[not]

This is my first arrow build. I purchased almost everything at Bass Pro, including a Bohning Fletching Jig, Pine Ridge Archery Instant Arrow Glue (smelled like superglue, dried like superglue, is this just superglue???), NAP Quickspin blazer vanes, and the GT XT Hunter arrows. I had to jump on archerytalk to find a source for the 100 grain brass inserts (3 Rivers Archery I believe).

Arrow: Gold Tip XT Hunter 340, cut to 29.5" (262.55 grains according to GT website)
Insert: 100 Grain Brass Insert (100 grains)
Vanes: 2" NAP Quickspin (8 grains each, 24 grains total according to NAP website)
Wrap: BOWADX Red/White (11.8 grains, according to Chad at BOWADX)
Nock: Standard GT (11.5 grains, according to GT website)

Arrow Weight: 409.85 grains

Broadhead: 100 grains

Total Weight: 509.85 grains

FOC: approximately 14.53% (approximate because I used Gold Tip's calculator and it doesn't have a 2" blazer vane listed that weighs 8 grains and also because I'm not sure how much glue I used on each vane and insert)

My first thought is that this arrow is heavy when I pick it up. I'm used to buying them off the shelf already fletched and just having them cut to length and the standard inserts installed.

I enjoyed fletching them myself, but I am concerned that I wasn't consistent with the glue from vane to vane and arrow to arrow. I realized very little glue will go quite a long way, but not until I had completed a few of the arrows already.

Pictures should be below, let me know what to do better in the future. For reference, I'm shooting a 28.5" draw length, 70 lb bow.

 

[2Hunde]

Those look nice

 

[burritosandbeer]

nice, good looking and good weight. I like em starting at 500gr and going up.

 

[ORrogue]

I think your FOC might be a little higher but the wrap can contribute a little to lowering that.

I started building some arrows for my longbow the same way, a 340 shaft 100gr brass insert a 3 inch aluminum footing(25gr) and a 200 gr head.

Loved the way they performed so much that I bareshafted the same shafts with the compound and just dropped the head to 125gr.

Quiet and deadly just like an arrow should be.
A word of caution that once you start tinkering with this it gets addictive and expensive.lol

Great looking arrows hope to see some success pics with them.

 

[InjunJR]

Good looking arrows with great weight. The more you build the better at it you will get

 

[Dukslayer26]

They look great! Especially for your first attempt. Only thing left to do is kill something. Good luck

 

[not]

Thanks everyone! I hope to get a hunt in this weekend and share a success story!

 

[buckeyboy]

How did you form the carbon shafts?

 

[sethro02]

What's your bow setup? 100 grain insert on the end of a 340 spine sounds sketchy at best.

 

[goathollow]

What's your bow setup? 100 grain insert on the end of a 340 spine sounds sketchy at best.

Kinda what I was thinking. The total arrow weight is about perfect IMO, and they look cool as heck. I would just be concerned about the spine with a 28.5" draw and 70lb draw weight.

 

[TimmyZ7]

What's your bow setup? 100 grain insert on the end of a 340 spine sounds sketchy at best.

Agreed.

 

[sethro02]

Unless your shooting a really old bow, have t-Rex arms, or shooting 50lbs, you may want to sell them. I could run it on ot2 when I get home

 

[nicko]

Look real nice. Good job.

 

[not]

What is the concern with the 340 shafts and the 100 grain inserts? I'm just trying to learn.

 

[Dan7168]

Unless your shooting a really old bow, have t-Rex arms, or shooting 50lbs, you may want to sell them. I could run it on ot2 when I get home

He said 28.5" draw at 70lbs.

 

[hookedonbow]

What is the concern with the 340 shafts and the 100 grain inserts? I'm just trying to learn.

sorry never mind

 

[jeffbv]

the more weight up front the weaker the spine gets

 

[sethro02]

With today's bows that are higher ibo and more aggressive , 340 spine at 70# with your draw is already at the low end of it's spine range with normal insert and broadhead weight. With your specs you are way underspined. You'll have irratic fixed blade broadhead flight and potential of harming yourself with possible arrow breaking ( rare) but ya never know. I hope nobody at a pro shop recommended that for you

 

[Hey Abbott]

What everyone else is saying your underspined now with the brass inserts. You should have a 300 spine with the 100 brass inserts.

 

[not]

Awesome... no better way to learn than by screwing up. Not really though. So should I sell the 6 that I built to someone that has a better setup for that arrow and start over? I have enough inserts, wraps, and vanes left to build 6 more arrows.