.001 or .003
 

I am an average shooter. Will I be able to tell the difference between .001 and .003 straightness? There is about a $30 per doz price difference. Is it worth it?

RE: .001 or .003
 

I haven't seen as big a difference between +/-.001 and +/-.003 as I have between the +/-.003 and +/-.006 grades. I think the +/-.003 grade is the best value for the average guy.

RE: .001 or .003
 

oh, this weekly debate isn't going to be any fun at all if we restrict it to .001 -.003.

RE: .001 or .003
 

I'm with Arthur on this one. Better quality will generally mean better shooting, but there is a point of diminshing returns and there is no sense spending money on trying to achieve the unachieveable.

RE: .001 or .003
 

OK then can an average shooter tell the difference from .001 to .003 to .006 at 30 yards and under?

RE: .001 or .003
 

In my opinion the average shooter won't be able to tell the difference from 0-40 yds

Save some money and but the .003

I shoot .006 and have never had a problem with my arrows going where I want them to.

RE: .001 or .003
 

Without getting cynical here I want to sy that the AVERAGE shooter doesn't even know or care. The fact that you are asking means that you are somewhere above average or trying to get above average.
As with anything else, quality determines what you pay, and the results you'll get. .006 is pretty darn goo when getting practical. The average piece of paper is .003-.004. And this is suppsed to be the tolerance over 30" or so in an arrow. If and when you get really good it's prbably time to make a move up from .006 to .003. Yes, people can shoot well enough to tell the difference. But it is next to impossible to shoot well enough to tell whether it's .003 or .001.

If I got my wired hooked up to the battery right I think I recall that many Olympic shooters shoot arrows that check .004 and they are shooting out to 90 meters (100 yards). And I've seen them shoot five inch groups out there.

RE: .001 or .003
 

Here's another twist in the equation. To the best of my knowledge, most shafts are rated at 31" for straightness. Cutting equal lengths off each end will yeild you the best part of that shaft and possibly be even straighter.

I for one use the Gold Tip Xt's. They are rated at .003. I shoot a 27" arrow. Once I'm done cutting them down, they are exceptionally straight with the common oddball or two out of dozen.

I don't think the average or even above average shooter is going to notice an enormous difference in .001 to .003. They are darn straight. Save yourself some money and get .003.

RE: .001 or .003
 

Maybe one or two outfits might rate at 31". Most of them I've dug into are rating their shafts at 29". Someone like me who needs a 32" arrow is S.O.L. That's one reason I can see a huge difference between the .003 grade and .006 grade arrows. I'm out there in no-man's land on arrow length and straightness frequently goes completely to pot when you get outside where the factory measures their tolerances.

I do agree though, if I were able to trim arrows to length, I'd definitely cut half off each end to get rid of the junky parts of the shaft.

RE: .001 or .003
 

wow, the spine junkies haven't weighed in yet. (who i agree with)

RE: .001 or .003
 

Thanks for the input I guess I will save the 30 and shoot the .003. Now I need to figure out if I should shoot Gold Tips XT. PSE radial x weave Hunters or Super carbons. any suggestions?

RE: .001 or .003
 

Yeah, gibblet, me too. But spine is a whole nuther bucket of frogs. ;)

RE: .001 or .003
 

I am relatively new to hunting. I have read all the opinions that have been given on the difference between .001,.003 and .006 for hunting. My question is when practicing will I be able to tell the difference in grouping at 20 and 30 yards when using the .003 as opposed to the .006? Is it the feeling that if we are hunting just as long as we hit in the killing zone some place we do'nt worry about grouping when we practice. When I am practicing I always try to group as tight as I can aka aim small hit small. When practicing with the .006 am I wasting my time trying to get them to group next to each other or should I have the paper plate mentality aka just as long as it hits somwhere on the paper plate it is acceptable. Even if hunting while practicing and wanting tight groups should I go with the .003? Sorry about the rambling but I love shooting and even practicing and want to be the best I can be.

bones

RE: .001 or .003
 

I have one of the PSE Radial X Weave Stealth arrows. They are OK arrows, I just busted the nocks on the two other arrows I had. Since I have never heard of Super Carbons, I would have to recommend Gold Tip XT arrows. I had a dozen of these arrows, and while I was severely underspined, they were still great arrows.

RE: .001 or .003
 

IMHO, if the .006 rated arrows actually were straight to .006 over their length, then it would take a very talented archer to "need" anything better. BUT, .003 and even .001 rated arrows aren't usually that good, especially if you are talking about the whole length of the shaft like Arthur needs. The only way to tell is to get a straightener to measure them or at least a spinner to see what they are like for straightness. Yes, when they are not straight, the ends are the worst part, but some are crooked on both ends, some seem dead straight on one end and terrible on the other. Spine is a "whole 'nother issue. I just started measuring spine, but I am seeing close to 10 times the amount of arrow to arrow variation in Carbon Tech Cheetahs (which are supposed to be pretty good) as I am seeing in a dozen ACCs. Does it make much difference when shooting them? Can't say for sure yet, but I plan on finding out.;)

RE: .001 or .003
 

Bones,

All I shoot are .006 arrows and mine are 33in long. I can put them all in a 2-3in circle and have some touching each other at 20yrds. So no you are not wasting your time. Keep practicing and your groups will get tighter.

RE: .001 or .003
 

I have to throw my opinion in here. Bigbuck270 and I shot quite a few arrows today at 20 yards. His arrows are newer than mine, but both of ours are hard used. My arrows are 3-4 tears old. XX75's that I bought out of the cardboard box at Wally-world. Those things couldn't have been too straight when I bought them. Well, today we each shot over a hundred times using 4 or 5 arrows each. We were both shooting good groups, often having two arrows touching @ 20 yds. This was during high, gusty winds.

My whole reason for saying all of this, is that even if we were to buy the .006 carbons, they would have to be a huge step-up in quality. Don't you think??

I just sort of feel that for the average bowhunter, .006 will shoot just as good as .001. What I mean is that the AVERAGE guy (INCLUDING ME) can't shoot good enough to tell the difference. In other words, if we can touch old beat-up aluminum arrows at 20 yds. on a windy day, what would the .001's do for us? Stick end to end?? Not gonna happen. I feel it's just another way to charge more for merchandise.

Just my opinion.

RE: .001 or .003
 

I am suprised to see no one brought up arrow tuning with broadheads in this thread. With the speed of todays bows, even the mid price range ones, having an arrow that spins true with a broadhead is vitally important. I just began doing this tuning myself last season, and noticed that even a little wobble at the broadhead is bad news. I never could get my 100 gr. Thunderheads to fly well even though they had no wobble in them, and the 100 gr. Muzzy's needed to be spot on to fly acceptable. I had been concerned with the difference in impact between BH's and field points of 2-3" at 20 yards, not a problem for most guys, but someone had replied that they would be kicking the dog over that last year.

So with that said, I would opt to shoot the .003's in the extremely reasonable Gold Tip XT's. Leave the .001's for the rich guys who feel they need them to try and shoot in the top 10 at their 3D's.

RE: .001 or .003
 

Not only that, but broadheads compound any problems due to straightness, spine, tip insert alignment, weight differences. Testing arrow with field tips has no relavance to a hunter.

I ask this question on occassion on this forum and have yet to get an answer, but I'm going to try again. ;) I have an Arizona Arrow Straightener with a dial caliper to measure straightness. However. It's taking the measurement over a very short arrow section of about 10-12". If manufacturers rate them over 29", how can I measure this and come up with a number that correlates to theirs? Anyone?