Equipment & Gear > Archery Gear
Educate me on Arrow Building
Bone collector 13:
Not much to add, other then look up Aaron Snyder. He’s put out a few podcasts about arrow building, FOC all of that and is just a wealth of knowledge. His podcast is Kifrucast
TRD1911:
--- Quote from: Bone collector 13 on January 15, 2019, 08:08:29 PM ---Not much to add, other then look up Aaron Snyder. He’s put out a few podcasts about arrow building, FOC all of that and is just a wealth of knowledge. His podcast is Kifrucast
--- End quote ---
Listening to the Kifarucast with Donnie Vincent right now, ha!
Parasite:
--- Quote from: TRD1911 on January 15, 2019, 02:20:05 PM ---I'm not new to archery by any means. Been shooting since I was about 10 or 12 but new to arrow building. I've always just bought the factory fletched arrows by the dozen, threw on whatever broadhead caught my eye for the season and sent it. Maybe I want to improve my accuracy or maybe I'm just bored in the off-season but I want to start tailoring my equipment to my specific setup.
Here's what I have -
Easton 340 FMJs
Cut 29.75 inches from end to end (not including the nock)
100gr Stinger Buzzcuts
Have been using the 2in Blazer veins.
Mathews Halon 6 @ 60lbs
My current FOC is 7.915%.
What I've been reading and finding online is that I should be somewhere between 12-20% FOC. The easy solution is buying a heavier head but I already have a dozen of the 100gr Buzzcuts and after a few succesful seasons with them I don't want to change (superstition or sentimental...I'm not sure).
A few questions that I have -
1) Inserts vs Collars - The inserts maintain the OD of the arrow and add weight to move FOC forward. The collars add rigidity to the front of the arrow shaft but increase OD (increased drag on penetration). Which do you prefer?
2) I'm a right handed shooter. Should I be doing a left or right helical? Straight?
3)Arrow wraps - I'm leaning towards white so I can visualize the blood but my eyes pick up neon green and/or orange really well. Which do you recommend and what brand?
4) What jig do you recommend? I prefer something solid and reliable but see that price ranges drastically on these for some reason. Quality and consistency is more important than price for this but lets be reasonable (lets say under $100).
Thanks for all the help
--- End quote ---
1) Inserts versus collars ... I've only ever used inserts. I have nothing against outserts, but I just never had the need to try them. While the outserts might increase initial drag on penetration, I would not be surprised if they reduce overall draw on pass-through since the remainder of the arrow shaft is now passing through a larger hole created by the outsert. Maybe one day I'll try them ...
2) Left or right helical, or straight ... let me expand on this a bit. You also have the option of left and right offset which is basically somewhere in between straight and helical. Trying to fletch helical can be a PITA. I can elaborate more with a phonecall. An offset vane is basically using a straight fletch clamp and adjusting the jig to put the vane on 1-2 degrees off parallel. The more vane rotation you have, the more accurate you will be, but at the expense of losing KE faster and adding arrow noise. Should you be fletching right or left hand? Not sure. I always use right hand, but I know some guys will shoot a bare shaft into a target a short distance away to see if the arrow naturally wants to spin clockwise or counterclockwise. Simply mark the arrow with a paint dot, shoot the target, and see which way the dot rotated. Then fletch correspondingly.
3) I don't use arrow wraps. Just personal preference.
4) I recommend the Firenock jig. Spendy, but well built. Buy a used one to save some $$$.
Now I am going to touch on a few things that you have not mentioned.
A) FMJ's ... while I don't have any experience with these shafts, I did shoot Easton ACC's in the past. What I found was that due to the aluminum in the shaft, the shafts were prone to losing straightness after awhile. My 0.001" straightness shafts would eventually range up to 0.006" and cause accuracy issues. I don't know if FMJ's have this issue, but I suspect they would. I recommend 100% carbon, specifically Black Eagle arrows.
B) You dont have to go to a heavier head to increase FOC. You can buy FACT weights to add extra weight up front. You can also use heavier insert if you are not already maxed out and as long as they are installed with hot melt glue. If installed with superglue, you might as well just leave them in and add the FACT weights.
c) Spine indexing ... this can really improve accuracy. Basically you are finding the stiffest part of the arrow (the spine), and making sure all the arrow spines are located in the same position (say top dead center for instance). I buy my shafts already indexed and I can tell you that I do notice a measurable increase in accuracy when shooting my crossbows.
Crunchy:
Bitzenberger is the jig I and many would recommend. You will not get any helical from a 2 inch blazer vein. To get any helical you will need a 4 inch vane. I would just stick with an off set which is very slight with a 2 inch vein. Wraps I have tried but could never get right, so I gave up. I wouldnt over think FOC. If your arrow flight is shooting well call it good. I shoot 3 inch vanes with as much offset I can get and maintain good contact for gluing.
Stein:
I fletch 2” Blazers with a helical, not sure why you couldn’t.
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