Building A Heavy Arrow

[Lee M]

I finally got around to building my first 3 heavy arrows. Without a broadhead they weighed in at an 618.6, 618.8 and 621.8 grains. I used poly rope inserted into an Easton Dangerous Game FMJ arrow. Arrows are 300 spine, 29.5 inches and the weight includes blaser vanes, hit insert and igniter lighted knock system. The rope was 3/16ths inch and fit snug inside the arrow. I had to pull it through using 25lb test fishing line as it was too snug to push or twist through. I burned and glued the ends to keep in tact and used enough epoxy on the hit insert and the knock insert to keep it secure on both ends. Now I am waiting for the heavy field point test kit to arrive. It has two each of 200, 225, 250 and 300 grain points. This arrow is almost twice my regular 450 grain (including broadhead) so I think I will need to use the 200 or 250 to keep the same FOC %. Hopefully the points arrive before the weekend. I will then buy 2 blade VPA's at the most stable weight from my testing and see how it goes. Here are a few pics of the rope being pulled through and the hit insert and igniter knock system. Bow is an 70 lb Mathews MR5 that will be set around 73 lbs or whatever I can out of it. I'll speed test once I have a stable combo.

 

[G Skinner]

Looking forward to seeing your test results Lee .
Glen

 

[Ryan Wilson]

Did you happen to run any glue through the shaft in order to somewhat keep the rope from moving?

 

[Lee M]

I put some super glue on the rope at a few spots along the full length. This absorbed into the rope and caused it to swell a little and harden small areas. It was fully dried before the rope was inserted but the swell increased the fit and made the rope very snug when pulling through. Both ends of the rope had epoxy dropped in once in the arrow and should have contacted the HIT and the knock inserts when they were added. I would be surprised if there is any movement or shifting when shot. I will check the FOC and mark on each arrow and see if it changes over time.

 

[jeff]

I'll be vary interested in the outcome and how they tune. On carbon I've pressed a 2 1/2 inch piece of 2117 aluminum shaft to foot the arrow and to keep it from splitting.

 

[Lee M]

Arrows dry and couldn't wait for heavy field points to arrive via mail so I decided to shoot with the 100 grain field points I have. I had my first issue before I even pulled back the bow.... I must have gotten some of the epoxy inside one of the hit inserts when inserting it and I couldn't get the field point all the way in. I looked at one of the hit inserts and noticed there is a small hole on the bottom. Presumably it is needed to let air through when you glue / push it in the shaft. When I installed last night I put some extra epoxy on the bottom of the insert to attach to the rope and I bet some came through the hole. Live and learn . I will see if I can use a small drill bit to remove the epoxy and salvage the arrow. The other two arrows were fine and I shot them in the backyard. Overall they seemed fairly stable but I only took about 10 shots and didn't have someone else to watch the flight. I did have to use my 50 yard setting on my single pin sight to hit the target center at 30 yards. But my regular carbon arrows are only 400 grains (with100 grain point) vs my heavy arrow at 719 grains with the same 100 grain point so I did expect to have a higher aim point. Looking forward to getting the heavier field point and also the big two blades when field point testing is done. I'm holding off changing the blazer vanes as with my 5 inch brace height anything longer than 3 inches sits inside my drop away rest and holds the arrow shaft off the bottom of the shelf until I draw. I will make the change to a helical longer vane if needed but will wait until more testing until then. If I go feathers it has to be a max of 3 inches.

 

[jeff]

Lee I've had good luck with 4 & 5 inch vanes fletched helical for heavy arrows but have never tried it on shorter vanes with a heavy arrow, am curious how it'll do. You could also try running in a 8 by 32 tap to remove excess glue, it's worked for me in the past.

 

[Lee M]

Heavy field points arrived. If the rain stops I'll shoot later today. I measured the FOC as follows with my new heavy arrows: 200 grain = 12.4%, 250 grain = 14.1 % and 300 grain = 16.6%.

 

[Lee M]

Just finished shooting the two heavy arrows with the three different field points - 200, 250 and 300. Total weight was approx 825, 875 and 925 grains. Also maxed out my MR5 bow so should be low 70's. All shot pretty good as far as accuracy at 20, 30 and 40 yards. Most 2 shot groups 2-3 inches with a few better and the worst no more than 5 inches. I was pleasantly surprised as that is as good as I get with any arrow. All were inside the 8 inch circle once I figured out what range to use with my single pin site. I had to add 25-30 yards to my normal 400 grain ranges. Wish I had 3-4 arrows as 2 is not really a group. The 250's and 300's did seem to be a little better and tighter. My bow was noticeably quieter and the arrows hit the target with a solid thud. At least a 3rd had the point go all the way thru and hit the heavy rubber backstop that is 1 inch behind the target. I've never had an arrow do this, so no question they will penetrate better. Watching the arrows at 40 yards I could see a waggle that needs to be fixed, but they were all fairly straight and parallel each other in the target. I'll move to helical in the near future as I only have standard Blazers on. More shooting over the weekend and a trip to the pro shop for a speed test and some new fletching.

 

[Lee M]

Some pics of today's shooting.

 

[CAustin]

Good shooting

 

[jeff]

One way I've been able to put longer vanes on is to move them closer to the nock, only about 3/8 of an inch and still clear the rest.

 

[Lee M]

Thanks Jeff. Any issues with them hitting your cheek when shooting?

3/8th would put just a little of the vane on my knock

 

[jeff]

Sorry I was unclear, 3/8 from the end of the shaft. Have not had a problem with them hitting my face. Good grouping on your shots!

 

[Lee M]

Jeff - The 8x32 tap worked great. All the glue came out and my arrow is back in business. Thx!

 

[Lee M]

Went to the pro shop and dropped off 8 arrows to get refleched. I'm going to try two different set ups (4 arrows each) and test them out. 4 vanes 3" in length and 3 vanes 4" in length. I'll then go with whatever flies better. I also tested the speed of my arrows. The arrow weighing in at 925 grains (with the 300 grain point) measured 209 fps. The 875 grain arrow (250 grain point) measured 211 fps. My friend had run a program with my bow and arrow info and amazingly it estimated the speeds to be 208 for the 925 grain and 315 for the 875 grain. It was called SoftwareForArchers Xpert-V2.5.14. It also calculated the K/E at 88.65 and momentum at .8530 for the 925 grain arrow and K/E of 90.39 and momentum of .8377 for the 875 grain. I'll have to check on the significance of those numbers, but I think that either should work for Giraffe. Anyone with a comment or suggestion please let me know. Thx

 

[jeff]

Are you having them fletched helical?

 

[Lee M]

Yes both will be helical

 

[Lee M]

Shot my 4 vane 3" helical arrows today with 200, 250 and 300 grain field points. arrows now weighed approx 640 without the points, slightly higher then previously due to heavier 4 x 3 inch vanes vs. the 3 x 2 inch Blazers. I shot about 50 shots and seemed to get better groups with the 200's and 250's. I'll shoot again tomorrow and see if I get the same results. I was a little surprised with the 200's as I thought the heavier 300 grains would be the best due to high FOC. I did go ahead and order 3 200 grain and 3 250 grain 2 blade VPA's broadheads so I can start testing them as well. I am also getting some of my arrows with 3 x 4 inch vanes to see how they work. Once I find the best combo I'll change all to the same and my giraffe bow will be set.