i am getting close to needing a new set of arrows. i have shot both wood and aluminun. i really like the way the wood leaves the bow. But, they seem more fragile then the aluminum. would i be doing the trad sport a dis-service by using carbon. i shoot a Bob Lee 62" 55#@28". will the carbon hold up?
NO CARBON! Just kiddin' ya, a lot of guys shoot 'em and love 'em. I like wood myself, it's a personal thing. To answer the question, yes, carbon will hold up just fine.
Carbon, wood or aluminum ..... Shoot what you like. All 3 will
Shoot good when tuned right. Have fun
Make the switch to carbon, and be glad you did. I have had good luck with carbon express heritage ,and goldtip traditional arrows. Still look similar to wood with all the benifits of carbon. Good luck with whatever you do. Chad
I shoot all 3, and I like all 3. It's whatever you want, aluminum is stronger than wood and carbons are are tougher than all. I shoot carbon out of my recurve but there is something about shooting wood out of my longbow!
QuoteOriginally posted by mountain lion:
I shoot all 3, and I like all 3. It's whatever you want, aluminum is stronger than wood and carbons are are tougher than all. I shoot carbon out of my recurve but there is something about shooting wood out of my longbow!
My sentiments exactly!
I have only shot wood out of my longbow until this past week. I picked up some xx75 shafts and built some arrows. Man they shoot great. I may stay with aluminum for a while. Plenty of shaft sizes to choose from, readily available, and cheap. Carbons are great though. I used them out of my compound for years. At the end of the day as long as you have an arrow that shoots good then that is all you can ask for.
Woods look the best. Aluminum is the straightest. Carbons are the best all around, imo.
Wood is the easiest to break. Aluminum is the easiest to bend. Carbons are good to go unless cracked or broken, imo.
For me once tuned the most consistant is aluminum, if I buy and cut and set up the same they fly the same.Carbon it seems is the toughest unless I lose one it'll stay with me longer than any other, harder to tear up than other two.But wood let me say surewood shafts for me are PERFECT!!!!They may break from time to time, a lot easier to straighten than aluminum, tune up just fine, fly good, feel good, a dozen shafts about as cheap as they come and although mine are just simple hunting shafts and not a work of art like a lot of em, THEY ARE A JOY TO MAKE!!! It's a personal choice and I CHOOSE WOOD!!!!But any of em will do!!
No mention of cane arras? :saywhat: :D
Shoot whatcha' like..........for me it is wood. They all will do the job.
Got some carbon arrows last week and will never shoot anything else. Flat shooting and they don't bend! Low maintenance and very durable. Make the switch, you won't be disappointed!
I have all three. Alums are what I'm most comfortable with, but I love the look of wood arrows. Also the wiodies "feel" the best comming out of the bow. Sooooo quiet. With alums it seems the points are ALWAYS comming loose after every shot. ( a little string wax prevents this, I just forget to apply it to the threads)
Carbons are ok for me. I am not a fan of loading up the front end on my arrows, and I like 125-145 gr heads, and it just seems they are running a little light for my tastes.
I'll stick with wood AND alums I think.
Nice thing about carbon, it's always straight or it's broke.
I like them all but time has been pretty limited the last few years so carbons have been my choice. Quick to put together and cheaper than others since they are tough. I've been getting the itch to build some woodies again, I used to have a batch going pretty much all the time.
I have all three and occasionally shoot all three. However, my arrow of choice is wood (Surewood shafts). I have one bow that just loves 2117 aluminums so I keep my eye open at the sporting good stores after season and usually pick up some real steals on aluminum shafts.
Wood. If I'm gonna shoot traditional, aluminum and carbon just feels like a cop-out. Carbon certainly is the best option for durability.
Shoot more durable wood. They vary greatly in the durability dept. Hickory for example, is very tough. I haven't broken one in years.
I shoot all 3. I shot aluminums or carbons from my Widows.Aluminum,carbon and wood from my R/D longbows.I really like wood out of my Hill style bows,just seems "right".I've been messing with carbons out of my Wesley special though and they fly like darts.They are very tough for stumping too.I kind of have a feeling that if Howard could have got his hands on some modern carbons he would have used them for sure.All that said,for me there's not much better than taking an animal with a homemade wood arrow out of a Hill style bow.
I agree shoot what you like. I just happen to like Carbon for there durability.
I started out with wood then fiberglass, aluminum...tried some made from transite..too light and now shoot nothing but carbon.
thanks guys. i have a hard time changing to something new. But with all the feed back i might just have to have all three in my quiver at once.
QuoteOriginally posted by windrunner:
thanks guys. i have a hard time changing to something new. But with all the feed back i might just have to have all three in my quiver at once.
That works for me!!!
I've got, xx75's,GrizzlyStiks,goldtips,cedar,spruce and Doug fir in mine. The yellow fletched arrows in the front are doug fir shafts homemade from a doweling jig that was in TB magazine "how to" article years ago.
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc156/goshawkin/photo-102.jpg)
I've shot all three and find alums a little loud but pretty consistent, carbons very fast and flat, not too loud and group consistently. Wood is the quietest, prettiest but finikiest for me. That said when I get the right wood shaft, it's as reliablely consistent as any carbon... But wood breaks easily.
I am currently infatuated with wooden arrows, but have used carbons and aluminum extensively. Of the 3 materials, I rank them this way:
Carbon - When I am not interested in messing with arrows. I want a perfect missile for my bow, with very little effort on my part. Very receptive to spine change by tweaking point weight. I can have one shaft cover a broad range of draw weights.
Aluminum - Pretty close to carbon, but less tuneable. For me, a neat compromise between carbon and wood...aside from staining and sealing, they can be customized pretty nicely.
Wood - When you have enough time to build them right, nothing beats wood for silence out of the bow and tradition. I am always EXTRA satisfied with game taken with a wood arrow I MADE. Other guys make some beautiful arrows for sale, and I have bought some, but I am only "in love" with the wooden arrows I make. That is not a slight at someone elses workmanship, just my own strange thought process.
You mileage may vary, and it should ;)
QuoteOriginally posted by mountain lion:
I shoot all 3, and I like all 3. It's whatever you want, aluminum is stronger than wood and carbons are are tougher than all. I shoot carbon out of my recurve but there is something about shooting wood out of my longbow!
Ditto
Arrow spines are different with all bow setups. If you can get a wood arrow to fly the straightest from any particular bow shoot it. If it is aluminum or carbon shoot it. Shoot what your bow likes the best. To know though you must have all three materials.
I tried carbons for the first time this year-just not my thing. I'm back with wood. I will shoot aluminum or fiberglass out of my recurves, but it's wood only with longbows/selfbows.
I've shot all three for years and am really partial to aluminum, especially when it comes to long lasting durability. My aluminum's seem to stay together and in really good condition for years after they are built. With carbons I seem to loose feathers over time, and the woods seem to always get a little bent. But, I like them all. Go shoot what you like. And if you get a chance, that Saunders NPV glue is dandy stuff. Flexable, long lasting and adheres really good. Good luck :)
I shoot 90% aluminum and 10% wood but all the points and nocks are all interchangable and have tons to tune with after 20+ years.........I've stayed away from carbon as I see no real life benifit to change and dont want to have to spend a ton on all the extras......points,knocks,inserts,special tools..........you can still find good deals on aluminum shafts if you look around too.......YMMV........
Can't beat carbons, but shoot what you like.
I resisted carbons for many years, but finally bit the bullet and started learning about them. (I still don't know from Uni Nocks!)
I started with Carbon Express, got some mismarked shafts, dropped down in spine and then found out that the brass inserts and nock adapters wouldn't fit the .600 spines. Tried Grizzly Stick Woodies. Learned to foot them as they split very readily.
Went to Gold Tip Trads. Can't get enough! The inserts and adapters fit all the spines, so I can tweak point weight and use my glue-on nocks. I enjoy cresting them, and fool a lot of folks who think they are woods. I foot them, so they last forever, which makes it hard to justify buying more, just so I can crest them.
I shoot wood, aluminum, cane or carbon, out of any bow I want. Right now I am attempting to master the Hill bow with my bulletproof carbons. When I switch bows, I will shoot whatever works. I have some real Magic woodies, and my trusty 2013s. They are all good!
Killdeer
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Archery%20Equipment/Arrows/31535GT080312.jpg)
What a neet feather style you have on that arrow Killdeer!
:thumbsup:
F-Manny
Thanks, Manny!
I like 'em.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/81365768.jpg)
Killdeer
Killy ... sweet set up !
And I think you nailed it on the head ... I shoot all three and enjoy the ehck out of all the materials on hand ...
*woodies are just great .. i LOVE them ! I still shoot , buy and make them regularly
* trusty alloys ... my 2016's are perhaps my fave shaft .. so easy and quick to make and set up ...
* carbons ... tough and consistant ... whats not to like ? Ad Trad lites and footed GT'S are super tough shafts ! accurate too !
My opinion is that in the long run Doug Fir is tougher than carbon.
I've got all three,just depends on which bow I'm shooting,love them all.
I shoot carbons (easton st excel), always straight, moisture not an issue. You can get any kind of carbon you want, thick, thin, heavy, light. Never shot aluminum. Wood IS cool, but I didn't want to deal with the straightness and varying weight issues. I'm not an arrow expert, good luck.
Killy.....thats nice work!
All three! I did get out a cane arrow I made years ago and let my son shoot it he couldn't believe it shot just as good as his gold tips. Carbons are sure easier in the budget due to durability.
I have tried them all. I will stick with wood.
Killdeer , I really like those dip/crest colors.....are they a repro or your own creation?
I hit lots of rocks so I use carbons. But on my self bow its wood and cane arrows. All will work.Those are cool Killdeer
I have shot all three.Mostly wood,and shooting wood now.All work fine.Who cares what people say about trad or not trad when it comes to arrows.Shot what works best for you.Just enjoy!
I have a bunch of Rogue river heavy for their spines tapered cedars, Alaskan tapered carbons, and dozens of 1918s and 1818s. The cedars will shoot out of a wider poundage range from bow to bow, the aluminum arrows will manage about a 7 pound bow to bow variance.The carbons shoot good out of just one stored energy level, which happens to be two different bows, with everything else they shoot about 8 inches to the right with my right hand bows. With the Alaskans, I would recommend using a broadhead that does not penetrate well for whitetail deer, like a large Deadhead. They are impossible to find back when I shoot them through a deer with my single bevel Hills.
Killy, a few questions if I may..
Did you burn that feather shape, chop it or buy them??
What jig did you use to get that aggressive helical? I really like it !
A very nice set of arrows.
I once heard a friend say, "shooting metal or carbon arrows out of a wood stickbow is like taking a bamboo flyrod and casting a metal lure"....
Those are some fine arras Killdeer!
Enjoy!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
I have both wood and aluminum but prefer wood. I don't have a rational explanation why I like more it more other "just because".I have not found a carbon set up tht my Hill bow likes, but somewhere along the way, I'm sure I'll give it a try. Shoot 'em all, they are all fun.
Glad I found this and I can comfortably use my carbon arrows.
Quick question: I have a Mongolian (shooting off the riser, no shelf), would the carbon arrows end up damaging the wood?