I want to preface this by saying that this is going to be a long read, however full of alot of good information regarding arrows. Not all of the information in this article is something I discovered, some of it is widely known, and some of it is not. However, all of the information in this article has been tested and verified by myself. This article is going to be a comprehensive guide to the performance of arrows, and what is TRUELY important in an arrow set up for the majority of the archery population.
ARROW FLIGHT IS KING
Regardless if your arrow setup is light, heavy, or somewhere in between NOTHING is more important than arrow flight. The leading cause of lack of penetration on game animals pertains to arrow flight, if your nock is not flying perfectly behind your point you are missing out on valuable performance in your arrow setup regardless of your arrow weight. The art of tuning a bow to perfection should not be overlooked, unfortunately for most people, I hate to say this but your pro shop is not doing you any favors (usually). I'm not saying that there aren't good pro shops out there, there certainly are. They are few and far between, unfortunately. Find a shop you like and trust. For the DIY crowd feel free to reach out with any tuning questions. Having worked in a pro shop, and now having my operation that strictly does bow tuning and nothing else, I've seen both sides of the coin. Pro shops make their money by moving customers in and out of those doors efficiently. This usually means your tune is going to be "Good Enough". If your goal is to be as efficient, forgiving, and performance-driven as possible "Good Enough" is not what you want. Perfection is what you want.
A compound bow is a machine, and if that machine is not launching that arrow perfectly true you are losing efficiency and overall forgiveness in your setup, which translates to a loss of penetration and arrow performance down range. Everything else discussed in this article doesn't matter as much if your arrow is not flying true.
I have another article on my blog with a basic overview of my tuning process. EVERY customer I work with will achieve a bullet hole through paper at various distances before they leave or their bow gets shipped back to them. This is imperative to optimal performance.
F.O.C
Front of Center has been a buzzword for the last 5-7 years in the industry with many individuals hopping on the heavy arrow high F.O.C train. There is a give and take to everything in archery and this one is a big one, which is often overlooked, in almost all of my testing 15-17% F.O.C tends to yield the best overall results as it pertains to overall fixed blade broadhead flight at distances 20-120 yards. Once you get above 17% F.O.C give or take a little, I would be extremely wary to shoot a fixed blade broadhead in adverse weather or windy conditions past 30 yards, due to so much of the arrow's overall weight being towards the front of the shaft the back end of the shaft is so light that adverse or windy conditions tend to have a greater effect on the arrow at distances. This often shows up as fishtailing, or a parachute effect that is visible in the arrow flight which will diminish the overall performance and accuracy of your arrow setup. Many people overlook arrow shafts that are above 9.5 grains per inch based on the fear of not being able to get adequate F.O.C. I strongly recommend you use some arrow weight and F.O.C calculators to get a rough idea of where you will sit with your proposed setup, and make F.O.C an afterthought.
DURABILITY
If your arrow doesn't survive the impact it is not going to perform. There are a lot of common misconceptions that pertain to durability and how to achieve good durability in an arrow (sleeves, glue in points, outserts, half outs, 4mm vs 5mm, wall thickness, carbon weave, etc etc). The factors that affect durability are not one-dimensional if you are looking for the most durable arrow. Durability can be increased by adding a sleeve to almost any arrow though. I am going to break down a few of the key features of durability in their segments that I feel are important.
WALL THICKNESS
Side wall thickness is probably the most overlooked aspect of durability when choosing an arrow most people assume they can grab any shaft add a sleeve to it and they are bomb proof. While adding a sleeve does help the structural integrity of your shaft it is not always that simple. If you're anything like me I hate having to re-buy arrows every season, whether I lost them or broke them, I'm not a fan. Wall thickness plays a major role in how durable your arrow will be.
4MM arrows are inherently known as being brittle because most manufacturers and consumers are chasing thin walls and light GPI. However, if you pair a thick wall with a sleeve, even with the head and/or lever arm in front of the carbon the thick wall paired with the outsert bond together making it extremely durable more so than any other system on the market. You can build on this by going to a 5mm where the threads are inside the shaft and the wall is thinner but in all testing, I've been able to replicate that a thicker wall regardless of arrow diameter is superior even with a sleeve on a larger diameter thin-walled arrow. In my testing, I have found that on a thinner walled .204 (5MM) even with a sleeve on a semi-hard impact the thin wall is under more stress causing micro-cracks in the carbon (typically under the sleeve where the user cannot see) vs a thicker wall with a sleeve the carbon can distrube the impact better. The problem with making an ultra-thick walled 5mm is you would be at like 12gpi to get there and people don't want that. So essentially if you have a thin wall .166 vs a standard .204 the .204 is gonna win every time. But if you have a thick wall .166 vs a standard .204 the .166 wins every time.
Knowing this was a large factor in me switching arrows for 2024 and going to a manufacturer that has a thick wall shaft (Day Six Gear). inherently this comes with a heavier GPI shaft. But with a little playing around I can still easily hit 15% F.O.C at my ideal total arrow weight. Pair a thick-walled shaft with a sleeve, and perfect arrow flight you have a setup that is as close to indestructible as possible regardless of arrow diameter.
SLEEVES
I won't go without one, regardless of arrow diameter, wall thickness, or overall weight. There are countless sleeve options on the market right now. Varying in weights from ultra light to ultra heavy options, but regardless of what sleeve you decide to use it is a must-have for every arrow build. Sleeves help prevent sidewall blowout on an angled shot with a semi-hard object, and it helps reduce mushrooming on a straight-on impact.
HALF OUTS
Previous to outsert systems being readily available on the market I exclusively used half-out-style inserts. however, since there are other options on the market I strongly encourage not using a half-out for any situation. Half-outs add so much pressure to the sidewall of a shaft that sidewall blow out and mushrooming is almost inevitable with this style insert.
CARBON WEAVE
If you are dead set on having a light GPI shaft with a thinner wall a carbon weave shaft is imperative to your structural integrity ( Victory TKO series, Sirius Apollo, Nimrod 5mm, Whitewater Mesa, etc). The carbon weave allows the shaft to have a thinner side wall while maintaining more durability than a standard non-weaved shaft of the same sidewall thickness.
STRAIGHTNESS
Many shafts are offered in multiple straightnesses, and with this comes different price points for their respective shafts. 95% of archers will not see a difference in accuracy between a .003 and a .001 straightness rating on the shaft. Straightness is measured over a 28" section ( on most shafts) that 28" section is not defined as to what section of the shaft. Essentially means that you should spin your shafts individually and cut any wobble out of the shaft regardless if it is the nock end or the point end. This will ensure you are using the straightest portion of the shaft.
SPINE & SPINE CONSISTENCY
The spine is essentially how much flex the shaft has (how stiff /how much force it takes for the arrow to flex). I always recommend that if you are in between spine ratings spine up on a compound bow. you can never be too stiff with a compound. Overly stiff spined arrows will always tune out on a compound.
Along with spine ratings, spine consistency is important. Make sure whichever shaft you are buying is going to be consistent not only in straightness and GPI, but also in the spine rating. If you have an arrow that varies greatly in spine consistency it will often be the case that you will have a few arrows that just won't play nice with the others in the bunch. Typically speaking, if you have a consistent straightness and GPI rating the spine should be rather consistent, this is not always the case but it is a good rule of thumb.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
When it comes to choosing how to spend your hard-earned dollars on an arrow shaft there are a lot of factors to consider. As well as a lot of misconceptions floating around on social media platforms, be it a sponsored video or a personality that promoted a certain shaft, my best advice to everyone is to take that information with a grain of salt. Do your research and find an arrow that will check all of the boxes for you as far as consistency, durability, arrow weight, and forgiveness. Like I said previously I hate having to buy new arrows year in and year out due to failures or performance issues, I'm sure you do as well. That is why I consider all of these factors when choosing an arrow to use. some of my arrows have been in rotation for over 4 years and have multiple hard impacts under their belt. The fact of the matter is MOST of us should spend less time on YouTube and more time shooting our bows. Band-Aid fixing performance issues with a heavier, lighter, more F.O.C. or the most expensive shaft available is not doing you any favors if you don't do your part. Become intimate with your equipment and learn the ins and outs, as well as why your bow is doing certain things based on the tune.
See my other article on which arrows I am switching to for 2024 and my reasoning why.
Good luck and happy hunting
-Bergy Bowsmith
Disclaimer: The beauty of archery is we do not all have to agree. However, we all get to make our own decisions based on our previous experiences. Shoot what you want and what makes you warm and fuzzy. This might hurt some internet experts feelings, but oh well.
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