What are you looking to gain? That's what you need to ask yourself.
Aluminum Advantages; Excellent consistency in quality, weight, spine and straightness. Pretty much any 2315 will shoot just like any other 2315. Aluminum is generally heavier per spine class than carbon, producing a quieter shot and more energy on target. Aluminum arrows that are damaged can often be repaired and straightened.
Aluminum Disadvantages; Aluminum is metal and will bend and fatigue over time. In other words, they wear out. Thin walled aluminum (.014 and thinner) are fragile, too fragile for a hunting arrow, IMO. They are easily bent and ruined. Thicker walled aluminums from .015 and up are far more durable, but that durability comes at the cost of arrow speed. Bumping an aluminum arrow with another aluminum arrow, or bouncing it off the riser of your bow, produces a game spooking metallic noise.
Carbon Advantages: Generally lighter weight per spine class for better arrow speed, though they are producing heavier carbons these days. Much more durable than aluminum arrows <font color=orange>of comparable weight</font id=orange>.
Carbon Disadvantages; Carbon arrows are carbon fiber filaments glued together in a thermoset resin matrix. Repeated shots into a target causes those resins to break down over time, and the arrow loses straightness and spine. In other words, carbon arrows wear out.(The favored saying that 'carbon is either straight or broken' is an urban legend.) They can also crack with a collision with another arrow or hard object. A crack that you don't notice can be dangerous, to your bow and to yourself. You have to carefully inspect a carbon after any collision or miss. They are very much like wood arrows, in that respect.
Carbon arrows, due to the construction process, have inconsistencies in straightness, spine and weight, all of which affect accuracy. On the low end of the price scale, you might only get 6-8 out of a dozen arrows that will shoot a broadhead consistently. The longer your arrow length, the worse the problem. With carbon, the more you spend, the better the quality. High end carbons are MUCH superior to low end carbons.(Same with aluminum, of course, but there aren't the same glaring differences in quality from the lower end aluminums like Gamegetters to the high end X7's.)
Arthur, you forgot trying to pull the Carbons out of a 3-d target. What a pain in the ---.
I'm curious though, I never shot carbons with that new type of finish on them (the camo type, I believe). I always just shot the natural type dull black carbons. Are the new finishes any easier to get out of a 3-d target?
Edited by - BobCo19-65 on 09/05/2002 08:45:40
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"I do not Hunt animals to Kill them. I kill animals because I Hunt." Roger Rothhaar
Haven't shot any of the new camo finishes and none of the guys at the club are using them either, so I haven't had the pleasure of trying to draw one forth from a McKenzie. The Easton Epics I'm shooting have a very smooth finish on them, but they're still kinda sticky.
But you're right. Pulling an unlubed carbon out of a target is a pain. Especially with arthritic hands, shoulders, back and then top that off with 'other problems'. Like I said once before, it will get you reaching for the linament AND the Preparation H, hoping all along you don't confuse the two when you start rubbing the stuff on.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Also, carbons dampen oscillation better than aluminum.
Properties of carbon arrows aloows 1 spine of arrow to work well with more variables whan aluminum (usually, you'll only find 3-4 spines in a carbon arrow range, vs. dozens for aluminum). This means you have a little more forgivness with carbon when setting up the bow.
As Arthur said, the better carbons are MUCH better than the cheap ones. To that I'll add the BEST carbons are often as good or better than the best aluminums as far as spine/weight/straightness consistancy are concerned. (I have found Game Tracker Carbon Express 3D selects to be especially good in this matter.)
All in all, I feel the carbons are more durable, and last longer than aluminum (If they do wear out.....it SEEMS TO ME that they wear out slower than aluminums.)
I said it before and I will say it again almost every hunting show I watch with people using carbons after the shot their arrows always break, alot of times in the animal. Now how does that make carbons more durable?
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Properties of carbon arrows aloows 1 spine of arrow to work well with more variables whan aluminum (usually, you'll only find 3-4 spines in a carbon arrow range, vs. dozens for aluminum). This means you have a little more forgivness with carbon when setting up the bow. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>
The downside to having one arrow with a 20 pound spine range is that you rarely get a perfect spine for your particular setup. I never have been very satisfied with anything that comes packaged as 'one size fits all.' With the dozens of aluminum sizes available, you can fine tune arrow spine to perfection.
Timbow, I don't know what hunting shows you watch, but the ones I've seen NEVER show a busted arrow. They never show an arrow stop dead after just a few inches of penetration either (unless your vcr has a stop frame button and you watch the sequence frame by frame). The sponsors wouldn't allow the producers to show their products doing such things.<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
I have to agree with Arthur. You CAN find the "perfect" spine for your head/fletching etc with aluminum. I use "the archery porgram" to fine tune my carbons. I find a head/arrow combination that gives me the FOC I'm looking for, and a carbon arrow with the "perfect" spine.
Aluminums, you can use the components then match the shaft, carbons you choose the shaft, and match components...IF your as much of a perfectionist as I am.
I also agree....Timbow2, what videos are you watching showing every carbon arrow break? I haven't seen one yet. Even the cheaper videos done with non-pros...still have yet to see a carbon break on film.
Wanna know which is tougher? bend each 45 degrees and see what happens. Or step on some carbons then aluminums.
In the time I have used carbons (last 5 years) and aluminums (14 years) I am confident that carbons are MUCH tougher arrows.
carbon v/s aluminum
