Some stupid questions on carbons from a 'thick' Aussie!#$%&!!

[suttoman]

I am finding it increasingly hard to purchase my 2213's so now is prob the time to swap to carbons.  I have a hunting trip to NZ in about three weeks and thus far my attempts to track down and purchase some carbons have been futile.  I have to get moving or I will arrive in New Zealand with no arrows!!

I noticed on 3Rivers that they have Beman ICS Venture economy shafts for 49.99 a doz.  Are they good shafts to start off with???  I shoot a 41# Toelke Whip @ 28 and my draw is 28.  The sizes 300, 340, 400, 500 mean nothing to me - which size for my 41# longbow?  I will be hunting Hares, goats pig and deer!

Will my Martin blunts and Magnus heads screw into these or do I need smaller diameter heads seeing that these carbons will be narrower than my 2213's?  Will the standard 5" parabolic feathers that I have suit these shafts or do I have to purchase special sized feathers.  Will the Bohning fletch tite adhere the feathers to carbons?

Sorry about all the stupid questions but carbons are still very expensive in Australia so I have never had any experience with them.  I will appreciate any words of wisdom from my American bro's!!

Cheers - Sutto

[dorris]

Hey sutto I think the 35-55 goldtips are one of the best arrows out for light weight longbows and recurves . give me a holler i may can get you fixed up on some shafts and if you went with the beemans go to the 500s there the lightest splined I have half dz easton axis 400s and there ok out of my 50 lb bow but are still stiff . Jeff

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

I also have a 41# longbow that I shoot Carbon Tech 35/55's out of. Shoots good with a 125grain head.

When I first started shooting a 50# longbow, I bought Beman Venture 500's to shoot out of it, but found that they were way too stiff for it. Ended up switching to the 35-55's again.

Cam

[James on laptop]

The beman ventures in the 500 spine will work just fine.I suggest leaving them long and trim as you tune with the point weight you plan on useing.I use them out of several bows ranging from 41 to 50lbs but cutting differant lengths and use differnt point weight to tune.I find a 29 1/2" arrow with a 125gn point flys perfect for my 42lb recurve for 3ds.The same shaft cut 29 is about as good as it gets for useing 170 to 180 grain broadheads for hunting.

[sswv]

give John a call at Sipsey River (205) 387-2388 and get you some GT 35/55 Traditionals.  your broadheads will fit, your feathers will work fine and YES fletch tape does great. they're very durable, work well in every bow I've ever had and you can't beat the price plus, John's a fine guy to deal with. just give him your bows specs, your draw and he'll fix you right up. best of luck on your hunt and as always...pictures please

sswv

[Shawn Leonard]

The 35/55s will work but you will need a lot of point weight, at least 200 grains up front, unless ya leave them full length, than ya may get away with 175 or so. I have seen guys shooting these out of 40-50 pound bows and most guys think they are getting great flight with 125 grain points, but most peoples arrow flight is less than exceptable as far as I would like mine to be. Shawn

[sswv]

you're right on Shawn!  I use 200 grains up front on mine. A 75 grain brass insert and a 125 grain point. They bareshaft just fine for me and shoot a broadhead like a laser beam, Snuffers of course.

sswv

[Blackhawk]

One of my bows  

[insttech1]

Sutto,
As far as feathers:
5" will be fine.  You may have to "slightly" adjust your jig a hair to reduce some of the helical wrap, but you will be fine.

Use fletch-tite PLATINUM in the silver tube.

All screw-in blunts/judos/hex head/broadheads are fine.  The only ones you want to diameter-match for 5/16" are the field points, as this affects how they pull out of targets.

You should use a GOOD two-part quick-cure epoxy to seat the inserts in the shafts...and if available, buy Easton SUPER 3D nocks for them, as the throat diameter is just a hair larger and fits your string better than the standard wheelie nock that will come with the shafts...

As far as the carbons themselves, a lot of guys swear by these "front-weighted" carbons with 200 or 300 grains up front...

However, my personal opinion is that massively-weighted carbons have a higher trajectory "arc" than a shaft that is properly spined to the bow, and bareshafts with a single 15-grain insert and a field point from 125 to 160 grains.

This is NOT to start an argument guys...this is just my opinion, and I LIKE to shoot out in my yard at distances way over 60 or 70 yards, for fun...and this is my opinion of the characteristics of flight associated with the super-high FOC concept...

So Sutto I would try a 1/2 dozen beman 400's, a 1/2 dozen beman 500's, fletch 3 of each, bareshaft 3 of each, and then shoot to see which tunes the best.

Or if they'll let you, just buy a few of each...you get the point, anyway...

I wish you well on your hunt!!!

Take Care,
Marc

[sswv]

I use 'fletch tape' on my carbons (5" LW) and I use a bitz jig and haven't had a problem yet. As far as inserts go, Pine Ridge Archery Products offers an 'Instant Arrow Glue' that holds inserts like epoxy but can be eaisly heated out if you need to change something later.

Like Marc said, we're just sharing information here. No arguement required to learn from each other. The more information (trial & error on our part) that gets shared here, the more we learn.

best afield

[Al Kidner]

Howdie sutto,

 Mate there is some good info on here champ. Gold tips are a fine carbon to use and the 35-55 should do the trick. Put brass inserts up front and get a combo of different point weights to suit your broadheads. As for a supplier, look to 3Rivers, they should look after you mate.

 See your PM if you have any other needs mate,

 al

[suttoman]

Hey thanks so much guys for all the info - I am much clearer now in what I want.  I have sent a couple of emails to various outlets and one has responded already saying that her husband will get back to me Monday morning - good service.  

There are heaps of huge Hares (just like the ones Al Kidner shot in NZ) down on the riverbank where my dad lives in NZ.  Rather than bust up my good carbons I am going to order a dozen wooden shafts for this purpose and save the carbons for the deer and pig.

Has anybody had any experience with the different woods. I was looking on 3Rivers and I can still get Port Or cedars, but they also have Sitka Spruce, poplar and Birch.  They are all roughly the same price - so which you do all think I should go for?  Remember my bow is only 41# - but those big Hares take a fair bit of stopping - I want to hammer them hard!

Thanks again for all the friendly advice - much app - Sutto

Al - I will try and give you a call tonight

[SOS]

Sutto,

If you get the carbons tuned for your bow, use those on the bunnies.  They are a very tough arrow and should hold up well out of a light both on both hits (and a few misses).  I'm shooting the GT's 3555 with regular insert, full length  and a 145 grain point out of a 47# bow.  Only broken 4 arrows in over a year.  One in a deer shoulder blade, on a oak tree, one robin hooded and one on a chunk of metal in the dirt while stump shooting.  Good luck  and post photos!

[insttech1]

I second the use of the carbons on small game!!

There are advantages:
Tuning same as big game shafts
Interchangeable components
Same setup on fletching jig
Durability--they will take a lot of hits that will snap your wooden shafts...
No separate glue-on vs. screw-in tips, and the same nocks as well...

Just a thought...
Marc

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Sutto, e-mail sent. Brian Hann at Archery Mart in Adelaide will be able to get you some Goldtip 3555s quickly, pre-fletched if you need. Cheers, Ben