Fred Bear popularized the sport of bow hunting with his traditional equipment: bows, arrows and broadheads. Along with all the accessories used by hunters these basics have advanced by leaps and bounds in less than half a century. The recurve and long bows have been overshadowed and replaced by most archers with the more technologically advanced compound bow.
Advertisement
Several historical events have revolutionized the archery industry and each time a breakthrough is made, the industry builds on the idea to make it even better. The compound bow has seen several transformations, each leading to a more efficient, easier-to-use tool for archers to take advantage of. It wasn’t many years ago that the compound bow was spitting out arrows at 230 fps and hunters and shooters were lining up to capitalize on the benefits. Changes in limbs, cams and structural designs have taken the compound bow light-years ahead of the bows I grew up with. The new Insanity introduced by BowTech this year its an absolute dream to shoot and is shooting arrows at a blazing 355 fps, unfathomable only a decade ago.
The mechanical release provided the consistency that most shooters could have only dreamed of and changed archery forever.
Advertisement
Wooden arrows were replaced with aluminum shafts, which was another major breakthrough for archers. Trademarked in 1946 by Easton, aluminum arrows were the norm for many years until carbon arrows entered the scene in the 1980s. It would be difficult to find even a handful of archers still shooting the old, heavy shafts today. Lighter arrows, more efficient bows and equipment that is easier to use made many think that we’ve seen the last of the advancements that could be possible. The entire archery industry has spent the last decade perfecting the best equipment we’ve ever seen and figuring that the refinements must be coming close to an end.
Easton Archery Products introduced a new product in 2012 that will establish a new baseline for arrows and broadheads that the rest of the archery world will be racing to build upon. It is the Focused Energy Deep Six Component/Arrow System.
Advertisement
The new Easton arrow is called the Injexion. It, along with Deep Six components, may sound space aged but the concept of the new products is a smaller diameter arrow with the same weight of a conventional carbon arrow. The smaller diameter provides several benefits that include better overall strength, more kinetic energy downrange and greater crosswind resistance for better arrow flight and performance. Besides better arrow performance, the Deep Six system also offers new advancements for inserts, field points and broadheads.
Target archers have long used micro-diameter arrows to give them that competitive edge. The biggest problem was trying to find an insert that was properly matched to the arrow shaft. The Deep Six stainless steel component system provides bowhunters with ultra micro diameter inserts to further improve downrange kinetic energy and superior crosswind performance. A stronger, more precise thread pattern provides 25% more thread engagement and is 65% stronger than conventional aluminum components. Conventional inserts only offer 8-32 thread points and rattle loose, whereas Deep Six points remain secure inside the insert with more thread.
You will need to use Deep Six broadheads with the new arrows and components, as the new heads taper to match the shaft diameter for less friction and drag during flight and throughout arrow penetration. The micro-diameter shafts track behind broadhead ferrules for cleaner, friction-reduced pass-through shoots.
Though smaller in diameter they’re not lighter than conventional carbon arrows. The higher density steel insert maintains the weight at the front of the arrow for increased accuracy. Weight-forward arrows are not new, several manufacturers use wraps to increase weight on the arrow shaft in front of the centre line. The Deep Six system moves the weight further forward and works in conjunction with other engineering designs to offer better arrow flight and better penetration.
It is difficult to explain how a micro-diameter arrow and steel inserts improve penetration but a good example would be if someone stepped on your toes while wearing a regular pair of dress shoes. There is focused energy onto your foot but if the same person was to wear a high heel, the energy would be focused through a smaller diameter point and you would immediately feel the difference.
Easton may have developed the newest technology in carbon arrows and components but they couldn’t have brought it to the market without having broadheads to match the new thread and a tapered ferrule to complete the system. NAP has changed the engineering on some of their well-known broadheads to offer hunters an opportunity to put Deep Six to the test. The name of their broadheads will now be preceded by a D6 and offered in the following models: D6 BloodRunner 2-blade, D6 Thunderhead Razor, D6 Spitfire Maxx, D6 Big Nasty and the D6 KillZone. Other broadhead manufacturers are coming aboard; Muzzy has offerings in the D6 design as well.
If you’re hunting for better performance the new Injexion arrow and D6 broadheads should provide you the extra aerodynamics and strength to give you that edge when chasing your next quarry.