Will these arrows shoot well?

colonel62 · Post by **colonel62** » Sat May 03, 2008 7:42 pm

Hey everyone, new to the forum and crossbows.
I am looking for a fast arrow (bolt). Looks like the GT laser II weigh the least. How would 20 inch laser II with 2 inch blazer veins with a arrow rap shoot? Even with the standard insert and knock. Has anybody shot this setup before. Not looking to robin hood every arrow but if it will shoot a 3 inch group I would be happy.

colonel62 · Post by **colonel62** » Sat May 03, 2008 7:46 pm

forgot to mention I would be shooting 100 grain montecs on them

Big John · Post by **Big John** » Sat May 03, 2008 8:06 pm

Those will shoot fine, although you may need some extra weight in the front if you are going to wrap them. Try one first ,then check your FOC.
If you need more, than you will add weight, or spray lacquer instead of wraps, then no weight required. Your choice. I wrap, and use brass fronts or add threaded rod. 15 to 17 % FOC always.

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Sat May 03, 2008 8:14 pm

Colonel62,

I just made one to check out the weight: GT II, 2 inch blazer, 4" arrow wrap, aluminum inserts/nock and it came up to 252 grains. Add your 100 Montec and you come up with 352 grains. This is right at the minimum EXCAL recommends for their bows. I use the same set up as mentioned above, but use a brass insert and they fly great. In fact, my broadheads flew better and my groups tighten up considerabley at longer distances when I switched to the heavier brass inserts.

Rich

colonel62 · Post by **colonel62** » Sat May 03, 2008 11:46 pm

thanks for the info guys. Rich, I hope you didnt make one up just to answer my question. You didnt have to do that, but I thank you for answering my question. Do you happen to know what the difference in the brass insert and standard insert?

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Sun May 04, 2008 7:45 am

colonel62 wrote: Do you happen to know what the difference in the brass insert and standard insert?

Brass is an alloy of copper and Zinc, while aluminum is a chemical element and the most common metallic element on earth.

Weight wise,an aluminum insert weighs 31 grains, while the brass tips the scales at 110.

Cossack · Post by **Cossack** » Sun May 04, 2008 11:56 am

They will shoot fine but were a little light for my bow. Just on verge of 350 grns. So I switched the aluminum nocks for brass, adding 60 grns to the front for higher FOC. For the same reason I didn't use wraps, rather sprayed the back of the arrow with white lacquer. Vanes stick great to it, better to see arrow flight, and it's easy to remove with acetone if necessary.

colonel62 · Post by **colonel62** » Sun May 04, 2008 12:51 pm

thanks for all the replies guys. I see where for hunting purposes you want the FOC to be between 8 and 15. If I used to the brass inserts and also used arrow wraps, do you think my FOC would still be in the hunting range? I think a wrap would only weigh around 10 grains.

Cossack · Post by **Cossack** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:23 am

Most calculations cited for FOC assume the use of a vertical bow. For crossbow a higher FOC is preferable. The setup I described gets a +20% FOC.
As for the wraps, check the FOC formula calculator to determine their affect.

http://www.goldtip.com/calculators/foc.asp

Add weight of wraps to weight of vanes/feathers.

awshucks · Post by **awshucks** » Mon May 05, 2008 10:00 am

colonel62 wrote:thanks for all the replies guys. I see where for hunting purposes you want the FOC to be between 8 and 15. If I used to the brass inserts and also used arrow wraps, do you think my FOC would still be in the hunting range? I think a wrap would only weigh around 10 grains.

While wraps are sure pretty, they are hard to remove to refletch. There's an alternative that's easy and at the same time doesn't add any weight to speak of, to the back of the arrow. Here's a link to a short video on it:

http://www.texastrackers.com/Videos/Arrows.wmv

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:35 pm

colonel62 . . .looks like you are deep into trying to find the absolute zero of arrow making for your xbow. That's cool . . .a lot of us here are perfectionists and ultimately are very affixed to our "perfected" set-ups.

I have tried about 10 different combinations . . .and I swear by my life, they all shoot extremely well out of my Max. Some are faster than others, some are quieter . . .but, they all hit the target.

I have a bin of target arrows made with several combinations of components. Sometimes I'll just grab them all and start shooting. Guessing where each combination will hit is actually a lot of fun. At this point, it's an educated guess and not as much of a challange.

Anyway, my point is, your arrows will fly very, very well unless your FOC is way out of wack. I've never have figured my FOC. My arrows are hitting the target. If I start missing . . .maybe I'll get out the calculator.

If you really want to have some fun . . .start trying different strings with different arrows.

This stuff never gets boring.

Scott

hikerman · Post by **hikerman** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:16 pm

I use Gold tip with brass inserts on the front and 2" blaser.

I just bought some Beman Thunder bolts (they are a little heavier but less expensive at the time)and put 2" blasers on them also. The Bemans were a little cheaper so I tried them out for target.

I also put on a Boo string with cat wiskers. Its all good.

For hunting I will use the Gold Tip with Montec G5 heads.
Thats what I used last year and liked the set up.

I was told that these little changes in weight wont affect the bolt flight much but its fun to play!!