New arrows, ready to rock and roll!

Hi everybody!

I’ve been doing some tuning lately to make sure everything on Maya is squared up and ready to go for the Field Archery season which begins in earnest this month.

Everything is going well, but I’ve been thinking that my FMJ arrows may be slowing me down – literally! While they are a fantastic arrow and I like them because they’re skinny and heavy (good in the wind for the reason), it is that weight that is causing me concern.

They come in at 420 grains which for a Target/Field arrow is very heavy. I’ve been looking at different options and see a lot about the Easton Carbon One arrow. They don’t break the bank, they’re tough and lighter due to all carbon shafts. I’ve read many reviews that rate them alongside ACE’s and other top end arrows, and after chatting with Kevin at Wales Archery I decided what the hell and picked up a dozen.

Dressed up in my usual colours!

I built the set, ending up with a final weight of 370 grains with a 0.5 grain spread across the set. That’s about the same spread as my FMJ but 50 grains lighter all-up. They were built in my usual colours and config and I put a slight offset on the fletches to give them a little bit more spin than I usually do.

I don’t have access to a Chrono to check the arrow speed at the moment, so I ran the numbers through Archers Advantage which estimated 270fps – nearly 20fps faster than my FMJ which has given much tighter sightmarks – good for unmarked rounds!

The first test of them was at 35m.I shot 6 of my FMJ to get a comparison and then send 6 C1’s downrange. You can really tell they are lighter! The bow feels more aggressive, and they shot a tighter group than my FMJ but higher up the target as expected due to the extra speed.

I printed off sightmarks and after aligning the pin I went around our mini course at the club and tested them from 15 to 70 yards and the marks are good, grouping very tight in the gold at every distance. This was shot at 50 yards...

A little high, but all in!

 

From what I have seen I am confident that they will group better in the target and hopefully scrape me those few extra points I’m looking for. There is a shoot at Red Kite tomorrow, an IFAA Hunter round on their new course so it will be a good opportunity to debut them and see what they are capable of in the field. Watch this space!