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Was wondering who is shooting aluminum arrows? I recently “rediscovered” them after going the carbon route for several years. In all honesty the cost of the carbons was getting uncomfortable for my wallet. Anyways, the advantages as I see them are: Easy to cut as a simple $6 tube cutter does the job, easy to fletch, very easy to refletch and durable enough for the hunting, 3-D and stump-shooting I do. One more advantage is the relatively heavy GPI found on aluminums. Finding comparably heavy carbons can be difficult, but with my 2217’s it’s easy to achieve 10-11 lbs/draw.
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I used to shoot XX75s years ago, mostly 2215s with Zwickey Eskimos out of an older recurve. They weren’t the fastest things, but they’d zip through a deer like it was a wet paper bag. I still have a bunch of them in my basement shop.
These days you can get some carbons for about the same price as aluminums, but not anywhere near the gpi of a 2217 without shelling out a bit more money. And you’re right; aluminums are very user friendly. Sometimes I do miss the simplicity of picking the exact spine and gpi I want.
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Funny you brought that up today. I was out back shooting my 2016’s. I have a longbow that seems to shoot those better anything. I started with aluminum and always keep some around. Like you say, easy to tend to and build from the git go.
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Funny….I noticed while re-reading my original post I meant to say 2117’s, not 2217’s. Do they make such an animal?
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Penntradarcher wrote: Funny….I noticed while re-reading my original post I meant to say 2117’s, not 2217’s. Do they make such an animal?
Last I knew they made a 2213, -15, -17, and -19.
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I shoot 2117 Gamegetters right now, tipped with a 145 grain field tip, and, pending my release, they fly pretty dang good. With my set-up, factory cut arrows fly really well. I would like to push them over the 600 grain mark, but haven’t figured that part out yet. Eventually, but not as of yet.
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I was using 2016s for a while and really loved them. I was buying them on the auction for pretty cheap in odd lots. Then it seemed the bargains we over and I was running out of shafts. I like to do a lot of stumping and the bent aluminums were really piling up. I switched to Beaman Bowhunter ICS, which is about the cheapest carbon shaft. They’ve been great. Pretty tough, though not indestructible. They are easy to tune and give really good FOC.
If I were buying new aluminums for anything but hunting and soft targets, they would be much for expensive in the long run than carbons. dwc
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Penntradarcher wrote: Was wondering who is shooting aluminum arrows? I recently “rediscovered” them after going the carbon route for several years. In all honesty the cost of the carbons was getting uncomfortable for my wallet. Anyways, the advantages as I see them are: Easy to cut as a simple $6 tube cutter does the job, easy to fletch, very easy to refletch and durable enough for the hunting, 3-D and stump-shooting I do. One more advantage is the relatively heavy GPI found on aluminums. Finding comparably heavy carbons can be difficult, but with my 2217’s it’s easy to achieve 10-11 lbs/draw.
Penn, You pretty much nailed it for me too. I like the Al arrows, can make one with supplies that fit into a cargo pocket, and be hunting in a matter of hours. No waiting for the paint to dry, or needing a high-speed cutter. Plus (as you said) the cost. I also don’t have to worry about spine, etc as it’s standard (to 1% or so) for any batch.
True, there is a certain “romance” to wood arrows, and carbon has advantages as well, but until I go completely caveman (with my selfbow, obsidian heads, goose/turkey feathers, deer-skin tunic, etc) I will probably keep using the aluminum. Hey, if it ain’t broke… Be well.
Alex
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I use aluminums quite a bit. I shoot whatever material the bow likes best…sometimes thats aluminum. Very consistent, pretty darn durable.
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I picked up a dozen XX75 Blues over the summer for $29/doz shafts. They were cheap so I decided to choose them over wood or carbon. I have to say I am glad I did. They are great. I haven’t shot AL since I was a kid and have considered them outdated. I was wrong. They are still quite relevant. I will be buying another dozen XX75 Blues or Jazz shafts soon. To get precision arrow shafts for $20-$30/doz is all win. My HH longbow loves them.
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I shoot aluminum out of my recurves every so often but for longbows our Caalif sanctioning club TAC requires we shoot wood or shoot in the recurve class. So i usually shoot cedar out of both my longbows and recurves. Although my longobws all shoot aluminum pretty well and they are now less expensive than building good cedar shafts.
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Interesting. Is there a reason given for the mandatory use of wood? What is their view on carbon? TBT (truth be told 😀 ) I have never seen any difference with Al arrows whether shot from my recurve, or LB. I’d be curious as to why. Be well.
Alex
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Some archery organizations require wood arrows for certain shooting classes. IFAA, IBO, and now the NFAA all have longbow classes where archers must compete with wood arrows. I’m not really sure why that’s the case. Maybe it’s something historical. I do know that shooting wood arrows puts another variable into the equipment equation. Granted, a well-matched and properly maintained set of wood arrows gives up nothing in terms of consistency to aluminum or carbon, but they will give up a bit in the velocity category. You can’t get wood arrows as stiff and light as carbons, which is why you generally won’t see top 3D shooters using wood arrows unless their particular class requires it.
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