Victory Arrow Weight Tolerance

[jstanton007]

Has anyone had any issues with the Victory RIP V3 Gamer arrows? Specifically weight tolerance. Their website claims weight sorted and +/-0.5gr tolerance but I just picked up half a dozen from my local archery shop and there is a 5.3gr difference between the heaviest and lightest. I measured them all at 27.5" exactly and weighed them 3 separate times on my RCBS Chargemaster Supreme. The 3 times each arrow weighed the same as the time before.

Here is the arrow configuration:
Victory RIP V3 Gamer cut to 27.5" (8.2gpi, 225.5gr total)
Victory Stainless Steel Shok Half-Out (60gr)
Victory IP Knoxk (8gr)
AAE Hybrid 3-Vane Fletch (8.3gr each, 24.9gr total)

Without glue, total arrow weight should be about 318.4 grains, so with glue, and +/- tolerances, I would figure total arrow weight should be around 320 +/-0.5gr. Here are the weights as I measured (324.8, 322.8, 320.0, 320.7, 323.3, 319.5). Could they have got heavy with the glue on the insert and it added that much weight?

Am I being to much of a stickler on this? I realize as shorter distances this 5 grain deviation will not matter but what about at 60+ yards?

This same pro shop made me up a dozen Easton Axis 5mm with 3-vane fletch AAE Max and the 75gr steel half-outs and each arrow ended up +/-0.65gr of each other. I was happy with this but the Victory's at +/-2.65gr seems excessive.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

but what about at 60+ yards?

Still won't matter

 

[big44a4]

No issue. You couldn’t out shoot the difference even at 150 yards.

 

[sndmn11]

Don't check your draw weight, draw length, or let off; you'll have a years worth of stats to chase your tail on.

A 10gr range on arrow weight won't matter one bit.

 

[jstanton007]

Thanks guys, that's good to know! I am just obsessive about consistency. I am the same way reloading, I weight sort cases and bullets, throw charges on the RCBS chargemaster supreme and then check them against the balance beam scale. Part of it is to minimize deviation to improve consistency but I know the other part of it is mental.

Accuracy aside, do you think its a tolerance issue with the shafts? Or how they were made, like too much glue? With a +/- 0.5gr shaft tolerance advertised, I would think its more of an issue with assembly rather than the shaft.

 

[Timberline001]

I’ve noticed a big weight variance in AAE vanes, part of it could be there, as well asl the glue for vanes and inserts and then maybe a 1 grain variance in the shafts. It all adds up.

 

[jstanton007]

I’ve noticed a big weight variance in AAE vanes, part of it could be there, as well asl the glue for vanes and inserts and then maybe a 1 grain variance in the shafts. It all adds up.

I think you might be right, looking deeper at the AAE website they show a tolerance of +/-0.5gr on each vane. There is also a discrepancy on the vane weight on their website. Next to the picture it shows 8.3gr per vane but in the description it shows 8.5gr. Tolerance in the arrows, plus tolerance in the vanes, and glue could all add up to the +5gr difference I am seeing. Maybe I just go lucky on the Easton Axis arrows I also had made.

I feel better about the whole thing now, after talking it out on here!

 

[Zac]

This is why I never weigh anything. Shooting machines can’t pick out 6 grains at 80 anyways.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Thanks guys, that's good to know! I am just obsessive about consistency. I am the same way reloading, I weight sort cases and bullets, throw charges on the RCBS chargemaster supreme and then check them against the balance beam scale. Part of it is to minimize deviation to improve consistency but I know the other part of it is mental.

Accuracy aside, do you think its a tolerance issue with the shafts? Or how they were made, like too much glue? With a +/- 0.5gr shaft tolerance advertised, I would think its more of an issue with assembly rather than the shaft.

Every component of the arrow has a weight tolerance. Tolerance stacking amongst the various components could have caused the 5 gr of total variance. You may be able to tighten up your total arrow weights by sorting and matching your points/heads. If you care this much about weight consistency, you need to be building your arrows yourself.

 

[Billy Goat]

I haven't checked those specific arrows, but I have weighed several batches of victory arrows. Haven't seen anything out of their specified range on bareshafts. I'd be curious if the shop mixed batches, however, you won't find a difference in shooting.


It's 50 yards before I can find miniscule differences with a shooting machine

 

[entropy]

The last three batches of arrows I've built have been Victory arrows, although not your model. Don't remember any large variance in the first two batches, but the last ones had 1.1 gr difference in weight among 12 arrows.

Having said that, I used Ethics components and Bully vanes, and I didn't even bother to weigh the stock components because I was trashing them anyway. IME, epoxy/glue on components/vanes doesn't make any difference unless you REALLY screw up.

I'd suspect most of your variance is probably in the halfouts. If you're really interested you could measure your FOC on each arrow and see if it varies... although when you're talking about a few grains, you'd probably have to measure that with more precision than I'm capable of.

 

[Beendare]

Still won't matter

Yeah.

I wish i would have saved the article Randy Ulmer did many years ago where he tested these weight variances at distances out to 100y.

I think his conclusion was the avg bowhunter shooting half that distance would have a hard time differentiating 25g or was it 15g? Does anyone have that?

 

[Colobwhntr]

I recently switched from 125 grain heads to 100 and I noticed a difference, had to go to a faster sight tape. If I was the OP and was that worried about it I’d start building my own arrows. Done it for years and actually enjoy it comes with a sense of accomplishment knowing that everything on my setup I’ve done

 

[sndmn11]

Accuracy aside, do you think its a tolerance issue with the shafts? Or how they were made, like too much glue? With a +/- 0.5gr shaft tolerance advertised, I would think its more of an issue with assembly rather than the shaft.

It's all the components with a little here and there. Number or name them and see if you get any outliers.