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To FOC or NOT

BRAY2KAY

Active Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Messages
118
Location
West Virginia
I've been debating buying some grizzlystik arrows and going full ranch fairy or not. Right now I'm just shooting easton fmjs but every deer I have shot with them if not full passthrough they break. I'd also like to do some right helical fletchings and single bevel broadheads. Draw length-28 draw weight- 76 lbs on mathews v3. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. If not grizzlystik then which one and why?
 
Second year bow hunting and I picked up some grizzly stik seconds earlier this year. I’m sitting at about 500 grains with a 27.5” draw and ~60-65 draw weight. I put 3 fin zingers on them and am currently shooting a 125 grain cutthroat and they fly great. I broke one on a spine shot but I think most arrows would break with that. If you can stomach the cost I think they’re worth it.


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Gold tip Kinetic Pierce. I really like them. Did some testing on them. Shot through metal and various sizes of plywood. Held up great. Shot one into a concrete block as well. I’ve heard good things on the grizzlystiks just no personal experience. An arrow being left in a deer is gonna break a lot of arrows. Unless like u said it’s a pass through. I’m a heavy arrow FoC guy but I don’t think for deer the super crazy heavy is a must. Not saying it will hurt but I like my setups 500-700 grains. Mostly around 550. I seem to get the sweet spot of arrow energy and not a crazy amount of drop.

I enjoy ranch fairy and his videos minus the if you don’t do it his way “you’re an idiot” mentality. I’d suggest taking some of his point and change what fits YOU best. If you keep it 30 yards and under like myself a heavy arrow isn’t a burden at all.
 
White tails only? Are you building them? Or looking for pre made?
If your white tail only just get a good arrow, 550gr +/-
True RF would be you shoot several set ups and pick the one that shoots the best. Might be 600 or might be 530. The test kit would help you pick that. So the answer would be how ever you achieve the best arrow flight.
 
I've been debating buying some grizzlystik arrows and going full ranch fairy or not. Right now I'm just shooting easton fmjs but every deer I have shot with them if not full passthrough they break. I'd also like to do some right helical fletchings and single bevel broadheads. Draw length-28 draw weight- 76 lbs on mathews v3. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. If not grizzlystik then which one and why?

fmjs were promised to be tough, but a lot of folks report that they are the opposite and that they bend easily

the full ranch fairy thing is not necessary with a modern compound bow with your specs

with your setup, i would shoot a gold tip hunter 300 to 250 spine with a normal insert, 125 grain fixed blade head, and 3 inch helical vanes

you'll shoot through everything but the shoulder socket and top of the humerus and maybe the center of a vertebrae could stop the arrow (this is not to say that ranch fairy arrows will break the heaviest bones on a big buck, i don't think people test their setups enough usually to even know), other than that you'll blow through everything and get to reuse your arrow too
 
Whitetails. Have bowhunted since I was big enough to shoot a bow and always looking to get better. Any arrow will kill and deer with a perfect shot but like everyone on this forum I'm just looking for something better. Thanks to all you guys I've spent alot of money get "better" things. It's hard to be on this forum and not look for something better haha
 
This was from some of my testing. If I remember right this is a 5/8 ac plywood screwed on top of a 1/4 ac plywood. Buried all the way to the fletching. I feel like this is an example of what an arrow can do. Figuring in wood seems to really grab and arrow and slow one down. I was happy with this. Notice the thin sheets of metal with holes in them which were screw to 1/4” sheets of plywood as well. Would like to retry this setup with a light arrow setup and a super heavy setup and compare the results.
 

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Is this for next season? Then go for it. If you still have some season left, seems like a bad time to start tweaking, since FOC relies on a lot of tuning.


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No it's for next season. My wife bowhunts as well and I bought her the grizzlystiks this year and its has helped her greatly. She shoots low poundage and now heavier arrows and they have worked so I thought I would try for next year.
 
This was from some of my testing. If I remember right this is a 5/8 ac plywood screwed on top of a 1/4 ac plywood. Buried all the way to the fletching. I feel like this is an example of what an arrow can do. Figuring in wood seems to really grab and arrow and slow one down. I was happy with this. Notice the thin sheets of metal with holes in them which were screw to 1/4” sheets of plywood as well. Would like to retry this setup with a light arrow setup and a super heavy setup and compare the results.

i keep meaning to save a scapula and humerus from a freshly processed deer and shoot it

the tests with dried out bone doesn't seem reliable

i was finishing off a spine shot buck once and the second arrow hit the femur dead on because he was moving, the arrow actually bounced off

third arrow in the heart
 
If it helps you decide I have a 26.5" draw shoot a 55lb bow. Since switching to carbon arrows in the late 90s My hunting arrow has never weighed more than 402 grains. Roughly 140 plus of the 215 deer I have shot( 8 weeks off every year for archery & hunt 4 states ) have been with this arrow setup. I have gone as lite as 365 grain and as high as 402 ( different fletch or insert ) average has been about 380 grain. I would say over 95% have been pass throughs. Shots have never been past 35 yards. Broadheads have been Muzzy 4 blade 90 grain. Rocket Steelhead, Slick Trick standards, Shwacker1.5" cut, and Magnus black hornets in that order over the years. Best thing that has helped me over the years has been the bubble level in my sight. Totally eliminated left or right misses. Its fun to try different arrow setups just remember you can go in both directions and be successful.
 
If it helps you decide I have a 26.5" draw shoot a 55lb bow. Since switching to carbon arrows in the late 90s My hunting arrow has never weighed more than 402 grains. Roughly 140 plus of the 215 deer I have shot( 8 weeks off every year for archery & hunt 4 states ) have been with this arrow setup. I have gone as lite as 365 grain and as high as 402 ( different fletch or insert ) average has been about 380 grain. I would say over 95% have been pass throughs. Shots have never been past 35 yards. Broadheads have been Muzzy 4 blade 90 grain. Rocket Steelhead, Slick Trick standards, Shwacker1.5" cut, and Magnus black hornets in that order over the years. Best thing that has helped me over the years has been the bubble level in my sight. Totally eliminated left or right misses. Its fun to try different arrow setups just remember you can go in both directions and be successful.

my current arrow is 410 grains out of a 58 pound/30" bow with a qad exodus broadhead

my only deer this year was a passthrough and the arrow went through 6 inches of loose forest soil and embedded in a tree root so deeply that i had to dig down to the root and pry the head out to avoid possibly hurting my arrow
 
It’s not necessary but if you love to tinker then why not. Ive killed animals with arrows from 400-570 grains over the past 15 years.

In 2022 I’ll be shooting ~470 grain Easton Axis with ~13% FOC. I do recommend Axis over FMJ for durability.


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I’m running black eagle outlaws. 125 Levi morgan series swhacker. Total arrow weight is 445-450 grains. I’m at a 27.5 draw at 70 pounds. Ran great this year and affordable.
 
i was finishing off a spine shot buck once and the second arrow hit the femur dead on because he was moving, the arrow actually bounced off

third arrow in the heart


My first shot on this buck bounced right off of his femur! (Rage Hypodermic 355gr arrow 260ish FPS)
He went about 15 yards and turned around to see what the heck hit him.
The second shot took out his windpipe and jugular...

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If you hit the deer forward, you need the grizzly stick. If you hit the deer rearward, you need the rage. If you hit it correctly, either will work. Take your pick.

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Those are great points that are difficult to debate but I’ll make a comment. I’ve shot quite a few deer over the past two years with Iron Will wide cuts. They’re a
1-5/8” cut 2 blade head with bleeders. I’ve hit a few deer back and forward with excellent recovery results. Best of both worlds in my opinion.


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I've been debating buying some grizzlystik arrows and going full ranch fairy or not. Right now I'm just shooting easton fmjs but every deer I have shot with them if not full passthrough they break. I'd also like to do some right helical fletchings and single bevel broadheads. Draw length-28 draw weight- 76 lbs on mathews v3. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. If not grizzlystik then which one and why?

In my experience the GS's are a great arrow. I however would recommend Iron Will's over the GS's broad heads. You can shoot a single bevel, double bevel, or wide from them and all are better steel and sharpen to a better edge and the blades are replaceable. They made the wide's for the whitetail hunters that wanted a wider cut to help make a better blood trail. I'm going to run either Wide 150's or single bevel 150's until there is something that comes out that is better. Bonus is they are easy to sharpen.

Is there an arrow better than GS?

Depends on who you ask. There are cheaper parallel shafts out there that are stronger and have a better tolerance. Day 6 is what I built this year and they are strong plus the bonus of being a micro diameter. 11.8gpi though so they are heavy. The ones I built ended up heavier than I wanted because of my poor planning but I'm going to keep them for if I ever get to go after bigger game. If you look at the 12 penetration factors a taper shaft does help with penetration but arrow flight and structural integrity are at the top so they should be considered to be more important. This is why I think the Day 6 insert/outsert system is the best out there.

Bottom line is you can do better than the FMJ, which it sounds like you want to do. Black Eagle Rampage and Spartan, Day 6, Vector, Valkyrie, Easton Axis etc all will allow you to build an arrow to the FOC that you want with something like an Ethics component at what ever weight you want. If you don't want to build your own there are options with some places that will build them for you at the specs you want. Rob @ dynamic archery solutions is a great resource and you can get a test pack from him to see what you like before buying a dozen.
 
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