Great content, I live in Wyoming and this year I shot 608 grains with 21% foc with a 60lb elite and had an awesome season. I do all of my hunting with the same setup (time and money). I took my antelope at 80yds with a pass thru deer the same and my elk at 60 with almost a pass thru. Keep the content coming it really helps!
Great video. I feel the same way about the AAE hunter. In the end I had both AAE hybrid 4 fletch, AAE hybrid 3 fletch, AAE Stealth 4 fletching and AAE Stealth 3 fletching all in my quiver this hunting season for elk. I found they all worked well up to 40 to 50 yards. But I did notice that the farther I would shoot in higher wind shots my arrows that were AAE hybrid 4 fletching flew the best. My arrows are 568 gr Easton axis 260 spine with 125 insert with 100 gr slick trick magnum broadhead. I was hitting consistently at 80 yards in 11 + mph wind in a 2 to 3 inch groups. Arrow speed was 270. I appreciate your videos and insight. You have definitely helped me this year with my prep and set up for hunting. I went into the field for the first time ever feeling extremely confident with my bow and arrow set up. Hopefully next year I will be successful.
Dude when you took that blanton to the head I laughed my heart out. Cigars..... here you go. Liga privada no.9 , T-52, long live the king, undercrown, tabernacle, magic toast, Padron 1926. Just to name a few.
Love the channel. Great talking points, information and production value! The rabbit hole of tinkering with equipment is infinite I think. Archery is so similar to golf in that respect. Endless equipment options and philosophies. For cigars I would encourage you to try the following:Tatuaje , Illusione or My Father.
Yeah man, you've got a TON of good info on your channel. I've been watching your stuff for a few years now. If I'm ever up in PA we should shoot. Or if y'all ever want to come down here to Nashville I'll put you in one of our airbnbs. Stay in touch!
Aja where in pa I’m from mineral ridge Ohio I’m located abt 45 min from Pittsburgh, @ Brandon McDonald arbnb like cabins ect I was down in Tennessee in June for a long weekend trip. If you have cabins I’d be interested in renting one and would be nice to meet you, big fan, great stuff keep them coming!
Brandon, you sound like me with always tinkering with arrow set-up and I'm still doing it. I still have arrows I haven't tried. But always looking at new ones. Plus all the other components that go with making a good arrow build. Keep up videos.
First 2 mins = greatness...good break down and wrap up of the arrows, currently working on setting up a new bow with arrows with primary focus for elk and whitetail and doing an all in one setup.
Just catching up on your videos. I really appreciate your analytical mind. This year I'm going with a heavier arrow. Been shooting 450 gr, well... Just because. That's what I got from the bow shop and figured that was that. Over the last 5 months, I've learned an incredible amount on the physics of arrow flight and penetration. Also just ate up Dr. Ashby's work along with the RF. So for the first time this year, I'm more than likely will be shooting an arrow 550+gr, maybe 600... I'm primarily hunting elk/bear with my bow, less jumpy than whitetails. I'll see what happens. 👍🏹
525 seems like a nice spot for me. Also love my 615g day 6 setup. Trajectory can become an issue on elk of its thick where you’re going, but it’s all a trade off
Gold Tips Hunter Pro's are super tough.. but boring. 300 are .302 OD. 9.3 gpi. You have to run an Ethics insert (100g) plus 150+ head to get 17-19 FOC and 525ish total weight. All the math and cronoing thats the setup. Stock inserts are too light. XT's and Pro"s are bulletproof. Great vids. Keep them coming.
I really enjoyed listening to your experiences. If you want to mix it up, buy some good Venezuelan rum, you may confuse them for a fine bourbon...I won’t recommend cigars because everyone’s taste are different. But I like medium to full bodied cigars with African tobacco and Central American wraps. You have a new subscriber and fan!
As usual, your videos do not disappoint. I enjoy how your summations do not speak to the watcher like we are idiots, but at the same time, do not put us to sleep with overly technical analysis. Keep it up 👍
Hey Brandon just some info on vane ideas and touching on your points that concern you with vanes. This past season I ran a 4 fletched helical with Blazer Mini vanes on GT Hunter XT 250s with 50 grn insert and 100 grn Tooth of the Arrow XL heads and I was getting great groups out to 100 yards. They are pretty quiet, 4 actually weigh less than 3 standard blazers and I felt like due to the small profile I got great tracking in the wind. I fletched them with an AZ EZ Fletch the small one. Try them if you want. My arrow setup came out to around 500 grns and I was getting ~ 310-312 fps at 80#s. I didn't see any parachuting. Also I noticed the lower profile definitely zips through game easier. Love the content. Thanks again.
Well I’m sold. I really like just hearing a non biased approach to just finding a great arrow set up. Not that I could ever say there will be the perfect setup. I have killed my last two bulls with a 430grain Easton aftermath with a two blade rage . Both bulls went less than 100 yards. 58 yards on one and the arrow almost passed threw the off side shoulder. Crazy .he was quartering away so I got gut liver lungs heart. With that the other five bulls I have been lucky enough to take we’re killed with good tip expedition 75/85 with muzzy three blade . Don’t even know the weight . But it was sure plenty . I would say for sure an improperly tuned bow is your worst enemy for loss of energy with any arrow. Great video . Excited to hear more.
In regards to your talk about following a truck. Check out Ed Ashbys talk about incorporating a turbulator just in front of the fletchings. This is exactly what you described
I've bent and blown up enough nocturnals to never use them again unless it's just for screwing around in the back yard or for small game. That's even with leaving more than enough room to prevent nock pinch on the string. Been using Firenocks and haven't had an issue yet. I really like the modularity and replaceability of the components.
Good stuff. I think the single bevel on fixed blades is what greatly improved my penetration anecdotally on my broadhead target (haven't filled my tag yet).
Noisy arrows/broadheads. This has been something I have heard quite a few times from many people. What was our time to target difference between heavy vs light arrows? Wasn't it .1 or even .01s? Now I want to science the hell out of this debate with sound. Measure noise produced at different fletchings, arrows, and broadhead combinations at various distances to see what happens. So many variables to dissect on this as it relates to hunting.... Love your stuff Brandon! I think it is good to have content like this and the way it is laid out for viewers. Saying this is my opinion and my experience through hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in equipment trial in error. Greatly appreciate the insight you give! Cheers buddy!
Arrow goes 300fps and deer have been clocked ducking at over twice that speed! That's where that .1 second can actually matter. Broadhead video coming soon.
Subscribed to your channel and liked the 4 part series in arrows. I'm an Indoor target shooter that wants to expand into outdoor 3D. I think you sold me on staying away from any arrow shaft that has metal in it. I know as a watch over the series again to soak in more info It will help me with even indoor shooting as I want to move away from line breakers to lighter arrows. I'm getting back into archery with my son having not shot for 15 years. So the old tech has passed on bye and looking for guidance in the new tech with arrows being part of it.
I've been using the Easton Axis .300 spine, aluminum insert, Iron Will Outfitters shock collar 25gr SS, Sevr 100gr 1.5" broadhead, nocturnal nock and 4 fletch 3" vanetec super spines. Entire setup is at 490gr. I've had pass throughs on elk and large deer. Some of those shots have been 80+ yrds and clean kills. It has been a great setup so far. I think the shock collars are key to strengthening and stiffening the front of the arrow giving better penetration.
Thank you. This is more fun than I have had EVER watching RU-vid . Love it. “Focus here” lmfao I want to meet you. Totally fun. Armadillo? Wtf? Make an armadillo smile and the worlds your oyster
I absolutely love my gold tip hunter expedition, with the 100 grn wasp jackhammer. With the nocturnal lighted nocks. Draw weight 65. This setup has been awsome for me, and yes I'm getting a pass through all the time. Course twice I made bad shot slightly quarter away went through and hit opposite shoulder, both deer went about 70 yards.
Solid talking points! Have had terrible experiences with lighted nocks and this makes me want to give them another shot. Just wish it was easier to find blanton’s in my area. Keep em coming..
Awesome content!! I've spent countless hours upon hours doing the same testing, Heavy vs Light, my opinion is there is a fine line when it comes to this topic, to me a medium heavy arrow works best because you still got the speed there but enuf heaviness to get the penetration you need! I've had to drop down on poundage this year because of shoulder issues so I now shooting 60lbs and for me the best set up my paticular bow which is New Hoyt is right around 420 gr Black Eagle arrow 400 spine, running 75gr Brass inserts with 100 gr Wac'em 4 blade broadhead is just money!!
Absolutely love the topic of heavy vs. light!!! Your arrow talks are the best. Could you please incorporate your broadhead thoughts. Mechanical, fixed, bevels and please keep it coming on all topics of archery hunting, thanks.
I really enjoyed the video, I think the arrow answer is both! Heavy and fast. If a person can step up to 80lbs you can have the best of both worlds . Prime Black 5 80Lbs 31dl 510gr x impact- 305+fps 580 spartan- 290fps The draw cycle is a bit more but the End result is fast and heavy.
Just found your channel. Great points🤙🏼! I have some gold tip platinum pierce set up in a 250 spine at 555 grains. I’m running their components with their Fact system and a 175gr VAP head. I’m only a 29” draw at 70# for comparison. Also have a set of BE Deep Impact 300 spine with the ethics insert at 625gr. All fly like darts out of my old RX-1 Turbo. Thanks again
Love your videos! I could watch for hours, and I agree with the other guys comment, you need to podcast! On the subject of vanes, I was using the AAE max 23s from Nock on , they did great, but I fell down the rabbit hole and went full Asbby for a while, however sitting in the tree and calculating trajectory( looking at shots I would have to make through brush and limbs), I was like, this arrow shoots great but no way am I gonna pull off some of these shots, so I've backed off weight, still trying to maintain a decent FOC I tried to find the lightest vane. I stumbled on to a vane by Vantec, they are like 3 grains. I have only done minimal testing but they seem great, anyway, this whole comment was to get you to include the Vantecs, i cant remember the name of them, they are just the lightest ones, thanks for the videos!
Been a bow hunter (white tail in Wisconsin) for a long time and arrow weight is a bit over-rated. My current setup is PSE Stinger at 70 lbs 29 inch draw 400 grain arrow which has 281 fps and no issues the last 2 years. Going to a 500 gain arrow only increases the momentum (what you care about for penetration) by 5%. Personally I rather have the flatter trajectory and faster speed as shot placement is king. With good shot placement I have gotten deer with compound bows that shot at 240, 220, and 180fps all with arrows around 400 grains. I have also shot deer with a re-curve bow, that I made, with only 45 lbs of draw weight. Never found out the speed of that bow but it was slightly faster than I could run and never considered going to 1000 grain arrow to compensate for the slower speed.
Shot placement is certainly king. With the research I'm doing on broadheads, penetration becomes a non issue on deer with a good fixed head. Almost any arrow weight for my poundage and dl would be fine. I think I just like the way the heavier arrows feel and sound coming off the bow.
@@brandonmcdonald6121 I have no problem if you like heavier arrows, everyone has their own things they like (PSE bows for me). To me it just isn't a must have when it comes to shooting whitetail. As for broadheads, all work, but I prefer to stay with fixed. I don't think I have shot a whitetail over 40 yards so there has never been an issue with the flight of my arrows with a broadhead. Also as an engineer, I like less moving parts better as there is less to go wrong. Keep up the good channel.
I like your style man. I'm on my 3rd bottle of Blanton and that stuff is good. Just a couple thoughts. I'm shooting the same bow, almost the same draw length and the same poundage so the info your putting out there is good for me. I've been wanting to build arrows for myself but don't really know where to start. I'm using Goldtip Hunter Pro's 300 spine with 125gr Rage Hypos. I smoked a huge buck at 37yds and that thing passed through the buck and ended up buried in a tree 20yds away. I want to start chasing elk next year and think the same setup will work but changing to a fixed blade. Helical vs offset, vanes brands, wraps vs none, micros vs standards are things I want play with. I can't really get on board with really heavy arrow but I think it should be around 450gr. I'm glad you're making these videos because I'm getting very good info to setup a starting point for myself.
The math says a heavier arrow is going to do a better job breaking bone. Engineering says a fixed blade broadhead is going to penetrate better than a mechanical. I'd try and get into the 500s with a fixed head, but there are plenty of guys that kill elk with 400g and a rage out front.
@@brandonmcdonald6121 Every Rage kill I've had has had devastating wounds. I just don't see the same thing happening with an elk. I think you're right about getting the weight up closer to 500gr. Keep up the videos man, I enjoy watching them. When do we get to see stuff from the hunts.
I'm smoking a 5 Vegas Media Noche at the moment. Not my fav but it's a good cigar. The cedar and plastic wrapper are probably better than that Swisher but sometimes we do what we gotta do.
I'm using GT Airstrike this year, seem to be good and fly pretty good once I figured out the bow and the missing E-clip on the top cam/buss cable axle. I'm only going as small as 204's though. Using Victory 204 last year and this year for a second bow.
What’s up brother, really enjoying the content! Cool to see someone else that enjoys cigars and archery as well. Try some sticks from Foundation, Dunbarton tobacco and trust, southern draw, crowned heads, Tatuaje, Room 101 just to make a few
Is it weird I came back to watch this video again tonight because I’m drinking Blanton’s and smoking a cigar on my porch ?? We just hung out and had a great chat, thanks Brandon
Brandon love your videos! Your a hoot. I changed to tacs this year and I love them for longer shots but they are tricker to fletch. Also if you will cut 1/2" bye 2 1/2" piece of Walmart bag wrapped around your lighted nocks they will stay tight. Thanks for the content,im always trying to learn.
If you're doing vane testing I'd suggest the Vanetec V-Max 2.5s. I think they're a slightly smaller version of the Max Stealth. I went to 4 Vmax from 3 max stealth and kept the weight the same. They're also not tiny compared to other vanes guys use in a 4 fletch. Looking forward to your videos!
Thanks, it was nice to follow along in the video while I drank 12 oz. of Club Soda with Lemon Sour with just a couple fingers of good Vodka. The FOC on that drink I believe was 20.5%, just like my hunting setup. Every animal requires a different arrow. I like to shoot woodchucks with a fiberglass arrow out of a custom recurve with a fishtip head. I killed 1 once with out the bowreel & it died under ground with the arrow. Lesson learned. In a whitetail spot out of a 🌳 with property lines too close I believe heavy FOC with an arrow that flies true is pertinent. While I was shooting this summer to get used to my new saddle I put 3D targets out purposely where I had branches between me & the target. The Valkyrie VAP system against the light Easton ACC vs. the heavy Victory X-torsion that has an Ethics 125 grain insert/outsert which is total weight 640 grains. The latter was able to split the limb & make that limb fall to the ground while still performing a ❤ shot on video. The Valkyrie system is what I am going with since it is so quiet with the 4 vane Bohning X3 2.25" vanes that r low profile & it gives me the 20.5% FOC. The Xtorsion shafts r wrapped in steel which only gives me 17.5% FOC & they r tipped with the Bishop Holy Trinity head & I will use them if needed in the late season with my other Prime bow that they r setup for. In closing I just might donate my Blazer fletching jig with all the Blazer vanes I've acquired to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation since it seems like a good cause😁.
@@brandonmcdonald6121 I really like the whole setup on the Valkyrie system. The tolerances are excellent. The field points & heads fly the same from 1 arrow to the next. I have the skills & the equipment to get the job done @ a high level of execution. What I can't afford is failure of structural integrity. I guess u can say I'm more focused on the point of impact rather than hoping & wishing to just hit the target animal.
Just wanted to revisit this video. I think u could have gone another 10 minutes but I know it's a #'s game. I recently invested heavily with 🔥nock & they gave me a free hat. Haven't put them in yet but the time is coming. I love that the match grained system matches the ones that r lighted. I bought new shafts that u refer to as the Victory VAP Elites that I call the Victory .166. I outfitted them with the Valkyrie system & the weight of them with the match grain system is the same as my Victory VAP TKO's w/o lighted nocks. Just for practice since my VAP TKO's r already elite in performance & I don't want to ding even 1 up during months of practice. I used to shoot the VAP TKO's with great arrow flight in the 350 spine that were 517 grains cuz of my 30" draw. However I found while shooting twigs between me & the target that the 300 spine 570 grain TKO's & the Victory Xtorsion 640 grain shafts shot much better after hitting a twig. I don't shoot the latter very much anymore & they still have the 3 blazers on them which have been eradicated from my setups over the last 2 years. For decades I shot the Easton ACC's that were consistent but have the same pitfalls as the FMJ"s. But @ a much lighter weight. I don't like the collection I have of arrows I will never shoot again. I am going to look into the VAP TKO SS that u brought up in another video. I must apologize though since u had an ad that had a much above average looking woman talk about being catfished by a guy on Tinder that won her over with a technique that had nothing to do with structural integrity. Well maybe a little but it wasn't intrinsic.
Hey Brandon. Firstly, I love your videos. Secondly, I've been thinking a lot about arrow penetration. I'm a physicist, and I've been trying decide on what the best metric is to measure arrow performance. I think it is momentum. KE is indirect and not really useful at the speeds arrows travel at, but momentum is a metric that relates to speed and mass directly. This is a theory, but I think that the reason why your super heavy arrows aren't penetrating as much as some medium weight arrows is about bow efficiency. You want to maximize momentum, and there is an optimal arrow mass that will eek every last bit of momentum out of your bow. I have a feeling that your super heavy arrows are well above that mass, and so you are no longer getting peak momentum. I could be wrong, but it might be worth charting your arrow mass and speed for different arrows, and seeing what the real world momentum ends up being. If everything but the mass is equal, then higher momentum should equal higher penetration.
I had a guy send me a calculator that's supposedly better than the websites for measuring ke and momentum..pretty interesting findings. We will always be looking for the "goldilocks arrow" it changes based on terrain and animal type. It's a fun journey to be on though.
I'll come up with some good recommendations for cigars I mostly deal with Cubans and scotch but I do like some knob creek burbon every now and again. If you are going to go cheap atleast go backwoods the port one is quite sweet but its good. Romeo and Julietta/ Montecristo are typically what I smoke or some good old crookeds (slang) Swiss specialty cigars they twist them together in a bundle and they are skinny but they are quite tasty. There is one cigar i really enjoy its more of a desert cigar but the name escapes me right now. they are quite expensive and I haven't had one in a few years. Buddy always gets me proper cubans when he flies there which usually is quite a few times a year.
I like how the Blanton’s is just casually sitting there. When it’s impossible to find. Then you when pulled straight from the bottle. I died a little on the inside. Cigars: My daily is a Scorpion Fuma (Camacho). If you want an elevated smoke. Can’t go wrong with any Padron or a MyFather.
My dad's name is Blanton. Every year for his birthday clients would get him bottles and he doesn't really drink. I remember one year when I was younger he had almost 2 cases of blanton's. HE THREW IT AWAY!! He just thought it was cheap so he just tossed it.... Thanks for the cigar recommendations
In regards to the ballistic gel dilemma, I can’t explain why either but I’m sure it’s similar to shooting a gun underwater. Larger calibers seem to not go as far as smaller faster moving calibers.
IMO, the sound of an approaching arrow is greater than that of the snap of a bowstring. I am going on what I hear when I have my nephew shoot my bow from 10-20 yards in front of him (and off to the side).
Yeah he really flies under the radar because Brandon is really stepped it up he is really doing good I mean just alone at 85 your shot on the bull elk blew my mind like that was so freaking dead money it wasn't about the size of the animal it was a fact of them breaking the beautiful clean shot you know this yeah just around alot of his stuff is great
Loved this episode! Need more whiskey. And I'd recommend a pipe , a cheap corn cob pipe smokes awesome. Tobacco recommendations: Presbyterian, Arango Balkan Supreme. Or cult blood moon I love that you do this in one take , I can't stand videos where every 10 seconds is a cut and edit
Most of my videos are chopped up!! I was being lazy for this one just trying to enjoy myself! Thanks for the pipe recommendation. I do actually have one. I'll look i to that again.
Just started with the day six arrows so far bare shaft like lasers. Have 275 trying 300 next shooting 50 g outserts after taking to bryan so far impressed
Mathews VXR 28 65LBS 28.5DL Easton procomp hunter match Iron will broadhead insert n sleeve 150gr Aae stealth And firenock Total weight 432gr Whitetail treestand
Yup. I've now sent the same iron will head through an elk, armadillo and yesterday, a deer. Stuck in the dirt for every one of them. That iron will head is pretty much perfect.
dude you are my new favorite youtuber!! Man I love you content. Please keep I up man I really appreciate your awesome videos and i would love to see a hunting video.
That's one of the reasons I shoot around 500 grains, middle of the road plus I had a 430/440 arrow not penetrate properly on a bull on a angled shot few years ago.
