 arrows
Equipment
Has anyone on here gone back to .246s? I’ve shot a .204 or .166 for going on 20 years. Recently I bought some cheap .246 for birds.
I’ve shot several vane combo’s on both setups, different tip weights and arrow lengths. So far the cheap.246s has come out as good on every 300 round and fix blade test.The only thing I haven’t been able to do is shoot them side by side at 100+ yards.
If you’re wondering why all the tests, it’s is because I can’t believe some 50 dollar a dozen set of arrows should be as good as 130ish dollar sets.
All arrows are spun before cutting, and as much of the imperfections are cut off as possible. Anyone else going down this road?
Skinnies are victory and carbon express .166s 350s, and I’m factoring in shaft diameter while shooting 300 rounds.
Never left. Been shooting these for several years, shot GT 'Hunters' before that.
Even cheaper - the 'V6' models, not quite as straight (.006) but good enough for 20 yard indoor work.
Does seem an odd question, but I suppose stickbow shooters are a little goofy that way. ;)
I sure wish I were a good enough shot to believe myself when I said that I could shoot the difference between shafts at $10 apiece vs half that…. ;p
I never left them either. I tried to shoot some RIP TKOs a few weeks ago. The arrows ended up being underspined but in the process of building them it reminded me how much I hate HIT inserts. There is no measurable advantage over .246 for me. The standard diameter inserts are so much better in my opinion. I’m sure many love the .204 and the .166 but I’ll keep shooting 6mm arrows until I can’t shoot any longer.
Really comfortable with the 4mm Victory shafts. 6mm seems so big..
Talking compound not the stick lol. It’s hard enough to hit a paper plate with that.
Killed a ton of animals with .246 shafts, but started using smaller diameter for hunting several years ago. Last year I got tired of switching back to them after 3d season with .246, so I just stayed with them. The older I get the less I like messing with changes like that. I’ll just stick with the .246 for for a while, just add weight for the hunting. I’ve never noticed a difference in penetration, and living where I do I get to shoot a lot. I’ve tested wind drift on windy days at my place by shooting from behind my barn protected from wind. Drift is not as bad as you’d think out to 60 on breezy days. Arrows do drift some with broadheads, but again I noticed no difference with .204 vs .246 in drift. Levi Morgan might though.
Never left. Gold tip since they’ve been out. Usually shoot just as good with the .006 as the .003/.001 straightness as well
Been shooting the .246 for years, never had a reason to change and have all the components handy for stickbow tuning. Additionally they tend to be more affordable
Second shot of the day yesterday. In fairness, I was shooting at the orange spot, so yeah, I was about 8 1/2” low. I guess that’d put me off the plate. ;)
Second shot of the day yesterday. In fairness, I was shooting at the orange spot, so yeah, I was about 8 1/2” low. I guess that’d put me off the plate. ;)
“It’s hard enough to hit a paper plate with that.”
That’d be a Choice.
Sights make hitting your target EASIER. They don’t make it POSSIBLE.
Adam, aren’t you mainly a rifle hunter? Why not just buy great arrows for the few times you use a bow?
I’ve been a rifle hunter up here lol, the only animal I haven’t shot yet is a sheep. So it’s back to archery now. I have several dozen great arrows now. This all started when I started seeing where the ptarmigan arrows were hitting. The groups with the cheap arrows and expensive arrows are similar. I doubt I’ll just switch to cheap arrows but I’ll definitely think about the price next time.
Used to hunt with 2514’s. Those things were telephone poles
Yeah, some of those linecutter specials make wonderful footings for 22 /64” and 23/64” woodies… You can even use the RPS inserts up front for convenience…
Love my .204's. Hated HIT's until I started installing the tip and insert as a single unit with hot melt. Adding a collar makes it an extremely robust meat missile.
I quit buying the .001 straightness shafts once I started measuring the runout with a dial indicator. I buy the .003 or even .006 if available. Cutting off both ends, I haven't had a shaft over .001" out of straightness yet and the vast majority are pretty much dead nuts.
I never moved away from them.
Yep, Accmos and Linkboy shafts. $30-$35 a dozen.
Straightness and spine is excellent.…and the finish is much better than the Easton shafts.
I don't see any advantage to skinnier shafts. Switched from aluminum to standard carbon in 2008 and have never deviated from standard since.
I also never left them. Currently shoot victory vforce. No complaints here.
I sold every shaft made from 2000 - 2015. The absolute worst shaft I ever shot was the Victory VAP. I bought them for 900 round target shooting. What a pile of crap! Although I had good luck with the HIT inserts, I have gone back to the standard carbons for personal use. I also just don't like hassle of building the skinny shafts. There was a stretch of time when I was building arrows 4 hours a day every day. It was a giant PITA to switch my jig turntable from standard carbons to skinny's.
Xman, I’m starting to think the skinnies are just more finicky in general.
I've tried some skinny arrows, meh. .246 for me.
I got tired of spending $100 for a dozen shafts…with the finish they put on those Eastons now wearing the finish off quickly. Skinny shafts- Ha, what a joke ( and $$) getting the right components that will get your BH’s to spin true-
I like to shoot in the woods on a hunt to stay sharp. I know guys shooting $45 hunt arrows ( thats each) its no wonder they don’t want to shoot at a rotten stump.
I did a comparison of roughly equivalent shafts from the same manufacturer, and when you went down a step skinnier the price went up $30 a dozen. (Equivalent material, straightness tolerance, etc.) So 246-204-166 prices were $100, $130 and $160 respectively.
Ya know what? I ain't shooting rhinoceruses. (Rhinoceri?) I seem to remember that white tails would die if you shot them with a 2315, tipped with a Razorback 5.
We sel a lot of the .246 diameter shafts at the shop. Why? Because they are cheap. It's that simple.
THe Gold Tip Hunters are .006, same as the Victory VForce Sport shafts. The XT's are .003, same as the Victory VForce Gamer shafts. And yes, the inserts are interchangable.
With .166 and .204 diameter shafts, it isn't that hard to fletch them. I don't understand why guys say they're harder to fletch. The .166 diamter shafts do cut the wind better, a lot better. Why do you think the outdoor target guys ain't using a .246 diameter shaft. Plus, its easier to build a better foc arrow with a .166 shaft then a .246 shaft. Plus, with todays components, you can build a better, stronger arrow then a .246 shaft. Plus, the .166 shaft will weigh more, especailly the TKO shafts from Victory, then a .246 shaft.
I had to edit. Because I’m stupid sometimes.
Target archery and hunting are two entirely different things. And, if the wind is strong enough that you can’t shoot a .246 arrow, then a micro shaft isn’t going to help you that much.
Shoot what you like by all means. But, there’s a ton of excellent .246 shafts to choose from. A ton of components. And, thousands of tons of dead meat produced by them. Why would you shoot something that requires more investment but, nothing but paper gain.
“I did a comparison of roughly equivalent shafts from the same manufacturer, and when you went down a step skinnier the price went up $30 a dozen..”
That kinda makes sense, though, doesn’t it? Larger diameter tubing is stiffer than narrow, so the narrow requires thicker walls to achieve a given spine.
The thicker walls likely take more materials to produce (I guess GPI would answer that), and I’d hazard a guess that they take more time as well. If they also have a higher reject rate, the production costs could add up pretty quickly…
Besides— they’re COOLER than “fat” arrows. ;)
But if you’re running a shop and you can upsell your customers, that’s good for business (big difference between Upsell and ripping people off, of course)…
And people just don’t buy arrows like they used to. I don’t know anyone who goes through ’em as fast as I do, though (LOL). No casualties today, come to think of it… I guess that’s what happens when you don’t take so many shots from Stupid Long….
Anyway, NOT saying there’s no benefit to skinny arrows, but they just feel wrong between my fingers…
