JeffB

Picked up a dozen of the Easton ST AXIS arrows yesterday at the shop (size 400 to be precise). So far, I'm EXTREMELY impressed with these shafts.

Outside diameter is hair shy of 17/64. They make my 3-49's seem fat . Finish is exactly the same as the Beman ICSH and Easton C2 shafts...VERY quiet and smooth (and needs to be roughed up a bit for best fletching adhesive)

I did not weigh the whole dozen but 1/2 of them were all within 1 grain of each other (bare shafts). Advertised tolerance is +/- 2 grains.

I do not have access to an arrow straightener with a dial guage at the current time, but these arrows are very impressive in that realm too. I spun all of the bare shafts and compared them to several brand new A/C/C 3-71's shafts I have, and the ST Axis compared quite well overall. 3 of the full length shafts had a bit of wobble on one end or the other, but overall straightness is quite good.

I cut them to 28" (27 &1/2" of actual shaft) and they spun as straight as anything on the market. Again I was very impressed.

I fletched them up w/ a full left helical using three 4" duravanes ( put a drop-away on my Liberty over the weekend). I mean this is serious helical. From behind, the fletches look like a motorboat prop

Installation of the inserts is actually quite easy. Easier than I expected.

Once cut to length, you chamfer the insert end of the arrow with the included tool which also squares off the face of the shaft. You put a small dab of epoxy on the end of the insert..push the insert in and rotate it to be flush, then use the insert tool to push it to the proper depth. When you remove the insert tool it also cleans up any excess epoxy on the inside. Very easy.

Easton supplies a 24 hour epoxy. I let them sit overnight and was shooting them this morning. I at least recommend 12 hours before fooling with them. I did try to screw in a point at 4 hours of drying time and the insert was still not set. I suspect you could use a shorter set time epoxy (5 minute or 12 hour) however those may be too brittle and if the insert were to come loose it will be hard to get back out unless it came loose with a point in it already. I prefer the peace of mind w/ 24 hour epoxy.

My Liberty was set up for 3-49's and so they were shooting a bit low due to the smaller diameter. However groups were very impressive at 25 yards..as tight as my 3-49s.

Now the thing I'd been worried about was since you cannot install the insert with a point already in..would the inside diamters be consistent enough that you wouldn't need to, and broadhead alignment (as the advertising says) would indeed be much easier and more precise.

So I grabbed 3 of the NAP new Razorback 100s I've had laying around. I'd fooled with them for hours before trying to get them to spin straight on my Goldtip XTs to no avail (poor concentricity of components and/or ID tolerance on the GTs). They just wobbled no matter how hard I tried.

Well..I was floored when I screwed the 3 razorbacks into my 3 completed arrows and they all spun PERFECT. I mean as pretty as you've ever seen. I even tried the 3 broadheads on different arrows to see if I just lucked out. Every head spun perfect on every arrow.

So..the acid test..and the ST AXis' passed w/ flying colors. My point of impact was slightly low due to the diameter variation (need to move my rest up a tad) but out to 25 yards they all flew perfectly left and right. Very consistent.

Hopefully I'll be able to shoot 'em at some longer distances w/ broadheads during the holidays for further testing.

My dealer has also had the same excellent results and immediately switched from his CX300s. One thing he noticed was that even though he experienced a drop in speed of about 12 FPS due the ST's heavier weight, his sight settings at 30 and 40 yards got much tighter. Looks like there may be less downrange velocity decay w/ these Axis ST shafts. I'm also going to see what I can find out about this phenomena through testing

My only nitpicks are the nock..nothing wrong with it per-se...but I'd prefer a bushing...plus, it seems the new X nock is only available in the color orange..blech.. we need some green, yellow, red, and white nocks Easton! You listening?

If these ST AXIS can hold their tolerances and prove durable, I believe this is going to be a truly exceptional, and innovative hunting shaft, and will likely make it into my quiver for the 2004 hunting season. They are very accurate, and broadhead alignment so far has proven effortless other than the time to install the inserts.

Will keep coming out w/ updates as I test them more, and fletch up more new ones.

Kanga

Good report as usual Jeff.

Just a couple of questions tho.

1 Are you going to do the acid test and shoot 1 at a steel girder?[]

2 With the small diameter do you think Magnocks will adapt to them?

I actually handled one last Friday and the guy who owned them was impressed with them as well.

JOE PA

Thanks for the report, Jeff!

I just ordered a dozen of these, and you are making them sound very good.

Just have to figger out if'n I have to change my "Bubba Rest" to an ICS biscuit, or still use the alunium kind.

A less than one-year old Pro 40 Wheely, and a dozen of these. Life is good, even for tightwads like me.

CG

One other question Jeff.....Are there field points that go as small as these arrows.....I used to shoot the AFCs and the Beman skinnys and loved the penetration. However the outsert allowed for use with "normal" diameter field points. It would suck to leave an insert in a 3-D target because the FP is bigger than the shaft.

Kanga

CG

A larger Field Point is an advantage when it comes to pulling the arrow out of a 3d target. The larger FP does not allow the target to bind to the shaft.

If you have a look at the Easy Pull Points they are larger than normal FP's

Olink

Good point about the field points. If you shoot into a bag target for practice, you definately don't want your field point to have a bigger diameter than the shaft. Otherwise the the backside of the point catches on the bag when you pull out the arrows.

My biggest question with the Axis arrow is the durability of the shaft at the business end of the arrow. There is nothing in the area between the insert and the shaft end to protect the shaft end from cracking or splintering. My concern is that a slightly angled hit could crack the end of the shaft, especially if your field point/broadhead loosens up a bit in flight. I would think that the potential is also there for stress fracturing of the very end of the shaft just from the repeated pounding of the back of the field tip directly onto the edge of the shaft. Time will certainly answer these questions. Personally, I hope these arrows prove to be durable. They will be the ultimate hunting shaft.

By the way JeffB, have you had the chance to check the spine consistancy? Do you think these shafts will be resilient to spine degregation?

ijimmy

Jeff , I got another question for ya , what quiver is going to work with these things , they are the smallest shaft to date . Did you try and stick um in a quiver yet ? Maybe quickie will make some new rubber inserts specificly for this arrow ?

JeffB

Hey folks,

Wow, lotsa questions!

1) I have not shot them into anything hard for a durability test. They do use the Easton C2 construction process, which I have found pretty tough. Not the best for IC type arrows, but quite acceptable. The thicker wall diameter of the Axis should make them more durable than the “standard”C2 shafts. Perhaps I will try and destroy one for testing’s sake.

2) The shank of the field point and/or broadhead is a very good fit to the ID of the shaft, and basically provides the reinforcement due to lack of insert for the last ½” (appx) of shaft.

3) 9/32” Field points are just slightly oversized. I did not have a problem using them in my Morrell Eternity bag with inserts pulling out, but they do catch just a tad. At one time, Easton made screw in points in smaller diameters than 9/32 for A/C shafts. I suspect companies like PDP also make them. So far no problem, but I’ll look into seeing what I can find out in smaller diameter field points.

4) To help reinforcement of the point end, a Easton broadhead adapter ring will suffice if the metal to carbon contact is bothersome to the individual. IIRC my dealer said the 3-28 A/C/C size fits pretty good

5) I have not tested the spine consistency. I hope to be able to do that soon. Again though, I’ve had good experience w/ the other C2 shafting, and spine tolerances are not really an issue w/ Easton/Beman carbons in general IME. As far as their resilience to degradation over time? I think w/ the thicker walls they again should prove better over time, but I won’t know ‘til I’ve really put a ton of shots on them. I will say that group seem extremely good which would indicate good spine.

6) Jeff, I believe the IC biscuit “hole” (that just sounds repugnant )may prove to be too large in diameter for these. I’m not positive, but you may need to try a different rest setup. These are very small in diameter.

7) IJ: Quiver: No I have not tried. I do have a carbon gripper for my Bohning Lynx and will give that a try this evening. Generally though you can just cut small strips of neoprene or fleece sight window pad, and push them into the gripper with the arrow and it will allow for a snug fit (may take 2 or 3 strips on some grippers)

All for now..gotta run....

Timbawolf98

How much for a dozen of these fletched?

Timba

KBacon

I know you can get a dozen for free if you sign up for american bowhunter for 4yrs... $69.99. I haven't decided if the arrows are free or if the magazine is free. But either way it's a pretty decent mag and should be a really good deal. I'm going to sign up the 1st of the year.