I am just getting started and I got 6 easton, carbon storm arrow with my new bow. I think I paid about $6 an arrow. My question is what is the differance between the high $ and low $ arrows? Is there alot to be gained by paying more? what is the best arrow in the mid range price? I am shooting a PSE stinger g3 with a 29" draw at about 60#.
When I first started I was wondering the same thing. I was shooting pretty nice groups at up to about 50 yards. The difference is in the tolerances. At $10 an arrow they really start to tighten up. This means they are more consistent in the way they are made, which is more consistent in the way they react, which ultimately means they are more consistent in the way they fly. I'm not bashing $5/arrow arrows, they definitely have their place. When I first started, I had an old used Mathews that I got from a pawn shop, and arrows I got from walmart that were $4 each, $2 on clearnace. I still have about 9 of them. Refletched 3 of them Sunday practicing for building my $10 ones last night. They definitely served their purpose, but as speeds and ability increase, you'll see the difference in $$$$ pretty quick.
What Indy said...also depends on your use. I might shoot an arrow with better weight/straightness tolerance for 3D or spots, but for hunting purposes at normal range an arrow with +/- .006 tolerance works pretty good. I think you would have to be a world class shooter to tell any difference out to 30-40 yds.
I guarantee you, no one can shoot the difference from a .006 to .003 to .001... BUT if it helps you shoot better from a mental aspect... then that makes it worth it right there.
The difference is in spine consistency throughout the batch. Also a high end arrow should retain its spine consistency over a longer period of time. Straightness doesn't mean as much as spine but the reality is that straighter, higher end shafts tend to be more consistent with spine. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
And to add. High end arrow have better components that align straighter to the shaft and this is WAY more important than shaft straightness. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
To add to what tfox has said. Most of your high end carbon shafts start their life out as a low end shaft. They're all made the same, on the same exact machine. However, after they come out the other side, they're sorted by weight, spine tolerance and straightness. .006's go in this pile, .003's go in this pile and the .001's go in another pile. There are some higher end arrows however, that are matched in a dozen by weight as well. I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but Gold Tip Pro Hunters shafts were all within a grain of each other per dozen. One other really important not about straightness. I'm a Gold Tip guy. Have had great luck with their shafts over the years. I started out shooting the XT's (.003 straightness). I learned that if you take those shafts, for example, and cut equal amounts or close to it from both ends to get your finished arrow length, you'll get a straighter shaft, oftentimes close to .001. The reason is in the way carbon shafts are made. There is what is called "runout" on the ends. In other words, the crookedest part of the shaft is in the ends. Even today, shooting the Pro Hunters, I still cut from both ends.
I'm a Gold tip guy as well. I think for the money it's hard to beat the XT hunters. I just bought 2 Dz XT shafts for under $150. Thats a unfletched package with nocks and inserts. I think one should always consider performace vs price. I just can't justify spending $120 - $150 on a dozen arrows.
Thanks everyone. Just got a half dozen gold tip xt hunters and they shoot very nice. I broke a nock on the 3rd shot. Think I am a gold tip guy from here on out. wonder how much better the pro hunters are? But I think the XT hunters seem like a good match between value and function.
Indy is spot on. The biggest thing is spine in the batch. Some companies have spine deviations of over .040" plus or minus! Thus, it would be like putting spines of a 2113, 2116 and 2119 all in one group of arrows and expect them to shoot well. It will not happen.
Yep. Spine consistency is where it's at. It's even more important than straightness, by far IMO. As was mentioned, most arrows start out as the same arrow. But are sanded down to meet whatever specs they want. And to add, when they list their specs it's generally over a short distance of the shaft, say 15". So in reality it may be worse than what is stated. One company that doesn't do this is carbon express. Their maxima series are made to the spec they list, not made into it by sanding. And, their tolerance ratings are over the entire shaft not just a portion of it. I'm not an expert by any means, and I've shot ALOT of different arrows over the years. But none compare to the maxima hunter. IMO, the best, most consistent arrow available.
I really don't agree with this. Put fixed blades on the front, or shoot a FITA or field course at 80 yards to 90 meters and your going to know the difference quickly. The main difference you are going to get is a couple of things. You may see better spine consistency. You may also cull fewer arrows due to straightness/weight. With that said, I've built literally hundreds of sets of $100-$200 a dozen arrows that had horrible tolerances for weight/straightness/spine. You don't automatically get good stuff just because you spent more, there is definitely some high priced junk out there.
^ This. I think for most hunting purposes, where shots are 40 yards and under, most decent arrow shafts will be sufficient. Fixed blade broadheads will be the most noticeable issue with "junk" arrows, even at ranges as short as we see with whitetail setups. It would be nice to see all arrow manufacturers sort their shafts and list their spine tolerances. I'd be willing to bet a lot of them would be pretty bad.
