Need suggestions

[Ronnie Newell]

I shoot Gold Tip Hunter 500s when at 3d shoots from my 45# longbow. I fletched a new dozen a while back and one (only one) of them corkscrews pretty good. It seems to be accurate but no way Id hunt with it ( its too light anyway) but it has to be slowing excessively corksrewing this bad. The spine "feels" right, all 12 weigh beteen 257-259, it looks straight and all have the same 100 gr point. Same 5" turkey feathers that look good.
If there was more than one doing it Id think it was my less than perfect form and release, but cant blame it on that this time. Id appreciate some suggestions as to what might be the cause.

[hawkeye n pa]

Have you check it for damage?  Done a spin check on it for straightness?   Maybe try replacing the nock.  Thats all I have.

[woodchucker]

Well Ronnie, I'm not a carbon guy, I only shoot wood.

I would look at your feathers... 
My son makes all of our arrows, and every now & then, we get one or two with a wonkey feather on it?

[woodchucker]

Just hit me!!

Years back, we had an arrow that did all kinds of tricks!!
Turns out, it had a right wing feather on it!!?? (we shoot LW)

How it got there? I have no idea...

[Bisch]

The only way to know for sure is to put your arrows on a spine tester. I quit shooting GT after I bought a spine tester because they were so out of wac. Every dz shafts I bought had 1-3 shafts that were way off from the others. I finally got tired of dealing with that and switched to Easton FMJ’s, and no longer have that problem.

Just going off my experiences with GT XT Hunter shafts, I would bet that that shaft is waaaaaaay off in spine.

Bisch

[Alexander Traditional]

I know this doesn't answer your question at all,but I can't help but wonder how that's not super stiff with a 45 pound bow and 100 grain tips.

I guess if you've been shooting them,and this is the first problem,it would have to be with that one arrow.

[M60gunner]

I assume you checked for straightness. I found out the hard way carbons don’t like to much heat. I have gone back to epoxy for installation of inserts. But only one arrow out of a dozen makes one think it could be wrong spine

[MnFn]

You could double the weight of your tip and see what that does. With my 150 carbon express trads I had to be over 200 grains up front and that was a little heavier bow.

[Ronnie Newell]

Thanks guys, from what Im hearing I think I should stop using GT Hunters. What Bisch said is not the first time Ive heard/read that. Im skeptical about what people say, but theres no one Id believe more than him.

[katman]

Strip off the feathers and shoot it. That will let you know if the dynamic spine is correct. Do you bareshaft tune?  I always shoot new shafts bareshaft to make sure they fly the same. Sometimes a little nock rotation will change dynamic spine enough to let them shoot straight and true.

Link on bareshafting, https://www.fenderarchery.com/blogs/archery-info/basic-tuning

[lefty4]

I have had similar experiences as Bisch with Gold Tips, but I won't say it is common, at least for me. I have often checked lots and found some "misfits" in a lot.

Since I have an inquiring mind, I would absolutely keep digging until I found the problem and make no assumptions. I am suspecting there is a spine issue and that's what I would be checking and trying to eliminate/validate first. Remember to check the spine in several orientations about the axis as there may be a stiff or weak spot, but that isn't likely the cause.

[Ronnie Newell]

Again, I really appreciate the suggestions and Im pretty sure that youre right thinking its a spine issue but unfortunately I dont have a tester and there arent any shops around since those two hurricanes tore up everthing big enough to tear up around here. I dont have time to build arrows now anyway so Ill just not use that arrow and hope I dont lose my good ones, or should I say,  anymore of my good ones. Lol
Thanks again

[creekwood]

Does anybody know where the Gold Tip arrows are manufactured?

[Papadeerhtr]

I would suggest rotating your knock a bit at a time, bet that will straighten it out pretty good.

[Kirkll]

I agree with these posts.....

Strip off the feathers and shoot it. That will let you know if the dynamic spine is correct. Do you bareshaft tune?  I always shoot new shafts bareshaft to make sure they fly the same. Sometimes a little nock rotation will change dynamic spine enough to let them shoot straight and true.

Link on bareshafting, https://www.fenderarchery.com/blogs/archery-info/basic-tuning

The only way to know for sure is to put your arrows on a spine tester. I quit shooting GT after I bought a spine tester because they were so out of wac. Every dz shafts I bought had 1-3 shafts that were way off from the others. I finally got tired of dealing with that and switched to Easton FMJ’s, and no longer have that problem.

Just going off my experiences with GT XT Hunter shafts, I would bet that that shaft is waaaaaaay off in spine.

Bisch

Some Carbon shafts can be worse than woodies on a spine tester.  I like the Victory shafts for spine tolerance match. But for economy shafts i found Beman Hunters were within decent adjustment ranges and acceptable tolerances...... I'll never build another set of carbon shafts without a spine tester... Period.

Kirk

[TSP]

Of the suggested causes posted so far I agree with the idea that one or two of the arrow's feathers may have an issue...either damaged, misaligned, or of mixed wings (LW mixed with RW...a fairly easy mistake to make when fletching).  Arrow corkscrewing can also be caused by an improper nockset height (too low) or improper shaft spine, but given that your other shafts of the same specs/size shoot fine the feathers seem to be the most likely culprit.  I'd try refletching with fresh properly matched feathers, a simple test that would at least eliminate feathers as a cause variable.   

[Orion]

I tend to agree with Bisch.  I think you just have one shaft that's spined different than the others.  I think you're on the edge to begin with. 500s are pretty stiff for 45# and not much weight up front.  If one of those shafts is a bit stiffer, or a lot weaker, it would lead to the problems you describe.   Only way you'll know for sure is to check them on a spine tester.  I consider it an essential piece of equipment regardless of the arrow material I shoot. 

[Kirkll]

Again, I really appreciate the suggestions and Im pretty sure that youre right thinking its a spine issue but unfortunately I dont have a tester and there arent any shops around since those two hurricanes tore up everthing big enough to tear up around here. I dont have time to build arrows now anyway so Ill just not use that arrow and hope I dont lose my good ones, or should I say,  anymore of my good ones. Lol
Thanks again

Do you have adjustable nocks that you can rotate?  I would try rotating the nock a couple times on that funky shaft and see if it makes a difference. That should tell you if it's a spine issue. If you have glue on nocks, try nocking the arrow 180 different with the cock feather in towards the shelf.  Kirk

[black velvet]

You may not get the most accurate reading, but you can put two nails in a board hung horizontal 28 inches apart and hang a 2lb weight on the arrow.
Draw a few lines on the board 1/8 inch apart and you should be able to get a rough idea if that arrow spines different from the others.
 Hope I made myself as clear as possible.

[Kirkll]

This is a great video that Andy from addictive archery made explaining arrow spine and testing.



There are also many videos out there on building your own spine tester. I have built several of them myself and prefer the type using a dial indicator micrometer. But there are quite a few different types.

Hope this helps out….   Kirk