Building the Perfect Hunting Arrow
By Cameron R. Hanes

For many bowhunters, their arrow is like their signature. Unique in its own way. Down at the bow shop I see a 100 guys walk in the door and walk out with seemingly 100 different variations of arrows. Different brands of shafts, dip, no dip, fletchings all the same color, two one color, one another, nock type, arrow wraps or no? And the beat goes on. It seems no two guys shoot exactly the same combo, which is how it should be. If I see someone shooting “my arrow”, I’m like, what is up with that guy? In the mind of many, we are all shooting the “Perfect Arrow.”

Of course being biased, here is why my broadhead, shaft and vane combination come together to make the perfect hunting arrow. Total finished arrow weight of exactly 413 grains as determined by my new Easton digital grain scale means it packs a killer punch in regard to kinetic energy at 70 foot lbs. Granted, my shaft might be considered heavy by today’s standards but dang, it penetrates like you wouldn’t believe. And, in my mind, flat arrow trajectory (speed) is secondary to a hard-hitting arrow, especially in this day and age where almost everyone packs a rangefinder. Perfectly balanced in terms of FOC (front of center), my 27 inch Easton Full Metal Jacket 400, with its small diameter, transfers energy so efficiently that I hit my last two big bull elk in CO with quartering away shots and they both broke through bull’s opposite shoulder, amazingly putting both 6×6’s down within 50 yards, on film.

All of this is lead by a razor sharp, cutting tip Montec broadhead and bringing up the rear are my bright green 2″ Blazer vanes by Bohning, installed with a helical, and Easton X nocks, on a dipped shaft, which work together as a highly visual combination. Being able to track your arrow can really help in determining arrow impact on the animal. Knowing exactly where you hit your animal can conceivably make a big difference in recovering efforts. For more on this refer to this issue’s Gearin’ Up column Keep in mind, precision tuning can only be achieved by using a properly spined arrow shaft.

Initially, it is best to start with a shaft recommended by one of Easton’s Arrow Shaft Selection Charts. Check it out at www.eastonarchery.com. How does your Perfect Arrow compare?

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 11:01 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.