Victory RIP TKO Evaluate: The Goldilocks Searching Arrow

Within the bowhunting world immediately, there are three camps for locating the right arrow. Some need heavy arrows for supreme penetration. Some individuals need ultralight shafts for blazing speeds. Then there are those that desire a blissful medium.

For the latter crowd, the Victory RIP TKO might be the arrow you’re in search of. It’s not ultralight, nevertheless it’s not tremendous heavy. It has a small diameter and particular coating which are meant to extend penetration. Add to these options that it’s properly made and has tight tolerances, and the RIP TKO could be the final word bowhunting arrow. Listed here are my ideas on the RIP TKO after testing six on the vary.

• Straightness: Elite .001, Gamer .003, and Sport .006
• Spines Obtainable: 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400
• Contains 50 grain aluminum insert/outsert
• Shaft Size: 31 inches
• .204 inch inside diameter
• 12 Pack of Shafts Worth: Elite $220, Gamer $195, Sport $180
• Six pack of Fletched Arrows Worth: Elite $120, Gamer $110, Sport $100
• Examined Arrow Weight: 439 grains (300 backbone, 30.25-inch arrow, 100 grain level, three TAC Driver 2.75 vanes)

Elite vs Gamer vs Sport

The Victory RIP TKO is a .204-diameter, all-carbon arrow. It is available in three varieties — Elite V1, Gamer V3, and Sport V6. These varieties pertain to the straightness tolerances, with the Elite V1 promising straightness to inside .001 inches, the Gamer V3 to inside .003, and the Sport V6 to inside .006. 

Most bowhunters in all probability received’t discover any distinction in these straightnesses, however they positively will discover their impact on value. At Lancaster Archery Provide, a six-pack of RIP TKO Elites prices $119.99, the Players value $109.99, and the Sports activities promote for $99.99. Meals for thought: Arrow firms measure straightness runoff with a full-length arrow, so for those who’re going to chop a number of inches off, you’re doubtless bettering straightness specs.

3K Carbon

All RIP TKOs are made from 3K carbon, which suggests there are 3,000 carbon filaments per tow — assume bundle — woven collectively in Victory’s distinctive 45-degree sample that appears like a checkerboard. The 3K carbon is robust and light-weight, and holds as much as repeated use, so it’s thought of to be sturdy. It’s a typical carbon used for quite a lot of functions apart from arrows, similar to in automobile hoods and bike rims.

Learn Subsequent: UltraView 1K Arrows Evaluate

Backbone Aligned

Every arrow is backbone aligned, which suggests Victory identifies and marks every arrow’s “excessive backbone” for you. The excessive backbone is the stiffest a part of the arrow. When taking pictures compound bows, you need that prime backbone dealing with straight up for the very best consistency and arrow efficiency. Goal archers will spin an arrow in a software that presses down on the center of the arrow and measures resistance to search out the excessive backbone for themselves earlier than fletching. With the RIP TKO’s, Victory does that on the manufacturing unit and places a graphic on the arrow shaft to mark the excessive backbone. 

ICE Coating

RIP TKOs are additionally coated with Victory’s ICE coating, a ceramic coating designed to assist penetration and make these arrows simpler to take away from targets. I don’t know the way you inform if the coating aids in penetration on a recreation animal, however I can attest that it makes these arrows simpler to tug from targets than arrows that don’t have the coating.

Diameter 

The .204 diameter is the hybrid shaft dimension between 4mm micro-diameter arrows and customary 6mm arrows. So it’s designed to chop by way of wind like a micro-diameter, nevertheless it leans extra towards the standard-size arrow’s elevated power and lighter grains-per-inch weight.

Elements

RIP TKO’s come customary with an AAE .204 nock and Shok TL204 aluminum insert/outsert, which weighs 50 grains. The insert/outsert includes a threaded put up that’s glued contained in the arrow shaft. Hooked up to that put up is an prolonged collar which slides over the top of the shaft by about .25 inch. The outsert portion of the system acts as a protecting sleeve for the top of the arrow, stopping it from fracturing throughout laborious impacts. 

Further weights could be screwed into the again of the insert by way of the nock finish of the arrow to extend FOC — the general weight on the level finish of the arrow. Additionally, there are aftermarket chrome steel, aluminum, and titanium insert/outserts out there for these arrows, if you wish to enhance or lower the quantity of weight on the entrance of the arrow.

Testing the Victory RIP TKO on the Vary 

To check the Victory RIP TKOs, I purchased a half dozen Elite V1s in 300 backbone. I constructed them with 4-inch TAC wraps and three TAC Driver 2.75 vanes. After chopping the shafts and gluing within the inserts, my arrows measured 30.25 inches from the again of the nock to the entrance of the insert.

The 300-spine RIP TKOs are listed at 8.8 grains per inch. Evaluate that to a 300-spine, 4mm VAP TKO that weighs 9.5 gpi or a typical diameter, 6mm VForce that weighs 9.7 gpi. The RIP XV — excessive velocity — is a .204 arrow constructed for pace, and the 300-spine model weighs 7.1 gpi.

Earlier than placing on wraps and vanes, I weighed every arrow and insert, since Victory ensures the RIP TKOs every weigh inside a 0.5 grain of each different arrow within the pack. 4 of mine weighed 312.8 grains, and two weighed 313.2 grains — a 0.4 distinction. 

My constructed arrows, with 100-grain factors, weighed 439 grains. That’s positively a bit on the lighter aspect for me, since I’m used to different .204 and 6mm, 300-spine arrows weighing 450 to 480 grains. And don’t neglect, the RIP TKOs have these 50-grain inserts, the place others typically have inserts weighing solely 16 to 21 grains.

Learn Subsequent: Finest Searching Arrows

I shot my RIP TKOs from my Mathews Raise, set at 30-inch draw size and 67-pound draw weight. Beneath these circumstances, the RIP TKOs flew 298 fps from my bow. That’s fairly quick for a mid-weight looking arrow.

In response to Victory’s Kinetic Power Calculator, my arrow setup produces 84.85 foot-pounds of KE. Victory recommends 25 to 41 foot-pounds for medium recreation, similar to deer and antelope; 42 to 65 foot-pounds for big recreation, similar to elk. So a minimum of when it comes to kinetic vitality, my setup is nice to go for practically something in North America. Should you needed to construct a brilliant heavy arrow or are fascinated by pushing the bounds of FOC, the RIP TKO is an efficient shaft to have a look at. Primarily as a result of it is available in a super-stiff 200 backbone, which can mean you can load the entrance finish with a bunch of level weight.

After accumulating these statistics, I simply began taking pictures the arrows at various distances from 20 to 70 yards over the course of a number of days. They carried out flawlessly. They hit behind my pin. They grouped properly. I had no unexplained fliers. If I didn’t hit what I used to be aiming at, it was as a result of my bow moved — not due to the arrows. And I’ve definitely shot arrows prior to now that simply didn’t group tightly. 

One of many nicest options of the RIP TKOs is that ICE coating. As I discussed, I can vouch that these arrows simply pull out of targets. You may really feel the coating on these arrows. It’s like glass. Even on a brand new goal, the RIP TKOs pulled out with minimal effort.

Closing Ideas

The RIP TKOs are high quality arrows. As such, they aren’t low cost. The Elite V1 unfletched shafts I purchased value $110 per six-pack — together with the inserts. That’s certainly one of Victory’s most costly looking shafts. However there definitely are a number of looking arrows available on the market by Victory and different producers which are dearer, in order that they aren’t on the high of the pricing pyramid.

Total, I’d say the Victory RIP TKO Elite V1 arrows are properly made, sturdy, minimize properly by way of wind, they usually weigh sufficient to do the job on deer-to-elk sized recreation animals. It’s a stable arrow that ought to carry out properly for these bowhunters who desire a mixture of pace and penetration.