Wood, Aluminum or Carbon, Whats your preferance ?

[Nathan Killen]

So what do you like and why ?  

[Night Wing]

Been shooting aluminum arrows for past 47 years. Aluminum; for me, is easy to tune, uniform in weight, straighter than carbon, generally cheaper than carbon in cost, doesn't warp like wood and I've never had any durability problems.

[rbbhunt]

Wood is good!!!!

[featherhorn]

I like em all LOL But shoot Carbons

[PaddyMac]

For the 25 years I've been shooting a compound, it has always been aluminum, mainly because I've always been squeamish about breaking a carbon arrow in an animal. But now that I've gone to a recurve I shoot carbons. Quieter. They're either straight or broken. I like the way GT Trads look. I've committed to shooting carbons this year, but over the winter I'm going to make a dozen wood arrows and try them. If I can shoot them accurately enough to satisfy me, then I'll switch next year, almost totally out of aesthetic concerns. And I'm still squeamish about breaking an arrow in a deer.

[Wannabe1]

I shoot wood, carbon and aluminum. Just depends on the bow and what flies out of it best.  

[wtpops]

I loved shooting wood but I can’t shoot it. I’m too picky, my wife calls it anal. The shafts have to be straight and stay that way, spine has to be the same from shaft to shaft along with the weight and wood just can’t do that. Now please I am in no way a good enough shot for the small difference in spine, weight and straightness from shaft to shaft in wood to make any difference in my shooting but I have to make the little man in the back of my head happy        so back to my favorite shaft aluminum.

Aluminum, always straight, spine the same from shaft to shaft and batch to batch and always weigh the same. I have a spinner on my bench and have become an expert at getting them straight after the shot that didn’t go where I wanted it to and when they are too far gone just toss it out and grab a new shaft and I know it is exactly the same as the one I tossed out. Now the little man is nice and quiet.        

Too bad I can’t get him to shut up about my form. Boy if a guy could bottle good form and sell it he would make a fortune off me.

[David Mitchell]

All of the above....  

[WRV]

I shoot all three in this order: carbon, aluminum and wood

Randy

[JRY309]

I have no real preference,I shoot them all!

[Berube]

I shoot all three but prefer woodies

[Beanbag]

It's like how do you like your TP to come off the roll? Top or Bottom? Which ever works the best! Kinda like I like my politicians!lol Jim G

[RM81]

I've never tried wood shafts (I'd like to someday), so I can't comment on those.  But out of aluminum and carbon, carbon wins by a mile.  I do foot the carbon with old AL shafts, so I guess I shoot both at the same time?

[Tree Killer]

Wood for the last 25 years.    

[durp]

ive tryed them all...and always come back to wood...

wood worked in the 60's and still does for me...take the time to match a good set of woodies for broadheads...get close and enjoy the steaks...

use the rest for stumps and birds or what ever gets in the way!!!

[ishoot4thrills]

Carbon. More durable than the others. Some like aluminum because they say they're cheaper. Not so. The durability of carbon trumps the lower price of aluminum because carbon outlasts all others, so you save in the long run. My carbons are straighter than my flaws also, so that's a non-factor as well. I think my Bemans are .003" straightness tolerance. Not too bad. What's the tolerance on XX75 aluminums?

I shot aluminum for several years and got tired of them bending and getting dents in them, making them useless.

[RM81]

Originally posted by ishoot4thrills:
I shot aluminum for several years and got tired of them bending and getting dents in them, making them useless.

I didn't shoot them that long, but I did learn the same thing pretty quick.

[wtpops]

Originally posted by ishoot4thrills:
Carbon. More durable than the others. Some like aluminum because they say they're cheaper. Not so. The durability of carbon trumps the lower price of aluminum because carbon outlasts all others, so you save in the long run. My carbons are straighter than my flaws also, so that's a non-factor as well. I think my Bemans are .003" straightness tolerance. Not too bad. What's the tolerance on XX75 aluminums?

I shot aluminum for several years and got tired of them bending and getting dents in them, making them useless.

XX75's are .002 and XX78's are .001 Some carbon brands messure only a certin % of the shaft. Easton uses the hole shaft. O and Beman is an Easton arrow.

[Jake Diebolt]

I shoot aluminum. Mostly because I'm used to them and know how to work with them. Plus they're relatively cheap.

[highPlains]

I shot wood and some aluminum most of my life. The old carbon arrow concerns are still around, but are not necessarily true of the better carbons on the market today. The newer carbon arrows don't have the same problems as the old ones, namely inconsistent spine depending on how the arrow is rotated, inconsistent weight, and splintering inside an animal. In a quality carbon arrow these problems have all but disappeared. Are they as straight as aluminum? Maybe not yet. But how many can shoot the difference? And if you can, how much of a difference does it make? For a traditional archer/hunter the difference (if there is one) is negligible.

This is not my opinion, this is a statement I heard: According to Rod White, Olympic Gold Medal archer, only world level caliber archers can shoot the difference between .004 and .001. I've offended a few guys sharing that statement, but I'll take his word on it since I sure can't shoot the difference. I don't mean to offend anybody on here who disagrees, but I share that because I think it is relevant for the average trad hunter.

I'm not trying to sell anybody on carbon arrows by any means. I have only killed two big game animals with a carbon arrow and a boat-load with wood. I don't think I'll ever shoot aluminum because I see no advantage (for me) over carbon. I don't like messing with straightening an aluminum arrow, and I bend them too often. It is easy to get a carbon arrow up to whatever weight you want to if you so wish, so the weight advantage that aluminum used to enjoy is no longer as big of a concern. I never had to re-fletch my wood or aluminum arrows because they broke or bent before I wore out the feathers. But I've got 7 out of 12 CX Heritage carbon arrows left from 1.5 years ago. I have re-fletched them four times. I lost 5 of them but haven't broken one yet, and they definitely don't bend or warp.

I love wood arrows and though I've been shooting carbon the last year and a half, mostly for convenience sake, I plan to go back to my woods. It's the process of making them I think that I enjoy the most.

They're all good! I say to shoot what you have the most confidence in, or what you can get to fly the best for your setup.