Carbon vs aluminum arrows

[justaguy93]

I'm just getting into the sport of bowhunting and am looking for some advice on my first setup. I'd love to get people's opinions on carbon arrows vs aluminum arrows. After talking to some friends and doing some reading it seems like people definitely favor the carbon arrows so I was set to go that route. However I've also run accross a few posts with a good number of people reporting that a carbon arrow has exploded when shot, in most cases causing injury to the bow hand and in one case, amputation of the forearm due to carbon poisoning. I've also heard that after being shot a deer can shatter the arrow while running if you don't get a passthrough and ruin much of the meat.
If anyone here has had experiences with carbon and/or aluminum arrows I'd be very interested in hearding about them. I'm not afraid to shoot the carbons, but I'm curious if the pros outweigh the potential cons. Maybe these are a very few isolated incidents and blown out of proportion, or maybe not, I'm not really sure at this point. Can anyone throw some of their veteran bowhunter advice my way?

Goodness, I have killed alot of deer in my life, and can't say I have came across alot of what you say as far as a danger to my health. I remember back in 1984 or 86, when we all bought bemans, they actually did shatter and it caused injury. But after they have been radially wrapping them,I haven't heard of a shatter in over a decade. Also, I have had alot break in a deer while running or roll over on them, whatever, but haven't ruined meat over it.

Aluminums break tooor bend when deer are running.

I still hunt aluminums with my recurve and longbow. And consider going back to them for a new commander I just got. But mostly I use carbon. I do have alot of gripes with carbon lately. These manufactures sell us with straightness, and consistency, but we don't get that in the finished product. On average I find 3 out of 12 carbons that are not straight enough for broadhead use, or have inconsistent spine. You just won't find that with aluminums.

Alum Pros:Straight, consistent spine, heavy, easy to fletch, easy to heat to change out or turn inserts, doesn't loose spine as fast as carbons, cheap as of now, can be straightened somewhat
Alum Cons: large diameter, build up micro bends over use, has tendency to make noise when hit or drawn back and heavy which some see as bad? (I don't)

Carbon Pros: Its either broke or it not, never bends, small diameter available, Higher FOC generally
Carbon Cons:Good ones are expensive, I find looses spine over time, generally I find 25-30% are junk out of a dozen

One piece of advise, if you pay alot of money for a bow, go and buy the best carbon you can afford. I see so many people get a 1000 dollar bow setup and then pay 60 dollars for carbon arrows. The arrow is the most important component. YOu can take the best tuned bow, and shoot garbage arrows, and never get it to shoot good.

I am going to buy carbon tech next time. Carbon Express Edge's have let me down, so has beman MFX.

[Roskoe]

You pretty well wrapped this one up Mark. I shoot the more expensive carbons as well. A couple of very experienced bowhunters in my circle have gone to the carbon/aluminum hybrids, like the Axis FMJ and the A/C Super Slims. I'm currently giving this some thought . . . . .

[justaguy93]

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't heard about the quality issues with some carbons, that's good information to have. I figured the shattering wasn't real common or there would be more discussion about it in forums like this.

The hybrids sound interesting, I might give them a look before making a purchase.

[stalkingbear]

I shoot AND reccomend high quality carbon arrows. The scare about the carbon arrow shattering and spreading glass fibers into meat is a myth-at least with todays carbon arrows/shafts. I've found carbon shafts to be a LOT more durable than aluminum arrows.

[8pt~Bowhunter]

ORIGINAL: stalkingbear

I shoot AND reccomend high quality carbon arrows. The scare about the carbon arrow shattering and spreading glass fibers into meat is a myth-at least with todays carbon arrows/shafts. I've found carbon shafts to be a LOT more durable than aluminum arrows.

X2

[ebieszk]

shoot an arrow that will fit your hunting needs and thats all there is to it. If you want a fast arrow, shoot a carbon. If you want velocity shoot the right spined aluminums

[Arthur P]

Alum Pros: Straight, consistent spine, heavy, easy to fletch, easy to heat to change out or turn inserts, doesn't loose spine as fast as carbons, cheap as of now, can be straightened somewhat
Alum Cons: large diameter, build up micro bends over use, has tendency to make noise when hit or drawn back and heavy which some see as bad? (I don't)

Carbon Pros: Its either broke or it not, never bends, small diameter available, Higher FOC generally
Carbon Cons:Good ones are expensive, I find looses spine over time, generally I find 25-30% are junk out of a dozen

I'd add a point or two to those pro's and con's.

With aluminum, they will shoot perfectly with broadheads 999 times out of a thousand. Very few problems getting aluminum arrows to shoot as accurately with broadheads as they do with field points because of their consistency. Also because of their consistency, it is incredibly easy to tune a bow with them.

If you avoid the very thin walled aluminum shafts, stick with shafts with wall thickness at least .015" and thicker, they will be every bit as durable as carbon arrows. They also very good at resisting bending, especially in the larger diameters, 22/64ths and larger. At least that has been my experience. Downside? Thicker wall means heavier shaft. Heavier arrow means less speed. See below.

The highly touted speed of carbon arrows is vastly overblown in most hunting situations. If you're shooting a high performance compound at around 60 pounds and keep your shots within 30 yards, there is barely an inch of difference in trajectory between a 350 grain arrow and a 500 grain arrow.

And, with a simple tool, aluminum arrows can usually be straightened back to, or very near, factory tolerances. With the larger, thicker aluminums I recommend, an impact that will bend the arrow beyond repair will most likely destroy a carbon arrow as well.

"Carbons are either straight or broken" is a nice little cliche you see bandied about all over the web. Unfortunately, it's a myth. Carbons don't bend (which also means they can't be straightened) but they DO warp. The more they are used, the more they warp. You can check a carbon arrow for straightness, shoot it for a month. Come back and check it again and it will not be as straight as it was.

Many people get the idea that carbons are 'forever' arrows, meaning once they buy them they last forever until they are lost or broken. Not so. Carbon arrows are simply carbon fibers suspended in a thermoset glue matrix. The matrix can, and does, develop micro fractures which weakens the arrow. You can check a carbon arrow for spine then shoot it for a month. When you come back to check it again, the spine will be weaker.

We get so many questions on this forum about tuning problems. Can't get their bows to tune. These poor folks go to all kinds of trouble, moving their rests left and right, even going so far as changing their rests to a different type, and nobody ever thinks to ask the question: How much have you shot with those arrows? Many of these 'tuning problems' could be easily solved with new arrows.

With use, carbons lose straightness. They lose spine stiffness. They develop weak spots. They do not last forever! The changes occur slowly. They sneak up on you. One day you notice you're not shooting as well as you expect and nothing you do makes any improvement. That's the time to go and buy new arrows.

Also, carbon arrows are a step backwards to the years of wood arrows in one very important point. You need to constantly be checking for cracks. The horror stories you've heard are true and they are not a thing of the past. There are still people getting injured by carbon arrows that blow up on release. These incidents are almost certainly all caused by shooting cracked arrows.

I'm not saying don't buy carbon arrows. I'm not saying that high quality carbons aren't good. I'm just saying don't buy into the mythology that surrounds them. The safety issue just demands the simple precaution of flexing the arrow each time before you shoot. Also, you need to do a close visual inspection of the nock and point ends of each arrow after a day of shooting, or after the arrow impacts ANY hard surface. Checking arrows for cracks before shooting them just gets to be a habit after awile, like looking both ways before crossing the street.

And I will also parrot what was said above about the carbon/aluminum composite arrows. They offer the best of both worlds. The consistency of aluminum with the toughness of a carbon sheathing.

[bowdoc1]

I have hunted with carbons from the start with afc, bemen and I never ever had one shatter or have seen one shattering in a bow, but not to say it hasn't happen before, but it has happen to aluminums too. At one time xx78s we would even get them in the store new and thay would have crackes in them. Seen a picture where a archer shot a xx78 2413 throught his hand that broke in the bow. They do have that fixed now, but it has happen before. Only time I have shatter a carbon arrow is when I robin hooded them. About spreading glass in the meat I don't eat the heart and lungs anyway and never had one stay in a deer or elk any way it's alway passed through. That was a myth any way. Easton started that to try slowing the sells of them down tell they could buy one of the carbon arrow companies out, which they did. Then they where ok to use. The carbons made now day don't shatter they will brake off clean like aluminums if you can brake one. Always check your arrows if you hit somthing hard for cracks, dents and if they are striaght carbon are aluminums, They are the most important part for shooting good.

[nodog]

One thing you have to keep in mind when reading things on the net, things aren't always as they appear. People are selling their own stuff. I wouldn't be surprise in the least if some of what you've read is one brand trying to talk you out of one and into another.

The very best thing you can do is shoot both and find out for yourself. I have no problems with either and can shoot both at the same time with very good results. I just don't like the noise that aluminum arrows make when pulled across a rest. I would imagine that being new you might try a WB. I can only guess at the noise one will make going through that rest. Not good at all I'm think'n.

As far as the fibers in the meat. Shoot'm through the lungs and forget about it. Don't know where theseothersare shooting for it to be a concern.