Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Chub on October 08, 2011, 12:31:00 PM
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This week i decided to switch back to aluminum shafts from carbon.its not the speed thing that got me.im thinking i need to try a 600 spine because i needed to add alot of weight up front . funds are low till i can get some lesser spined shafts.
bob lee rec 60 in 53lbs at 28 draw 27 now shooting a 2016 155 head 29in long from a 29 1/4 cx her 50grinsert 175 head alum shoots a littlebit faster . shot both shafts into foam target 20 yrds carbon shaft penetrated 3/4in deeper .just wondering why u chose to return back to aluminum shafting?
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Ease of tuning and quite a bit cheeper than the carbons. Also you can go to any archery shop in the U.S. and get the shaft you need.
Frank X.
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Haven't yet but sure thinking about it. Mainly because of personal preference nothing more.
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I won't be switching back from carbon.Aluminums are good arrows but the carbons I've been using,especially when footed,are way tougher.Once I tuned the first set,I find them very easy to tune.I cut all mine the same length and tune strictly by point weight.I can get them very close in just a few minutes.When I build arrows,I want to put a lot of weight up front.Carbons are better for that.
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I tried to switch from aluminum to carbon for a couple of years.
Tried several different combinations of carbons and just cannot get them to fly as good as my aluminums.
John
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I'd never go back to aluminums.
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I'd never go back to aluminums.
Same here, every time one hits the ground it's bent. Carbons 1st for durability then woodies second for nostalgia..plus they are more durable than aluminums.
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I went back to aluminum because thay are so darn easy to shoot.....after all thats why i shoot a recurve.....KISS method
cheap, easy tune, find inserts and nocks at any archery shop and mostly cause i started bow hunting in 1985 with aluminum..good then and good now
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plus i never have to worry about aluminum splinters in my arm! seen that happen and i want no part of it.
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Heck I have some of both in my quiver.I use carbons with ALOT of weight up front (like 300gr including insert) for deer. Then for various targets of opportunity I have assorted aluminums and carbons with old broadheads, small game heads, field points, Some spiral flu-flu , some 5" helical. Sometimes I get bored so i take a dozen arrows or more. LOL
By the way to the OP those 2016 are hard to beat. Cheep and fly great, very versatile.
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I had a dozen carbons that would only fly out of the bow I set them up for. then I got a wind fall of 6 dozen 1918 shafts and found that they fly for 5 of bows with 200 grains up front and a simple change to a 125 grain broadhead from a 160 grain head allows me to shoot them out of my heavier bow as well. I also got 4 dozen 1818s with that windfall and found that they shoot for my lighter bows and even for my wife's bow. My adjustments are fairly simple 160 grain Hill single bevels or with Grizzly heads from 160, 145 and 125 grain heads that I have on hand. I can get those two sizes to work for all of our bows and all of the shafts are cut the same length.
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I've never understood this thing about Aluminum bending that easy.
I have been shooting them for 30 years and any thing less than shooting them into a brick wall, or a sever glancing blow off the side of a tree etc, does virtually no damage.. Getting sloppy pulling them out of a target can do them in, but that is usually correctable to..
Also I always wonder about "If I foot them with an aluminum shaft" they are bomb proof..
I guess I am just bias, but figure I'll stay with my beer cans
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Please don't make me go back to aluminum.
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Please don't make me go back to aluminum.
Carbon dureability
Carbon's maintained straightness
No issues tuning carbon on any bow I have encountered
Carbon allows far greater lattitude in my desired arrow design. For instance, a set-up quite similar to yours could easily utilze a Victory HV... 400 spine...~29.5"s...350 grains up front...under 550 grains total and over 31% Ultra-EFOC. The discernable difference will no longer be merely 3/4" in penetration.
Actually have one set-up that is only 60 grains heavier which brings a smile to my face when the wheelie boys find themselves using a grabber to remove the arrow from a 3D target.
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I never drank the carbon kool-aid to start with.......... carbon was the answer to problems I've never had with aluminum so I never switched.........
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I'd never go back. Carbons are cheaper! and they last ten times as long! what else can I say...
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Heavy and easier to tune !!!! I like aluminum against carbons
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I like both I've that when carbons won't work aluminum will,some bows just naturally shoot better with aluminums.
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Easier to tune, shoots well from a wider range of bow weights, heavier, more consistant in spine, less expensive, larger range of sizes, better glue adhesion, and in my experience more durable. I can't ever imagine going back to carbon. For me, it's either wood or aluminum.
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Is carbon really traditional? May as well put wheels on your bow.
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It's nice to have choices! I really like carbons, ACCs in particular. Make mine carbon or wood please.
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I have been thinking of trying aluminum again. I have a bow I can't get a carbon set up I like. 500 carbon is too light and 400 too heavy when tuned. I can't find much of a selection of aluminum at my local archery shops. I don't want to order multiple shafts just to try them.
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I strated with aluminum and I was a bad shot. I broke a LOT of those arrows in the dirt and off to the side etc. I went to carbons and it was much cheaper for me.
If I "go back" it will be wood shafts. Never shot them, but if I change I will skip right over metal arrows and shoot wood.
Joshua
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Originally posted by Strutter:
Is carbon really traditional? May as well put wheels on your bow.
How is carbon less traditional than aluminum? Neither is more or less than the other. Neither is primitive for sure, but to argue that one or the other of these manufactured materials is less traditional is inaccurate at best.
I've shot all three materials. I have some aluminum shafts that are about 40 years old and still shoot just fine. They may have a dent or two in them, but that has no effect on flight. Aluminum arrows will bend or break. Usually the bend is from carelessly pulling them from targets, but whacking a rock or hard stump can do it as well. Breakage, for me, has happened when I didn't get complete passthroughs and the deer broke them off either with a leg or against a tree. Aluminums are noisier than either wood or carbon, but I've never seen it make a difference to deer. While the overall weight of aluminum is usually higher than carbons, it is trickier to front load them for high FOC.
Carbons won't bend, but they will break. I would agree that overall, they are the toughest arrow material, especially if you add about an inch of aluminum footing to the front, which keeps the shaft from splitting as the insert is driven back into the shaft due to hitting a something solid (rock, oak stump, etc.) They will also break when less than complete pass-through shots happen, the same as aluminum. They can be trickier to tune, but can be front loaded for high FOC easier than either aluminum or wood. They are quieter than aluminum but not quite as quiet as wood. Once you find the shaft that works for you, every single one of the same model and spine will work. They are more consistent as a rule than either wood or aluminum.
Wood, while it is obviously the most traditional, is also the least consistent of all arrow materials. Being a natural material means there will be variations. That said, it is also very forgiving and even a pretty darn crooked wooden shaft will fly amazingly well. Cedar smells better than carbon, aluminum or any other wood. I hear lots of complaints about not being able to find good cedar shafts, but I have bought them from 3 Rivers Archery and The Footed Shaft and have no complaints about either. Wood shafts don't generally bend, but they will break for the same reasons as aluminum or carbon, albeit somewhat more easily. Still, I have some cedar shafts that I have stumped with for years, so they are not quite so fragile as some would think. Weight and spine can vary from shaft to shaft, so a scale is pretty necessary. A spine tester would be nice, but not necessary if you buy your shafts from a reputable source. Wood shafts can be quite heavy, so if you are looking for arrow mass, these will work. Front loading is not as easy as swapping adapters or inserts like carbons, but can be accomplished with heavy broadheads or by drilling and adding an internal footing of metal or by footing with a dense hardwood.
There are pros and cons to each type of shaft. I have used and like all of them. This year, I am shooting woodies. They shoot great from my Kanati, they look good in my back quiver, and they are as trad as it gets.
The bottom line is all three are great shaft materials. Each has its strengths and limitations, but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses or none of these would have been used for so long were that not the case.
If one works better for you, shoot that one. Don't worry, be happy. :archer2:
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I didn't!! Aluminums are no where near as cheap, as I can shoot a dozen carbons sometimes for years. Where I hunt and stump a dozen aluminums would not last a week. They are noisy at the shot and carbons are way easier to tune, you just have to know what you are doing like anything. Carbons also out penetrate aluminums and their are way more choices in carbons as well. Shawn
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Could never get that "PING" out an aluminum arrow, love carbons, I wouldn't go back, carbons just seem more durable to me, and way more consistent than my woods were, hooked on carbons, Todd
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I have unopened packages of 1916 and 2016 Legacy Aluminum shafts. They look nice and I thought I'd shoot them. Then I tried Beman MFX Classics (carbons.
Surely I'll fling aluminum again someday.
Aluminum is king for kids for safety purposes.
I will only shoot arrows made by Easton because of that company's support of NASP.
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I switched back due to money and the ability to build my own with a pipe cutter and some glue. No expensive cut off saws and dust masks. No potential carbon splinters and the added goal to not miss! Cheaper to replace as well when you do miss and lose one. That about covers it for me.
-Jeremy :coffee:
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You may think carbons are big $, but I really think that wood, then alum are more when you consider broken arrows, ones that won't maintain straightness. I always loved wood and felt real bad when I broke or cracked one. I also only shoot at deer 20 yds or less so I feel carbons in that type of hunting is not a big advantage. Switched cuz I like so shoot in the backyard a lot and the carbs last forever... thus saves me money. Also easy to by carbs on this site used and you save a lot.
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Maybe I've just had bad luck, but I've tried three different carbon shafts and found spine differences between like shafts to be a little less than wood but a lot more than any aluminum shaft. Try spinning them on your spine tester like you would with a wood shaft and you might be suprised.
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not even a second thought,,, carbons to me are the easiest to tune AND I find I can almost use the same exact carbon arrow out of 4 different bows which is something I could never do with aluminums without changing points..
I can see going back to wood but i'll never buy another aluminum.
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Originally posted by fdlz58:
I switched back due to money and the ability to build my own with a pipe cutter and some glue. No expensive cut off saws and dust masks.
-Jeremy :coffee:
What Jeremy said ! I shoot woods mainly , love AD Trad Lites but above all prefer 2016's ... just easier for me to make and maintain now that I am no longer on the farm but living inthe city with now workshop ..... plus I grew up on alloys and If I live hunt for another 30 years I will never take as much game with carbons as I have with alloys so its a bit of soft spot for me too .
Don't get me wrong , carbons are fantastic , staright and durable ... just not as "easy" for me as Alloys !
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once I tried skinny carbons, it became hard to shoot anything else. I have tubes full of aluminum and wood shafts that I keep thinking I'll get to some day, but it hasn't happened yet...
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i never left aluminumin .. i never found a reason to go to carbons, i have never had a bending issue as said above unless its a pretty severe glancing blow.. hunting weight without adding weights and such. easy to buy shafts and build em, easy to tune.. . etc etc
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I have always and will always shoot aluminum shafts. I tried carbons on my wheelbows back when I shot those.
I like heavy arrows with heavy heads. No easier way to achieve a heavy arrow that use a heavy arrow.
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I would never go back to aluminum. Too fragile (those of you who don't bend 'em don't live in foothill country!), too noisy and COLD on stand.
Those of you who think aluminum is more traditional...I guarantee you that Fred Bear took crap for shooting aluminum in his day instead of wood.