# Carbon arrows vs aluminum



## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

I have been shooting Apollo carbon arrows for about a year, and they fly well and are the correct spine for my bow (minus my ability to shoot well, at times). I know they are "low end" carbons; but I am curious as to the opinion of others on the forum as to how they compare to aluminum Tributes, which I shot indoors (18 meters). Outside at 50 -60 meters, there is no doubt the lighter, narrow carbons (with small plastic vanes, not feathers) are superior. Personally, I find the aluminum arrows indoors seem to shoot as well. No intent to start a huge debate, just some informed opinions.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

A lot of folks shoot aluminum arrows indoors. I saw Alan Eagleton shoot scores that beat most of the Olympic shooters using Easton Gamegetters. I used to shoot Easton X7 and Platinum Plus indoors. An advantage barebow is that they are heavier and shorten your point-on. I have seen a lot of compound shooters go to the big 27 mm aluminum arrows indoors. Aluminum is a great value. You can get a top of the line aluminum arrow for the cost of an ordinary carbon. Weight is the biggest issue. I shot against a guy that posted a really good American 900 round with aluminum. That was out to 60 yards. Get much further than that and you need something lighter.


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## dragonheart II (Aug 20, 2010)

Aluminum arrow are the most inherently accurate shaft material given one factor, that they are straight. Aluminum carbon is #2, all carbon #3, wood #4. Here is the factor of being straight, wood will shoot better than aluminum with less straightness. A crooked aluminum arrow is the pits for accuracy! ACC arrows are the best compromise. For indoor with a recurve aluminum is probably the best material. Outdoors Aluminum-Carbon is the ideal. If you are on a budget you can do many things with carbon arrow to improve performance. I do not think shooting aluminum outdoors with a recurve is an ideal choice given the options today. 

_Some things you can do to improve arrow performance:_
Weigh all parts and match lighter points with heavy shafts.
Grind small amount of points to match arrows. 
Weigh your finished arrows
Shoot the same color vanes 
Compression test the shafts and fletch accordingly
Number your arrows and shoot groups finding the best arrows for competition
Shoot arrows longer that match up with the location of the front node


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## dragonheart II (Aug 20, 2010)

http://tradtalk.com/forums//showthread.php?t=46511


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## GCook (Aug 22, 2016)

Way too much thought and work for me on that.

Sent from my SM-J710MN using Tapatalk


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## dragonheart II (Aug 20, 2010)

LOL. Yea that is pretty technical on that tradtalk thread. Just leave your arrows longer.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

A lot of Olympic style shooters will use the A/C Easton arrows, mostly the hugely expensive X10, but also ACE. When I am shooting barebow with the Olympic archers I use ACE's and ACG's depending on the distance. I use the arrow that gives me the best sight points. A/C arrows are great for distance, but at the same time, many Olympic archers use full carbon arrows such as Nano's. I am not sure how much difference there is at the high end between full carbon and A/C. At this end of the spectrum arrows are sorted into matched sets. As you drop in price you start getting down to comparing arrows like ACG's and ACC's to high quality, but not top end, carbon arrows, such as the Victory VAP and Black Eagle XImpact that I shoot. I have not noticed a performance difference, though the full carbon arrows are much, much, lighter. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For shooting targets on grass I use A/C arrows and a bow set up for long distance (70 and 90 meters). The aluminum makes misses in the grass easier to find with a metal detector. For field I use full carbon because they are cheaper and lighter and I can get by with a lighter bow that handles the shorter distances better. I shoot wood when I compete in longbow, but I am a huge novice. I have a straightener but have never used it. Wood is where the real art comes in. I long ago stopped competing, and for the most part even shooting, indoors. When I did, I shot 2315 aluminum arrows. There is so much focus on bows, but in the end, arrows are where it is at.


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

I've always shot aluminum and wood. Recently my son gave me some Gold Tip 600s, I have to say I am impressed with the flight out of my 45 lb bows.
I am relatively new to carbons but I like the flight of the 600s enough I will be hunting with them this season.
Still like my aluminum shafts though. I think any shaft material if tuned correctly will do just fine. I dont find aluminum as fragile as some say it is.
Aluminum is the most consistent shaft material, shaft to shaft.
Have to say I'm liking the Gold Tip carbons. Maybe a little more to tuning them for me but once I found the right length/weight combination they fly great.


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Outdoors for 3-D or field I like carbon for its flat shooting qualities. Indoors it doesn't matter. Sometimes the heavier aluminums bring the arrow point on down.


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

I use Easton ACCs for everything, carbon tube on the outside surrounding an aluminum tube on the inside.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

I wander back and forth.
I like the speed from the carbons but aluminum seem more forgiving. I am still shooting the 3 XX75 2013 arrows I have left from my 45# ILF. I still have 18 of them in 2117 that might be used for hunting once the hunting bow arrives


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## lunger 66 (Feb 16, 2017)

I'd really like to try some aluminium arrows for my indoor setup. Anyone know offhand what the 650 spine equivalent would be? My 600 carbon arrows are doing ok, but it'd be a little better if I was around a 650 spine. Thanks, Lunger


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## Corene1 (Apr 27, 2014)

lunger 66 said:


> I'd really like to try some aluminium arrows for my indoor setup. Anyone know offhand what the 650 spine equivalent would be? My 600 carbon arrows are doing ok, but it'd be a little better if I was around a 650 spine. Thanks, Lunger


Hard to beat an Easton X7 for a quality aluminum arrow shaft. I would guess a 1914 would be right in your ballpark for tuning. A less expensive option would be the XX75 Platinum Plus in 2013. I have some experience with this size and they seem to have a broad tuning range.


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## j.conner (Nov 12, 2009)

I like carbons and would not go back to aluminums after decades of dealing with dinged and bent shafts. The straightness notion does not match my experience when it seems like any miss results in a damaged arrow. I can see the sense of using aluminum indoors where there is much less chance of damage than outdoors, however I wonder if it makes more sense to use one arrow for both and not maintain two different setups.


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## lunger 66 (Feb 16, 2017)

Thanks, Corene!!! Maybe I'll just order up a dozen to try out for my 300 rounds. Lunger


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## Sauk Mountain (Aug 3, 2015)

I like both. You can't beat the consistency of aluminum shafts, and you can't beat the durability of a footed carbon. Since switching over to ILF about a year ago or so, and fully dedicating myself to the fixed crawl, I've found that I prefer the slight speed advantage of 8.5-9 gpp carbon than an 11-13 gpp aluminum.


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## Corene1 (Apr 27, 2014)

As was mentioned earlier, don't forget about the Easton ACC, they are really nice arrows and very consistent. Just a bit heavier than the pure carbons but lighter than the pure aluminums. It would be nice of you had a shop or some friends close to you so you could try some different arrows to try and not have to buy them. That is how we wind up with so many sets of arrows in our sheds. . My indoor arrows are Easton 3-04's with a .680 spine, at 30 inches with a 80 grain point and three 4 inch feathers. Total weight is 335 grains at 35 pounds on the finger works out to just under10 grains per pound. Not too fast not too slow and with the extra length out front gives me a reasonable point on for indoor.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Only downside to A/C/C is the price. I also found them more prone to spinter around the inserts on a hard hit.
Unfortunately, I still make those bad shots


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

I've shot a lot of aluminum arrows the last 40+ yrs. Usually 2016s and 1916s.
I haven't found them to be fragile as some say they are. I try to avoid hitting anything that might ding or bend them just like I do with wood or carbon.

Occasionally I will bend one but not often.

All shaft materials have their weak points. I have been pleased with the Gold Tip traditional shafts so far, but I have managed to break a few of them.


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## LaurieC (Feb 27, 2017)

I have a set of vane fletched carbon Apollo 950's and a a set of feather fletched aluminum Tribute 1616's. I'm shooting a 35# recurve. For me, the Tributes fly better and are consistently more accurate. I find that the carbon Apollos have a more noticeable arc and drop more quickly over the same distance than the Tributes, and require a higher aiming point. 

I shoot the aluminum arrows both indoors and outdoors, and have found them to be very durable. Even when I make a crappy shot and they go plowing through the brush and dirt.


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