Help me choose new Arrows!!

[Dylan Sluis]

I did the rip TKOs for my build, finished at 495 gr with 185gr up front. Feel like that will be plenty stout with an IW HIT and collar without giving up much speed. Mine are 250 spine though with a 31 inch draw and 72-73 pounds.

I am a 28.5" draw length and 70 lbs. I am either gonna go with 175-200 grains up front. So i can get an FOC close to 15%

 

[TCUHunter34]

This may open some avenues people haven’t thought of yet. I have my system dialed in really well.

Victory VAP .250 with the Day Six collar. I believe it’s for their .350 spine arrow. If you need a different spines arrow, see if DaySix has a collar that fits what you need.

I use an IronWill but can shoot any broadhead I want that takes a standard insert. This converts a 4mm arrow to accept any standard broadhead with some of the very best components out there.

To me, this is the best of the best.

 

[coyotecreek]

Gold Tip Kinetic Kaos would put you in that weight range and be under $200. You could add 10 or 20 grain fact weights up front if you wanted more FOC. They have performed very well on whitetails, elk, and African game for us.

 

[Billy Goat]

I started using .204's about 15 years ago and started with the Axis 300. I still have those arrows. The only reason I don't use them much anymore is because I have always been able to find other .204's that were more consistently accurate. But I still use some with judo points for grouse and rabbits and whenever I know I'll be hitting rocks and such. They've always held up fine.

Since that time I've used probably 7 or 8 different types of .204's. The only ones I've seen any kind of issues on with the ends, were the Black Eagle Rampage 250's, and GT Kinetic XT 200's. All the others I've used have been perfectly fine using just HIT's. I can't say the same for any regular diameter arrows I've used. They can't even handle shooting 2x6's.

I'm currently shooting RIP TKO Elite 250's and I really like them. I also have some Sirius Apollo 250's, but like the RIP TKO's better so far.

I get what you are saying, but when was the last time you shot .246's?

I shot GT hunters in 2010 for a little bit and they were the worst arrow I had ever shot for durability. Fast forward a decade and they are pretty bullet proof. I think the materials, mainly the resins improved tremendously in the time. So for the same reason you see increased durability out of the .204's, the .246s are way better as well. I can remember using the trophy ridge arrows, and they were fantastic, really ahead of anything else at the time.

I still see more problems in general from .204's than .246's. Things as simple as a loose point put all the load on the epoxy of the hit, where a standard insert has the glue and is shouldered against the shaft, even if the arrow got shot with a loose point, it still loads over more surface than it can with just a hit. And the glue can bed the lip of the outset to the face of the shaft, so even if the end of the shaft isn't squared to have a flat mating surface, glue will fill the void and bed everything together.

I put .246 arrows into oak trees on occasion. Takes some tools to get them out, but they don't get damaged. 2×6's certainly aren't a problem. Few weeks ago I had a pro hunter deflect off some brush and hit a tree sideways. It was unaffected, except the nock. That thing was Mia.

I think for the most part .204's are good arrows, but I don't find them any more bullet proof than a decent .246.

 

[5MilesBack]

I am a 28.5" draw length and 70 lbs. I am either gonna go with 175-200 grains up front. So i can get an FOC close to 15%

My RIP TKO 250's are cut to 30" with 75gr brass HIT's and 125's, so 200gr up front. 500gr total weight and I have no idea what the FOC is. I just needed that much weight to get them up to 500gr like most of my other arrows. I shoot almost 33" draw at 75lbs.

 

[5MilesBack]

I get what you are saying, but when was the last time you shot .246's?

I tried and then sold some Black Eagle Spartans last year.......just too fragile. I sold all my ACC 3-71's recently as well........just too fragile. I also have some regular Victory Vforce V1's, and some HV1's as well. Yes, the HV1's are ridiculously fragile at only 6.9gpi. But they work great for 3D when there aren't any speed limits.

 

[Billy Goat]

what .246s do you like? Looking at the Easton 6.5s have some velocity xts right

Currently I have mainly been using Gold Tip in a .246 shaft. There's a world of difference from the velocity/ultra lights and the hunters. That 3/4 gpi is about double the durability.


I think weight is a good indicator of durability. For a hunting shaft in 300 spine I think you want a minimum of 9.0 gpi for much durability.

 

[Billy Goat]

I tried and then sold some Black Eagle Spartans last year.......just too fragile. I sold all my ACC 3-71's recently as well........just too fragile. I also have some regular Victory Vforce V1's, and some HV1's as well. Yes, the HV1's are ridiculously fragile at only 6.9gpi. But they work great for 3D when there aren't any speed limits.

Those are all pretty thin wall .246's to be fair.

I really think it's the materials make the strength, but tube size does play a role in strength of materials. The larger the tube, the thinner it can be to handle the same amount of weight. So to some degree I can see that to have a .300 spine in a smaller diameter arrow it is going to take more material to stiffen it, making it stronger. But conversely, a larger diameter makes it stronger as well, cones down to what forces its actually going to take.


I just haven't seen enough out of .204's for me to use them.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

Fan of Easton axis. They haven’t done me wrong.

With the easton axis. Have you had any issues with nock tuning to get the spine in a certain spot. The only thing I have against them is that you don't know where the spine of the arrow is. Where victory Arrows already align that for you.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

With the easton axis. Have you had any issues with nock tuning to get the spine in a certain spot. The only thing I have against them is that you don't know where the spine of the arrow is. Where victory Arrows already align that for you.

IMO "spine aligned" is a marketing ploy with little to no practical benefit. Even if you do orient each arrow with the "stiff side" (as determined by a manufacturer's alignment mark or by rolling the arrows on a spine tester yourself) in the same position, that doesn't guarantee you won't need to nock tune. I personally wouldn't let "spine alignment" (or lack thereof) influence my arrow decision.

 

[D S 319]

With the easton axis. Have you had any issues with nock tuning to get the spine in a certain spot. The only thing I have against them is that you don't know where the spine of the arrow is. Where victory Arrows already align that for you.

I typically find the spine myself with a tester. I haven’t had much of an issue with getting them to group together.

 

[bojangles808]

Currently I have mainly been using Gold Tip in a .246 shaft. There's a world of difference from the velocity/ultra lights and the hunters. That 3/4 gpi is about double the durability.

Wait the 300 velocity xts are 8.8 gpi. Are you thinking of another arrow? I think they're only .8 gpi less than the hunters in 300 spine

 

[Billy Goat]

Wait the 300 velocity xts are 8.8 gpi. Are you thinking of another arrow? I think they're only .8 gpi less than the hunters in 300 spine

Right. .8 or 3/4 of a grain lighter.

 

[Billy Goat]

With the easton axis. Have you had any issues with nock tuning to get the spine in a certain spot. The only thing I have against them is that you don't know where the spine of the arrow is. Where victory Arrows already align that for you.

The marks on the victory shafts seem accurate about 75% of the time for me. I will start with them, but out of a dozen I'll still turn a handful of nocks. Last dozen it was at least 3 needed to be turned from the alignment marks when actually shooting them.

 

[5MilesBack]

I really think it's the materials make the strength, but tube size does play a role in strength of materials.

Those GT Kinetic XT 200's I have are some of the most fragile arrows I've shot, and they're 11.6 gpi with thick walls. I broke 18 of those in three years, mostly well behind the HIT inserts. I shot my TR Crush 300's which are 11 gpi for 7 years and didn't break any. But I also believe that weaved carbon arrows (like the TR, Sirius, and RIP TKO's) are more durable.

 

[bojangles808]

Right. .8 or 3/4 of a grain lighter.

Ah gotcha that makes sense now thanks for clarifying. Rly that three quarters of grain makes the hunters thatuch more stout? The velocity's have worked well for me so far

 

[Billy Goat]

Ah gotcha that makes sense now thanks for clarifying. Rly that three quarters of grain makes the hunters thatuch more stout? The velocity's have worked well for me so far

I think it's a significant difference the durability of them.

 

[Franger]

With the snyder core system. Do you have to use iron will broadheads and field points? Cause to me it looks like you do. And that eliminates it for me. I don't want to have to spend $100 every time I need a new pack of broadheads.

How many broadheads do you need? I’ve shot my test head into dense foam perhaps 30 times during tuning a I’d not hesitate to hunt with it. I think I have six heads and In theory, I won’t need more for a very very long time.

As far as Snyder Core goes, it’s not a crazy technological advancement, it’s just a more robust system. To get the benefits of Snyder Core, you need a broadhead with a .166 shank that is rather lengthy, as well as a HIT for it to screw into. At that point, it’s either glueing the combined head and HIT into place or epoxying the HIT and screwing the head into it. Not sure if anyone else is making a long shank broadhead like that.

 

[Arctic Hunter]

I went back and forth between rampages and axis for several years. I went to the RIP TKO this year and they have done very well. I will probably sell the rampage shafts I have left and stick with the RIPs for a while.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

Like many things, lots of great arrows available these days. I've field tested many of the top arrows recently and went with the Sirius Apollo