Well, its aluminums for me.

[Brianlocal3]

In my compound days I shot aluminums untiil Bass Pro came out with the ridiculously cheap red head carbons, then I switched to them for a few years.  

Rewind back to January when I picked up my first Recurve.  I bought aluminums, it was safe and cheap, and quick.  Then I started experimenting with woodies.  I have 2 doz woodies all tuned up. 9 BH tipped that fly beautifully, which is what ill be hunting with.  I also have 1/2 doz GT 5575 that fly like darts from the Superior, and I do like shooting them, but it does worry me a bit about the Gpp for the bow, I don't want to harm it.  

I got the Superior back a few weeks ago and my 2016s were too weak so I picked up some 2018s and they fly beautifully.  

Well I was out stumping a couple weeks ago, and my targets were Osage apples (thousands of them on the ground it seems) and leafs and some embankments.  Well I was shooting my POC with Hex heads and broke 3 of them in about 30 min of OSAGE APPLES!!! I was under the impressing woodies were durable for some reason. So I shot a Gt5575 and  must have hit a rock under the ground and it drove the tip and insert right up the shaft.. So i grabbed the 2016s with judos and  finished the day shooting and Never  bend, break,  nada.  

I have creased some alums when hitting them with another arrow, and I got a bent nock in once from bouncing off a sapling, but that same glancing shot (3D shoot) blew up my woodie.  

I do not subscribe to the heavy front line of thinking, so therefore do not add weighted inserts or super heavy heads, I like 125-150 grain tips. Well in order to get good arrow weight I would need a lot more up front for most carbons, but with my Alums, i am comfortable with total arrow weight.  Now I did say MOST carbons, I would like to try the Heavy Hunters once, but I refuse to pay that for baresshafts when I could have 2 doz alums made up complete ready to hunt for the same price as a doz bareshaft heavy hunters.

[Alexander Traditional]

I've always liked aluminum,but since getting back into archery I can't find very many that are long enough. I've been having pretty good luck with my first venture into carbons.

[BWD]

I can bend an aluminum with the best of them. Carbons for me.

[LongStick64]

For me Aluminum arrows fall right there in between woodies and carbon, best of both worlds. Not as fast as carbon, not as heavy as wood but altogether perfect.

[AWPForester]

I have several recurves in the 58-65 pound range and unless I order a special heavy wood arrow, with a 160 grain head I end up with 9-10 gpp on the finished arrow.  I also shoot aluminiium and end up with the same.

I have a short draw and like the carbons, but since I am shooter heavier bows now, I see no reason for them.  At a 27 inch draw, I can a pretty high foc outta the aluminium and thst hels with tuning alot, bad releases, and wind bucking.  So I really like he aluminium shafs outta a few of my bows.

Cheap, strong, extremely straight, and as resilient as any and more than the wood.

But I musy say, you graduate that wood shaft upto the surewood fir and use a blunt tip, you'll realize real quick that woodies are pretty resilent too.  Comparing the cedar to fir is like comaring apples to oranges.  God Bless

[WidowEater]

I only use aluminums too.  For me the reason is just that they are easier to tune in that I can take my insert out because I use hot melt glue and then trim the arrow and glue it back in and im good to go.

I dont trust using hot melt with carbons and plus the aluminums start out heavy without having to add extra weight.

The difference in straightness is marginal and it is a moot point in hunting situations anyway.

However, all the reasons I just gave are my reasons and are not necissarily good reasons to others.  There is a good reason carbons are popular and that is because they are a good arrow material.

[Gila Mike]

I broke my share of wood arrows before I switched to aluminum in the 1970s. I've been shooting aluminum arrows almost exclusively since then. I've bent a lot of them and broken a few from time to time. No problem. I would have done the same with wood.

Whenever I see a good deal on aluminum shafts or arrows in my sizes (2016, 2018, 2114), I buy them. I now have a lifetime supply on hand so I'm not upset when I lose one to the laws of chance.

Mike

[Brianlocal3]

I find with the aluminums it's easier to get te specs I'm looking for in too weight AND arrow length. The carbons I have fly wonderful, but they are almost 31" and that alone drops my point on more than I like. I have yet to get a carbon to fly like I want while getting an arrow to around 29". I'm picky I guess and also the Gpp does worry me a bit,  

I would like to try the GT heavy hunter but not untill I win the lotto!!

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I was once told to use the best arrow I could afford and the cheapest bow I could get away with.. Pretty good advise if you are more interested in results than style.

That being said a comparison of cheap (lower end aluminum such as Game Getters) against upper end carbons is not a fair comparison

Nor is it fair to compare upper end aluminum against the cheapest carbon you can buy.

Personally I have a life time supply of AO aluminum in 2016, 2018 and 2020 and still loose more than I break or bend..

I tried some Cabela's "Hunter" carbons and they break easier than woods. In hunting situations they are pretty much a one shot deal.

I have some AO's that have accounted for multiple kills

[USN_Sam1385]

I have shot my GT 5575 carbons with carbon collars and brass inserts into a solid concrete wall on almost a dozen occasions (Missed target in my basement or blew completely through it) and the arrows were none the worse for wear.

The trick however is the carbon collars. Otherwise the field point/broad head will run itself back into the shaft and it will peel back like a banana.

[Red Beastmaster]

I was a die hard wood user for over 20 years. After yet another purchase of a dozen cedar shafts with sap oozing out of them, I tried aluminum. Secretly of course, I couldn't let my friends know I had gone to the "other side".

That was 5 years ago and I'm still with aluminum. I shoot better than ever and never get a "flier". I should have done this a long time ago.

I have never tried carbon and don't really see me changing from something that works so well.

[MikeNova]

I've never had any luck stump shooting always considered it the the sport of the rich because I always ended up busting up whatever arrow I took out.

[Dawn Patrol]

I have carbon GTs,carbon ADs,carbon Axis,even a carbon heart valve,but I an going to shoot wood and aluminum this season.