By Jason Reid
Looking for an arrow that won’t break the bank but be reliable for deer or elk hunting? Check out my thought on ten years of using Beman ICS Hunter Arrow.
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- In the past, I’ve waited until July to start getting my gear together for the coming season. Although there seemed to be plenty of time to pull things together, I couldn’t help but feel rushed, especially since the calendar turns quickly into August and September.
Arrows always make for great discussion among bowhunters and each person is different, demanding different features from what they decide to put in their quiver. I’m not a technical expert when it comes to arrows, but what I can report on is ten years of use and abuse with one particular arrow.
The summer of 2015 I will always remember as the most ridiculous summer of archery preparation ever. From string malfunctions to sight problems, minor limb deflections and an arrow swap, I’d spent more money on my old bow than my tags to hunt out West. Early in the summer I decided I wanted to jump on the Easton FMJ bandwagon. After shooting a few arrows from a friend, I was sold. I will note they are a great arrow and will give an in-depth review at a later date.
Beman ICS Hunter Arrow
The issues came from a lack of detail on how they were matched to my bow. Issues ensued and three weeks before leaving I pulled my old Beman ICS Hunter Arrows from the case. Having spent the entire summer fighting with improperly tuned gear, falling back on my old arrows was a bit of relief. Three weeks after switching back I killed my first elk.
When I look at these arrows, there is nothing fancy. They certainly are for the everyday hardworking bowhunter, youth hunters, and can take abuse. Because of the variety of weights the arrow comes in ( 300, 340, 400, 500) you can make just about any of these arrows work with any setup without much worry. I started with 500 grain arrows as a youth hunter ten years ago, upgrading to the 400 grain arrow as I got older and never had to worry. Sure, I have found there is an occasional arrow out of a dozen flying weird which is my only frustration over the ten years of use.
Having hunted both deer and elk with these arrows and practiced at all ranges I would say these are best for short and medium ranges. The Beman ICS Hunter Arrow s handle brush extremely well and have flown true for me even with minor scratches on the shaft.
If you are worried about the specs, here are the numbers. The Beman ICS Hunter Arrow give you a .003 straightness and gives you 8.4 grains per inch with a 400 grain arrow, 9.3 grains per inch with a 340 grain arrow and 7.3 grains per inch if you choose a 500 grain arrow. I shoot 400 grain arrows and even with my modest 290FPS from my bow, my arrows are still producing roughly 93 lbs. of kinetic energy with the way the math plays out.
To give you a real life example, My arrow helped pushed the broadhead through both shoulders of a bull elk and gave me three quarters penetration on the arrow. My father’s ICS arrows produced a complete pass-through on his 2015 bull as well.
These arrows are not a small diameter arrow like the Easton Axis or Back Eagle Spartans, but I have not found a lack of penetration to be an issue.
In all, the Beman ICS Hunter Arrow are hard working arrows. If you don’t want to get caught up in the glamor and marketing of others, these arrows are straightforward, fairly drama free and get the job done.
We found the best price on the Beman ICS Hunter Arrow online at Amazon: http://tiny.cc/nthjay ~ AmmoLand
About Jason Reid:
Jason Reid is a writer and business professional from upstate New York. After deciding to pursue his dream of becoming an outdoor writer, Jason started a blog from his dorm room at Houghton College, growing it and working hard to earn opportunities. While bowhunting big game is his ultimate passion, Jason welcomes all outdoor challenges which force him to push his limits. Jason’s work can be viewed on his website Pushingthewildlimits.com