Looking for fast arrow set up advice

[ElkRcool]

Hey all,

I’m looking for some advice on my arrow set up.

I’m fairly new to arrow building/archery as a whole. Im mainly an elk hunter. I’ve put together some arrows as follows:

RIP TKO 300 spine
125gr points
AAE Max stealth vanes
The total weight of these arrows is 476gr, they are flying at 293 fps

The arrows shoot great! Super flat and quiet with field points. I don’t plan on taking game past 40 yards this year. I’m starting a to play around with broadbeads, the QAD is not impacting as expected. I’m not sure if this is because of the speed or the tune (probably both)

My question is this: Does anyone else shoot broadheads in the 290 fps range? If so can you please explain your set up philosophy and share any valuable experiences. On a second note, would it be worth increasing my arrows weight? Would love to hear some thoughts.

 

[Ashy Larry]

Arrow weight/speed is outstanding. Go hunt water buffalo if you want. I’ve never had the same issues as you with a 28” draw but I get close with a slightly lighter arrow. When speed gets much over 300 then most guys are shooting expandables for the forgiveness. You can definitely tune fixed blades at 290 but make sure your form is perfect. Also, broadhead tuning is almost always required to get perfect arrow flight with fixed blades.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

the QAD is not impacting as expected

What is it doing? Are your broadheads consistently impacting high/low/left/right of your field points? Or are you seeing erratic/inconsistent grouping? If broadhead POI is consistently off, you likely just need to tune your bow a bit. If you're not getting consistent broadhead grouping, you may be underspined (unlikely IMO given your stated arrow specs), not have enough fletching to steer your arrow, or have poor concentricity/alignment between your broadhead and arrow.

 

[ElkRcool]

What is it doing? Are your broadheads consistently impacting high/low/left/right of your field points? Or are you seeing erratic/inconsistent grouping? If broadhead POI is consistently off, you likely just need to tune your bow a bit. If you're not getting consistent broadhead grouping, you may be underspined (unlikely IMO given your stated arrow specs), not have enough fletching to steer your arrow, or have poor concentricity/alignment between your broadhead and arrow.

I was seeing some grouping that was trending low, and not as tight as my FP. I was only shooting at 40y, but noticed that the arrow was doing a little bit of whirling before hitting the target.

I’m also open to suggestions on other broadhead options. Preferably I’d like to try a handful of different ones before I’m back in the woods come September.

It is worth noting that I’m fairly new to archery, but have been obsessing on form, contact points, and release. I tend to shoot 2” groups at 20, 4” groups at 40, 6” groups at 60 etc…

 

[Ashy Larry]

You need to broadhead tune if you’re seeing tailwhip in the arrows. Your vanes are probably fine as far as stability goes. What is the bow? Most newer bows have tuning features in the axles or limb pockets. I would move the rest last if possible. It will probably pay dividends to go to a shop and have them tune it.

 

[KBC]

Tune so your broadheads hit with your field points and then adjust your sight. If the arrow doesn’t look like it’s flying straight, as others have said, your bow isn’t quite tuned.
I usually move my rest to tune but very small amounts 1/64-1/32 at a time. Your BH groups will likely tighten up once you are tuned.
I’ve found the Tooth of the arrow single bevels fly really well and match my field points out to about 60. Past that, most BHs will start hitting lower due to more drag.

 

[NXTZ]

Agree with @KBC. I’m shooting around 280-285 fps, and kudus and evolution Hyde’s both fly really well for me. Qad exodus are great, but they’re more finicky for me, and I found them a little more forgiving when I was shooting in the 265-270 fps range. I do like to tune with them since if they’re flying well, anything else should too.

I’d say keep those arrows, get your bow tuned with them and the qads. That right there is a fantastic set up. And if you wanna try other heads, that’ll be a good starting place for your tune.

 

[Billy Goat]

I have shot/tuned fixed heads at 315 fps, its not the arrow setup, or speed.

It's the archers form, or the bow needs some final micro adjustments to dial in the broadhead flight.

 

[ElkRcool]

You need to broadhead tune if you’re seeing tailwhip in the arrows. Your vanes are probably fine as far as stability goes. What is the bow? Most newer bows have tuning features in the axles or limb pockets. I would move the rest last if possible. It will probably pay dividends to go to a shop and have them tune it.

It’s an ARC 34, I assumed that it’ll need some tuning. I’d like to try to do it myself before bringing it to the shop

 

[ElkRcool]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I appreciate it

 

[Wheels]

Which mods do you have in the bow? Pretty quick for that weight of arrow.
Did you tune the bow when you bought it? Paper tune and/or bare shaft? Start from scratch and get the arrow flying straight and then work on broadhead tune.

 

[Billy Goat]

It’s an ARC 34, I assumed that it’ll need some tuning. I’d like to try to do it myself before bringing it to the shop

Little cheat sheet.

You can check to make sure your loop is between your axles, its not a requirement, but I think it makes it easier. With a centered loop, adjust your rest for vertical.

With the ARC, centershot 13/16"-7/8" watch for vane clearance on cable guard, use the limb shoft to move cams.

 

[ElkRcool]

Which mods do you have in the bow? Pretty quick for that weight of arrow.
Did you tune the bow when you bought it? Paper tune and/or bare shaft? Start from scratch and get the arrow flying straight and then work on broadhead tune.

I’m pulling SWX 70lbs mods with a 29.5 DL, shop chrono had me at 290-293 fps. I’m not sure how well they tuned the bow at the shop, seemed to be shooting bullet holes but they seemed rushed.

 

[Whodat7]

Just as another anecdote, I found the QAD exodus very finicky. Alongside stingers, black hornets, and slick tricks, it was by far the most sensitive/difficult. This was with my bow paper tuned and BH tuned (admittedly with the Magnus heads). I am not knocking them, and acknowledge the widespread success with them, but they just didn’t work for me.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

How did you make those arrows that heavy? My rip tko 300s with aae max stealths, a wrap, and 150 composite up front (head and insert) are 436 gr.

As others have said, you need to broadhead tune your bow. Exodus will fly with field points to 70+.

 

[ElkRcool]

View attachment 1070902

Little cheat sheet.

You can check to make sure your loop is between your axles, its not a requirement, but I think it makes it easier. With a centered loop, adjust your rest for vertical.

With the ARC, centershot 13/16"-7/8" watch for vane clearance on cable guard, use the limb shoft to move cams.

Thanks for this, I’ll have to give it a try and report back

 

[ElkRcool]

How did you make those arrows that heavy? My rip tko 300s with aae max stealths, a wrap, and 150 composite up front (head and insert) are 436 gr.

As others have said, you need to broadhead tune your bow. Exodus will fly with field points to 70+.

I didn’t do anything to make them that heavy. I wrapped them, put on new fletchings, then screwed in the 125gr FPs.

 

[Billy Goat]

I have seen several ARC's draw heavy, like 5#.

I'm guessing yours is.

Or chrono is off a little. 70# at 29.5 mods and 476 gr should be sub 290's, not by much, but probably around 285. 4 extra pounds get you to 293.

For what I have seen.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I didn’t do anything to make them that heavy. I wrapped them, put on new fletchings, then screwed in the 125gr FPs.

Screwed into what? If you added a whole bunch of weight into the front you might have created a spine weakness issue for yourself. Same if you didn't cut any length off them. And that's exacerbated if your bow is drawing heavy too.

 

[trailblazer75]

I'd go straight to broadhead tuning. Shoot a BH and THEN a FP. Tune the FP back to the BH using your rest (SMALL adjustments) and then sight back in and confirm. Just another part of the process.