Pac8541 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Picked up the ACC shafts and stripped the factory wraps off them cuz I think they ruin the simplistic awesome look of them. Plus, I want to stick the vanes directly to the shaft. Acetone ok for removing the residue? Firenocks are arriving tomorrow (Fri). VPA 175's already in hand with 150's on the way: I'm gonna shoot both to see what flies better. The 175's push the total weight to just a few grains shy of 500. Between the 2 heads my FOC sits between 13-15%. I'm also trying both FFP-360 and ST-300 vanes, again to see what flies best. I bought a right helical Bitzenberger jig and mounted it to an old cutting board. Once I decide on the vane I think I'm gonna use Flex Fletch's glue and primer, may as well keep it all together as a system... Planning to meet up with GotBowAz on Sun to get the shafts cut. Pretty excited about it all, will update after I get a few built. Thanks for everyone's input. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elkhunter1 Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Sounds like you got a very good start. Just take your time and you won't have to strip many off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted February 25, 2014 Got the first 2 test arrows built this evening: ST-300 vanes on one, FFP-360's on the other. Firenock weight matched nocks installed in 9 of the 12, actual firenocks in the last 3. I have the VPA 175's on hand (pictured) and will shoot those against the 3-blade 150's when they arrive later this week. I'll go with whatever combo shoots better. Huge thanks to GotBowAz for his arrow saw and all the advice. I anticipate he and I will be having fairly regular conversations from here on out. Thanks Eric! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted February 25, 2014 And at this point the 360's are flying way better than the ST's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GotBowAz Report post Posted February 27, 2014 Your certainly welcome Jeff. can you tell us your thoughts so far on the fire knocks for those of us that have never played around with lighted knocks? How are they turned on and off? Do they come on at the shot and turn off by themselves? How much better do you feel the visibility is when you shoot them? I mentioned to Jeff my brother shoots a lighted knock of some kind but had no idea how long the light stayed on. When I asked him why he was curious about it he said he shot at a nice buck but hit a tree from his tree stand about 10 feet off the ground. The light was still on two mornings in a row and it led him to his tree stand like a small beacon. ha ha ha LOL GBA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Work has been quite busy this week and I haven't gotten out to shoot until today and even that wasn't much. I shot the 3 blade 150's from VPA with both sets of vanes and they're matching what I found with the heavier heads. It appears that it's simply a matter of tuning the bow to the broad heads but the FFP 360's definitely show less deviation than the ST300's and they fly quieter. The shift in impact for both is going the same direction it's just a matter of degrees: the ST300's shoot further left and lower than the 360's. Interestingly though, the impact with the heavier heads didn't show any drop, just in windage. Either way it seems the longer vanes are the ones I'll be going with. Still haven't gotten around to shooting the actual firenocks, only their matched weight practice ones. They work in the house turning on and off with a bounce on the table but I have yet to see them function as described by firing one out of the bow. Tomorrow... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Are firenocks really that pricey? I saw a pack of 6 hunting/6 practice for $135 is that right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Yes they are. I bought 6 firenocks and 12 matched weight practice nocks and it ran me over $200. I feel a little ridiculous for rationalizing the purchase but if they work as well as they're reputed to, that feeling will fade over time. I'm sure that at the moment of truth when some big bull falls to my arrow, none of it will matter. For now though, I feel just a slight bit guilty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 10, 2014 Well, I got them all fletched up this afternoon. I got through the first 6 when I noticed the ends of each vane weren't adhering fully to the shaft. This was after already adjusting properly, or so I thought, the jig and clamp to achieve full contact along the length of the vane base. So I tweaked it again, played with the adjustment knobs on the jig and got it a little bit better while also getting a touch more helical out of it. The last 6 wound up a bit more hard to the right. I used FF FFP-360 vanes and Zing primer/adhesive. Those vanes seemed to do a better job with instant stability and great flight than the ST-300's. They also seemed to fly quieter. Seeing as how FF recommends their "extreme" vanes for higher speed bows and cross bows and describe the FFP vanes as a slightly more flexible material, maybe thats the reason. The ST's are in the line of extreme vanes. Anyway, I'm happy with them even though the ST's look cooler. I found the Loctite gel adhesive better and easier to use than the Zing glue. Once dry Zing holds just fine but it doesn't set up as quickly which means it didn't hold the vane in position as well when I took the clamp off. This was partially why some of the vane ends didn't make full contact. I could have left them in the clamp longer but in the end and with the rhythm I had going, it was easier and more satisfactory to just use the Loctite stuff. On the other hand, I didn't like the Loctite when installing point inserts. The very thing that made it so awesome on the vanes worked against me when trying to time the inserts. Maybe point timing doesn't make a difference but my OCD-ness says it does. I'm about ready to settle on my set up. As I mentioned previously, the 175gr heads appear to perform better out of my bow but I really like the 3-blade design in a BH so I ordered a trio of VPA custom shop 3-blade's in that weight. I have no doubt I can tune them and my bow. A couple minute changes I've made have already made a difference with the 150's. I have no issue whatsoever shooting the 2-blade version though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 16, 2014 So I ordered a digital grain scale from 3 Rivers Archery along with a few other things. I weighed every complete arrow without the point/BH: 8 of them came out at 338gr and 4 at 336. I found this unbelievable. I figured they'd all be close but had no expectation that 2/3's of them would be exactly the same, and the remaining within 2gr. Is this normal? Have you guys found this same degree of consistency? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted March 16, 2014 I have a cheap grain scale I bought from Harbor Frieght. All mine are within the same specs as you 2 grains +/-. Good looking arrows your building there. Ive been tinkering around with some of the smaller AAE vanes in a four fletch style with good results so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azbow Report post Posted March 16, 2014 Hey PAC, did you pull the nock collars out of your ACC's ? How did you do it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 17, 2014 I cut about a 1/2" off the nock end which took the uni bushing with it. Thanks to GotBowAz for the help with that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pac8541 Report post Posted March 17, 2014 Here's a look at the 3 BH's I've been shooting. L to R: 150 3-blade, 175 2-blade, 175 3-blade. This one's actually a better picture and shows the additional length of the bigger 3-blade. Its also 1/8" wider cut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted March 17, 2014 What are you planning on shooting with a 175gr head? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
