Gents,
The suggestions keep pouring in and I keep absorbing and processing. Many thanks.
To answer a few questions, I am drawing about 28" or 27 3/4, based on my high tech draw length indicator: a clothespin and a measuring tape.
Now I should explain that my choice of draw weight is not based on any macho man stuff. It is purely practical. I hunt on foot (well, with my usual luck, mostly rove on foot) in country where it is quite possible to run into large hungry bears. Given Canada's asinine gun laws, having a handgun in my pack is not an option so my only weapon, unless I want to lug a shotgun around -- which I do not -- is my bow. Hence I wanted to have as much punch as I can comfortably pull. I hasten to add I am not out hunting bears (illegal up here for non-natives) but simply preparing in case I run into one and he takes an interest in me.
Night Wing, I downloaded and am playing with that program you suggested. That is cool stuff! Anyway, I plugged in some values and according to that program, 2219s are underspined; I should be using 2317s which agrees with what DG has suggested. Still, 2317 strikes me as way too heavy, but numbers don't lie.
I spent a good part of the afternoon and evening playing with my equipment. For example I switched broadhead inserts from 125 to 100 grain and removed the added PDP weights I had on the arrow insert. This got my total arrow weight at 710 grains with a 3% sacrifice in FOC. So I am down to 18% FOC, which is still pretty good. I was doing the same for my hammerheads, blunts and judo points: trying to get some balance between FOC and weight. I can't wait to get out and test this mess that I so carefully recorded on an excel spreadsheet.
And now I am sounding like a geek, so had best stop embarassing myself and shut up.
Robert
PS. Joshua: what kind of paint are you using to crest your aluminum arrows? Do you have to strip the existing paint?