Im currently a footed carbon shooter and have indeed looked at shooting an aluminum shaft but honestly I am hesitant because the last batch I shot after each shot, the arrow bent.    

Should mention I shoot 2117's out of all my bows ranging in weight 52/55/58# at 27". I cut my shafts 28.5", and with a 125 gr 2 blade Zwickey, total arrow weight is 535 grains. They fly straight and hit hard. 2016's should work out of your bow along with 2117.

I should have stated my bow is #55 @ 32"

Aluminum arrow shooter here too.

I'm shooting a 30" XX75 2016 @ 50lb with one of my recurves.

Nothing wrong with wood or carbon arrows but I never had a reason to switch in the past 33 years.

Who knows...maybe next year. LOL!


 

I don't know what to buy seems that 2016 is the most common.

Here is the link to Stu Miller's dynamic spine calculator. This will really help you select the correct shaft for your bow.

http://www.heilakka.com/stumiller/

Out of my Four bows:

64" Two Tracks Longwalker 53# @ 29" 2117's cut at 30.5" and 145 grain BH.  

66" Dwyer original longbow 50# @ 29" 2018's cut 30.5" and 145 BH

60" Bear super kodiak 55# @ 29" 2117's cut at 30.5" and 145 BH

52" Bear Kodiak Magnum (1962) 51# @ 29" 2117 cut 30.5" and 145 BH.

After much trial and error this is what works for me.  I draw 29"  and I shoot split with a bearpaw glove.  Bare shaft's fly great and have fletched them with 3 and 4 fletch.  These all come in between 525-550 grains.

-Mark

I shoot aluminums because I'm CHEAP.  I still have a couple that are 40+ years old (I got them when I got my bow).  They're easy to straighten if you bend them and easy to refurbish (strip, re-dip, crest and fletch) when they begin to look ratty.  I generally rebuild mine after about two years.  No worries about lifting wood or carbon fibers when stripping off the old fletch.  Not to mention the things mentioned above like consistency, weight, durability, and no carbon in the meat or my arm.  I just like them!

QuoteOriginally posted by Dave Worden:
I shoot aluminums because I'm CHEAP.  I still have a couple that are 40+ years old (I got them when I got my bow).  They're easy to straighten if you bend them and easy to refurbish (strip, re-dip, crest and fletch) when they begin to look ratty.  I generally rebuild mine after about two years.  No worries about lifting wood or carbon fibers when stripping off the old fletch.  Not to mention the things mentioned above like consistency, weight, durability, and no carbon in the meat or my arm.  I just like them!

your thoughts mirror mine exactly.

Went back to aluminums recently myself. Just seem to get better broadhead flight.

not trying to hi jack a thread but what do the numbers in aluminum arrows mean? is one dealing with shaft diameter vs thickness or am i wayy off on this? i considering switching to aluminums due to the ease of availability/price and i ran the numbers through a shaft calculator and came up 2117 and was just wondering what that means and if it is a fairly durable arrow (im a little rough with my equipment and like my equipment to be multipurpose ie hunting small/large game, birds, stumping, etc with out changing gear other than heads) any help would be much appreciated  :D

I've shot aluminums forever. Tried carbons, shot wood for awhile, always came back to aluminum. I shoot 2018's. 125 gr. heads and 5" feathers.

I shoot aluminum because they don't make carbons with a heavy enough spine weight . And I find it hard to get woods that are spinned 110# .

What Aluminum numbers mean:
2016

Outside Diameter is 20/64 of an inch or 0.3125"
Wall thickness is 16/100 of an inch or 0.016"
So, inside diameter, ID = OD-2x(wall thickness) or ID = 0.3125"-(0.016")-(0.016")= 0.2805"


Larger OD = stiffer, all other things being equal
Thicker wall = heavier shaft and somewhat stiffer, too.

They just kinda look trad too...