Arrow Selection - How do you decide?

[SINSKI]

Hey guys,

I lurk on this forum quite a bit and wanted to see how you guys choose your arrows?

Are most very particular about brands/ specific diameters and going deep on arrow building?

Or is a pre - fletched set cut at the tip good enough for most?

Appreciate the info!

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I don't know what "cut at the tip" means, but pre-fletched "off the shelf" arrows are good enough for most hunters.

Custom arrows is a deep rabbit hole that I enjoy diving into, but it's by no means necessary to build/buy custom to get a good-flying lethal arrow. My general advice for hunting arrows is to pick a standard diameter (.244-.246") shaft with middle-of-the-road gpi (grains per inch) and use head/insert weight to get to your desired total arrow weight.

 

[galamb]

I decide what broadhead I want to shoot, what weight range I want the arrow to finish up in (for me that's about 475 to 535 grains) and then start to "virtually build" arrows.

Brand or diameter is not important (but I tend to gravitate to Gold Tip and Victory if their specs will fit my needs) to me so if you look in my quiver you will see some .246 inside diameter alongside some .166 - some have the factory insert possibly with a bit of insert weights added others will have a heavy Ethics insert at the front end.

I do all my own fletching and that is never decided until the (build) is bare shaft tuned which will tell me "how much fletch" I need.

But I love playing around with arrow builds.

There is nothing wrong with most "off the shelf" arrows that you can simply screw in your broadhead and get decent results. In fact, unless those options result in some deficiency that you just feel the need to correct there is no need to start messing with an arrow that a company has spent a lot of time and money figuring how to put it together for pretty decent performance when used by the average shooter.

I shoot heavy with significant weight forward because I'm looking for momentum at distances typically limited to 40 yards max. There is no off the shelf that fits my needs/wants so I build - but I also know that my (want) is not typical and the average shooter would be more then fine just buying/shooting.

 

[Zac]

I ask the same question you did. Scroll through hundreds of random posts while drinking heavily and randomly choose a recommendation.

 

[Billy Goat]

I decide on a weight I want to be, frequently a Dia also.


Then I assemble components to hit that.

 

[98XJRC]

I ask the same question you did. Scroll through hundreds of random posts while drinking heavily and randomly choose a recommendation.

Honestly a pretty decent option and in all reality you’ll probably end up at the same point.

I decided to go down the rabbit hole a little the past few months and ordered the 650 gr test pack from grizzly stick. Arrows flew great, but I also quickly learned that I wasn’t sure if the extra weight was worth the drop off at range. 20-40 yards the difference was visible but not extreme and something as a 40 and under I could live with. However I like shooting 50 yards + and found that I didn’t like the drop.

As a result I ended up with a 204 diameter arrow just under 510. I’m excited as this is the first time I’m doing a custom arrow build vs buying a dozen pre fletched standard diameter shaft from my shop.

 

[Planopurist]

Standard diameter (.244”-.246”) inside diameter are fine for most. Getting the correct spine is the most important, while erroring on the side of stiffness. Straightness can matter. In general, buy the straightest arrows you can afford, typically .001”-.003” tolerance. I’d recommend determining your broadhead of choice as well. Take a look at the Quakes by Element Archery.

I custom build my own, which really is a rabbit hole. There are a litany of criteria, most all of which are personal choices, full of compromise. There’s plenty to discuss here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Button]

I buy random shafts and put them together. It keeps me entertained

 

[npro04]

I went with Goldtips because I’m a little bit of a cheap ass at times and they’re pretty durable. I bought standard hunter shafts then I spin them and cut off of both ends to get my carbon to carbon length. Obviously more from the side that wobbles more. Then I weigh all the shafts and order them heaviest to lightest. Then I weigh all my bucks and brass inserts. The light shafts get the heavier components and the heavy shafts get the light ones. Some may say it’s overkill but I can buy cheaper shafts and by spinning and cutting my own and matching weights I get some pretty nice straight balanced shafts cheaper than buying higher end shafts.

 

[5MilesBack]

It just depends on what your goals are, or what you're willing to put up with. My goals are consistency, durability, and then overall weight. The weight thing is easy to manipulate to get to your desired end weight with inserts and point weight. There are plenty of decent arrows out there these days that will be consistent. The durability/toughness part is what requires the most testing. So........are factory-fletched arrows in the box good enough for most guys? Yes.

 

[bojangles808]

I go off of my experiences and forum threads and youtube videos.. I tried heavy and didnt like the greater pin gaps so I usually find my builds around 410-430 grains (I only hunt deer/sheep) with something around 9 gpi in a 300/330/340 spine. Im 28 dl 70lb draw weight. I tried 4mm with half outs and they got wobbly real quick so i dont shoot them. i am also hesitant with 4 and 5mm components, they get pricey if you want to build something stout, so i now stick to looking at 6mm and 6.5mm/.246 std diameter options. from there I try to find value, usually something like a .003 under $100 a dozen so i dont feel like a complete idiot when i lose an arrow ($10 vs 20$ arrow). I dont think I shoot good enough to notice a difference in 001 vs 003 either. I have shot gold tip velocity xts and easton bloodlines most recently and currently shooting a easton bloodline that Im stocked up on as they were discontined. It tunes with both my backup and primary bow which is nice. If i try something new it'd probably be the easton sonic (similar specs to the bloodline) or victory vforce they seem to have good reviews on tolerances.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

I choose brand based on consistency and durability. When it comes to archery I don't like switching things often so when i find an arrow I like, I buy alot of them and use them for many seasons. Recently I was due for a switch. I went with the Sirius Apollo and have been very happy.