Arrows - order or build?

[CtP]

With all this talk about building and showing off arrows, there has to have been a starting point for everyone.

Well I'm at that starting point. It's coming down to arrow selection for me after piecing together my first bow. I've read pretty much every thread having to do with arrows; which ones members are using this year, Snyder's " who builds there own ", read alot on AT.

Is it worth the investment, for a beginner, to buy a jig, roller, cutter, squaring tool, ect for building my own?
or
Would you recommend to order some, built to specs and go from there?

Can anyone recommend, from experience or second hand, a good builder that I can order through?
I found a builder ( Michigander ) on AT that puts together some incredible looking arrows but I don't want to break the bank.

Thinking of either the FMJ or Axis n 'fused 400's based on what I'm shooting, Drenalin @ 65-70#'s at 27" DL.

I'm leaning toward ordering and after I get shooting for a while or get an archery season under my belt, start building.

Would you guys mind sharing how you got started with your arrow selection, trial and errors and what's worked best for you?

thanks

 

[Soutie]

I like the GT kinetic xt. Building is the way to go. No need to buy a cutter right away. Your arrow length will be somewhat consistant after setting up your bow and the shop you get your sfafts from will cut them for you no charge.. All you need is a fletching tool and supplies. I use ez mini and love it. You will want to tweak weight, weight forward, fletches, how many, helical, plain wraps, stylish wraps etc. to fine tune your arrows for your bow. Running back and fourth to a shop is too much hassle for me to accomplish all this. I just bought a weight wrench from GT so I can add weights to the back of the insert and try a few new setups.

 

[swat8888]

I started up building my own arrows. I only bought 6 fletched from the proshop when I got my bow so I could shoot right away. I did like you and read a ton about it on AT. I immediately switched from the fletched gold tips I bought with the bow to smaller diameter MFX bone collectors. I liked them a lot, although I am now sitting on a dozen Black Eagle rampage shafts that are even smaller diameter and a little less GPI since the MFX were just a tad too heavy and I wanted a flatter shooting arrow. I think it is just more rewarding to build everything yourself, it's fun to experiment. I now run 4 blazers on my arrows with 125gr slik tricks or shuttle t. I have the bitzenberger, but must admit I'm not a huge fan I'd like to try an AZ mini one day. I've tried everything and it is quite finicky to get all 4 vanes to go on right the first time. Aside from that I love building my own arrows and highly recommend it.

 

[Juan_ID]

I have been building my arrows since I got back into archery too, wouldn't have it any other way. I like being able to build my own stuff whenever possible, just save yourself a little money in the long run and buy a fletcher, sanding block, alcohol, some glue and have fun I'd say! And I would second the AZ mini fletch, it's easy to use and puts a good helical on the vanes which I like... Good luck!

 

[Inclose]

Jerry at South Shore Archery does a great job with arrows. He is very knowledgeable and will build them to what you want.

 

[c5mrr270]

I like building my own, that way I get exactly what I want. If your looking for a good builder I would look at south shore archery supply and Steve archery arrows. Their prices are decent and they cut, square, and align the spine on every shaft so you get some really consistent arrows. Also they can do custom wraps for you if you want.

 

[HurricaneHuge]

You don't generally save yourself money by building your own, but I find building my own just adds confidence to my set-up. Discard most of what you read on AT. Its often written by people who know little but believe that small knowledge is the only knowledge. What arrows you choose depends entirely on what you want to accomplish with that arrow. I currently shoot GT Kinetics, and I love heavier slow arrows. That being said, I'm also experimenting with GT Velocity arrows (Their speed hunting arrow) and adding weights to slow that arrow down with more FOC compared to the Kinetics. The building aspects lets you try different things without having to be locked into a dozen of one thing, and as I stated earlier, gives you the confidence that your arrows are properly made.

 

[Danielboone]

Jerry at South Shore Archery does a great job with arrows. He is very knowledgeable and will build them to what you want.

I have been building my own for many years, but if I had to buy them from someone else, Jerry would be the person.

 

[ckleeves]

Mountain archery has always done a very good job fetching and their prices are pretty good. Kinda fill the gap between the custom Fletchers and just getting pre- fletched from a box store.

 

[OR Archer]

Like was mentioned before you wont actually save money fletching your own arrows. But what you get is piece of mind and satisfaction that they are built to your standards. Tools id recommend are;

Bitzenburger Jig w/ a Right Helical Clamp
Firenock Arrow squaring device - can also double as an arrow spinner

These two items will help you build arrows and build them with good quality. As far as a saw Id just recommend that you have the shop you purchase your shafts from cut them for you when you purchase them. Most will do this with no additional charge.

 

[Ozz08]

If you are going to buy arrows(or unfletched shafts for that matter)do not buy them from anyone but Jerry at south shore archery. He is the best arrow guy period. He's fast too I get my shafts faster from him than I do my local shop.

 

[CtP]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. I'm gonna order a half a dozen from SSA to get started, then invest in my own tools.

Opinions on a good arrow build ( shaft, # of flecthings, type of fletchings and nock )to start with that is somewhat affordable?

I plannded to build and Axis n'fused, 03 3" duravanes with 3* offset, and a 100grain broadhead ( ramcat or shuttle T)/fieldpoint. After reading what most people are using and getting my KE numbers correct, I was thinking right around 400gr + - 10 for arrow weight. Drenalin 65-70#'s, 27" dl.

I'm not stuck on Axis n'fused. Just seemed like a good arrow that's not too expensive.

 

[HurricaneHuge]

I'd recommend the GT Kinetic XTs. The inserts are great at protecting your arrow shafts, add more to your FOC without the addition of weights, and allow you to add weight if you choose to increase FOC or overall arrow weight.

 

[larryschwartz]

My path was buying until I knew what I wanted and then I learned how to make my own, bought the equipment I needed and went at it. I can customize now with different fletching and cresting as I want and can also repair fletching as needed. If you plan to use carbon arrows having them cut to length will save you the cost of a cut-off saw, which would also be your biggest expense. I think that after you make a couple dozen arrows you will have recouped your cost of buying them from someone already made up.

 

[FemoralArchery]

I bought my first dozen fletched from Cabela's.

Ever since then, I've been building my own. I order custom wraps from a local sign shop, or online, there are a few good wrap makers out there that can design just about anything you want. I fletch my own: first used an Arizona EZ minifletch, and then switched to a Blazer complete tower jig. Its similar design to the minifletch, but I find it easier to use and less problems with glue sticking to it. Also the tower jig has a flat bottom which I screwed to a board and it sits in my vice while in use.

For cutting, I use a dremel tool with a skinny cutoff wheel. It doesn't make perfect cuts, but I also have a bench top sander with a disc and square the arrow up. Inserts I glue in with regular super glue. I use a small round brush and clean the inside of the shaft where the insert goes, screw in a field point in the insert for something to hold onto, dab a little super glue on the insert and twist it into the shaft to ensure the glue is spread evenly.

This isn't the conventional way to do it, but it works for me and I've done at least 10 dozen in the last year and not one has had a loose insert or any sort of "non squared" problems.

It seems like a daunting task at first. Now I can take a dozen from uncut shafts to ready to shoot in about 30 minutes. I've never had any training, I learned to do all of this myself. I live less than a block from a pro shop and I've never had them do anything for me. I don't think I would like archery if I couldn't do everything myself.