Greetings fellow Tradgangers,
I'm sitting here, looking at arrow shafts on a webshop. Right now, I've got my eyes on 'Gold Tip' arrow shafts. Does anyone have any experience with this brand? And by the way, I intend to use these for hunting.
Thanks :)
Gold Tips are a good arrow, the wood grain on the traditionals looks great. You can also use brass inserts with them, for that added FOC.
I've personally found Gold Tips to be fragile when compared to many others on the market. Your mileage may vary but just my personal experience.
Most of the shafts I prefer have all been discontinued...seems it wasn't in the manufacturer's best interest to produce a shaft that was so durable they could only sell you one set :D
Out of the current crop of shafts, I like the small diameter axis-type shafts, both for their penetration characteristics and durability. If I were to pick a conventional diameter shaft, it would be the carbon express rebel hunter; excellent price for how durable they are.
I've had maybe 10 or 12 different sets of carbon arrows and GT have been the absolute worst for durability. I wouldn't accept a dozen if someone tried to give them to me.
If you only ever hit foam or hay bales, the Gold Tips should be fine. Just don't let a shot get away from you. Never hit ground, trees, rock, target frame, etc. and you'll be happy. Ha! You'll be shooting way better than me!
Ramin is getting very scarce, so I'm looking at Fir and Spruce now. The Fir really shoots nicely. :archer:
I am really surprised to see the negatives on the gold tips durability. I shot Bemans and had several deer break them. I switched to the Gold tips and I have not broken one yet. I don't think a arrow of any kind should be expected to hold up to rocks and I never try to shoot trees when stump shooting. I know it is called stump shooting but man you can brake the heck out of arrows and loose inserts and such in those stumps. From what I gather those Carbon express arrows must be bad to the bone.
For stump shooting, big game hunting and all round performance I've went back to the cedars. I shot aluminum for years and then went to laminated birch which are great but the cedars are easily the best thing going. I shoot 70 to 80# bows and have been shooting the same cedar with a judo on it for more than a year and that inculdes the frozen stumps of winter.
Not sure if Carbon Express is available in Europe...
Well, gonna look into it!
I shoot GT's and Carbon Express Heritages. Both are easy to tune with brass inserts and very tough. Not any problems with either brand but the Heritages look better and are heavier per inch than the GT's.
So GT's aren't that bad after all?
I've been shooting GT Ultralights out of my compound for 2 years and I love them. I recently wanted to put my wood arrows down and give carbons a try with my recurve, so I bought some GT Trad 3555's. I love these arrows. I have had absolutely ZERO problems with durability so far. I went stumping the other day and shot the base of a tree that had broken in half and fallen. The spot I shot was about an inch thick and still somewhat intact, not completely rotten. The arrow blew through the stump, ripped a feather off the shaft, and buried in the ground 10 yards past the stump. That arrow got a new feather and is still in my quiver going strong, along with the other 11 that came in the dozen.
Carbons=Carbon Express Heritage 250 w/ 100gr brass inserts. Durable, wood grain, not the most expensive and not the cheapest.
Woodies=Surewood Shafts (douglas fir) Most are straight and easy to straighten if you find a few that need it, durable, heavier than POC and Spruce, they are GOOD WOOD! The guys who put these on the market go the extra mile to make them consistant and of high quality...plus they are just plain nice guys!
I have 4 doz. GT 5575's and have had nothing but good luck with them. All of my bows are center cut or near center cut and draw weights vary from 52-62#. With the exception of a couple I have lost while stumping, they are doing fine and I will continue to use them. :wavey:
Cool! :bigsmyl:
I have taken every carbon out and feild tested them for a local shop. I shot them into a cinder block. The goldtips were the strongest by far. I have yet to shoot the new axis nano. I will say the only stronger arrow was the fullmetal jacket. I shot it into a side of a car and through small trees and I never even had a slight bend or break. If you want strong try them. other than that the goldtips are good. If you that have tested them are buying the blems then I would say your getting what you pay for. Buy the XT .003 and I would bet you would be hard pressed to break one.
i shoot axis nano's, they are super tough.you can shoot a new telephone pole over and over at 10yds and not break one or glance it off. also will shot beman mfx.I had a lot of problems with inconsistent size and spine in gt and quit stocking them in my shop. it got so bad that the inserts wouldnt fit. I really like carbon express maxima hunters but havent shot them out of a stick bow.
I'm with Pooahl, couldn't give GT's to me. I must just be ridiculously unlucky...I've shattered two different dozens of gold tips. I don't mean a few of them, I mean EVERY one broke. All were the 75/95 spine shot from 60-70# Morrisons. While they seemed as tough as most from direct frontal impacts, any hit off angle where it contacts the outside of the shaft and they broke like twigs. We have lots of rocks and hidden pieces of shale here on my place where I normally stump shoot and it's very tough on arrows. I'd also never intentionally shoot a stump around here...most are like shooting a rock. Glad to hear others have had better luck than me with GT's. To each his own...
5/16" Hickory for me. I haven't broken one yet.
Dennis
JC we must have gotten the same batch of exploding GT's all of them shattered most of them in foam,some on glancing blows[I can't blame the arrow or brand for those shots}I wouldn't give you a dime for for the GT,s I'm shooting the axis FMJ's the differance is night and day.My vote is for the FMJ or the axis nano both IMHO or better than the GT and should be available in Denmark.
Goldtips are all right IMO but, CX Heritages are much more durable in my experience.
ben
The Gold Tips that I have used all had the woodgrain finish. The only ones I broke hit trees or rocks. They pushed the point back and split the shaft. I have done the same with Axis, Carbon Express, aluminun and broken oak and hickory. If you abuse it, you can break an anvil. Bill
i'm an aluminum shooter 90 precent of the time,but i'v tried,bemans,carbon express,redlines and goldtips.perfer the goldtips myself,as they are the easiest to tune and work with,have never had any problems with thim.as a side note,our new club and archery shop has had me expermenting with the,arrow dynamic carbon arrow,they come in traditional,for 50/70#bows,and traditional lite for 35/55# bows,plus other's,but these are the ones that work for me.they are barrel tapered,they flie realy great out of bows from 30 to 45# bows i'v tried them in,and are cinder block guranteed.good luck.robert :thumbsup: :coffee:
I should have said it was the Beman ICS I had trouble with. The only thing bad about them was either end would crack because I don't think an arrow should be expected to hold up to a deer running through trees with an arrow sticking out of it because that is a lot of force but the gold tips worked good so far.
That's all I use is GT 55/75's with 100gr brass insert and 150gr points/broadheads. They fly like darts and kill the critters dead.
Bisch
I've shot GT 3555 for years. Got some Traditionals this season though and I like them much better. They have more grains per inch in my spine and the inserts can all be glued in with my hot melt glue instead of epoxy.
Ive hit a TON of trees with my Ad's amnd havent broken 1 yet.......
Axis for hunting are hard to beat IMO. They are plenty tough and the skinny shaft really penetrates. I also like the Beman MFX Classic shaft. Same diameter as the axis but a little heavier. I do shoot some GT's in the summer for 3-d. Never had a problem breaking them.
Now JC, on the other hand......you have to understand.......he's liable to hurl an arrow at a standing bear target (standing in front of a rock bank) from 60 yards down the holler! Or try to sneak and arrow through a 2" gap between two oaks at a 40 yard deer target. He'll try anything once......or till his quiver is empty.
QuoteOriginally posted by JC:
I've personally found Gold Tips to be fragile when compared to many others on the market. Your mileage may vary but just my personal experience.
Most of the shafts I prefer have all been discontinued...seems it wasn't in the manufacturer's best interest to produce a shaft that was so durable they could only sell you one set :D
agree with that :thumbsup:
personally for strength, quality and price compared to most of the top end shafts id go for Carbon express heritage or beman MFX
QuoteOriginally posted by eagle24:
Now JC, on the other hand......you have to understand.......he's liable to hurl an arrow at a standing bear target (standing in front of a rock bank) from 60 yards down the holler! Or try to sneak and arrow through a 2" gap between two oaks at a 40 yard deer target. He'll try anything once......or till his quiver is empty.
HA! I resemble that remark :goldtooth: You be sure to show up next Sunday and we'll see how well everyone's arrows are built. Bought some of the mfx classics cheap on Vermonster's recommendation and they may be a viable alternative to my discontinued favorite. The finish isn't as durable but I haven't broken one yet. And you know for me, that's saying something.
QuoteOriginally posted by tradtusker:
personally for strength, quality and price compared to most of the top end shafts id go for Carbon express heritage or beman MFX
And those my brother, are the two I'm talking about. Carbon express terminator hunter 60/75 and the Beman MFX Max4 were the two best shafts ever to fly out of my bows. If you broke one of those you DID something. Thankfully, I've got about 4 doz Max4 and about 3 doz TH's left. Hopefully by the time I use those up I'll have switched over to the new nano's (which the 5 that I have been playing with out of my Morrison ILF have proved to be at the top of the heap with current shafts).
Wow. It's awesome with this number of reviews! Feeling lucky to have my own little bunch of experts all gathered in one place :archer:
Carbon Express should be available in Denmark, they are made in Korea and shipped worldwide.
I have been shooting the Beman ICS Bowhunters for quite some time now with now problems. Both of my recurves seem to like them and they fly well. I also shoot GTs out of my compound and have for years. I have never tried any of the other brands. I have always felt that if its not broke don't fix it so I have not had a reason to shoot others.
I don't know about experts...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
(Do they have that joke in Denmark?)
Ja aflade jer aksel af U.S. selv om jer savn sig. PM eller e - indlevere mig.
Gold Tips are nice...shot them for years but the Easton Axis N-Fused are much better in all departments...just my .02 cents.
George: It's just not easy to find a European website where they sell them for a reasonable price.
JC: Even though those words were danish alright, the sentence made absolutely no sense :D
:biglaugh: So much for free translators...
You've got a PM.
Just digging up an old topic o' mine:
Gonna buy some arrows here (not shafts, but ready-for-action arrows), and but I'm not sure which variant I should choose for my 70# longbow. There's Beman 630, 750, 900, 1000, 1200 and 1400. As I actually know close to nothing about arrows, I would be happy to gain some knowledge :)
(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/snag23/robinhood002-1.jpg)
This is the only CE Heritage I have busted so far! Can't say that about the GTs. If I was to try another brand it would be the Beman MFX. I like performance...and looking like wood is good. :thumbsup:
Cool pic :archer.
Mis-clicks suck when you can't edit your post.
I argue....I mean agree...ahahah...er...hahaha!
:D
"Gonna buy some arrows here (not shafts, but ready-for-action arrows), and but I'm not sure which variant I should choose for my 70# longbow. There's Beman 630, 750, 900, 1000, 1200 and 1400. As I actually know close to nothing about arrows, I would be happy to gain some knowledge."
BUMP :)
BUMP again. Not a soul who can inform me more about arrows, and answer the question above? :)
Have to buy those arrows soon. Can't shoot my current arrows with my longbow, they're too weak, so I'm getting pushy now! :bigsmyl:
Which size is ideal for a 70# longbow guys?
What is your draw length? Is your longbow 70# at 28"? What grain tips do you plan to shoot?
70# @ 28" - that's right.
As I wrote, these are not shafts, they're premade arrows :)
I just wonder which size is ideal for minimal penetration (as I want the arrows to be stopped by the target).
Nobody?
By the way, when I talk size, I really mean size. Not arrow length :cool:
Arrow lenght must be a consideration in arrow selection, just as spine deflection. Also does your longbow have an arrow shelf, or does the arrow rest on your knuckle when the bow is drawn? If your bow has an arrow shelf cut into the riser, what is it's location in relation to the centerline of the bow? Is it cut center, or 1/4" past center? This is also needed infomation for arrow selection.
Assuming that you draw a full 28", and assuming that your shelf is cut to +3/8", and assuming that you use a b50 string, and that's assuming alot. A good arrow choice would be a Beman ICS 500 arrow cut to 29.5" and a 125 gr. tip.
Sounds great mate. Thanks for sharing your expertise here.