carbon arrow question

[rockkiller]

This is probably a dumb question,but I know about nil about carbons I have been playing with some carbons and from what I have learned from this site and from the test kit is they take a lot of weight up front compared to wood.
I was talking to a friend about this,who,if possible knows less then me about carbons and he asked how come the wheeled boys(neither of us know beans about compounds either)can shoot 90 and 100 grain heads ???  
Thanks

[tiur]

Notice their arrow rest - Y shaped and ofcourse the  mech.release - no archers paradox-
read on - carbon needs more weight up front to spine similar to woods/alu.
Enjoy the trip.
Asgeir

[toehead]

you don't HAVE TO front load carbon arrows to get them to spine correctly, one can simply buy the correct spine range for the bow you are shooting and tune to fit your needs.  
The beauty of carbons is they come light and stiff enough where one CAN frontload the shaft to generate the greater amount of FoC that aids in flight and penetration.  
I have some carbon arrows that I shoot with a 100-125 grain head and aluminum insert.  I also have some that I shoot with a 385 grain head and 100 grain steel insert.

[old_goat2]

I think it's because of the rate of acceleration their arrows go through versus ours, if they shot the kind of tip weight we do, their arrows could break. We always think the amount of spine we need is derived from the poundage and draw length we have, which it kind of is but it has more to do with how fast our arrows accelerate. I just switched from pretty fast recurve to a really fast recurve and dropped about 5 pounds in draw weight, but my speed went up about 5fps due to the bows efficency and I was able to use the same arrow. Where had I simply dropped 5 pounds of draw weight and stayed with same efficency bow, I probably would have had to go to a weaker arrow. At least this is the way I see it, if I'm wrong, somebody correct me please.

[Orion]

rockkiller.  The reason the wheelie boys shoot light heads and light arrows is because they're obsessed with speed.  Ever watch the pseudo hunting shows on the Outdoor channel.  Though they're shooting quite heavy poundage, and their arrows are blistering fast, making those 60-70 yard shots possible, they usually get very little penetration, particularly on larger critters, because of the expandable broadheads and very light arrows.  Like a bug hitting the windshield.

As has already been pointed out, you don't have to put a lot of weight up front on a carbon arrow, but you CAN put a lot of weight up front if you want to. Need to select the correct spine to do either. Good luck.

[Easykeeper]

Originally posted by toehead:
you don't HAVE TO front load carbon arrows to get them to spine correctly, one can simply buy the correct spine range for the bow you are shooting and tune to fit your needs.  
The beauty of carbons is they come light and stiff enough where one CAN frontload the shaft to generate the greater amount of FoC that aids in flight and penetration.  
I have some carbon arrows that I shoot with a 100-125 grain head and aluminum insert.  I also have some that I shoot with a 385 grain head and 100 grain steel insert.

I agree with this.  I don't mind and actually prefer heads in the 175 and up range, but I have some lighter spine arrows that tune just fine with 125 grain points.

You don't   have to use heavy points if you don't want too.

[awbowman]

Basically with a compound you "tune" your rest to the arrow to match the spine while in trad shooting, you have to "tune" the spine to your rest.  All within reason of course.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by awbowman:
Basically with a compound you "tune" your rest to the arrow to match the spine while in trad shooting, you have to "tune" the spine to your rest.  All within reason of course.

I keep reading all these arrow spine threads with guys pulling their hair out paper tuning and bare shaft tuning, while loading up point weights and using different length and different spine shafts.....

But why is it you never hear about different strike plate material being used in tuning a bow?  Or padding out your strike to stiffen things up a bit? How far the bow is cut to center or past is critical.


The difference between using a Velcro strike and a leather strike is huge.... also using hard leather or soft leather makes a big difference...

Raising your string nock and using a weather rest has a pretty amazing effect on arrow spine too.

           

[Orion]

Agreed, Kirkll.  I cut my carbons to length (starting with the appropriate spine, of course), install the point weight I want, and adjust my side plate accordingly.  Never found the need to cut shafts 1/4-inch at a time to tune them to the bow. Most bows will shoot a fairly wide range of spines well.  T'ain't rocket science.

[Bladepeek]

I just recently posted on another thread about a "D" shape longbow I just got. I had to load nearly 300 gr on a .600 spined arrow to get it to fly right. That's because, even with a thin side plate, the bow is cut +1/4" from center. If the bow were center cut, that same arrow would probably fly fine with 125 gr up front.

Another reason many are using heavy weights up front on a stiffer arrow is because carbons are so light. If you pick a spine soft enough to use a 100 or 125 gr head, the total arrow weight might be down under 8 GPP. Could be?

[JamesKerr]

Well I will admit to being a perfectionist and trying to get the all time perfect flight, arrow weight, and foc all in the same arrow. As has been said above if one uses lighter spines there may not be a need to load up the front end with weight. However you probably won't end up with an arrow over 450 grains if that, so most guys like to shoot a heavier spined shaft and put 200-300 grains up front to get their shaft tuned and their preferred arrow weight. I have shot quite a few carbon shafts and in my opinion the best and easiest way to go is with Arrow Dynamics shafting. The taper design almost totally eliminates tuning (I have yet to find a bow that by just playing with point weight won't shoot these arrows perfect). They are extremely durable and have good arrow weight all by themselves.