shaft advantages

[kyhuntertoo]

I just joined a few days ago, and hope to be purchsing my first recurve with the next 30 days.  I have been bowhunting for 15 years now, but have little experience/knowledge with trad gear.  I'd like to know what are the advanages/disadvantages of shooting aluminum shafts vs. carbons.  Heck, up until about a month I thought everyone used either wood or aluminum.  I've been reading up on some posts and I can't understand why the extreme FOC and heavy weights.  My wheels bow shoots 380 grain arrows, some of you guys are shooting 600 grains.  Is this done to kelp KE since the speeds are much slower?  Thanks for your responses.

[jacobsladder]

youve come to the right place.... compounds and tradgear are two different animals... carbons typically are too stiff for trad gear so the front is loaded to weaken the spine...guys will definitely shoot heavier arrows to help with penetration and cut down on bow noise. Aluminums probably have the most consistant spine, but dont have the durability of the carbons.. woodies are a pleasure to build and shoot..very quiet and are a joy to watch fly when spined right...hope this helped...search this site and you will find a wealth of knowledge... there are a bunch of helpful people here...

[kyhuntertoo]

it just looks like adding all those insert point weights would be very time consuming.  is that done strictly with carbons or al. as well?  Would a .500 spine carbon be a good start, for say a 55# bow at 28-29 inches?

[La. bowhunter]

I am just getting started again in trad shooting and spent today working on my arrow set up. I am shooting 55# and I ended up with a carbon express heritage 150 at 30 inches with a 145 grain point and 5 inch feathers.These are shooting really good but I am still going to try some aluminum.

[kyhuntertoo]

carbon express runs their numbers backwards compare to easton/beman...i think.  is a 150 a .500 spine?

[jacobsladder]

a .500 spine carbon at 28" is pretty stiff..most guys like to start full length and then take 1/4" off at a time until they bare shaft good.... another option is to follow ol adcocks tuning method.....there are so many variables that will change your set up.. how far your riser is cut, draw length, string. material, bow design, and the list gos on and on.. we can usually get you in the ball park, but the tuning will be up to you... the carbon express 150 is an outstanding arrow... it seems to me that la bowhunter would have a good match for his bow... at least from my experience with the 150.

[kyhuntertoo]

okay, you lost me at the bareshaft.  if a .500 was a bit on the stiff side, why would you start cutting it down (and adding weights I assume)  wouldn't it just be easier to leave it at 31 inches, or whatever they come at?

[kyhuntertoo]

aside from the question in my last post, what are the advantages of using an al. or a carbon.  is it just preferance?

[Downsouth]

Like you I just made the switch from a compound bow to a long bow. I came across a great link to trad tuning on Pete Wards site, (www.peteward.com) The web page is:   www.bowmaker.net/tuning.htm   It's on OL Adcocks website.

[jacobsladder]

carbon is more durable than aluminum... the heavier point up front on carbons should help with penetration... but besides all of that it is just preference.... You may want to leave the carbon at 31".... but if is still bafeshafting weak then you take 1/4" off at a time until you get good flight... If you take too much off at one time..you'll probably end up with a shaft that is too stiff....It also will depend on how long your draw is and how long an arrow you need... good luck.

[Scott J. Williams]

I shoot all types of shafts, wood, carbon, and aluminum.  I perfer aluminum because the are so consistant for weight and spine, true they are not as tough as carbon, but then it is not my intention to shoot rocks, trees, or stumps. When I shoot game, I write the arrow off anyway.  To be honest, about have of the animals I have shot with carbons resulted in a broken shaft anyway.  

Wood is so romantic, but you will go through a lot of shafts to get a matched dozen, and then they won't be up to the specs of a dozen alumninum or some carbons.  

I have found the difference between weight of one dozen carbons to the next as much as six to seven grains.

I would suggest for a beginner to start out with aluminum shafts.  They are a bit cheaper, if you screw a few up it has a tendency not to hurt as much as losing a couple of carbons.  Until you get the hang of bareshaft tuning, or whatever method you select, I think you will have an easier time with alloys.

Is one better than another?  That is a question best left up to the individual.  Carbon gives that powerful stacked kinetic energy that drives the arrow deep,  aluminum is easier to tune for me,  wood is what I started with.  I just don't have the time or money to purchase a hundred shafts just to find a dozen or so that are within 4 to 5 grains of each other, and still be with 4 to 5 pounds in the spine range.  Do I shoot that well to know the difference, most likely not, but if I know they are different, it affects me mentally, and that affects my shooting.

Having said the above, listen to what everyone says, and make a choice.  Heck, you can always change your mind, I have many times over my forty plus years of shooting.

[Steve Gabriel]

Originally posted by kyhuntertoo:
I just joined a few days ago, and hope to be purchsing my first recurve with the next 30 days.  I have been bowhunting for 15 years now, but have little experience/knowledge with trad gear...  

kyhuntertoo,
   Before you buy a recurve or longbow, see if you can try some out.

 

Originally posted by kyhuntertoo:

... for say a 55# bow at 28-29 inches?

55# is awfully heavy for someone new to trad. You need to get used to releasing with your fingers and controlling your back tension while holding double the poundage at full draw that you did with a compound. See if you can beg, borrow a bow with a draw in the low 30's so you can learn the basics.

Lot's of experienced compound shooters go from a 60 lb compound to a 45 lb stickbow and find they can't handle it. They forgot that they only held 20 lbs at full draw with the compound while they are holding 45 with the stickbow. Then they can't understand why they can't control it...
Just my 2 cents.

[bm22]

i agree with alot of the above,
i would start out with longbow/recurve at 45 lbs. max. there are alot of differences. your form is going to be so much more critical with the longbow and important form will lead to accuracy, if you don't have accuracy i doubt will will stay with the recurve very long.

 you need to learn to hold the weight at full draw, and most important learn to anchor in the same spot every time, a compound stops a recurve will let you keep pulling back.

another reason to start with the low weight is to creat a proper release. the biggest advantage a compound has is not the sights it is the release.

as far as arrows go, i would start with either a carbon arrow or aluminum, i would not shoot wood to start with , they are expensive time consuming and are not as consistant. when you learn to shoot a trad bow then get into something farther ie. wood arrows, selfbow's ect.

you will need to decide which arrow you want, to me i would shoot carbon, you can get a dozen and fletch them for 70-80 bucks and they wont bend or break like aluminum and to me tune much easier.

the reason we " trad guys" weight our arrows is to hunt with. we don't have the speed you have with  compound so you need to get around these advantages. you have to take closer shots, need a quite bow.

also a high foc arrow will give you better penetration. a fast bow doesn't guarrentte good penetration if you shoot too light of arrow. so loading your arrows with weights gets the spine correct, makes the bow quieter and gives you better penetration. at the distances we hunt with a 500-600grain arrows isn't going to drop a whole lot compared to a 300 or 400 at least enough to make you inconsistant.

remeber you need 8-12 grains of arrow per pound of bow you choose to shoot. i would go with around 10, a 500 grain arrow and 50 lb. bow would do great but i would shoot at least 450 grain arrow with a light 40 lb. bow.

remember to have fun and forget tha accuracy you had with a compound it will take years of pracitice to get that good and alot of traditional guys will never shoot as good a scores as the average guy with a compound will shoot.