Do carbon arrows lose (or change) their spine after shooting them a lot

How consistent does a carbon arrow keep it's spine after shooting many times? If it does change, at what point does it typically start to change?

When you check for spine by paper tuning or bare shafting, do you make sure you have a newer arrow to prevent this or will any undamaged arrow work for you?

If you bend something enough times it will start to lose some rigidity right? Just from a material properties standpoint. So how does this affect archery?

 

Probably not the answer you are looking for but it all depends on who made the shaft.

 

I've never heard of that happening. I find it hard to believe that it would weaken. What do I know though.

 

I would think anything that heats and cools could potentially have parts of it's structural integrity degrade.

 

Yes, they do lose spine and they don't lose it evenly. That means one part of the arrow will become weaker thatn the rest. If the shaft started out with a somewhat uneven spine-around-shaft then this will create more problems.

A newer shaft should be more consistant and true than one that has been shot a lot of times. The constant pounding in the target and the constant flexing will definitely weaken/corrupt the spine. Think in 1000's of shots though. The better made shafts will maintain spine over more 1000's of shots than the ones not made as well.

Generally speaking, this is what you get when you spend a little extra: A shaft that doesn't lose its' spine as quickly as one that may not cost as much to make. The extra expense comes in the materials and also the composition of the shaft, the way it is made.

When bareshaft tuning you have to make absolutely sure that the bareshaft you are using has a good spine and, more important, make sure it has a consistant spine-around-shaft. To check the bareshaft you can rotate 90º the nock to see if the bareshaft hits in the same place after each nock rotation.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but where did you get this information from? Just asking.

 

Ever pull an arrow from a 3D target and have some foam welded to it. Think of the heat that takes. That much heat has to effect an arrow over time no matter what it's made of.

 

Didn't really think of it like that. I can see though what your talking about.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, when Bruce says something. Write it down.

 

Word

 

Bruce, do you put CE maximas in the category of "better made shafts". Honesty please. :D

I thought about this yesterday that my arrow that is set-up bare shaft tuning has seen some shots. Not in the 1000's but maybe 100-200 shots. I will definitely try the 90 deg test to see.

 

ok, ok. I got it. I've wrote every ****ing word down. I was just asking where he got the information from. Never mind, I got it all wrote down.

 

I've done my own testing, I am aware of others that have done tests and then there is that simple fact that materials wear out and/or break down over time, especially with (heavy) use.

 

I said don't take it the WRONG WAY........

 

I don't have much experience with CE maximas but it is my understanding that they are a very good quality shaft.

I use what I consider to be an excellent quality shaft. It is made with a lot of consideration to spine and spine longevity. Now, the rest of the story, LMAO.

I was bareshafting (40yds) a couple of weeks ago and I kept getting this strange reading. The way the arrows were impacting said my nock point was low. I started lowering my rest and couldn't get it low enough!?!?. Took a couple days off of shooting to contemplate and then I put the bow on my vise and re-leveled everything. Went back up and still, nock low. So I rotate the nock 90º and shoot again. Well, my straw bales have 3 rebars holding them in place and the bareshaft arrow shoots off to the left (instead of high) plows through the straw bale and bullseyes the rebar . It jammed the FT and insert down the shaft. Throw $14 in the garbage LOL. The spine had changed on that shaft and now I had a weak area on that shaft and it gave me friggin headaches.

The point is, even the best arrows will wear out after use. Probably not as critical for hunting ranges, especially once you put fletching on there. Just something to be aware of. I also think it is a very good reason to shoot the arrows you plan on hunting with. Make sure they go where they are supposed to go. I hunt with the same arrows I practice with. Put BH's on them, shoot them and then put them in the quiver.

 

Ever have an arrow that won't shoot with the rest, even though you can't find nothing wrong with it?
Hell your lucky to get 8 or 9 out of a dozen new ones to shoot the same hole. Carbon or aluminum don't matter.
Good post Bruce.

 

Yep, they absolutely will. It happens more commonly with correctly spined arrows like hunting arrows. I have very overspined fat shafts (indoor spots shafts) that i've got probably 10's of thousands of shots on though that still shoot and spine test out fine.

 

I have a few arrows that are 5+ yrs old and probably have a couple thousand shots on them, and they hit right with the arrows I have that are only a few months old with only a few shots on them..... And I only pay about $50 per dozen RAW for them....

I'm sure a DAMAGED arrow WILL loose spine, but an undamaged shaft should hold he spine pretty well in the overall realm. Notice it acts weak, I think it may need inspected. I had a shaft blow up on me a couple years ago, upon further inspection, I could see where it had been hit, and it exploded from more or less that spot out. The round of shots before that, I heard what sounded odd, and one of the arrows was a little out of the group. The exploded arrow explained why.....

 

Is this shooting them bareshaft?

The 1000's of shots I am referring too are in the 9000+ range. I am aware of some guys testing a particular brand and getting over 12000 shots with no degradation. These cost a little more than $50 a dozen though.

 

Great information. Thank You Sir.