If you choose to shoot Aluminum keep your hunting shafts separated from your practice shafts shooting the hunting shafts only once to see that they fly right. A spin test is all I did with my aluminums to separate hunting from practice. They both kill deer at the ranges we all typically shoot them at and pass thrus have never been a problem with either for me.
I quit using aluminum arrows about 5 years ago. After hauling out an old bow and aluminum arrows for my brother to use last year, I am planning on going back to aluminum's this year. I am not real technical when it comes to bows, I simply know I can shoot an aluminum arrow better than carbon. Aluminum arrows killed my best bucks over the years and really never let me down with penetration .
I have been battling this topic personally for years and years...I hope this thread continues on for awhile. I will post up some of my experiences. Since shooting carbons I have had very few passthrus, i think some if not most of this is dumb luck. That said I have broken more arrows on game as they run off and snap them on brush. Aluminums were worse in the FOC area although I always had great broadhead flight and the arrow would always be in the ground behind the deer. As I prepare for season once again I battle this issue....I am sure I will be shooting carbons from my compound come fall but I will for sure lob some 2315's in the process.
I have never had any issues shooting a carbon arrow and i think there the better of the two arrows because there more reliable and have a faster recovery time than an aluminum arrow
They each have their high and low points. I will say I have had more pass throughs with aluminum and prefer them for hunting. Recovery time is based more on type of fletching and FOC then the arrow itself that's just a fact. I also agree on better broadhead flight with aluminums. Good to see I'm not alone in the carbon vs. aluminum controversy. Shoot what works best for you...It's no different then the type of bow you shoot. If your hooked on one brand then you have closed off the learning curve. The more you try different things the more you learn.
I am not advocating carbon over aluminum as they both have pros and cons but I think there is a difference from one carbon to the next. If you want a carbon shaft at a particular spine (we'll use .340) you can get a very light shaft or a very heavy shaft at that spine rating. The difference in the very light and very heavy will naturally be thickness of shaft wall. You can also get a difference in quality, a well built shaft with a consistant spine-around-shaft and a less quality shaft with an uneven SAS. So, with all of that said I would suspect the cause of less passthroughs with carbons to have something to do with the total weight of the shaft and the uneven BH flight would have something to do with an uneven spine. The lighter/thinner shaft may also help explain the breakage issue. If I were having pass through issues with carbons I would look to making a heavier arrow, starting with a heavy shaft and then using a beefy FOC configuration. That alone will help with the BH flight and you can further help that by getting a shaft made with a good, consiatnt SAS.
