I see trad arrows listed any where from .0003 to .0006 and some cross-over carbons down to .0001. My question is how much difference does it make in real world accuracy? GT has a new trad that looks identical to their standard trad being the same 8.6 grains per inch but .0003 straighter. Are the worth $20 or more a dozen?
not to me
Most folks shooting trad bows can't shoot a .003 straightness difference. No practical difference at all. Maybe top flite Olympic shooters can tell, but few others would.
I agree with Orion, and I have doubts about the Olympic shooters.
Don't know the answer to your question, but I think you have too many zero's in your original post. If they were one ten-thousandths of an inch, they would REALLY be straight!
I like mine straight as an arrow... :)
.006 is all I buy anymore. Even Byron Ferguson shoots .006 shafts.
Spine is so much more important but I think straightness does matter...why else would you have different classes for wood and man made materials at shoots?
If you really want consistent carbon arrows, you have to weigh and spine them as well as test the straightness. I bought a dozen .003 shafts some time ago, trimmed them to my normal 29" length, and glued-in the inserts. Then I put them into my box for making replacement arrows as old ones get broken or lost. When they came up in the rotation, I found that at least 2 of the dozen were not straight. They wobbled noticeably on my Arizona arrow straightener. A shaft which is .003, or even .006, should not wobble to the extent you can see it with your own eye. By that time, since I had already cut them and glued in inserts, I didn't bother to send them back. I just marked the ones that wobbled for judos. But I can tell you, from now on, as soon as I get the package, I'm going to test all of the shafts with the micrometer in the Arizona straightener and if any of them are less than spec, they're going back.
I shoot wood arrows. When people watch me shoot and I flub a shot, I remove the arrow from whatever it hit, theatrically examin it, and declare it to be un-straight. Since they are wood everyone nods in sympathetic approval. If I had to bluff my way through decimals it wouldn't be as convincing.
It depends on how good a shooter you are and what your doing. The difference can mean a higher X count in target archery and a tighter group.
Believe me the FITA guys shooting 90 meters can tell a bunch.
For stump shooting and hunting the .006 are probably fine if they are in fact .006.
I tend to go with the .003 as I know they have been sorted to get this group.
Mike
I don't shoot good enough (or consistently enough) to recognize a difference. At least not yet. I shoot .006 GT 35-55 traditional shafts from Big Jim. They are blems and shoot just fine for me. Quite a bargain and tough as hell.
Tom
I would venture to say that most could not tell any difference. Straighter is always better, but if it makes no real difference in what you do, then it is really not worth the extra expense. I shoot Easton Full Metal Jacket shafts. They are guaranteed .002 straightness. I used to shoot GT shafts. I can definitely tell a straightness and spine tolerance differnce. The FMJ.s are a lot more consistent both in straightness and spine. They should be because they cost half again as much as the GT shafts! I have no clue if they make me any better, but I definitely like the FMJ's better.
Bisch
I have gold tips in both 003 and 006. They are all mixed together. I just looked at my 3 practice arrows laying by my bow and I have 2 006 and 1 003. They all fly the same as far as I can tell. Been shooting a mixture of both for years and can't tell the difference. I can shoot a the center out of a lifesaver candy at 100 yards (as long as I move 90 yards closer to the target before I let the string go)!