Is Speed Important and how does it affect Performance

[TB]

Just a question Comfybear I have a Exomax and was thinking about going from a 20 in arrow to a 22 inch. That would add a little weight but I've been told longer also = more accurate. Have you ever tried that along with brass inserts?

[ComfyBear]

Just a question Comfybear I have a Exomax and was thinking about going from a 20 in arrow to a 22 inch. That would add a little weight but I've been told longer also = more accurate. Have you ever tried that along with brass inserts?

The common consensus is the longer does normally equal more accuracy, however I've never tried 22" arrows. The only reason is that Excalibur (Bill T.) recommends 20" arrows.

On the other hand I know of others who have used 18" aluminum arrows with 125gr fieldpoints and brass inserts with their Vixen and have obtained great accuracy. As a result I've tried them with my Phoenix, Exocet and Exomag for 3D shoots and can attest that they have worked great for me too.

Also, on another note, as a stringmaker, I know that a well-made custom string can also help to improve accuracy and performance.

[ComfyBear]

I know I can hit a 50cent piece at 40yds from a rest with a 350gr stick and magnus stinger all day,

Wes, I don't doubt you can, and that's good to know. Personally, I've only tried shooting a 350gr arrow for test purposes a few times with my Exomag, and although the accuracy was acceptable, I didn't find it consistent and definitely didn't like the loud TWANG and vibration. Perhaps I didn't have the right combination of components.

What I do know is that I've owned my Exomag since 2003, and it is still as accurate as the day I got it. Not to brag, but just to illustrate its accuracy, I once picked off a squirrel at 55 yards, shooting off-hand, personally I think that was luck, but then again, I also decapitated a grouse at 32yards using it with a 418 gr. Laser GII arrow and a Slicktrick.

Disclaimer: I took that one time 55yds shot out of curiosity, and just for fun because it was only a squirrel. When hunting deer, my limit is up to 40 yards, if it's standing still and unalert.

[TB]

The common consensus is the longer does normally equal more accuracy, however I've never tried 22" arrows. The only reason is that Excalibur (Bill T.) recommends 20" arrows.

On the other hand I know of others who have used 18" aluminum arrows with 125gr fieldpoints and brass inserts with their Vixen and have obtained great accuracy. As a result I've tried them with my Phoenix, Exocet and Exomag for 3D shoots and can attest that they have worked great for me too.

Also, on another note, as a stringmaker, I know that a well-made custom string can also help to improve accuracy and performance.

I do use the Boo string which is great but Bill recommends 20inch because the gives greater velocity which manufacturers then can advertise their speeds. But velocity aside it would be great to know IF it would improve accuracy in of itself. Has anyone else used 22 inch arrows?

[Normous]

I have used 22" in 2213 and 2216 and noticed no difference in accuracy over the 19" and 20" arrows that I have built. I ended up cutting the 22"s back to 20".

[Limbs and Sticks]

I've built some 24'' once still no diff, I settled in on 18 1/2 '' with my max no prob what so ever

Wes

[Bill T]

I see that I'm being quoted as recommending 20" arrows. You guys have that right but for the wrong reasons! We have recommended 20" for about 27 years simply because they are easily available in bulk from the arrow shaft manufacturers in that length. If we recommended 22" arrows you folks would have to take a full length shaft and cut it down at a much greater expense than buying a 20" blank. When we first started making crossbows we recommended 22" 2117 arrows, and they shot great, but when Easton started making shorter 20" shafts we changed. When the rest of the manufacturers started using 22/64 shafts we were once again forced to change with them. Bottom line is simply that a lot of forces outside of personal opinion are at work here.
We are now big enough to have our own shaft design and could easily have our Firebolts made in 22" lengths, but once again we look at the cost of changing all of our packaging to do this and consider that 22" has no measurable advantage in flight charectaristics over 20", no real accuracy advantage, weighs more than 20", and costs more. Kind of a no-brainer.
Over the years I've shot and hunted with arrows from 18" to 24", from 18" Fireboltswith 75 grain heads to 24" solid fibreglas fish arrows glued into 2216 shafts with 250 grain heads. With the right fletch and broadhead they have all been more accurate than I can shoot them. If anyone wants to play around with their own bright ideas and has fun in the process I say be safe and have -ater. If someone wants to shoot heavies and slow or blaze em out at light weight it's totally up to them, just be safe and keep on huntin!

[bcmuledeer]

This is the reason I'm a member of this forum, very informative posts with lots of valuable info guys are willing to share even though this info in some cases cost a fair penny to figure out.
Priceless!
Bill

[muskyman454]

This is the reason I'm a member of this forum, very informative posts with lots of valuable info guys are willing to share even though this info in some cases cost a fair penny to figure out.
Priceless!
Bill

x-2-

[Dash]

At shorter distances I haven't noticed any difference in accuracy using different weight bolts. But for longer distance shooting I got better results with a heavier arrow. Even though its sacrificing speed, the grouping was slightly better and way less affected by the sidewind.

[vixenmaster]

I had some arrows left over thru the yrs of Bowing/shooting that i cut down in search of fine accuracy. 2213-2216-2219. I started off by cutting them all down to 26". Boyhidy did they hang off the end. As i shot n cut, shot n cut i could not find an 1/8th of an inch diff in group size. So after tiring of the cut n shoot game i settled on the 20" standard length. I only cut now if'en i mess up the end of a carbon arrow & have some as short as 18", don't like them any shorter just me on that.

[Warhammer1]

In the words of Eleanor Roosavelt back in 1936:

"America is all about speed...hot, nasty, bad-ass speed"

Truly a woman ahead of her time LOL.

L.

[badredbird]

same as dash no discernible difference at short range but i do notice more accuracy at longer shootiung 512 grains and still have decent speed at 304 fps in exomax, shot 22 really saw no difference at all , havent tried going to 18 but i have agreat combo now so why screw with it