I have always used alum and two years ago i switched to carbons. i bought cheaper ones from bass pro i believe they were their brand and i could not shoot good groups at all even at 20 yards(didn't have this problem before i switched). I was told that i needed a better quality carbon shaft and i bought xxxx xxx xx hunters. I shot a little better groups but still nothing like with alum. I figured it would take some getting used to. i took them hunting in 2005 and shot a decent doe with one of the xxxx xxxx and hit forward in shoulder and shattered arrow upon impact. xxxx xxx stated that the shaft was cracked or broken and should have exploded before impact but at shot. i don't know about you but that scares me a little. I don't want a carbon shaft to explode in my face. when the deer was butchered, they found lots of carbon frags in meat and had to dispose of entire shoulders worth of meat. I have broken off alum arrows inside deer and just pulled broken half out while field dressing. None the less i switched back to alum and have no desire to ever use carbon again. p.s. i always checked my arrows for bends, cracks, etc before using them and i never saw anything wrong with the carbon shaft the exploded. just my 2 cents