Which do you shoot and why?
I like aluminum because it is straight and consistent in weight and spine - shaft to shaft, arrow to arrow, day in and day out and year to year. Been shooting the same length 2114 X7 and XX78 for years.
Wood is pretty and nostalgic and "traditional" and fun but its REALLY tough to get a dozen straight, weight and spine matched shafts of any kind of wood. Tapered POC shafts seem to work better than parallel but they are expensive and/or tiring to make myself. I like to make wooden arrows for others and I'm getting pretty good at it but I don't usually shoot wood myself. After all the work I put in to them, they just get broken and lots of times they won't all fly the same no matter what I do.
Been wanting to try the carbon arrows - been thinking MFX 400s or MFX 500s - but I'm just not sure I'm gonna get the same performance, consistency, and dependability I have always gotten out of my X7s.
I guess the old saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" is just how I am about my 2114 X7s.
I like wood arrows, just seems right for me. Frank
I use wood arrows for all my hunting and shooting. I'm surprised at times with the abuse that they will take.
I started with wood and got tired of breaking them, I went to alumminum and got tired of bending them, I went to carbon and now they ricochet of trees never to be seen again! :) I am getting some woodies to "match" my new longbow but will probably stay with carbons for my hunting set-up, mostly because I've been sucessful with it.
allum. or wood for me
I have done some thinking on this subject. I LOVE wood arrows. with all their faults, I love them. metals have everything going for them except, they bend and sound wrong it the forrest. Carbon, WOW!! the best arrow material I have seen in 20+ years in archery. Yep still make alot of wood arrows but carbon is by far the best all around shaft material. Hello, I'm mark and I'm a Carbonholic...
DesesrtDude said it! Aluminum is consistent but if do any amount of stump shooting it will not hold up at all, wood holds up better than aluminum. I too still make 5-6 dozen of woodies each year but carbon just has it all, quality, consistency and it holds up better than all other arrow material. Shawn
Carbon.
I switched over from aluminum last November. I lost one arrow and broke another in my initial tuning (also known as the "what happens if" phase...). I haven't lost or broken another since then.
With weight tubes and point options, it's very easy these days to dial in the weight you want on a carbon arrow. Combined with their inherent stiffnes and lack of "noodle" on impact, carbons penetrate most target materials significantly better than other materials.
If you can get past the initial investment, go carbon. In the long run I think you will be money ahead.
Yep carbons.I shot aluminums forever.Just switched to carbons I'm a believer now.When I'm shootin in the yard no matter how close I get to the bullseye it seems I always get closer with the carbons.It seems like they penetrate the target deeper also. I'm shootin gold tip traditionals so they even look like wood.
I hate these threads! I always wind up thinking I NEED to go spend money I DON'T have on some new carbon arrows. Thanks a lot guys! ;) LOL!
I shot wood, too fragile for a beginner but they are pretty and nostalgic. I shot aluminum... better but they bend and I don't like the "fatness" of them (they hit hard though) so now I shoot Carbons. I love them. The are like bullets, they don't bend or break very often, and they tend to last forever.
I personnaly like the Gold Tip 3555s and the Carbon Express Predator 2000s. I think the Predators are just slightly faster so I've been shooting them on a regular basis lately.
Greg
T'ghost, you won't regret it. Straight/tough/consistent/penetrating/versatile/dependable. What's left? For looks & nostalgia, I still like my footed wood arrows, but I have some Vapor Carbonwoods & CX Heritage that look as good.
90% wood 10% alum. :D :D :D
I shoot them all. I guess it just depends on my mood. :biglaugh: I really like building wood arrows, and shooting something that I have spent some of my time building. But I really like the consistency of alluminum and carbon.
I shoot all three but freely admit to really being an elitist when it comes to arrows. I.e., I don't regard carbons as traditional gear any more than I do my scoped rifle or my compound (back when I shot one). They do give an advantage for long shots at 3-D shoots. Just a specialized tool, like an adjustable wrench or a flashlight. Not all that interesting but useful for achieving results. On the other hand I like wood and aluminum for their intangibles. A reflection of what hunting used to be about, for the 'idea' they suggest from 'way back' and onward/into the 60's, and especially throughout my own early days as an aspiring hunter (sure loved perusing those old Sears-Roebuck and Herters catalogs). Wood and aluminum. Tools, but not 'just' a tool. More of a personal connection.
If I ever chose to use a compound again or take up serious level target shooting I'd likely use carbons. Not likely, though. Like ham and eggs and wood shafts and longbows the hi-end bows and arrows are perfectly matched for each other. Not warm or fuzzy and certainly not traditional, but definately good at what they were made to do. Effective tools. If you like that sort of thing.
When I got started with this "trad stuff" it was 2016 gamegetters for me...Went at it G.F.A. style and made arrows three dozen at a time...Need lots of ammo!...Don't care if ya lose or break any...Take The Shot!...That's how you learn to shoot...
BUT THEN...After getting tired of having bent arrows in my quiver...Alot...Went to Carbon Express and never looked back...When they are footed with 1 1/4" of 2216 on each end, the Rebels become bomb proof...Well kinda...
... mike ...
I have used carbons now for four years. I have found them to be the most durable. They are as user friendly as aluminum and given the way they last they are actually cheaper.
Wooden arrows are the most satisfying, and by the time they are weighed, spined, straightened, sealed, crested, fletched, and test flown, they can be part of the family. It can break your heart to lose or break one. With kids, a wife, a house, my job, there is just not the time needed to keep up with them.
If I ever won the lotto and did not have to work for a living, I would build wooden arrows and give them away to anyone who asked.
I like wood arrows and shoot them as much as possible. They will do the job any other arrow will do and can be more durable than any other as well. They are not the fragile warped tomato stakes those carbon guys make them out to be. They are not for everybody. You do have to learn a little more about them and care for them more. If you don't like that, don't get them. If you want something with some character, warmth and beauty, get a set of wood arrows.
75% wood, due to the fact, I really enjoy building them from spine testing to the final coat of clear, they are quiet coming out of a bow. and more durable than folks let on..
25% aluminum 'cause they shoot so dang well and are easy to work with,
never saw a need to shoot a carbon, dont like all that point loading and back end loading stuff my buddies go through....and all that other new fangled stuff!! LOL
TSP. I can appreciate your point on woods but I am confused when you include aluminum as OK in your quiver. Aluminum doesn't grow in a forest. I'm lost on their being more tradtional than carbon unless you are defining traditional as OK if it was in the Sears Catalogs. I am getting new woods for my longbow -that has carbon lams! I'm not saying that anyone has to be consistent or logical! :D
WW, I feel the same day in and day out consistanst arrow flight and I don't have time for woodies but some day I'll get and itch to build some for sure..
I shoot all three, but mostly carbons & alum. I only get bent, when my qwivers empty. Filler up with any thing. And I'm a happy :archer:
Brent
I just switched to trad in February and have already switched from aluminum to carbon. After a few weeks of aluminum, I remembered why I switched to carbon when I was shooting wheels, aluminum bends too much. When you are just learning to shoot instinctive, you don't always hit the target and aluminum doesn't hold up well at all to misses.
I want to give wood a try because I have never shot them and because of their nostalgic appeal, but for now carbon can't be beat.
Wood, simply because it's what I want to hunt with. Killed 1 deer with carbon 2 years ago and I felt like I cheated myself out of something. I check my arrows regularly and hand straighten as necessary. Nothing against carbon, aluminum and those who shoot them. It's just the way I am.
As G. Fred Asbel said in one of his books, "You either like wood, or you don't." I'm one who likes wood. Though I've tinkered with aluminum and carbon to keep abreast of new technology, I've always shot woods and always will. No doubt that aluminum and carbon are more consistent, durable, at least in the case of carbons, and easier to make, etc.
Making and shooting wood arrows is part of my commitment to traditional archery and bowhunting. Part of my definition of traditional is doing it for yourself. It's just another way of placing greater limitations/challenges on oneself, and increasing one's enjoyment and sense of accomplishment.
It takes time and effort to build good wood arrows, and it's not for everybody. It's tough to find good material. If vendors will let me, I'll look through hundreds of shafts to find a dozen or two that meet my requirements for grain straightness, spine and weight. Then it's closely matching grain and spine, straightening, staining, sealing,dipping, cresting, grinding, fletching, etc.
By the time I'm done, I know each arrow very well, and that instills confidence in its quality that carries to the woods or target range. I know it will get the job done if I do my part.
Plus, wood has two characteristics that aluminum and carbon can't match. Every broken cedar arrow is an aromatic treat. And, with a quiver full of cedars, I've always got my fire tinder/starter with me, regardless of the weather.
They all have their advantages and I have all three. Wood just feels right out of the longbow and is fun to build. Aluminums are cheap, straight and easy to build. Carbons need to be weighted properly and are a little fussier to build, but they are tuff and tolerate a wider range of bow weight.
Does a guy really have to make a lifelong decision here ? ....I haven't, but if I could only keep one, it would be my tapered cedars. :)
I'm shooting wood now..Thought about switching to carbon or aluminum.. But like alligatordond I feel like I cheating myself out of something?
I have shot carbon & aluminum and they shoot good out of my bows
There is just Something about wood arrows that I can't make myself give carbon or aluminum a fair chance..
at the moment i am shooting carbon but i find them a little expencive when i smash one as in robinhood it. but apart from that they are good they just go where you put em. but after saying that i do shoot woods as well there is just somthing about em when ya make em yourself all the time spent makeing them straight then puting a self nock in the end and sealing them with stain oh the smell. then when you do smash one i just say oh well back to the woods where ya came from.LOL!!! but hey as long as ya have fun. doing it :archer:
carbon all the way! wont even touch a aluminum arrow for anythin except footing, never shot a wood arrow, because im afraid that whoevers it is, ill break it and im not one of those that like to use other peoples stuff (unless i know you then your up a creek, cause im gonna use it!).
i shoot carbons because i know thats its nearly impossible to break one...
3 things will break one,
1) another carbon arrow
2) a piece of metal that looks like a piece of rotten wood (dont ask, ans they were BRAND NEW!!!)
3) ROCKS, and BIG ROCKS at that, and thenits only the rear ends on mine...
thats why i shoot carbons...
wood seems to absorb the energy from the bow much more efficiantly and seems to make the bow much more quite for hunting applications but, i shoot ADs for the 3-d circuit, it depends on how quite the bow is for me when i head into the whitetail woods.
POC for me, although I did recently buy 20 Dz. aluminum shafts and 2 Dz. carbons. Fletched up two carbons and they are way too stiff for me. I haven't done anything yet with the metal ones. Hap
I've shot every kind of arrow you can think of. I rolled my own woodies for years, including dowelling the shafts from doug fir, pine and ash. Those of you who say wood can match any material are correct...sorta. It isn't impossible to make very fine wood arrows, but I can guarantee you that you will see a difference in the 3D scores between the wood arrow shooters and those using other materials. That's not a slam, that's something you can check for yourself.
Just to give another perspective, I'm really not interested in how "traditional" a material is. Traditional is really just a function of how long a material has been around. What keeps me in trad archery is simplicity.
It's not nearly as simple as "traditional" and "high-tech". Even ten, fifteen years ago, aluminum was still "high-tech" in the traditional community.
I'm still In the process of converting to carbon. I have some of my trusty 2018's left and will shoot them occasionally, but as I replace arrows, I will be buying carbon. I'm using Gold Tip Trads (3555) now. They shoot very well out of my bows that stretch from 43 to 55 pounds. I may shoot Alum during winter league, my wood arrows will stay on the wall, but for hunting, 3D, stumping etc. Carbon is my choice.
Wood to carbon to wood.... Never aluminum
I shoot selfbows and wooden arrows. I make my own bows. I hand plane my own shafts or shoot shafts from wild shoots. A set of arrows, planing the shaft, cutting the selfnock, fletching (tv time:) ), wrapping the feathers, finishing the arrow, cresting, etc. takes me 12 hours. Why do I do this? Because it's fun! I like making my own tackle. Jawge