Project Bison

[2chucks2]

The shafts showed up in the mail on Sat., so I cut them to length and epoxied the 50 grain brass inserts in place. On Sunday, while smoking 15 pounds of bacon, I had some time to work on the bison arrows again. The fellow asked that I use barred feathers and crest the arrows. The colors he picked were black, red and silver cresting to match the fletching.



While the cresting was drying, I assembled the 125 grain Woodsmen and the 100 grain steel adapters. I also placed 2 brass weight washers on the heads. Total head weight: 235 grains.





Over the course of the day I was able to get two of the shafts fletched.



To boost the arrow weight, I am messing around with string trimmer (weed eater) line. 4 strands is the max I can fit inside the shaft. I plan to weigh the arrows tomorrow. My guess is that 4 strands might be too much.

[BT]

Top shelf !
Tell me...the fletches....are they shellacked into place?.
What I am referring to is the high gloss that surrounds the quill

[2chucks2]

Just Bohning Fletch tite cement. I'v been using it for years on all shaft material and types of fletch.

[BT]

Used to use it but it's been years.
Those shafts really look good! .... natural as can be

[2chucks2]

I finished all the bison arrows/broadheads and they were picked up by the hunter yesterday. We shot a few test arrows in my shop. The final weight came out to 760 grains. By using (4) 10 inch lengths of weed eater line bundled together and positioned in the front of the shaft, I was able to get a 15% FOC. All the heads are razor sharp and ready to go. I had him take a few shots through the chronograph and he was consistently shooting 200 FPS with his 70 pound Jennings. He will practice with the broadheads for a few weeks and the I will give them one last hone before he leaves for the hunt.


His new arrows will have 67 foot pounds of KE at point blank but more importantly, they will have .674 Lb/Sec. of momentum even at 40 yards he will still be at 63 foot pounds of KE and .654 Lb/Sec. momentum


His whitetail arrows weigh 353 grains and shoot 285 FPS, giving him 64 Foot pounds at point blank but only .446 Lb/Sec of momentum. At 40 yards, he drops to 55 Foot pounds and .414 Lb/Sec of momentum.


That is a 150% increase in momentum at point blank and 158% increase at 40 yards. These will be deep driving arrows. Now he just has to hit the right spot.

[BT]

I am looking forward to the outcome....which I am sure will be brutal

[CopperHead]

2chucks2,

Those arrows look pretty sweet. I never even thought about putting weed eater line inside an arrow to add weight. That is a good and inexpensive way to do it. Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[aclakey]

Wow, how did I miss this thread!! Great information.

For whats it's worth I took two Bison in February 2006 with the following setup.

2001 Hoyt Vortec Saber Cam 29" draw set at 72lb
125gr Rocky Mountain Iron Head tipped arrow. Total arrow weight 475gr traveling around 265fps

I shot a total of 4 arrows with 4 pass throughs. The first shots were around 25yards and zipped through. Both animals walked away and turned broadside around 40 yards. The second shots were through the lungs. One bison sat down after the second shot and fell over. The second bison took one stride and fell. The follow up shots were not necessary, but the opportunity was there so I took it.

The first cow was quartered away thus the shot placement farther back.


This one was shot through the hart at 25 yards then through the lungs at a little over 40.




For reference, here is where I shot the heart.



I think the setup you described is VERY sufficient for these animals. I was surprised at the performance I got with my setup. Enjoy and post some pictures.

[2chucks2]

I just got word from the Bison hunter. He has his bull. He got penetration on both sides bit the arrow did not completely pass through and exit the far side. He got both lungs and the heart and the beast broke his arrow in 3 pieces.


Live weight 2,4000 pounds, Hanging weight (without head, hide, hoofs or guts) 1,109 pounds. Total boneless meat is 717 pounds. It scored in the SCI top 20. I hope to have pictures soon.


the guy's partner got his bull with a restored Sharps rifle and put 6 shots in the boiler room before his bison went down.

[Greg Krause]

awesome! it's great to know all your hard work payed off for him!