Build me an arrow

[kal]

So fallowing the discussion off of my last thread I thought I would post this fun question. I give the numbers and you suggest your ideal arrow. Heck you can even top it with the ideal broadhead. So hunting plains game with a 70lb duel cam bow, arrows are 28 inches from nock point to carbon what would you build/use?

 

[BRICKBURN]

Way to personal for me to dance on this one.
Like asking what the best load for a rifle is.

It ends up looking like this.:beatingdeadhorse:

 

[Norwegianwoods]

As BRICKBURN said.
This is sort of personal and there is not only one answer on this one

But with that setup, my choice would be similar to this
Gold Tip Kinetic XT 300(10.4 gpi) with Accu-Tough insert/outsert and 3x4" vanes.
I would either use 125 grain Slick Trick Magnums or 125 grain DRT broadhead(made by a member on this forum).
Personally I would also up the foc and weight a bit by adding 1 or 2 20 grain Gold Tip
Kinetic Screw Combo to the insert making a total arrow weight to around 500 grain and 12-13% foc

Let us say you have a decent IBO speed bow of 330 fps and the draw length is 28" as the arrow length.
Then you would get around 260 fps, 75 KE and 0.58 momentum.

 

[kal]

I understand its a very personal thing, just trying to have some fun. As to the DRT heads, a friend coming with on safari this year is strongly looking at them for his heads. I will say they look very impressive and now that I know the person making them supports this forum it makes me want to take a closer look at them myself.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I understand its a very personal thing, just trying to have some fun. As to the DRT heads, a friend coming with on safari this year is strongly looking at them for his heads. I will say they look very impressive and now that I know the person making them supports this forum it makes me want to take a closer look at them myself.

I think TOM gave them a whirl on his last trip.
I have not taken advantage of the new broad heads.

 

[Bushman10]

Seeing that I raised this issue in your previous thread @kal I will give it a go assuming that nothing bigger than an Eland will be hunted:

Aiming for around 500 grains I would go for an Easton N-Fused Axis carbon (10.7 gpi) arrow with a 300 spine for your 70 lb bow. At the front I would have a 25 grain insert to increase the FOC to around 15 - 20%. The broadhead should be a 125 grain BH and I would suggest using 4.5" feather fletches (not plastic) at the back. This will not only stabilize the weight in the front very quickly but is also much better for hunting as the fletch can not be deflected by a branch or twig as easily as stiff plastic vanes.

For anything below Eland I would suggest a good mechanical BH such as the Rage but for Eland I would suggest a nice sharp fixed blade BH. The latter would be great for when you perhaps hit a heavy bone on entry.

 

[kal]

Bushman- thanks for the info. You are the first person to suggest the rage head (the head I normally use for n. America game). Have you had much experience with this head? I used it on an orx in texas with great results but had not planned on it in Africa.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I think people have different experiences with the Rage on PGs. Some places they don't allow hunters using mechs at all because of lots of bad experiences with mechs.

I have seen some videos of hunters using Rage with extremely poor penetration.
I suspect the two main culprits for this is low momentum setups and poorly tuned bows. (Sadly many that chooses to use mechs do so because they don't manage to tune their bow to shoot well with fixed broadheads).

If you have a well tuned good momentum setup and want to use mechs, I recommend to use strong all steel ones. Either the 2" Rage Hypodermic or the 1.5" Ulmer Edge Stainless Steel.

 

[Grady]

I have a very similar set-up for my bow as you mentioned, 70lb at 28 in draw. For my safari, I used Carbon Express Maxima Blues Streak arrows (350 Spine, 8.3 gr/in), 3 3" plastic vanes, bull dog nock collars (4.6 grains), carbon express nocks (10 grains), 100 grain Muzzy fixed broadheads. I know this my be a little light for most, but I prefer speed and accuracy over weight, that is my personal preference. I took a blesbuck, impala and Kudu without any issues. I have also taken Caribou and White Tails with this set up. I have taken my set up Moose hungting, but Bull Winkle has not given me the opportunity to shoot him....yet. I also have some Full Metal Jackets, just have not put the time into fully trying them out yet becasue my current set-up works for me at this time. As for the mechanical vs. broadhead issue....I think Norwegianwoods said it, - Sadly many that chooses to use mechs do so because they don't manage to tune their bow to shoot well with fixed broadheads - In recent years mechanicals have benifited from better technology, I am just not ready to switch to them yet....again a personal preference.

 

[G Skinner]

My set up was simple Easton Powerflite 340 with a four inch plastic vane (29 inches) with the 140 grain G5 Montecs total weight 458 grains . I took an African Wildcat , 2 Gemsbok , a Warthog , Black Wildebeest and a Kudu no problems . The bow is a Missions Maniac @ 70 lbs
Glen

 

[Bushman10]

@kal - In your original posting you specify you have a 70lb bow with a 28" DL. For this setup I have no problem recommending the Rage 2 for African plains game animals from Duiker to Kudu. For Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbuck and Eland I would recommend a more solid fixed blade BH. There is one proviso - your arrow needs to be around the 500 grains or more. You need that extra momentum for the Rage to open properly.

@Grady - Regarding your statement on preferring Speed over weight - Speed does not give you penetration but Weight does. The two culprits for string jumping is the Impala and the Warthog and there is no bow in the world that can shoot faster than what the reaction time is of these two animals so why chase speed?

 

[Grady]

@Grady - Regarding your statement on preferring Speed over weight - Speed does not give you penetration but Weight does. The two culprits for string jumping is the Impala and the Warthog and there is no bow in the world that can shoot faster than what the reaction time is of these two animals so why chase speed?

Bushman - as I said, this is just my personal preference, and I am not an advocate for "chasing speed", I just like the arrow choice that I have at this time. If i truly want more speed, I would go with lighter arrows and a different set up. I have been fortunate to take some very nice animals with my set up. The discussions between weight vs. speed are a never ending discussion and there are many fourms out there dedicated to that very subject. Bottom line, a sharp quality broadhead, good arrow placement and confidence in your particular set-up are just as important as arrow weight...and maybe more. I would and have taken my set-up for plans game and North American game and would do it again. For Dangerous Game, I would probably change it, but that's another discussion.

 

[Paolo Mauritania]

Personal, but with my 70# LB I use a 750 grains arrow, Douglas Fir Premium, 11/32" dia., 5 1/2" feathers low profile banana, length 29" (I have a 28" draw), a single bevel Grizzly broad head 200 grains super sharp, FOC 20%. 10+ grains/pound worked well for me.

 

[Paolo Mauritania]

Another note, regardless if the game is classified as dangerous or not, I would suggest to study well the anatomy, my biggest worry when it come to penetration are those ungulates with bovine anatomy, large scapula and high elbow (like the cape buffalo), thick hide, the bones position reduces a lot the areas for a relatively light-fast arrow shot. Contingency plan.
Forgot to mention that I like two bladed broad heads with 1/3 ratio (1 base width-3 blade length) they have better penetration especially on green bones. What I don't like are broad heads that get damaged on impact; good for a day hunt but in the middle of the bush for a week, ten days, I like something more re-usable. But this is just me.