Just how important is arrow straightness? Is it worth the money to by a .003 arrow vs .006? Being new I'm not looking for a .001 perfectly straight, shoots the wings off a gnat at 200 yards. I would like to have my range up to 50 or so yards by the end of the summer (can't see shooting a deer at this range but would make the shorter ranges easier.) My point is that I can spend ~$65 or 70 on something like the Gold Tip Expedition XT that are .003 or go up to something like the Kinetic but only .006? Is there that much of a difference? For whatever it's worth I'm shooting 60 lbs. at 27" and should add a few pounds over the next few months. I'm also undecided on a broadhead, leaning towards fixed blade but possibly open to a mechanical. Thanks for the help. I need to get some arrows in the next few days but have no clue what I'm looking for. The other ones I'm looking at are the Victory Vforce V3's if anyone has any input on those.
Check out Deer Crossing Archery. I shoot their arrows exclusively, Deer Crossing Archery LLC - Deer Crossing Archery LLC The Eco Hunters are .006 or better arrows but by the time I cut them down to my length they are even straighter than .003. They are super tough and the price is right. IMO they are the best arrow for the money.
Good question. unfortunately when questions like this are asked on here you get answers like this. I shoot xyz arrows and love them, take a look at xyz arrows. So lets take this in a different direction. The issue is usually more than just straightness. Lets look at couple of things. Th difference between .006 and .002 isn't much, and its not likely that the avg archery will notice at normal ranges. However in many cases arrow straightness is tied to other factors as well, namely more consistently spined, closer tolerances via components and more uniform weights. So when you add all that together you, may see a difference in performance, providing you can shoot well enough capitalize on it. 95% cant and wont see any difference. You mentions two very very different arrows arrows. GT Hunter XT's VS Gt Kinetic Hunters. The main difference between the two shafts is the Exp xt's are standard .246 I.D shafts while the Kenics are.204 I.D shafts. This will necessitate using different components. just making an assumption, that you primarily are just deer hunting. if that's case I would lean to the Standard dia XT Hunters, they are easy obtained, fairly economical and the components are readily available due to the standard .246 size. At 27/60 your most likely looking at .400 spine arrow, or a .340 spine. Hope this helps.
over rated to some degree. guys were shooting the X out of targets many years ago before all this "straighness" factor started showing up. may be more important for those shooting small/straight fletching but with helical fletch, i don't think its that important.
Right now i'm using .006 and seems to shoot quite accurate at 60 yards. So I would say get .006 and save the money.
Thanks guys. I'm not trying to say the more expensive, straighter arrows aren't money well spent. Rather that for a person new to the sport shooting at a target all summer and a deer (hopefully) come fall, will I notice or be upset that I didn't spend more on my arrows? It doesn't seem like I would, and from what you all are saying, I don't think I will. Thanks.
As far as a hunting arrow straightness is over rated, if you are going to do competitive target archery it might be more important.. I shoot [not gonna name drop lol] arrows and shoot the hunter model which has worked fine for me for many years.. well they are my sig.... but buy what you like at price point your are comfortable with, don't think you have to pay $150 a doz to go hunting too many other things you can spend money on..
I asked this question to several of the archery coaches at the Texas Archery Club here in Dallas and they said the same thing, when shooting in competition where the difference between places is going from a 293 to a 294 (or something like that), the difference of one or two close arrows going up a point, a high quality arrow might have made the difference. So I figure when I am shooting up in the 280s, I might change arrows for competition (if I do that), but otherwise...
kind of like buying a rifle that shoots sub MOA, the rifle might be able to do it but the avg shooter can't...lol
Trial nailed it. I'll add this and maybe clarify a couple of things. I'm going to assume you're talking about hunting arrows and typical hunting ranges out to maybe 40 yards. Most companies advertise and talk about arrow straightness more so than any other factor. Why? I believe because its the easiest thing to convey to the average person. Straighter arrows mean better accuracy. This is true to an extent. But as trial mentioned, the difference between .001 and .006 is not very much. The single biggest accuracy robbing issue with carbon arrows is spine consistency. What this means is that if you buy a dozen arrows, each arrow will flex the same amount at the shot. If you take three arrows and shoot them, and if one flexes differently than the other two, it will usually be a "flyer" as we call it. This is spine inconsistency. Now, normally, you can take that flyer and rotate the nock a bit and shoot it until it lands in the same group as the rest. Sometimes not and the arrow simply won't tune. I would suggest going the other direction and buying the best arrows you can afford. Usually their straightness is .001 or better so you can rule that out of the equation. But the biggest thing I've found is that spine consistency is better on the higher end shafts. Carbon Express, while I do not like their arrows for other reasons, have very uniform and consistent spines across a dozen arrows. I personally like and shoot Gold Tip Pro Hunters and have had very good luck with them. As trial mentioned, with arrows, pay attention to details when building and selecting components. You have to remember, the arrow is what is delivering that broadhead to the deer. Make sure you pay close attention to everything you do when building them and selecting nocks, vanes, inserts, etc.
Well that's a new way to look at it. Both seem to offer valid points. I'm thinking at this point and for my budget I will probably compromise and end up with the .003 straightness. Most of the .001 are just not in the budget at this time. What I would really like to get to is being able to cut and build my own, but that's a ways down the road.
If you are concerned about arrow straightness and the price difference between a .006 and a .001, don't be. You can take a half dozen arrows with a +/- .006 and make them +/- .001 just by spin testing them prior to cutting and then cutting off the "wobble" on BOTH ends of the shaft and not just the front. Lets say you have a 28" draw length and you order a half dozen shafts that are 32" long. You need to cut a total of 4". Now take your arrows and spin test them, watching both ends for "wobble". That is what you need to cut to true up your shafts. Some of them you will cut all 4" off of one side, some you will cut equal length off and other you might cut 1" from back and 3" from front. It depends on the length of defect on that particular side of the shaft. So save your money, put in a little bit of time and effort and you will have a "pro" grade shaft at low cost. Gold Tip has a youtube video they made a while ago and I believe it's called "Building A Better Arrow". It demonstrates this process and it has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars by keeping me from buying the more expensives shafts because I don't need to. I can take a set of Expedition Hunters and make them just a good as a Pro Hunter. Do yourself a favor and save some cash man. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!!
Definitely helps and I appreciate it. I watched the Gold Tip videos. In the future I'll definitely go the route of buying cheaper shafts and building my own. Right now I'm brand new to archery and just trying to get stuff to get started. I don't have a ton to spend but at the same time I don't want to regret a purchase if an extra $10 would have made a big difference.
Well, if you decide on GT XT Hunters I promise you won't be disappointed. Perfect hunting arrow and unbeatable price!!
i started off with beman bowhunters very good arrows for the money they are .006 and shot great and very dependable never had a problem with one and starting out shooting you always do something to mess up a arrow or a few.i shot mine till the fletchings fell off and then just put NAP quick fletchings on them and shot fine with them too. best arrows i think for beginners
