# Easton Axis FMJ --Serious Disappointments Serious Problems



## midnight_f150 (Jul 4, 2009)

man I was thinking about buying a dz of them in the 500s but after reading your review I make gets stay with carbon express.


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## WDMJR3DBOWGUY (Dec 2, 2003)

I shoot them and so do most of the guys at my shop for hunting arrows. I have no problem with them, first Ive heard such thing. Maybe your dealer handles them in a rough manner? Also pulling them from a target in a wrong manner could damage them


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## Yuma Sentinel (Jun 6, 2009)

hey doc! there really good arrows! great for hunting and pull out of 3d targets nicely...however they stink when you miss a target! My buddy ruined 5 in one day! (it was his first day on our 3d trail) I've never seen arrows get so messed up on both ends of the shaft. So...don't miss! :darkbeer:


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## recondoc (Jul 14, 2009)

That's what I don't get. Most of these shafts were OK at the beginning of the week. I only shot my block target and I'm pretty good with pulling nice and straight. I'm not rough on my arrows. I was just shocked that all but 3 would develop some serious vibration and bend just by shooting a block target (and it's almost 7 months old and pretty shot up.
This just doesn't make sense. 
I found 9 Beeman Blackmax 400 shafts on clearance at a local shop today and snatched them up.
Anybody know how to straighten Axis shafts?
Doc


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## Yuma Sentinel (Jun 6, 2009)

You might be able to use an alum arrow straigter if they're not too bent. So i've heard. Also have you tried to use the G5 squaring tool? Clean up the front of the shaft and make it flush for your points. The HIT inserts could be one reason your seeing a wobble...but idk???
Good luck with your situation! If they don't work out and when you get some extra $$$ look at the Victory Vforce with the pin nocks. Great arrow and really strong! "Carbon...if it's not straight...its broken":darkbeer:


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## Tax Lawyer (Feb 5, 2003)

I would return them.

I just bought two dozen of them and they are all straight.

Call Easton if your dealer does not help.


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## DullTip (Apr 16, 2007)

Yuma Sentinel said:


> hey doc! there really good arrows! great for hunting and pull out of 3d targets nicely...however they stink when you miss a target! My buddy ruined 5 in one day! (it was his first day on our 3d trail) I've never seen arrows get so messed up on both ends of the shaft. So...don't miss! :darkbeer:



Just as long as YOU pull them and not let your buddies that are use to carbons that won't bend. I did a 3D this year and thanks to others pulling my arrows I went home with two bent arrow shafts. Well toss in two misses in a nasty rain storm during the shoot and having a bear target fall over after I shot it I went home with 5 arrows toated.... that's $11 a shaft if you're wondering.

They might be heavy and hit hard but they don't hold up to normal abuse like my carbons do. I'm changing as I'm worried that they'd bend during my elk hunt if I accidentally leaned up against my quiver or had something fall on my bow. 

A quiver full of carbons won't have that issue and be a lot cheaper in the long run. 

That was a $100 learning lessing buying them. I think a lot of the pros that sear by them... get them for free. If I got them for free I'd keep shooting them but at their cost I can't afford that game. $60 for a dozen of shafts that get me through the years adds up vs. $100 for a dozen of shafts that didn't last me 3 months. 

DT


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## pwahuntn (Jun 18, 2004)

I shoot bemans ics hunter 340's. But for 3d I shot carbon express 3D select 200's and the same 2dz for 3 years straight and never had a proble. I guess it all boils down you have to hit what you aim for.


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## Bushbaby (Jul 28, 2004)

*FMJ,s*

Thanks guys for the info on these FMJ,s I just put a thread on general about picking up some . I think I,ll stick with my goldtips


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## yakstone (Jun 30, 2008)

I have shot the ST Axis for 4 years, switched to FMJ 400 this season. Love the way they shoot and have had positive experiences with them so far.
Super easy to pull from targets and very accurate.


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## Smoke'UM (Aug 26, 2004)

The first three American rounds i shot this year i won with Easton FMJ 400's cut 27.5 from a 57lb draw Quest bow.Never had a problem with any of the arrows and all were fletched with Blazers.Won next two events with Easton N-Fusion Axix arrows.Easton Rocks.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

*FMJ's*

I recently bought a half dozen because i was tired of carbon express. I will never own another brand of arrow. The kinetic energy these things have is unreal. Mine are 400's cut to 28" and they bury up nearly to the fletchings on a 3d target when my buddies Carbon xpress's don't even come close.


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## LFM (Jan 10, 2004)

Wow I am surprised, I have been using the Easton FMJ 300 and they are the best arrow I have used especially for hunting. I read a lot here before buying them and seems that shooting one arrow at each circle on the practice target is the best way to go. I have not had any issues as descibed by others here about them bending or wrobbling any anything. I also shoot GT XT 7595 and Easton XX75 2514. They all work but the FMJ have that added penetration which many are looking for when hunting...

LFM


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## stiennen (Apr 6, 2009)

I picked up a half dozen and they flew great and hit like a brick but after a half summer of target shooting in the yard I am down to 2. I am going to Victory Carbons and calling the FMJ's a failed experiment.

Darrell Stiennen


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## mule659 (Aug 25, 2008)

I've heard a lot of good about them and considered trying them...would hate to have them bend though.


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## deersnyper (Oct 19, 2006)

have been shooting the FMJ's since Easton came out with them. Think you got some arrows that were crushed in shipping or a bad run. Never have had a problem with them. Shoot 62lbs, with 2" blazers and the 340 FMJ's. Just had another 1/2 dozen fletched today.


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

I have no problems with mine. It might be the target though.


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## KWolfe (Dec 10, 2008)

I just picked up a half dozen and I absolutely love them. I'm shooting better than before and the arrows pull out of targets great. I did manage to break one arrow, but any arrow would have broke. Since breaking the tip on that shaft I have tried to bend the remaining shaft and have been unable to bend it significantly. I am sold on these shafts and have no plans to shoot anything else.


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## tntone (Aug 13, 2006)

my fmj's would warp like xx75 & 78......... i dont like fmj, jmo......


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## jpm_mq2 (May 22, 2004)

Mine have been excellent.Shot them all summer at 3-D's they were all straight when i bought them,and they still are after lots of shooting.


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## dillio67 (Oct 1, 2004)

*fmj*

wobble or no wobble do they shoot???Some times ite the tip or the insert making it wobble not always the shaft.If your tips got a little boogered on the tip this will show a wobble...just my guess if they were straight when you started.


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## kateraxl2970 (Jan 2, 2009)

Yeah, I have been shooting them for two years now and I shoot the 400's and havent had any complaints.Shot 3d with them yesterday and shot a 214 and 7 -12's not bad for a skinny shaft ! The only question I have is why did Easton change the 400 to 10.2 gpi from last year's 9.9 gpi ?????:noidea:


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Yuma Sentinel said:


> You might be able to use an alum arrow straigter if they're not too bent. So i've heard. ... "Carbon...if it's not straight...its broken":darkbeer:


I bought a bunch of used Easton XX75 1913 shafts for my daughter. A few of them were bent. I went to a shop and asked if I could have them straightened. The owner said that I could use the straightener for free, and showed me how to use it. It did a couple shafts a little good, though most of those that were bent became residents of the garbage can.

He then told me that he learned from a mentor that the arrow straightener was the best way to sell a new set of arrows. I think he's on to something.

I like my Easton 2613 X7's for the 20 yard indoor stuff. They're such massive monsters, they'd be difficult to bend by pulling, (though I'm sure some macho guys could manage to bend them, but they don't pull my arrows.) Also, they're pretty much exclusively 3 or 5 spot targets with one arrow per target. However, for 3D, stump, or just playing around, I'm very attached to my Carbon Force (PSE brand) arrows. I've figured out the spine/tip weight/bow combinations that, if the bow's tuned and I'm doing my job, group wickedly. I'm afraid of aluminum for my more abusive purposes, as I destroy carbon arrows far to regularly as it is. The Victory Nano arrows look tempting, but I'd have to go through experimenting again to find the best fit, am out of money for the time being, and if it ain't broken....

My kids get Easton Aluminum, but they only shoot casually, and do stupid things (like shooting through a sliver of space between redwood trees-There are lots of 125 grain field tips embedded in the trees in my yard) less often than myself.


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## 37macca (Sep 28, 2007)

*Bent FMJ*

I have 7 bent out of a dozen shot this weekend into bag target. I brought 5 dozen Iam so pissed that they can bend so easy I might go back to GTs


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## 20ftup (Mar 19, 2007)

Dang guys some folks can break an anvil JK
I have been hunting with the same 4 arrows (FMJ) for 2 years 6 deer with 1 arrow its still straight . I dont know what to tell ya I haven't had issues with em warping
When I shot GTs I had to keep them out of the sun or they would warp almost immediatly


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## Smoke'UM (Aug 26, 2004)

I've never in 2 yrs. of shooting compitition and practice every day never bent not one single FMJ .I've busted the nocks out of several shooting 900 rounds but never bent one.I've shot them in bag/foam/laminated/straw and cardboard target and yet to bend one.I'm only shooting 60lbs though may be something there i don't see it but maybe.Could be under spined on him and the bow is bending them before they get to the target is one guess.:confused2:


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## dmr (Sep 9, 2009)

Just bought a dozen FMJ 300 shafts. Every shaft was VERY straight - all within Easton's stated +/- 0.002" tolerance. The lightest and heaviest shaft were only 0.3 grains apart! The label on the shaft said 11.6 gpi, actually found it to be real close to 11.8 gpi.

Haven't shot them yet so can't comment on durability, but from what I've seen so far these are very high quality arrows. As they should be for what they cost


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## Tryin' (Jul 3, 2009)

Flew great for me, until they got some use under their belt. . . 

Did this twice in a row last night. . . not happy w/ the HIT system right now. . .


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## FiremanStokes (Sep 7, 2009)

Did you shoot a concrete block or what???


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## 07 brute (Jan 26, 2007)

Wow, thats strange I've been hunting with the same dozen 340's I bought three years ago and still have 9 good ones. Are your arrows flying straight? I don't know, just an idea, but if their hitting the target at an angle or while wobbling that might be causing the bend.


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## Mattyv97 (Mar 30, 2009)

*Fmj*

Ive went threw about 50 Easton FMJ and had no problems with any of them. granted everytime i shoot a animal with the arrow, the arrow gets retired and the ones that i ruined were all my fault. but ive had no problems what so ever with them out of the box or from the pro-shop... i think there amazing. slow your arrow speed down a bit but well worth the penetration factor. i love them... wouldnt shoot anything else


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## rmenefee (Jun 27, 2009)

bend and brake easy.


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## jfrogg (Aug 27, 2007)

*Just bought (6) some 340s...not cut square at all!!!*

If your BHs are not sitting straight on the shaft, you will get wobble with any arrow and pressure will be exerted unevenly on the end of the shaft (which could result in the pictured arrow above). You have to use a G5 squaring tool or have them (bow technician) rotate the shafts as they cut them to make them more square. If they just plunge the arrow when cutting them, they will always come out not square. It isnt the arrows fault but the Technicians fault on my arrows at least. The best way I have found to see if the heads are sitting evenly at least is to put a head on finger tight and hold the head and shaft up to the light and rotate and look for light coming thru in a gap. All mine did this and am squaring them now. They are much better afterwards. )


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## Nightimer (Jan 22, 2003)

recondoc said:


> Howdy Folks,
> I'm new around here and thought maybe someone around these parts could shed some light on problems I'm having with my Easton FMJ Axis arrows.
> A bit of background: My neighbor has been shooting these shafts for the last year and swears by them. My, Very Lovely, Wife bought me the new Rytera Alien X bow for completing an overseas contract. (Nice gift.)
> To go along with the new bow, I went by my local shop and picked up a dozen Axis FMJ 400s cut to 28.5".
> ...


As I understand it you bought 12 shafts and one was bent before you even shot it (did you check the rest of them)
Then in the course of a week you have 8 more bent arrows after shooting them.
Did you shoot ALL twelve arrows?
If you did, why arn't they all bent as they were all shot at the same target material.
Are you using the HIT system or just normal glue in points?
I ask this because if the cut on the end of the arrow is not bang on square, the point is not supported properly on the shoulder.
When the arrow hits the target the load is not spread evenly and can cause a bend in the shaft.
The HIT system would not be effected like this and should not be a problem.
Have you checked to see if the points are damaged.
A small ding on the point when spun on your hand feels like the arrow is bent.
I use a small magnet to spin arrows.
Put the tip of the arrow on the magnet and let it hang down then spin it.
As there is only a small tip on the magnet you get a better idea of whats going on.
The last thing is that you might have a "bad" batch of shafts os it might be worth a call to Easton.
I have had the same dozen Axis FMJ's for 2 years and they are shot into hard straw targets (they are like wooden boards when new) and they are all perfect.


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## wyoming4x4 (Mar 16, 2009)

*340 fmj easton*

Been shooting fmj's for awhile. Really like this arrow and reccomend. But here lately had some guys at the shop complain and I'm wondering about bad batch or something. I shoot individual target when possible. If I shoot same target I will trash a arrow. 340 for hunting and 3d shoots. Shot some carbon and to me the only difference was speed because they are lighter. 340 fmj shoot hard at 70lb. Not sure if their is something funny going on??


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## recondoc (Jul 14, 2009)

*Update from recondoc*

I actually took them back by my shop and the tech there put them all on an arrow gauge. 11 out of the 12 were bent so I was refunded my money on the dozen.
In my opinion, I think I just happened to get a bad batch. The target I was shooting was a well shot Block 4x4 so I don't think it was too stiff a surface. My target shooting and hunting buddy has been shooting his 340s for 2 or more years and has nothing but good to say about them. I witnessed him bury one into a 4" fence post and he had to dig it out with vise grips. That shaft is still shooting straight so I can't, at all, say that it is the Axis FMJ in toto.
I suspect that my batch had a bad heat treat on the aluminum. This would allow the shaft to flex when shot and on impact due to the carbon but, if there was a bad heat treat, the aluminum would than hold the flex permanently.
I was using the HIT inserts and had them cut and inserted at the pro shop before taking the shafts home.
I actually like the HIT system and have since started shooting the skinny Bemans. I did have to buy an arrow squaring tool to get them to spin my broadheads correctly. 
I don't know what caused the problem but I will probably stick to an all carbon shaft now days.
Doc


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## MaThEwSbAbY (Feb 8, 2010)

rmenefee said:


> bend and brake easy.


definately gunna have to disagree with this one. i have shot them and i love them, one of my buddies almost shafted one of mine but instead it just split like half an inch, i then proceded to break it, and lets just say, way stronger than any other arrow ive seen.


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## Adair (Mar 12, 2005)

I love FMJ arrows. The only problem that I have had is that some clubs complain that they penetrate too deep on the 3D targets.


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## BDHUNTR (May 24, 2003)

I shoot XX75 2213's and I don't have these problems.


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## Camel (Mar 19, 2006)

I've used FMJ 340s for 4 years and still have 8 of them.two were broke in animals,one bear and one deer.one broke on a tough 3D target and other broke when I moved my paper target to the wrong spot on target but.steel rod that tightens down butt.Brain fart on that one,should have know better with the penetration they get.Awsome arrows,I would reccomend them to anybody.Not sure what happened with yours,ends not square,wrong spine or damaged somehow before you got them.hard to say but I've had nothing but good luck with mine.I bought some xweaves to try with the new bow,just because they're lighter but I'm sure I'll be shootin FMJ come hunting season.xweaves are mainly for 3D where they're so light.


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## ajstrider (Feb 20, 2009)

So besides all the people saying they haven't had any problems from their FMJ arrows not helping you at all, lets try to get some help going here. A few problems have been addressed and might be worth investigating. I am not aware of how good your local shop is at making arrows, but to get some nice arrows it takes more than just cutting them and slapping a glued-in insert in them.

First comes the cutting of the arrow. Once you use your fancy 150 dollar saw to cut an edge, it needs to be squared off. G5 makes an excellent tool for this for about 30 or 40 bucks I think. It works on aluminum and carbon arrows. The good thing is, if this is the problem, your arrows are not ruined because it doesn't take much off the end of the arrow. If the end of your arrow is not squared off, your tip will wobble and appear to be a crooked shaft. On the same note, if your tip is a piece of crap tip, it could make it wobble. So you might try switching tips because that is a pretty easy thing to do.

I have seen some not so handy pro shop guys mess up the inserts. The arrow needs to prepped properly and inserts glued in correctly. HIT inserts are particularly bad about this. Why? That is easy, most inserts butt up against the end of the arrow shaft, not the HIT inserts of course. If not glued in properly they become loosened from the impact of the arrows and move around a bit inside the shaft, causing it to wobble. Bad thing here is if the inserts were put in wrong, the arrows are probably wasted. I have never had much luck removing inserts. Although places say you just screw a tip or a insert tool into the tip, heat the shaft to loosen the glue, and boom, insert can be pulled out. I have never had much luck with this and prefer to put the tip in correctly to begin with. I won't go into the process of putting in a tip here because you have to get them out first.

Lastly, they may be bent, I won't deny that any shaft can be bent out there from a variety of things including...factory fault, improper removal from target, improper handling of arrow, and pretty much anything else that can go wrong.

It sucks having spent so much money on some bad arrows I would do everything in your power to check the shafts without spending any money first. Try spinning with different tips and such, and don't be spinning on your hand or some table, spend 20 bucks and buy a spinner. Once you have basically decided it is the arrow, take it back to the shop and say ***. Or you can spend some more money and TRY to fix them, but may not be able to.


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## scrawnyPilgrim (May 1, 2009)

recondoc said:


> I actually took them back by my shop and the tech there put them all on an arrow gauge. 11 out of the 12 were bent so I was refunded my money on the dozen.
> In my opinion, I think I just happened to get a bad batch. The target I was shooting was a well shot Block 4x4 so I don't think it was too stiff a surface. My target shooting and hunting buddy has been shooting his 340s for 2 or more years and has nothing but good to say about them. I witnessed him bury one into a 4" fence post and he had to dig it out with vise grips. That shaft is still shooting straight so I can't, at all, say that it is the Axis FMJ in toto.
> I suspect that my batch had a bad heat treat on the aluminum. This would allow the shaft to flex when shot and on impact due to the carbon but, if there was a bad heat treat, the aluminum would than hold the flex permanently.
> I was using the HIT inserts and had them cut and inserted at the pro shop before taking the shafts home.
> ...


Yeah I've shot mine into thick plywood several times, still seem fine to me.


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## Bowhunter59901 (Feb 14, 2010)

Over a year ago I was baited by a local shop here, to switch from my Easton Axis FMJ to his CX shafts. First it was the Hunter Lights 4560's, then handed a dozen Aramid KV's. I can tell you that I have broken more CX shafts than I could count. I've even seen easy breaks on targets in -5 temps where the guy shooting with me broke 3 right off the bat on the practice bale outside prior to the 3-D match.

Prior to my switching I had been using the Easton Axis FMJ 400's and 340's, and the only damage I ever had done, was when I clipped a nock and split the back end of a shaft. 

I have since returned to Easton Axis FMJ 340's and could not be happier. I'm also shooting Easton Super Slam XX78's and these works real good as well. If I return to using any carbons at all, it will be Easton Axis N-Fuse 340's.

I don't have an answer as to why recondoc had a problem, I got to ask if they were spun prior to leaving the shop in the first place.

For me I will stick with Easton Arrows.


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