Maximizing the structural integrity of an arrow

[5MilesBack]

Everything was "good enough" until it wasn't. I personally don't want to find out that my setup isnt good enough after a failure that costs me an elk or even worse leads to a wouned animal. So my solution is to shoot something that may seem overbuilt and can stand up to steel plates and concrete. That seems like a "good" choice.

As long as you test your equipment and are satisfied with the performance.....go for it. But everything has a price. I prefer inexpensive performance because I'm a tightwad. I figure that blowing through 2x6's without ever damaging anything is probably good enough to ensure good performance on elk.

 

[bmart2622]

Ive never been a "good enough" type guy and to me you can't put a price on losing an animal. I work way too hard to get opportunities at bulls and its worth the extra $100 to help ensure proper arrow performance and clean kills

 

[DavePwns]

Ive never been a "good enough" type guy and to me you can't put a price on losing an animal. I work way too hard to get opportunities at bulls and its worth the extra $100 to help ensure proper arrow performance and clean kills

I agree. I think we owe it to the animals to find any gaps in our hunting set up on order to decrease the odds of loosing a wounded animal and to increase confidence in our set up. Sure, if you are just slinging arrows for fun in the backyard, who cares if you use crap components and a light cheap arrow, shooting at an animal is a whole different ball game. In my opinion, "good enough" should not be the standard. Am I saying everyone has to spend a fortune just to hunt? No, I just think it's good to thinking of ways to progress your hunting set up (and hunting skills) so that you can maximize on the slim opportunities that you get. I don't want to be that guy that says "oh I wish I shoulda done x, x, z ect". I want to be prepared and knowledgeable. Not to mention, the higher quality gear you get, the longer it lasts. I prefer to buy once, cry once.

 

[PathFinder]

It always broke behind the end of the point, inside the insert. The failure of the weak aluminum insert then allowed the arrow shaft to break up underneath the brass footing. After the first shot, a bulge was visible where the arrow would end up breaking on the second shot. This was the result 3 times. Threading through the part of the insert intended to support the shaft inside leaves it with far too small of a cross section.
I was shooting them at house bricks set up against my target. Not as solid as a cinder block, but solid enough to compare to an elk shoulder. About 5/8" thick on either side, with a hollow center.
I was shooting a Hyperforce at 80lbs and 26.5", using Grizzly Stik's 200 grain field points.

So what broke? The threaded part of the insert or the arrow? Or the entire insert itself? What adhesive did you use? Do you think it would have survived if there had been more brass weights on the back end of it to distribute the impact load?

Also, maybe I completely missed it, but what were you shooting this at?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[MattB]

My $0.02 - if you buy good quality arrows that have a higher GPI, are properly spined for your bow and use quality components, you will be fine. For some reason some guys spend lots of time on the internet chasing marginal improvements to solve problems that rarely occur.

Just to contrast (and no offense intended): the consistently successful bowhunters I now don't even ponder this stuff (FOC and such). They use commonly available gear that can be bought at Cabelas and have decades of success under their belts. As a contrast, when I think of the guys who spend their time on the internet chasing unicorns, I can't recall ever seeing a trophy pic or read a success story from them. Seems like perhaps a solution looking for a problem?

 

[bmart2622]

Ask Aron Snyder how much of his setup he has bought at Cabelas.

 

[MattB]

Ask him how much he has bought.

 

[bmart2622]

I can tell you right now that none of his setup has come from Cabelas. I can also tell you that Ive seen you talk an incredible amount of trash on the internet though.

 

[RosinBag]

I am just reading this thread for the first time. It seems like an overthought issue. A good quality arrow tuned to come out of your bow consistently is more than good.

I would spend more time on being a more proficient archer. The margins this thread are trying to improve upon are minutia. Put the arrow in the correct spot and all will be ok.

And for those bowhunters that are concerned about losing an animal. If that is really a concern that cripples you, I wouldn’t bow hunt. If you bow hunt long enough you are going to wound animals and you are going to kill animals you don’t recover. That is just a fact of hunting regardless of the weapon system.

 

[MattB]

Trash or truth?

I honestly don't give 2 craps what anyone shoots, but I do feel for newbies who come on sites like this seeking good advice and find threads like this which lead them to believe they need to spend a pile of money to buy components from cottage industry providers in order to get an effective set-up.

What % of game was killed with "outdated" 8-32 threads - or even worse yet Deep 6 - this past season?

What % would you posit failed structurally?

I have a lot less killed with archery gear than a number of friends who likewise seem to kill game just fine with gear that can be bought at Cabelas (Magnus/Muzzy/NAP/Rage BH's, Easton/Gold Tip arrows, and stock components). But with ~100 head of game under my belt (including quite a few bigger critters like moose and elk), I can confidently say one of the last places I would be spending my time or money to improve my success would be on my arrow or components.

 

[bmart2622]

Who said anything about being crippled? I shoot everyday to b proficient and put some effort into finding a setup that works the best for me while reducing potential failures. The arrow doesn't always go where its supposed to, these are the situations where this "overthinking" hopefully addresses

 

[RosinBag]

Well said MattB....good quality arrow, good components and go to shooting well executed shots.

 

[bmart2622]

You read it right the first time Matt

 

[MattB]

I am taking you away from optimizing your arrow/components and that wasn't my intent. With that, I am going to sign off on this thread. Good hunting to you all.

 

[DavePwns]

I find it interesting that this became a touchy subject. I simply have been unhappy with my current arrow set up (standard insert and cheap muzzy 3 blade) and wanted to learn and improve my set up. It kind of reminds me of the mechanical VS fixed blade debate. Fixed blade only guys/gals can argue against mechanical BH strictly because of the slim chance of failure. Are mechanical broadhead users unethical or less of hunters just because a mechanic head simply can malfunction? No. It all comes down to personal preference and what each hunters priorities are.

 

[Beendare]

Shoot a couple hundred shots into a bag target with those aluminum outer sleeves on your carbon shafts....and you will understand.

My $0.02 - if you buy good quality arrows that have a higher GPI, are properly spined for your bow and use quality components, you will be fine. For some reason some guys spend lots of time on the internet chasing marginal improvements to solve problems that rarely occur.

Just to contrast (and no offense intended): the consistently successful bowhunters I now don't even ponder this stuff (FOC and such). ......

^ Well said Matt

 

[bmart2622]

Dont worry about it Dave, you came here looking for advice on bettering your setup with a few options already in mind. Quality products were suggested to you, some guys apparently shoot cheap crap and think its ridiculous to spend money on a vital piece of equipment, you dont and thats a good thing. But honestly if you want good advice get it from guys like John Dudley, Aron Snyder....guys like that who have forgotten more about archery and killed more animals than most of us ever will.

 

[5MilesBack]

Quality products were suggested to you, some guys apparently shoot cheap crap and think its ridiculous to spend money on a vital piece of equipment

That's not what was conveyed at all. What was conveyed is that there are plenty of options out there that will work just fine without being the Abrams tank for a daily driver vehicle. But just like everything else in this world, there will be those that think they need the Abrams tank for "just in case".

 

[bmart2622]

It blows my mind that a guy is catching grief for wanting to get the best setup for him. Its like if a guy wanted some new boots and people suggested Lowa or Kennetrek and guys came on and said dont waste your money on those just get some Danners. If he wants to and is willing to spend the money to get a durable setup made up of quality components then that is his choice and he shouldn't have to deal with judgement from other people who arent willing to spend the money on quality stuff.

 

[justin davis]

I’ve been using the Goldtip pierce arrows since they came out. They shoot great for me and are very tough. The outsert system they use has been pretty good too. I glue it in with hot glue so if something happens and I bend it I can pull it out and replace it. FMJs are a nice arrow. Great tolerances but they defiantly are not as tough as an all carbon arrow.