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Arrow question??

Big O

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Picked up a new bow over the winter, at least new to me. I have only in the past used my bow when chasing elk in MT, other than that it's mostly rifle and muzz. I have a ton to learn about archery. It's Martin Firecat dual cam, an 09 model. From my previous bow I have almost 2 dozen almost new alum. Easton xx75 2315 arrows. Had them checked at a pro shop and only a few needed straightened.They have 3" viens with a slight twist. It has a fall away rest if it matters. I imagine I will only be chasing elk with this. I got it sighted in over the last week but noticed some arrows wander like a knuckleball, pretty noticable at 30-50 yds. I plan on shooting around 65lbs. Are these arrows too heavy? Do I need the poundage higher on my bow? Put on 3 broadheads (125 Thunderheads) and all 3 shot 18" to the left compared to field tips. What about carbon, do they wander? What's the trick to get broadheads shooting the same as field tips without re-sighting? Not real concerned about switching arrows to get the accuracy I want.

Thanks for the help.
 
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I can try to help some but have a few questions. Did a bow shop set up the bow? Have you tried a paper test? Could the wandering arrows be bent? Also what is your draw length and arrow length?
 
I bought the bow "ready" to shoot. Sights, rest...ready to go from another hunter. Have not paper shot it yet. A few arrows were straightened, most were just fine the pro shop claimed. The draw length is 30 and the arrows are 31.5. Thanks Mac7
 
If you can I would go to a bow shop and have them help you tune it. There are alot of things to check and adjust sometimes to get a bow set up and shooting well. I'm not up to date on most new compound stuff as I mostly hunt traditional or with my ancient mathews. If you can't get to a shop pick up a book on tuning your bow (Tuning & Silencing your bowhunting system) is one I use.

I think your arrows should be fine if your in the 29-31 inch range. Your going to need to paper test it to figure out what your arrows are doing so you can adjust your rest or nock point. I haven't used a drop away but are you sure it is working properly, meaning your arrows aren't contacting it when leaving the bow. I'm sure there is someone who knows more that will come along and help.
 
Typing at the same time. I think your arrows should work. Have you spin tested your broadheads on your arrows to make sure they are spinning true (no wobble at the tip).
 
The “Trick” is to have your arrows matched to your bow, and your bow “Tuned”.

There are lots of charts available to help match the arrows, and tutorials on tuning your bow.

Before you start, you will need to know these things.

Exact draw length of your bow.

Exact draw weight.

Length of the arrows you have, and tip weight.

How aggressive the draw cycle on your bow is (Duel cam ? I would guess it’s very aggressive, or “hard”)

What you are trying to do is match the “Spine” (or stiffness) of your arrow to the amount of thrust (or push) you bow produces.

From there, use one of the charts, and if your arrows aren’t matched up to your bow, there are lots of things you can do, like turning the draw weight up or down, using lighter or heavier tips to get thing close.

After you do that, it’s time to tune your bow.
This can be a long complicated process, but it can be fun. It’s rewarding when you finally get thing dialed in, and you bow shoots field points and broad heads to the same spot, in a nice tight little group.
What you are trying to do in “tuning” you bow is make sure the arrow is leaving the bow perfectly straight. It involves making small adjustments to your nock point and arrow rest. Also make sure you vanes are not “toughing anything as the arrow leaves the bow, causing the arrow to wobble in flight.



#1 Go to the Easton web site, and download and print their arrow chart and tuning guide.

Read them carefully.

Note: Most arrow charts are made for target shooters, and tend to run light, so for hunting, many people get the best results by choosing an arrow slightly heavier than the chart recommends.
 
Easton xx75 2315 arrows..

Put on 3 broadheads (125 Thunderheads) and all 3 shot 18" to the left compared to field tips. .

Based on your length, draw weight and tip weight, the Easton arrow chart puts you at 2317s. a stiffer arrow. That might help explain why broadheads are hitting way to the left.

A cheap way to test his would be to turn your draw weight down to 60 lbs, and find some 100 grain tip & broadheads to play with. I'll bet that would bring your broadheads much closer to your field points.
 
Thanks for the pointers guys, look forward to the challenge. Definatley need to do some homework and put my time in. A little more to it than I was thinking. :confused:
 
Very few broadheads I have ever shot will shoot in the same group as my field points. I have always shot fixed blade broadheads and I never worried if they wouldn't shoot with my field points as long as they grouped with each other. What other people have said about haveing a well tuned bow is spot on. That is the one of the most important things. One of the other posts hit on another important thing when shooting fixed blade broadheads. That is to spin check them. This assures that the tip is aligned with the shaft. I am not sure how tall you are but that draw length seems a little long.
 
A-con- Several things you should do in the correct sequence.
First and foremost, spin test the arrows with broadheads attached to see how well they spin. If they wobble at all either the arrow is bent or the broadhead and insert aren't matched up square. If the arrow is bent, voila', there's your grouse arrow. If its the broadhead/ insert being out of square ( Thunderheads are notorious for this) try several arrow and broadhead combinations till you get each one to spin perfectly true.

Based on your length, draw weight and tip weight, the Easton arrow chart puts you at 2317s. a stiffer arrow. That might help explain why broadheads are hitting way to the left.

A cheap way to test his would be to turn your draw weight down to 60 lbs, and find some 100 grain tip & broadheads to play with. I'll bet that would bring your broadheads much closer to your field points.


A-con has some good points here. Dropping your tip weight increases arrow spine. Dropping draw weight also allows you to shoot a weaker spine. If that fixes your problem then you've figured it out. I really don't think it will but its worth a try before you buy new arrows.

I really suspect its more of a tuning issue associated with your rest than anything else. If your arrows hit 18" to the left of your field points that is an indication that you probably need to move your rest to the right. ( in small increments 1/16" or less.) With a properly tuned bow your fieldpoints and broadheads should shoot in the same spot. As you move your rest to the right you should see your groups tighten. If after moving your rest several times both field points and broadheads move but stay 18" apart that would be pretty good evidence its a spine issue and not a tuning issue.

Another factor may be your form. You may be torqueing your grip. Broadheads are going to magnify form issues way more than field tips do. You wouldn't notice it shooting field points because the fletching can correct arrow flight when shooting field points.

If you notice that sometimes the broadheads and field points shoot together and sometimes they don't I would suspect a form/grip issue. This could be resolved with some coaching and lots of practice.


The last thing I would do is rush out and buy something new until you work through some of these issues. You can spend $150 in new gear and still have the same issues.

My guess is the arrows you have will work as long as they really are straight. I wouldn't put broadheads on the restraightened arrows. That just sounds like a lot of frustration to me. You'll need grouse arrows anyway.

Good luck
 
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