HIT Insert - Brass (Easton) vs. Stainless Steel (Iron Will)

[TX_Diver]

After a previous thread I posted regarding what to do with arrows this year, a member here gave me the idea to use HITs with my black eagle rampages in order to get away from the half outs.

Is there a benefit to going either brass or stainless?

The Iron Will's are $40/dozen while the Eastons are ~ half that price.

I'll likely use a 50 grain insert with a 10 or 25 grain Iron Will collar. 100gr broadhead. 300 Spine. Probably cut at 28.75" ish from nock to carbon.

For that matter, does anyone make a standard (footed) insert that fits a .204" shaft? Or do those not exist as the ODs vary to much between manufactuers?

Cheers!

 

[no_click]

Following. I'm working on a new build as well. I got the 25 grain stainless Iron Will inserts to have a little more room to play with point weight.

 

[Trial153]

I am sure the stainless is better than brass. However I have lost track of the number of dozen brass HITs and Brass H inserts that i have seated and then built arrows and shot. I have never once had any issue with brass.

Now that said, if your buying the collars( which are awesome BTW) and the extra 20 bucks isnt a big deal i cant see where the steel HITS will hurt anything. For a dozen or two its not much extra. Now if you build few dozen arrows a year....it might add up.

 

[TX_Diver]

I'm definitely getting the Iron Will collars (maybe titanium though).

Just wasn't sure what the benefit of the stainless inserts are over brass.

Good feedback so far. Thanks!

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I don’t see any benefit strength wise. They do make 25,50,75 and 100. Which Easton doesn’t make 25&100, if you break the 75 gr brass back to 50 it may be .1-.3 off weight wise from each, if your a crazy person like I once was and think that makes a difference I’ve heard of people filing them down to 50 grains exactly.... I don’t sweat a couple grains in an arrow build anymore

 

[nphunter]

I will use IW stainless for my next build. I currently am using 75gr brass with 25gr IW collars, I have had two very hard hits with these arrows that bent the brass hit inside the arrow, the collar saved the carbon but the arrows don't spin true any longer, I no longer can shoot those arrows with fixed broadheads due to flight issues. If I used the SS insert I don't think it would have bent and I wouldn't be out two arrows. For me, the brass has been the weakest part of my setup.

If I wouldn't have had the Impact Collars both arrows would be junk.

 

[Trial153]

I will use IW stainless for my next build. I currently am using 75gr brass with 25gr IW collars, I have had two very hard hits with these arrows that bent the brass hit inside the arrow, the collar saved the carbon but the arrows don't spin true any longer, I no longer can shoot those arrows with fixed broadheads due to flight issues. If I used the SS insert I don't think it would have bent and I wouldn't be out two arrows. For me, the brass has been the weakest part of my setup.

If I wouldn't have had the Impact Collars both arrows would be junk.

Did you pull the inserts and confirm they are bent?

 

[nphunter]

Did you pull the inserts and confirm they are bent?

I didn't pull them because the arrows are still shootable with field tips, but when I roll them on a table the front inch or two wobbles, even with a brand new field tip or broadhead. If I could pull them without ruining the arrow I would replace them, I installed them with Eason epoxy and they don't move. They are still accurate with a field tip but not with a fixed head.

 

[Gumbo]

I use the HITs with Rampages and don't see what benefit SS would have over them, so why would I spend more $$$ just to shoot them? FWIW I bought some IW collars too and broke my HITs down to 50 grain on the last dozen I built, but then thought what for? Why increase the price of my arrows by $70 a dozen? I sold the collars and am going back to 75 grain HITs in the future...it is cheaper, albeit a little less durable, and one less component to add variability into the system.

 

[Beendare]

I've been using the brass inserts for probably 20 years....never bent one and the fact you can hit them with a little sandpaper so the glue really grips them- I've never had one come loose.

Is SS stronger than brass....sure...but in this application its not any kind of advantage, IMO.

 

[Trial153]

I am almost thinking its an alignment /glue /epoxy issue after the hard impact vs a bend in the brass. If thats the case then SS isnt fairing any better in the same situation

 

[jacob_ski4]

An advantage that the iron will SS inserts have over the standard brass is the fact they have a rolled back edge. My most recent whitetail I shot in the shoulder and the arrow broke right behind the insert. My guess as to why that was the weak point was the brass has a hard 90 degree edge on the back so if there’s any bend where that insert sits (on impact for example) that 90 degree edge is going to put a lot of pressure on the carbon wall and cause a break. The iron will inserts won’t apply the concentrated pressure on the wall that the brass inserts do.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

Personally me I would just buy some universal Ethics footers SS ($35) and use the regular brass HIT insert. If you are honestly worried about breaking behind the insert take a dremel and polish the back edges of the inserts. I love Ironwill stuff but I don't see the reason in paying $110 for 12 inserts and 12 collars. Ethics universal footer and Ironwills Impact collar do the exact samething.

If I recall the OD of a Rampage 300 is .264 and the ethics collars that closest to that would be this one which is .262" so you would need to sand .002" of the arrow which is very minor. https://ethicsarchery.com/collectio...roducts/universal-footer-with-end-cap-204-262

I think the closest one Ironwill has is .269 OD which leaves about .005 of wobble. I would rather sand a little and have a tight fit vs have .005" of wobble.

 

[lumis17]

I’ve had Easton 8-32 brass inserts bend from hitting hard objects, usually when it’s dead-on. It doesn’t happen often enough for me to consider switching for that reason. Overall I like them. I just ordered a set of Ethics SS inserts to try out, but mainly to see if some stiffer arrows I have will tune with them because of their heavier weight. If they’re more durable, which I’m assuming they will be, then that’s about bonus.

 

[OutdoorRookie]

After a previous thread I posted regarding what to do with arrows this year, a member here gave me the idea to use HITs with my black eagle rampages in order to get away from the half outs.

Is there a benefit to going either brass or stainless?

The Iron Will's are $40/dozen while the Eastons are ~ half that price.

I'll likely use a 50 grain insert with a 10 or 25 grain Iron Will collar. 100gr broadhead. 300 Spine. Probably cut at 28.75" ish from nock to carbon.

For that matter, does anyone make a standard (footed) insert that fits a .204" shaft? Or do those not exist as the ODs vary to much between manufactuers?

Cheers!

I'm looking at the same question right about now. What did you decide on the build? Did you have a chance to field test as well?

 

[TX_Diver]

I'm looking at the same question right about now. What did you decide on the build? Did you have a chance to field test as well?

I used the Easton insets with iron will Collars on the rampages. Way better than the half-outs in my opinion. I had 1 arrow that wouldn't spin true from the start and maybe 1-2 out of 18 that I lost over the course of the year shooting. With the halfouts I'd lose probably half of the arrows to wobble after a year of shooting.

I'm going to try the Easton Axis this year for comparison (actually going to list my rampages in the classifieds soon).

Next year I'll probably try some .166 arrows w/ the snyder core system. Will stick with either black eagle or Easton though.

 

[Trial153]

I have used brass hits and brass size H inserts for so long without any issues at all that I can't see the need to switch to steel hits....
IW collars are excellent. I have both steel and Ti for .204 shafts.

 

[TheViking]

I’ve used both. The IWs are stronger, but you’d only see the brass breakdown (bend) on super hard impacts.

I build a half dozen arrows just for hunting, then another dozen or so just for practicing. I use brass in my practice arrows and IWs in my hunting arrows. Saves some money.

 

[nphunter]

Another positive note on the IW stainless is that you can remove the inserts without damaging them or the arrows using the drill bit trick. The only other ones I've had any luck with when using eason epoxy is the D6 version which is also steel. The brass and aluminum mushroom on the back and will actually split the arrows.

I bought a set of used arrows with some IW 25gr HIT's, I pulled them, soaked them in acetone and they looked like new, I sold them and got some extra $$ to go toward 100gr inserts in those same arrows. They are right at twice the cost of the brass HIT but I was able to sell my used ones for more than new Brass HIT's cost and over time if you reuse them it will save money in the long run. It's also nice to have the 100gr option IMO and they are spot on for weight, I hated having to break the brass off and then file each one down to exactly 50gr. It probably isn't that big of a deal to have them off by a grain but it drives me nuts.