SharpStickHunter

I've hunted archery for about 10 years andafter taking a couple years off, just purchased a Switchback XT with 29"and 70# draw, and I'm looking at buying arrows and broadheads.

Iam lookingfor some suggestions. Here's my criteria:

Washington State requires a minimumtotal arrow weight of 6 gr per pound ofdraw weight. Since I will be shooting 70# draw, the total built weight of my arrow must be no less than 420 gr.

Washington also does not allow expanding broadheads.

I will be hunting Columbia Blacktail Deer and Roosevelt Elk.

I'd like to use Carbon Arrows andBlazer vanes. I would also like to keep my FOC relatively low for a flatter arrow flight. So, if it makes sense, I'd like to try to stay with 100gr. broadheads. Is that possible ?

Please give suggestions of specific combinations that would meet these requirements.

mobow

Easton ACC 3-60; at 29" w/ a 100 gr. broadhead will come in at 415 gr. If you shoot 68#'s you'll be spot on at 6.1 gpp.

Easton Axis 340; Will weigh nearly the same, if not exactly the same.

Beman Black Max 340's will weigh more than both of those, but I'm not exactly sure of how much.

Broadheads, there are many to choose from, but 2 of my fav's are the Magnus Stinger and the Montec G5.

SharpStickHunter

Thanks mobohuntr. I haven't looked at Easton Arrows. I have used Beman, but I thought for a 29" draw @ 70# I should be using Beman 400s(something like 8.4 gr per inch). Wouldn't the 340's be a littleweak spined?

{Edit after looking at the Beman Web Site}

You're right!!340's are the correct size.After adding in 15 gr (5gr each) for vanes and 5 for the insert I would be just over 420 with the Black Max.

mobow

Actually, the 340 is stiffer than the 400, and heavier.

KS227

I had a hard time leaving Easton ACC's. But the Carbon Express Maxima or Maxima Hunter with aCrimson Talon 100g head is flat, straight, quietand leaves a NASTY exit wound.

mobow

But unless I am mistaken, the Maxima will come in a little on the light side, yes?

KS227

I am doing math like crazy! Maxima 250's are 7.3 gpi. 350's are 8.3. The hunters are 8 and 8.9 gpi respectively.

SharpStickHunter

That's the struggle I've been having.At 8.9 gpi, a 29" arrow is only 258 gr. Blaser Vanes are 5 gr each and standard inserts are 5 gr., so there's another 20 gr. totaling 278 gr. With that, even a 125 gr broadhead would only bring it up to 403 gr.Still short of the legal min. of 420.

The Beman Blackmax 340 is 10.4 gpi totaling 301 for a 29"arrow. Add 20 for the vanes and insert and you've got 321. Now a 100 gr. broadhead brings it to 421, just over the legal min.

It seems like I must look for arrows that are at least 10 gpi to reach the 420 gr. requirement.

outdoorslover

I like PSE's, Blackhawks, and Carbon Express arrows to name a few. I can't get technical though.

Go with the good old Muzzy's or Thunderheads for broadheads. You'll be impressed by either.

GForce

Go with whatever brand carbon arrows that you want.

I prefer GoldTip Pro Hunter shafts. They are weight matched per dozen and are the straightest andtoughest carbon shafts thatI have tested.

I also likeMuzzy broadheads - 100 grain, four blade. Yet to bend one and the wound channel rivals most mechanicals. I am going to play with the NAP XP cut-on-contact Thunderheads, 100 grain to see how they perform on my arrow disentegrator.

I say go with the brand of choice, but you have to focus on spine strength most of all, given the following suggestion:

Go to www.3riversarchery.com , this is a traditional archery supplier, actually the largest in the world. They also have a "working warehouse" that you can walk through and shop to your hearts content.

There you can search for Weight Tubes 6731-1, 2 grains per inch or 6731-2, 3 gpi. NOTE these will not fit the Easton AXIS shafts.

Sidebar: I have received a number of complaints concerning the AXIS shafts. # 1 being the shaft cracking immediately behind the rear of the insert when using practice blades that are not sharp. Apparently, the thinner wall of the shaft can not handle the abrupt impact even with layered targets. That leads me to belive that the AXIS shaft could fail upon contact with heavy bone.

With these weight tubes, you can increase the weight of your finished arrow to meet the minimum weight requirements. A couple of benefits of the weight increase are increased penetration and a quieter shot.

Again, keep in mind the spine strength of the shaft and keep the FOC up in the 10 to 12 % range for your draw weight. You can also get different inserts that will increase overall arrow weight and allow you to fine tune the FOC of your arrow. The solid brass inserts from 3 Rivers will fit Carbon Express, GoldTip, Vapors and AXIS. The 50 grain inserts bump up from the standard 20 - 30 grain factory inserts. The only brass insert for the AXIS shafts are 100 grain.

There are also brass washer weights available to add 5 grains behind the broadhead.

Thus increasing the weight at the front of the shaft still requires attention to spine.

All of this is much alike to developing a handload for a sweet shooting rifle. It may take some time and experimenting, but the end result is well the effort.

Hope this helps...