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aluminum vs carbon??

Discussion in 'Traditional Archery' started by Mike the blind guy!, May 10, 2011.

  1. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    i been shooting aluminum arrows and im very happy with the heavy punch they pack but im getting frustrated with the durablilty of them it dont take much to bend them suckers of course i know its b/c of my lack of skill but ya gotta practice to get better, i used to shoot carbon's untill i learned about kinetic energy and came to the conclusion carbon dont have enough ass behind them so i went to alum, i really like everything about carbons except i didnt feel they had that enough punch, with carbons i hate everthing about them except i the fact they hold kinetic energy well.

    My questions are.
    How do you set up a carbon arrow to have serious punch?
    Do they make heavier carbon shafts?
    Can you tell me about weighted inserts? where can i get them? whats a good weight?
    Is the rule of thumb of grains per pound of draw the same as alum? what is the ideal total arrow weight i should strive for, for a serious punch?
    i shoot a 62# widow.
    thanks Mike
     
  2. bigcountry

    bigcountry Weekend Warrior

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    Only way to get the wieght desired is to shoot alums or grizzly stiks. But they are expensive.

    Other ways it so shoot arrows like gold tip trad carbons and use brass wieght up front. You have to have this long hex driver (they sell) to get the brass wieghts screwed in. And have to use gold tip inserts. I did this for years, and ended up trading to vashadow all my wieghted gear. So, you can add wieghts to the front and back. And of course weight tubes work. But very expensive.

    Just made sense to me to go back to aluminums. Life has been simplier since I did.
     
  3. Schultzy

    Schultzy Grizzled Veteran

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    Although I shoot FMJ's now I'm a huge fan of Aluminum arrows.

    Inserts. I use 100 grain brass Inserts on my 340 FMJ's.

    Yes, Easton makes an arrow called a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). I shoot the 340's right now. Minus the 220 grain broadhead I shoot my arrows weigh In at 484 grains Including the 100 grain brass Insert. 3 Rivers sells these.

    Read above

    That I don't know. In all honesty I don't care much about grains per pound, I don't even know what mine Is. When I shot aluminum's (2216's) they weighed In at 560 grains Including my broadhead. They were a great arrow and very durable.

    No doubt Mark Aluminum's are a simpler arrow. Much easier for me to work on but their also much tougher to get a high FOC out of. That's the only reason I tried out the FMJ's.
     
  4. virginiashadow

    virginiashadow Legendary Woodsman

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    I made the switch over to the aluminums this year. I am going to be tuning some 2413's here in the next week. I am excited to see how accurate I can get them to be when I up my total arrow weight by around 70 to 80 grains. That should quiet my bow down as well.
     
  5. woodsman

    woodsman Weekend Warrior

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    I shot alum. for years and years... Spent the last couple years experimenting with carbons, gave up on that.. I was shooting 35-55 GT's with around 250-265 grains up front. Gave very good weight but just couldn't get the arrow flight I wanted out of them.

    Went back to wood, cedar to be exact, everything is good again..

    woodsman
     
  6. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    thats the info i needed, im sticking with my aluminums.
    using alum's, tipped with 125g or higher bh's do i NEED weighted inserts to ensure blow threw kinect energy? right now i have 125g BH's would like to go heavier. thats the heavies i've found without going online but no one carries heavier not even bass pro. so it looks like imma have go online. any completly safe website recemmondations i get so nervous even thinking about buying something online:throw:
     
  7. virginiashadow

    virginiashadow Legendary Woodsman

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    Mike, what type of aluminum arrows are you using (like 2315's, 2117's, etc.) How far is your draw length? Also, how long are your arrows from the knock point to the end of the arrow insert?


    Mike, here is a program that has helped me understand the physics of arrows. Although it is not perfect, it gets me into the ballpark and close enough to a tuned arrow that it is not a struggle.

    http://heilakka.com/stumiller/

    Go down to the bottom of the page and download the program for free.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2011
  8. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    that calculator isn't letting me inpute my black widow?
     
  9. virginiashadow

    virginiashadow Legendary Woodsman

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    Put in "recurve" for the weapon and then just enter in the bow poundage (62), your draw length, and the bow draw length (prob 28). Then start putting in the data like the length of your arrows, arrow type, weight of the tip...etc. It might take you awhile to figure it out but that is the fun part...the learning!
     
  10. virginiashadow

    virginiashadow Legendary Woodsman

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    If you let me know how long your arrows are, your draw length, etc....I can plug it in for you and make some recommendations.
     
  11. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    they are 28.5" i draw 28"
     
  12. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    what about the Easton Full Metal jacket arrow??
     
  13. Schultzy

    Schultzy Grizzled Veteran

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    Their spendy but what do you want to know?
     
  14. chart33

    chart33 Weekend Warrior

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    I finally picked up my fmj 400s last night and the difference between them and traditional carbon arrows is night and day. They fly straight and pack a punch. Couldn't be happier with them. As noted however they come with a steep price tag.

    Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
     
  15. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    how much do they cost? i havent looked to much into them just yet?
    would you say there worth the cost?
     
  16. chart33

    chart33 Weekend Warrior

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    I paid $140 for a dozen which included 2" blazers. To me it was worth it but I wont be trying to shoot groups too often. I don't think ill go back to carbon arrows. You wont find straighter arrows for hunting.

    Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
     
  17. Mike the blind guy!

    Mike the blind guy! Weekend Warrior

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    are they as "noisy" to carry around as alum's? i havent got my hands on one yet
    Are they duable as carbon and able to take a beating?

    do they have similer punch power to aluminum?
     
  18. chart33

    chart33 Weekend Warrior

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    I just got them so I haven't tested the durability enough yet. Everything I have heard about them is they are tough as nails but can bend like aluminum arrows. Has anyone else who has the fmjs had any durability issues.

    These arrows are quiet. I'm guessing the carbon core dampens sound a great a lot. I wouldn't go banging them together when hunting but noise shouldn't be an issue.

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  19. Woodsmanryan

    Woodsmanryan Newb

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    I've shot both aluminum and carbon, and I don't think you should rule out the carbons. As for grains per pound, it's the same as aluminum arrows, 8-10gpp.

    I shot aluminums (2117 Easton XX75's) for years and made the switch to carbons a few years ago. They're lighter than the aluminum arrows, but I'm still over 9gpp with my current setup. What's great about them being lighter is that there is less variance on the distance shots since the shot trajectory is flatter. And they fly through deer the same as an aluminum arrow.

    For durability, I can't speak to that yet. I haven't had any carbons crack on me, but I've only been using them for 2 years.
     
  20. Bowhunter1978

    Bowhunter1978 Newb

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    For heavy broadheads and brass inserts try 3Rivers archery.They carry brass inserts for the game getter size aluminum arrows.Hope this helps.
     

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