New Grizzly sticks and questions..

[Mallardstacker]

I have mostly shot wood arrows making a switch from cedar to laminated birch last year. I really liked the performance from that heavier arrow.  

Now, I jumped all over the "factory second" sale at Alaskan has going now and find myself the proud new owner of six "safari" shafts.

My go to bow is a Toelke T/D recurve 55# @ 28"

Here are my plans for some pig stickers:
125 gr Eclipse single bevel
75 gr brass insert
125 gr glue on adapter

For a total front end weight of 325gr.

Questions:
Do you think this is enough weight out front?

Do you bare shaft tune the Grizzly's before fletch?

The arrows are full length now, I assume most are cutting from the nock-end to shorten?

The nocks were installed on the shafts when I received them... are they push-in?


Just looking for input from those that have blazed the path before me...

Thanks

[hunt it]

325 up front is plenty in most cases. The Safari shafts will be way overspinned for your bow weight and they may dictate more up front weight to soften them up a bit (Alaskans would have been better choice). The instructions will tell you to ONLY cut from front end of shaft - do not cut the nock end. The nocks are push in and will pull out easy. Once you have them at your desired length, use 24hr epoxy or JB Weld to glue inserts in. I do not bareshaft the Grizzly Sticks as they don't tend to fly well with no feathers. Many try to bareshaft and have trouble and give up. They just seem to fly much better with feathers on.

[joebuck]

I agree with Hunt it. The deflection on those Safari will be .250...I shoot a 66# bow with a 185 head and they are two stiff. Try the Alaskan at .330 deflection... Bareshafting any shaft is a talent! I shoot Griz Stics bareshafts out of recurve at 10-15 yards. It will show any flaw in release. The Griz Stics front half of shaft does not paradox like the nock end......in short......they recover extremely quick. Key is getting your nock on your string set just right..i shoot a little nock high...But i think your Safaries will be way toooooo stiff...good luck

[SlowBowke]

Agreed. The Safaris are STIFF and might only work if left REALLY long with that weight up front and maybe not then???

345 and 395 is what I am shooting up front. The Sitkas fly great out of 45, the Alaskans out of my 55lb, both with this weight up front and 29.25 inches long.

I DO recall talking to a guy shooting 57 lb bow and swore by the Safari shafts so.......maybe?  I have no clue what all else his set up included but the bow weight and remember it because I was surprised.

Hoping they work for you!

Note. They DO HAVE a "weaker" side. Bending and rolling the shaft will easily show you which side is the stiffest. That may help should you find they are too high a spine.

Keep us informed!

Steve

[Mallardstacker]

I knew they were going to be stiff.... they didn't have any "factory seconds" for the Alaskan model when I bought these.  

Three of the shafts came with the inserts installed on full length shafts and that's why I asked about taking length from the back.  

I'll make them work... might have to hang an anvil off the front, but I'll find a way  

[joebuck]

Mallard....just a note here...Add as much weight as you can "outside" the insert to weaken shaft versus adding weight "internally".....ex..300gr Broadhead would flex it more than 200 grain weights added inside......Go with a 4" 4 fletch. it will straighten out a tornado!..do not cut nock end or nocks will not fit......good luck

[hunt it]

Use a small calibre cleaning rod to tap out the glued in insert. I use a small section of brass rod, drop it in nock end and flick shaft towards floor and after a few flicks the insert will pop out.

[mrpenguin]

Those Safaris will be too stiff.  Make sure you are doing a few things to speed up the efficiency of your bow and begin with testing the arrow at full length with ALL that weight up front...

1.  Use a FF string or (even better) get TS+ or faster material made thin (10 strands) and double served for the arrow.  This can add up to 15 or more fps and 10-15 lbs to your bow!!  It goes without saying that ONLY DO THIS IF YOUR BOW HAS RE-ENFORCED TIPS OR YOU WILL BREAK YOUR BOW.

2.  Use qivuit musk ox silencers.  These are the fastest and will not suck up any fps on your string

3.  Lower your brace height as low as you can without compromising accuracy

4.  AND you can try this... I wanted a faster arrow, so I compromised by developing a new anchor point that allowed me to overdraw by an inch on my bow.  I now anchor my pointer finger on my check bone and use the position of my scapulas as a secondary anchor.  Every inch adds a few pounds and a few fps.  This allows me to use a stiffer and heavier arrow... it took a couple of months to relearn my technique, but it does work... you can try it if you like : )

I think if you pull every inch of speed and power out of your bow, shoot the arrows at full length, and put a lot of weight up front, you can make them work for you.  Good luck!!