# Carbon Or Aluminum Arrows



## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

I'm gonna love this forum I think.

Which is better?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i would choose aluminum over composit. i guess there is room for debate on either side of the fence. carbon arrows are lighter and allow faster flight and a flatter trajectory i guess. i feel a heavier aluminum arrow is better as personally, i feel it has better penetration potential. momentum is momentum however. a heavier arrow traveling slower will probably impact the about same as a lighter arrow traveling faster. i have seen friends use carbon arrows and pull off a bad hit in the shoulder blades of deer resulting in very poor penetration. one guy had the carbon arrow totally shatter on impact.i don't know if an aluminum arrow would do much better with a poorly placed shot, but i feel it would, lol. at least it would not shatter. maybe i am stuck in the past and do not appreciate the "new fangled technology".  really, it is all about shot placement.

how well would each arrow respond to deflection from a twig?


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

MELOC said:


> maybe i am stuck in the past and do not appreciate the "new fangled technology".  really, it is all about shot placement.


I shoot Cedar arrows, from Cedar shafts I purchase and finish, but I do also shoot Spruce shafts when Cedar is hard to get. When I shoot self-bows I like to use Sourwood or Osier Dogwood sprouts.

I don't care much for the "new fangled technology" either.


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## DrippingSprings (Sep 22, 2004)

Its fact that a heavier arrow will penetrate better all things being equal. But if the carbon can make up enough ground via speed it can exert more power than the aluminum. So if a 450 grain 2213 aluminum is going 300fps and a 300 grain carbon is going 300 fps the aluminum will penetrate better. But if the carbon can get enough speed together it will make more penetration than the 2213. 

example
a 450 gr at 300 fps is making roughly 89.94 ft pounds of energy
a 300 gr carbon at 300 fps is making roughly 59. ft pounds
BUT the 300 grain shot at the same poundage etc will be faster about 50fps faster so its going to make around 82 ftpnds of energy

so in a nutshell. If speed is your game you can go with a lighter carbon arrow and get close to the same results as with a heavier aluminium one. The only real benefit is going to be less range judging misses as it will fly a lil faster and the deer wont have as much time to jump the string

besides it takes only roughly 23 pounds to pass through a deer.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

DrippingSprings said:


> Its fact that a heavier arrow will penetrate better all things being equal. But if the carbon can make up enough ground via speed it can exert more power than the aluminum. So if a 450 grain 2213 aluminum is going 300fps and a 300 grain carbon is going 300 fps the aluminum will penetrate better. But if the carbon can get enough speed together it will make more penetration than the 2213.
> 
> example
> a 450 gr at 300 fps is making roughly 89.94 ft pounds of energy
> ...



well, i am glad someone can do the math, lol. that is about what i thought. i suspected that a light carbon arrow could not generally gain enough of a speed advantage to penetrate better than an aluminum shaft.

i would never shoot the carbon arrows. i don't need that kind of speed. my max range is 22 yards. i prefer to wait for a good shot. i shoot 25 yards and test myself at thirty but would never take those shots. maybe if i had a perfect quarter and away in the open at 25 yards and it was a really nice deer...maybe.

my bow is a bit slow. it is an old pse from the 1980's. i shoot heavy ammo and 29 inch shafts. for me, any shot over about 22 yards is asking for trouble.


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## DrippingSprings (Sep 22, 2004)

Its hard to find a spot around here where you can shoot a bow at a deer more than 30 yards. But a range eroor of 5 yards at that distance will put you completely over or under a deer at 250 fps. Shooting three hundred your still in the game. Farthest whitetail shot Ive made was 42 yards. It was a rare oppurtunity and Ive never encountered the situation again where everything was just right for the shot. On average around 30-25 yards out of the three dozen or so Ive killed with a bow. Ive had a few directly beneath the stand which is a challenge within itself.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i have missed more close shots, mostly under the stand, than longer shots. usually nice bucks too. i look forward to getting a bow with a little more "let-off" so that i can wait for them to move out a bit when it happens. i had one camp under my stand for so long i had to let off and then barely had the energy to draw again. i was shaking from the strain and shot over that guy after he went out to about 15 yards.


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## gladetop (May 10, 2005)

They make heavy carbons. Plus you have to figure in the spline stiffness between the two. Carbons are alot stiffer than alum. resulting in less bending of the arrow when it is released from the bow. This bending slows the arrow and decreases penatration. Most carbons are now made by wrapping the carbon so you don't have the shattering of the early carbons.


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