Hitting The Mark, Arrow Changes For The Upcoming Season.

You are drawn back on the whitetail of your life, or at least the deer your life at that time. For some this may be their very first whitetail deer ever. For others it may be an elusive public land buck that they have been trying to get in range of for what seems like your hunting lifetime. Or it could possibly be that brute you've been watching for years. You've tracked down every set of match sheds since you first saw him on camera and tortured yourself passing season after season in the hopes of one day getting to this moment. Regardless of what you're looking at through your sight housing, there is one inescapable truth they all share. Once that release breaks, once that arrow leaves the bow string, all control is relinquished. You can have the best bow in the world, you can be an outstanding archer, and you can float that pin over a quarter at 30 yards. In the moment, even if everything you have done is perfect, all it takes is for that deer to spin, drop, or even a twitch and your arrow could be headed for trouble. From glancing off bone, to shoulder blade impact, or a solid stop as your arrow smashed into the humorous (the upper leg bone that connects to the scapula/shoulder blade), the scenarios increase while the likelihood of a quick and speedy death and recovery decreases. 

Most every archer goes through similar levels of archery equipment evolution. For the most part we all begin buying something used or cheap and often rely on an outdoors retail store to outfit us. Then there's the pro shop phase where you start to dive into the world of higher quality and price tagged items. Some take it further and enter the DIY realm of archery where all hope is lost for your sanity and trust in anyone touching any of your archery equipment ever again. That is where I currently find myself with arrows. Looking across all the places I can sink my time and money into hunting first comes practice, second comes physical capability (staying fit and capable year round), third comes my arrows. I have been through all of the phases described with extra phases/steps in between. Coming into my 15th year of archery hunting I now feel like I truly am grasping all that really goes into something as seemingly simple as your arrow. The purpose of this article is to talk through a bit of how I got to building my own arrows, the setup I have used for the past 3 years, the changes I am making for the 24/25 season, and why. 

As mentioned, like the vast majority of archers, I started with arrows from local outdoor retail stores. Then eventually like most I wandered my way into the local pro shop. I bought my first new bow, actually had it fit to me unlike my first one, and bought better in shop built arrows. Above and beyond the retail option what it really came down to was more care and consistency. Pro shop arrows come with that next level quality as well as insight from the staff, and by all means it certainly gets the job done. There is nothing wrong with going to a pro shop for your archery needs, that's what they are there for. With all that said, there still was just a bit missing. I was wanting a bit more than archery pro shops just cannot provide. Also I have been through quite the variety of pro shops and have come to find that just because it says pro shop on the door and the guy behind the counter is wearing a branded archery shirt, doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're talking about. 

Pro shops are shops, of course, and with that they have countless customers come and go. They can only dig so deep into your personal setup wants and desires. Even if you are willing to pay, they can only make so many arrow setups for you before they run out of feasible options or have to move on to help others. Something that I have run into, for better and for worse, is you are subject to the personality of the individuals helping you. For example I shoot 70 pound draw and I have been openly critiqued by pro shop workers who have claimed that anything over 65 pounds is completely unnecessary. You may be subject to someone who thinks the lightest arrow setups are hands down the best, or max FOC is best, the list goes on. The individual's preferences or thoughts of those helping you, unknowing to you, may limit your options. Yes there is that experience that helps get past a lot fo the initial major hurdles that come along with building your own arrows. There is a difference between what is flat out wrong and what someone thinks doesn't work. I ran into these problems regarding arrows and made the decision I wanted to make my own. 

The first goal that I wrote up at the very top of my arrow building blueprint was I wanted full pass throughs. I was tired of hitting stuff and my arrow stopping. I had been fortunate in the past and made some good shots on some deer that did not pass through, but the deer didn't make it far. And I had some unfortunate situations where the arrow did not pass through and I couldn't pick up a blood trail and never recovered. My logical thought was to maximize trackability, put two holes in them. When I bought my current bow, a Mathews Triax, I ordered 70 pound draw. With that bow I ordered my first set of arrows and components. With those changes I did find success. I was getting the results I wanted, full pass throughs with red carpet blood trails. The biggest change that brought me the results I was wanting that I wasn’t getting with my proshop arrows was overall weight. At least back when I was having pro shops build my arrows, they just were not putting enough weight into the arrows. It was about light and fast arrows hitting that 300+ fps hunting set up. Things may have changed now, I haven't been in a pro shop since I last bought that bow. I do know that really was a significant change that got me where I wanted to be. 

Goal one is hit, complete pass throughs. Looking over my setup there was another change I wanted to make but had never pulled the trigger on. I had alway used expandable broadheads, and they worked as they do for so many every year. But there were two factors that kept coming back to me regarding my broadheads. The first was I really never thought having that extra quarter inch of cutting diameter really could be that beneficial. Like you're either on or you're not. I sure there are stories out there of someone hitting low and the expandable broad head just barely sliced open the bottom of the lungs or something like that, but those are certainly the exceptions to the rule. But that wasn't the catalyst for change, I didn't change because I thought I dont need the extra cutting diameter. I was tired of one use broadheads. I would shoot deer and pick up my arrow and an entire blade would be broken off somewhere. That's what I did not like, and I didnt think that the extra quarter of an inch was worth the fact that they could, and frequently did, break. Where were they breaking off? Hitting ribs, clipping the shoulder blade, I want the entire cutting diameter to cut all the way through, not part of it.  

My next big change was broadheads. Like I said, it was something I was always interested in trying, but I never really could validate it. Now that I had my arrow punching through deer how I wanted and found my expandables breaking, that reason was there. I switched from G5 Havoc two blade expandables to Wasp Drone fixed three blade broadheads. The fixed 3 blade broadheads certainly do their job; complete pass throughs while staying intact without compromising lethality (at least on all the deer I have shot with them). But, an old problem resurfaced with these broadheads, blood trails. When I shot my first doe this year I saw her fall, but I still wanted to track the point of impact to where she died. Of the 40-45 yards she ran, blood really wasn’t that great until the last 15 yards or so. Most of that was splatter from her blowing it out of her airway as she ran and crashed. The second doe I shot had effectively the same results. But, this time it was significantly more telling as I shot this one in snow. Pretty much the same scenario too. 30 yards, dead broadside, calm demeanor, ran 40-45 yards and piled up. I thought for sure it would be the easiest tracking job possible. There was obviously trackable blood, but up until about that last 15 yards or so I was tracking equal parts tracks and blood through a fresh smooth blanket of pearl white snow. 

I hunt relatively high, 24 feet plus. Because of this my shot angle is steep, with the exit hole coming out lower than average on the deer. One of the reasons I take this approach is because I have hunted 16 feet off the ground, put a high arrow in a deer, and not found a drop of blood. The arrow not passing through plus the chest cavity completely filling up with blood to get to the hole/holes, I feel it makes sense. With this set up I did expect more blood, especially with the relatively low exit hole. I believe that, while the fixed 3 blade did their job hemorrhaging and then some, the actual hole itself just isn't that big. The cutting diameter may be 1 1/8th inch, but the size of each blade is slightly under ½ inch tall from the body of the broadhead. Because of this reason, I certainly plan on trying different broadheads this coming year. 

Overall I would say that I am 90% there when it comes to my arrow set up. As I mentioned, there are changes coming for my 24-25 whitetail season but I know I am not far off. Especially considering one very good unintentional test I had this year that my setup not only passed, but literally obliterated. When I shot my second doe I was facing north and she was 30 yards to my west. She was walking dead south down a fairly heavily traveled trail with good visual cover. When she made her way to the clearing I had cut out, I was drawn back and ready and put one through her, absolutely smoking her. I knew that I hit something significant as her front left leg was 100% useless when she tried to run off. I assumed I hit a bit forward and maybe caught a shoulder blade or something. When I recovered her and  was looking her over, checking my shot placement, and field dressed her, what had happened was immediately apparent. I double lunged her just above the heart, other than a heart shot just about as perfect as you can get. But, the joint where the humerus meets the radius and ulna, effectively what would be the elbow, was completely shattered and only connected by skin and muscle. I don't know if my shot was a bit low and she fortunately dropped into it, or if she picked her leg up and that joint moved up into the shot path. Regardless the results were a shattered joint, complete pass through, and usable broad head on the other side. 

Based on the results I have been getting, strongly verified by the last doe that I shot, I know where I am and where I want to be. I love everything about my setup except the blood its spilling and I would like to get back to better blood trails like what I was seeing with my G5s. I do plan on going back to the two blade option but will be staying with fixed blades. I really take making changes to my setup seriously and I need a compelling reason. Over time I have changed so many different aspects time and time again, many in the beginning not even knowing why. There must be a reason, and as you will see, there are. I strongly believe that this will be the setup I use for the foreseeable future or at least the model for what I stick to as long as I hunt. 

I currently shoot a Mathews Triax at 70 lbs draw with 75% let off and 28” draw length.

Current Arrow 

28.5” Black Eagle Spartan 250 spine, 10gpi

125gr Wasp Archery Drone fixed 3 blade broadheads

28gr stainless steel insert

30gr brass insert weight

OneStringer Arrow Wraps, AAE vanes, nock bushing and nock 

Total weight 520 grains 

Simulator calculated about 12% FOC, 270 fps/84 ft-lbs KE

24-25 Season Arrow

28” Black Eagle X-Impact Micro 300 spine, 8.1gpi

150gr Iron Will single bevel buff fixed 2 blade broadheads

42gr aluminum outsert

OneStringer Wraps, AAE vanes, nock

Total weight estimated 460 grains

Simulator calculated about 15% FOC, 290 fps/85.5 ft-lbs KE

One clarification, I do know how and actively calculate these numbers on final arrow builds. Obviously using simulator calculations the numbers will be off, and I am aware of that. I use the simulator to see degree of change from one set up to another. What I mean by that is if the FPS on my current set up is truly 267.8 fps, but the simulator says 270, I know my new arrow will be off too. It would maybe truly run 285 fps, not the 290 simulated. I don't want to compare true existing numbers to simulated numbers of possible builds. By tunning everything through the same simulator, though it may be off, it is equally off allowing me to compare the degree of change and not so much focus on the numbers. Additionally to analyzing my set up and potential changes, I did something that I had never done before that was extremely useful. It sounds so simple, and obvious but I had never done it in the past. I called Black Eagle and spoke with a rep directly. My draw weight/arrow length/ and front end (broad head, insert, and weigh) measurements have always floated me right on the line of 300 vs250 spine arrows. With my conversations with Black Arrow we determined this new set up would likely be more efficient and work better for me. 

I need at least 28” arrows due to my draw length. With my current arrow, I needed to make it longer so the broad head sits past my fingers. I got away with 28.5” but I should've been a bit longer. That in turn requires me to run 250 spine arrows, which weigh in with greater GPI. To get a decent degree of stability, that means I need to put a bunch of weight out on the end for a halfway decent FOC. All of these factors stacked on top of each other and by the time I was done I was looking at a nearly 525 grain setup. It felt wildly inefficient. Which brings me to my conversation with Black Eagle and the decision to move to their micros. 

Their micro arrow utilizes an outsert which in turn allows me to cut my arrow to 28 inches. Shortening the shaft stiffens the weaker spined arrow while the outsert provides the length for the broad head to clear my fingers. I also don’t need to add additional weight just to have weight out there like with the 250 spine arrows. What's most interesting is that even with the drop in weight, the KE goes up a bit. I'm not losing hitting power and my flight path will be flatter. This is important because as stated earlier, I hunt high in the tree which creates a naturally steep shot angle. A flatter flight path is usually preferred regardless and will result in less drop at longer distances. I also use a 3 pin sight with my pins spaced at 15, 30, and 40 yards. This arrow setup better suits my preferred pin layout. The pros of this set up change I think are obvious and not that major. I could still run Wasp, I would just need to bump up to that 150 grain weight. Looking at what they have to offer, I would have to buy vented fixed 2 blade broadheads, which I do not want. I want full body one piece broadheads. 

Nothing is free, so there are cons that are part of the consideration. To begin, I run helical vanes. I haven’t had it be a huge issue on micro arrows I've built in the past, but the smaller the diameter of the arrow, the more difficult it can be to have helical vanes stay on the arrow. Also, switching to fixed 2 blade broadheads, they will “pilot” the front end more, acting as wings. But, I think so long as I have well tuned arrows and a well tuned bow, that is easy to overcome. I just won't be able to throw field points on and expect to shoot the same. But I shoot broadheads year round through practice anyway so that isnt of concern to me. Overall I am very excited about the changes I am making to my arrow set up this year. I think what I am gaining will allow me to finish playing with arrows and move on. My stand sets have always kinda been pieced together and only replaced on an absolute need basis. At the same time I have been struggling with trail cameras for what seems like 5 years now, losing more than I gained in that timespan. The list goes on and on. First, I still need to test my new setup, and I cannot wait!

I have no relationship or affiliation, personal or professional, with any of the products or brands mentioned in this article. I chose the equipment I chose through a mix of years of personal hunting experience and a vast variety of information sources. All descriptions and/or reviews of products discussed in this article are intended to explain and describe my personal experiences. The intention is not to degrade the name, quality, or any aspect of any product or brand. As the reader, if you consider the information presented in the article, I urge you to use it just as that, information in an article. Adding it to your personal experiences and knowledge bank to form your own opinions and conclusions to what is best for your hunting strategy.