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Who Did Not Snort the Fairy Dust? And Why?

Aaronpaul14

Aaronpaul14

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So many discussions and threads about building heavy arrows etc. I am more curious now for the folks that looked at it and has decided to stick with their so called "twizzlers?"

I do not need to hear from RF or Ashby followers that are shooting 550+ and believe its the only way to go to ethically kill a deer. I believe it is a very viable option and a good one at that. Just haven't seen many threads from the other side of the fence on the subject.

I have been researching and looking into it but I've already spent A LOT on hunting stuff this year and do not want to dive into another rabbit hole.

Lets here from the speed arrow fans and if there are none, please pray for me so my wife doesn't kill me when I spend more money!
 
I put effort into accuracy and good arrow flight first and foremost, then consider my weight (400 grain ish) to help determine what broadhead makes sense, and then speed as a last consideration, if any at all.
YMMV
 
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I went heavier & high FOC , that w/5mm shafts I think helped penetrations immensely. I forget offhand but will post weight tonight. I shot a buck early last season that ducked & loaded at the shot. The arrow entered the base of his neck ran completely through him & exited his offside rib cage mid body. He walked 75yds & tipped over. I know that was a fluke but I don’t believe my old setup would’ve had an exit wound!!
 
Does the weight of these heavy arrows include the broadhead? 550gr, etc.
 
The only reason I changed arrows this year is because I got a new bow and I couldn't find my old arrows for sale anywhere. Since I had to change, I did decide to go a little heavier but keeping a single pin to 30 was more important than the weight of the arrow. Not saying my approach is correct, but I actually wanted to stay "around" the speed of my old bow which was 278fps. Since my new bow is faster (it shoots my old arrows at 302fps), I was able to add more weight and still keep near the old bow's speed. Luckily I have a friend that has all kinds of stuff and I got to shoot arrows weighing 385 to 593 grains and chrono the speeds of each over multiple shots. I took that data and worked backwards to come up with my current setup which is Gold Tip Hunter XT 300 spine with 100 grain inserts.
 
BackSpasm said:
So you're hoping we convince you to not spend money? Good luck with that :grimacing:
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More of I’m pretty accurate with my 350 spine arrow and 100gr fixed broadbead. But if I’m sitting on an island alone I will start looking for a way off the island.

I totally get the deer move and heavy will punch through better but The only time I’ve had one stick and stay in bone was a doe walked out by my blind and was quartering away pretty good and went right through vitals and stuck in front left leg bone. She didn’t go more than 30yds.
 
Bigterp said:
I went heavier & high FOC , that w/5mm shafts I think helped penetrations immensely. I forget offhand but will post weight tonight. I shot a buck early last season that ducked & loaded at the shot. The arrow entered the base of his neck ran completely through him & exited his offside rib cage mid body. He walked 75yds & tipped over. I know that was a fluke but I don’t believe my old setup would’ve had an exit wound!!
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But you might have hit him where you wanted with your old setup. No?
 
bj139 said:
Does the weight of these heavy arrows include the broadhead? 550gr, etc.
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Yes. The High FOC guys are running heavy broadheads 200gr.+ and 100ish grain inserts.. I need to buy some new broadheads this year so I'm probably going up to 150gr. stinger buzzcuts, but I'm not going all die hard about it.. I like the thought of the single bevels but I need another off-season to figure that out. This off-season has been mostly about learning one sticking... getting comfortable in a saddle.. and scouting.. so I like the idea of getting a higher FOC and it makes a lot of sense from a physics standpoint, but like I said.. I'm not diving into the deep end quite yet.
 
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My crossbow bolts weigh 370 grains with Rage broadhead. Is this heavy?
 
As a duster myself, I am keeping my mouth shut and I am interested to see the arguments for light set ups here as well as the number of people who still tell you how much you need a heavy arrow even though you asked the opposite. Heavy arrow shooters are like saddle hunters, trad archers, and vegans..... they (we) just have to tell you what you're doing all wrong
 
TooheyBirdie said:
Yes. The High FOC guys are running heavy broadheads 200gr.+ and 100ish grain inserts.. I need to buy some new broadheads this year so I'm probably going up to 150gr. stinger buzzcuts, but I'm not going all die hard about it.. I like the thought of the single bevels but I need another off-season to figure that out. This off-season has been mostly about learning one sticking... getting comfortable in a saddle.. and scouting.. so I like the idea of getting a higher FOC and it makes a lot of sense from a physics standpoint, but like I said.. I'm not diving into the deep end quite yet.
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Don't heavier broadheads require stiffer shafts and larger fletchings to fly straight?
 
I think the Ashby/ Ranch Fairy movement is good but I do want to make a few comments on the topic.

1) Large pin gaps and more crucial range estimation is a legitimate down side to the heavy arrows.

2) 2 Blade fixed broadheads do not produce great blood trails in comparison to three blade or bigger mechanicals. (In my experience.) This can be problematic with liver or stomach hits. If you don't have a tracking dog available your recovery chances are lower.

3) The Fairy movement combines 2 different topics into one. Heavy High FOC Arrows and Cut on Contact quality broadheads. I personally believe that many whitetail hunters would be really happy if the moved to a heavy 550 grain arrow and still shot a big expandable. Better penetration with massive cutting. I suspect that many of the deflection issues would also improve.

4) The Fairy Movement often cites blood tracking recovery statistics. Most of us do not know a blood tracker or cant afford to pay one. A dog can find a dead deer that a hunter never would. I need to be able to find my deer without a dog and the amount of blood matters.

5) The condition of the broadhead after it passes through a deer is not nearly as important to me as the amount of damage it does to the deer. While it is nice to have a tough broadhead you can re-sharpen, having a massive hole in a deer is also really nice.
 
bj139 said:
Don't heavier broadheads require stiffer shafts and larger fletchings to fly straight?
Click to expand...

Yes.. I shoot a 300 shaft.. a lot of guys shooting 550+ shoot 250's... if you've properly tuned the arrow to the bow, you don't necessarily need larger fletching.. if you're interested in it watch some of Ranch Fairy's stuff on youtube.
 
Gator said:
But you might have hit him where you wanted with your old setup. No?
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Absolutely, I guess there’s no way to recreate those variables. My old setup were similar weight less FOC & didn’t quite fly like darts like these. That’s more feel than anything.....
 
Well I can tolerate about 3 seconds of the fairy, so there's that.

I guess my arrow is kinda middle of the road. I'm around 550 grains with a coc fixed and it does what it needs to on deer and hasn't failed me yet. It's not going to bounce off them like a 300 tipped with a walmart rage. I'm not sure what fairy dude's magic formula is, pretty sure it's a couple hundred heavier than mine, but heavier arrows than my setup I don't like how much my trajectory drops, especially in that critical 25-35 distance.

I do want to try single bevels at some point but I'm kinda lazy about experimenting with it. I'll get there eventually. I'm about as avid a bowhunter as they come, but the archery geek stuff doesn't trip my trigger the same way.
 
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