should i switch from 100grain to 125grain tips?

sk1

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I've always heard that having a heavier front end arrow weight gets better penetration and flies truer, does anyone here have any experience with it?

I currently shoot a 410 grain total arrow weight at 292 fps using my 100 grain wac em tritons....they seem to fly pretty darn good furthest practice shot i've ever taken is 70 yards...

I just upgraded to the black gold 5 pin slider and will now practice out to 100 yards to make 50 yard shots hopefully seem much easier....I am doing the sight tape tomorrow and am trying to decide if i will get even better arrow flight if i change to 125grain, or should i do it just on the better penetration factor alone? That will take me to a 435 grain arrow not sure what it will take my fps down to, im guessing 275ish

thoughts anyone?
 
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There are a number of things to consider here...
1. More mass will increase your momentum and energy stored if the arrow still flies well.
2. More weight up front does help with flight up to a point. Do some reading on high FOC (front of center) arrows to better understand the concepts.
3.The most important thing is does it hurt your arrow flight, if it does then don't do it. Everything else goes out the window if your arrow looses energy during its flight due to wobbling or if it doesn't hit the target at a right angle/straight on because it is flying sideways.
 
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sk1

sk1

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yeah i might need to take the 'if it aint broke dont fix it' approach to this for now.....maybe stay at 100 grain tips since it's working right now for the distances i was shooting, and see how well it shoots even further, being that i have all my broadheads and whatnot for 100grain....if i have issues then maybe i will try and switch

im paying to have the local archery shop help me get it all setup because i dont have time, so i was trying to decide whether i should make the switch or not before they get the sight tape done for me....they did the 1st, 2nd, 3rd axis alignment and sight tape for $25 which in time savings and knowing it was done right worth the money.....worst case i guess i pay them if they would even charge me, for a second sight tape if i decide i need to switch to 125 grain later
 

J-Daddy

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Depending on the arrow your using, you could always get some of the 20gr Gold Tip insert weights that screw into the back of the insert...That way you could keep the 100gr heads you already have but add some more weight to the front of the arrow..That is if your arrows will accept the weights.
 

J-Daddy

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yeah i might need to take the 'if it aint broke dont fix it' approach to this for now.....maybe stay at 100 grain tips since it's working right now for the distances i was shooting, and see how well it shoots even further, being that i have all my broadheads and whatnot for 100grain....if i have issues then maybe i will try and switch

im paying to have the local archery shop help me get it all setup because i dont have time, so i was trying to decide whether i should make the switch or not before they get the sight tape done for me....they did the 1st, 2nd, 3rd axis alignment and sight tape for $25 which in time savings and knowing it was done right worth the money.....worst case i guess i pay them if they would even charge me, for a second sight tape if i decide i need to switch to 125 grain later

Dude, next time save yourself $10 and just download the $15 TAPes program from The Archery Program to build sight tapes with...I'd also question ANYONE else setting my axis leveling up on MY sight. To get that stuff set right a bow has to be leveled at full draw and no 2 people have the same grip. Your a lot better off learning & taking the time to do stuff like that yourself. No one can perfectly sight in your bow for you.
 
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sk1

sk1

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that's a good idea about the inserts, i didn't even know they made them

i didnt download the program because i literally dont have the time, im a firefighter gone at work 72 hrs a week, i go to school full time online, and most of my days off i have my 8month old son for 15 hours a day while the wife is at work.....time is scarce for me right now, so i took the opportunity to let them help me.

i agree about the axis stuff and what not, but they did say they would need to work with me to finish it when i come back in to get my bow....so we will see what that entails.....these guys are great that i go to and worst case scenerio if the axis adjustment seems off i will have to take the time to do it myself...i just want to get shooting, and i barely have time to shoot let alone get setup

i havent done extensive reading, but isnt the 3rd axis the only one done at full draw? im a transplanted flatlander who used to only shoot whitetails at 20 yards, so im still learning the long range aspect of all this
 
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I am making the same switch and have already noticed better overall arrow performance. I went from 100 grain tips to 125 and added the 20 grain weight that J-Daddy mentioned. All in I added 45 grains upfront offset by a 7 grain arrow wrap on the back end. MY FOC went from 10.5% to 12%. I am still trying it out but so far I like it. You do sacrifice some pin gap. Maybe I need to go from 70 lb limbs to 80 lb limbs. :)
 

vcb

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You have to think about your arrow flight as well. Depending upon the spine you shoot you could have great arrow flight with 100gr. then switch to 125 and get poor arrow flight. I shot 125 grain then wanted to shoot 100grain for more speed....The 100grain tip made my arrow fly like crap and my broadheads didnt group like the field points any more. ...Just do a paper test. Once I switched back to the 125....my field point and broadhead groups matched back up and arrow flight improved. Arrow spine........
 

Lawnboi

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Do yourself a big favor and up the weight of your insert instead of your head. Sooooooooooo much easier to find 100g heads, alot of companies dont even make 125s. I used to shoot 125s on my fmjs, but now i shoot 100g heads w/ 75g brass insert on axis arrows.
 

J-Daddy

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that's a good idea about the inserts, i didn't even know they made them

i didnt download the program because i literally dont have the time, im a firefighter gone at work 72 hrs a week, i go to school full time online, and most of my days off i have my 8month old son for 15 hours a day while the wife is at work.....time is scarce for me right now, so i took the opportunity to let them help me.

i agree about the axis stuff and what not, but they did say they would need to work with me to finish it when i come back in to get my bow....so we will see what that entails.....these guys are great that i go to and worst case scenerio if the axis adjustment seems off i will have to take the time to do it myself...i just want to get shooting, and i barely have time to shoot let alone get setup

i havent done extensive reading, but isnt the 3rd axis the only one done at full draw? im a transplanted flatlander who used to only shoot whitetails at 20 yards, so im still learning the long range aspect of all this

Well yes and no on the axis adjustments...In a perfect world yes the 3rd axis is the only one you would need to set at full draw...BUT...We induce torque into the riser with our grip at full draw and that can also throw the 2nd axis on the bubble off compared to when it's at rest.
1st & 2nd I set at rest and make sure the sight level is matched up to a level bow riser...but then I always check it at full draw because it can & will change.
Regardless of what anyone says, 3rd axis has to be set at full draw...The Hamskea Level is a great tool to buy if you don't have one to set sights up with, it's one of the best bow tuning/set up tools that I've bought.
 
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sk1

sk1

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Do yourself a big favor and up the weight of your insert instead of your head. Sooooooooooo much easier to find 100g heads, alot of companies dont even make 125s. I used to shoot 125s on my fmjs, but now i shoot 100g heads w/ 75g brass insert on axis arrows.

another good point, thanks guys.....that is absolutely true and i was thinking 125's would limit me from trying the new broadheads i want, but the insert will eliminate that problem completely.

my wac em tritons shoot great so i really shouldnt mess with it, but for some reason i want to try these out really bad lol....

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunt...791680;cat104693580;cat104237280;cat103855680
 

J-Daddy

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Just keep inmind that the insert weights don't work with all arrows/inserts. On the slim shafts like the axis/fmj and the new injextion shafts "and the VAP from Victory" they won't work because the shaft is to small. You also have to make sure the back of the insert is threaded, I think most all are now days but their might be some that are not....I've ran the Gold Tip insert weights in Carbon Express Mayhems, Harvest Time HT-2's, Gold Tip XT Hunters and have a buddy running them in Gold Tip Velocity shafts now. Also if your gonna run them do yourself a favor and get the tool from Gold Tip that installs them, it's really nothing more than a 3' long allen wrench but you almost have to have it once the insert is glued into the shaft if you ever wanna take the weights out. Also, if you run something like Easton uni-bushings & g-nocks the Gold Tip tool WILL NOT fit through the uni-bushing. And one last thing, put a little dag of blue Loc-Tite on the threads of the weight when you install them, if you don't there's a good chance they will vibrate loose while shooting them.

The one good thing about the weights is that you can run a 100gr head and still get more weight and you can remove them if you don't like them....Plus with the weight behind the insert like that it seems it doesn't effect the arrow spine like a heavier broadhead does.
 

J-Daddy

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another good point, thanks guys.....that is absolutely true and i was thinking 125's would limit me from trying the new broadheads i want, but the insert will eliminate that problem completely.

my wac em tritons shoot great so i really shouldnt mess with it, but for some reason i want to try these out really bad lol....

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunt...791680;cat104693580;cat104237280;cat103855680

I'd stick with the Wac Em heads over those Tru Fires, I've never been very impressed with anything that Tru Fire makes honestly...If you wanna try a really tough and great flying 100gr head try the Shuttle T-Lock from TrophyTaker. For me they have been the best flying fixed blade heads I've messed with and I've tested alot of the more popular versions on the market at 100yds...Shuttle's did better than any of the others I've tested at that range when it comes to accuracy.
 
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