I need new arrows - GT II complaint and Firebolt question

[Panhandler80]

Okay,

So I chewed through the 4 firebolts that came with my bow pretty quickly. With my V bow I had always shot Gold Tips and it just so happened that my local mom and pop outdoor shop carried 20" GT crossbow arrows. They sell them individuall for like $5, which is hard to beat! That's 20" arrow, vanes and a flat nock.

I bought a handful of them and some Burt Coyote lighted flat nocks. Much to my suprise, probably 25% of those arrows have a mind of their own. They aren't off by a lot, but probably 1 out of 4 or so will do something completely different. Like to the tune of 2" or so at only 20 yards. No bueno.

Right now the only GTs I have left are those that have a mind of their own.

What should my next arows be? I also still have two functioning Lighted Nocks. It would be nice to stick with something with the same inside diameter so that I could keep using these. I believe the firebolts are a different inside diameter.

Also, one of the reason I switched to the GTs was the much greater FOC compared to the firebolts. I'm not a FOC nut, but I figured a little more forward would help sine I was planning to put the extra weight in back with the lighted nock.

Anyway, I need to start shooting (have about a month before our archery opens up) and was just wondering what you guys would do.

GOAL: Consistent arrows. Ones that don't have a glued in nock so that I can replace it with a lighted one. Hopefully something I can use my current lighted nocks on. Something that won't break the bank, but if there's something out there that's just the cat's ass then I'll consider it.

Thanks

PH80

[Panhandler80]

Oh, and one other thing...

I'm not all that wild about the Burt Coyote Luminok. So if there is a different lighted nock that I need to consider then let me know. If I go with a different nock, then the inside diameter of the new arrow (if I get away from the GT lasers) won't matter because I won't be using the to Burt Coyotes' that I have now.

My beef with the Burt Coyotes is that I have them in there TIGHT. Yet all three shots on game that were pass throughs have turned off. I guess the hide / bone / flesh, pulls them out of the shaft just enough to disrupt that circuit and off the go.

The Easton Tracer looks interesting. Doesn't look quite as bright, but having the magnet turn it on means that the joker will stay on after a pass through, which would be nice for a change.

[Panhandler80]

Oh, and FWIW... I'm shooting a 1 year old Axiom with original string. So when it comes to arrow recommendations, I don't need the stiffest badest arrow out there.

[strum]

I have some GT Laser 2s i got the shafts from Wyvern Creations..
very good folk to do buisness with..
i asked them to square the shafts (and they did) and i fletched them with blazers..i have had no inconsistence probs ..
if your not into fletching your own then they will custom make them..there is also some very fine arrow builders on this forum too.

[Panhandler80]

What's the deal with these heat shrink vanes that you see on TV and in the big box stores? They worth a darn?

Who are the custom folks on here? Maybe I'll have somebody here make me up a dozen or so.

What I'd like to do is get 12 that are ALL GOOD. Then I could pick up two or three lighted nocks and be DONE with this crap for at least 3 seasons. I've had enough of this crap where it's buy one here, buy one there, differnt weight / FOC so I have to mess with scope, different diameter (need a new lighted nock), and so on. I just want one set up, and that's that. That's how I had my V bow with the GTs and it was nice.

[Normous]

I had 2 dozen raw GTII's and had some fliers in those that gave me frustrations after they were assembled properly. I believe inconsistant spine was a problem.

Take a good look at the Carbon Express Maxima Hunters from Wyvern (best price) I ordered 48 of these and the high and low weight deviation was only 1.4 grains. That says a lot.

These are weight forward and have impressed the heck out of me in the way that they group consistantly. The Maxima Hunters are a bit more expensive but certainly worth it the way I see it. Beware of the high cost of the lowest priced carbon arrow.

Luminock does not have the proper size to fit the Maximas but Firenock does. Also the plastic rear insert on the Maximas pulls out for a easy swap to lighted nocks.

[Mo wannabe]

Big John on here makes custom bolts . You can view his add on the second page in the trader section

[Big John]

The CE Maxima Hunters are a great Arrow. I have alot of praise for those. You can not buy blanks to build, but you can strip down and rebuild no problem. Yes they cost a little more, but they are worth the money. If you want a more consistant GT arrow I would use at least a Laser 111 or 1V.

Big John

[Panhandler80]

It looks like Laser II pro series would be the ticket.

I'm only shooting 175# limbs with the axiom, so I don't need a super stiff arrow. The IIIs and IVs are pretty darn heavy.

The Laser II Pros are the same weight 146 grain as the original IIs, they just have better tolerances (the same as the heavy arrows you referenced).

This sounds familiar...
http://www.crossbownation.com/forum/top ... -ii-bolts/

Each gold tip arrow hit the same spot every time... I would have to sight in each arrow individually for the gold tips to hit bulls eyes. I bought 6 carbon express arrows and everyone of them hits the same spot.

[awshucks]

What I'd like to do is get 12 that are ALL GOOD. Then I could pick up two or three lighted nocks and be DONE with this crap for at least 3 seasons.

Good luck! you're going to change the FOC on 3 out of 12. That will show up somewhere and to some degree.................

[Panhandler80]

What I'd like to do is get 12 that are ALL GOOD. Then I could pick up two or three lighted nocks and be DONE with this crap for at least 3 seasons.

Good luck! you're going to change the FOC on 3 out of 12. That will show up somewhere and to some degree.................

Oh, I know that. I'm just saying that I could pretty much scrap all the mis-matched crap that I have accumulated by buying one thing here, one thing there.

Shoot all 12 of my new arrows w/the normal nock. As long as I don't have any flyers, then site in with my luminoks. Put those three and a spare in my quiver, and the other 8 can sit in the closet until it's their turn to make a trip to the woods with the luminok.

[Nighthunter]

Not sure what your problem is but I would suggest shooting each arrow 3 times; using a different vane in the groove to see which vane is the most accurate and then mark it with a permanent marker. I haven't had any problems so far with my firebolts and am shooting bullseyes at 10, 20, and 30 yds with 150 gr Boltcutters. I did just receive a custom order of Laser GT II's, 2" Blazer vanes, and some 100 gr Slick Tricks to try, but gonna wait until after the season to play with them because mine is shooting too good right now. Did you mark your serving on your string to confirm that you are cocking your xbow consistantly??? Just trying to figure out what your problem is because mine is shooting very well no matter what I do...

[bigredopie]

I will second the Big John recommendation. He has made up a few sets of the GT II and GT III arrows for me and I have not had any of them give me any touble (other than the usual problem that goes along with the Excalibur bows if you try to shoot the same spot twice).

He has a post in the trader section that can give you a good idea of what the options are available. Believe me the man is an artist and a great guy to deal with.