I am shooting a Damon Howatt High Speed, 45# at 28". My draw is 27-28 inches (I am not exactly sure, haven't measured, but wingspan/2.5 is 27). When I started, I bought some Vapor Carbonwood's on **** (cheap), they are 3000 and 45/60, and are cut to 29.75" with a 175grain point. They seem to fly reasonably well. I have broken about 7 of them in the past week or two, and figured I need to get some new ones. I like a heavier arrow, but I don't know what spine to look for, or decent arrows for my bow. Any ideas or direction. It seems no one around me shoots trad (middle TN), so I don't have a way of obtaining hands on training.
Try the stu miller calculator and figure out what spine you need and go from there.
Personally I use ICS Bowhunters and I footed them with aluminum.
When I started shooting I broke about a half dozen arrows in a few days because I was learning to shoot still.
I got 8 free aluminums that I worked with, cut down etc. I shot them for two months beating the crap out of them until none of them shot right, then cut them up and used em' to foot my carbon arrows:)
Get good arrows that jive with the stu miller charts and foot them. Footing is really easy, find the size aluminum that fits your carbon(there's a chart here) then epoxy it on the end of your carbon. This eliminates the splitting at the end of the arrow and makes the arrow more durable.
My Hi-Speed is 46#@28", and I draw 27". I would suggest a 35/55 or any .500 spine. Get some 50 grain inserts and a selection of field points up to 200 grains. Start full length and cut 1/4" at a time to tune. This should keep your finished weight above 10gpp.
Carbons = 1535 and aluminum = 1916 or 2016.
First, figure out exactly what you draw. The wingspan x 2.5 will give you a very rough estimate. You need to actually draw an arrow and have someone mark it for you. Do this several times and take the average. Where you anchor, how much back tension you use, and how you hold your bow all affect your draw length.
mahantango has the right idea once you get there. Depending on your draw, I'd say you will want a .500 or .600 spine. I like 500 with my 46# Kanati at 28". For carbons, I like Beman ICS Bowhunter 500s cut to 29.5" with 235 grains up front. This gives me 22% FOC and just over 11 grains per pound of draw weight.
If your bow is cut to center, this combo might work for you too, but start with the shafts full length and trim to fit.
Good luck!
Call Big Jim. Order some Gold Tip 1535s, and leave the full length. They should be near perfect for your set up. If he has the blems you can get them for about $45, best deal anywhere.
If you want a heavier arrow, aluminum is usually much greater in GPI (grains per inch) than carbon.
Have you thought about trying an aluminum arrow?
aluminum might be heavier in the shaft, but the carbon allows for a much greater EFOC and better hunting arrow flight and when properly set up, every bit as heavy as aluminum.
good luck, bigjim