Question

I bought Randy's Hoyt Havotec earlier this year and want to know if I should start shooting carbons or not. 70lb pull, 28in draw. I have been shooting XX75 2314's with good results. Give me some opinions....should I keep with what has been working or try something new.

I say carbons. You get a little more speed but that is not why I shoot them. IMO they are tougher than aluminum.

Derek,
It's all personal perference. I switched to carbons over five years ago and wouldn't consider going back to aluminums. I see you are in Monroe, we ought to get together and shoot sometime.

What Randy said.

Derek,

I switched to Easton A/C/C's for my first carbon arrows and they are super tough and very fast.

I now shoot Gold Tips and they are not as fast but still a darn good arrow.

ML

If the alluminums are shooting good stay with them. I shhot 2314's also out of my Thunderbolt and the 3 deer that I shot with them would tell you they are deadly. I have my Thunderbolt set on about 65lbs and all three shots were clean pass thru.

To me the Alluminums hit harder and that is why I use them. Alluminums have killed alot more game animals than Carbons ever will but that is my 5 cents

Glenn said:

Alluminums have killed alot more game animals than Carbons ever will but that is my 5 cents

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Yeah but the carbon craze just started less than ten years ago. Aluminums have been around for a while. I think that in the next 25 years,with hunters constantly switching, carbons will easily take over that claim.

what Randy said and what Flinger dittoed

Get em and get with the future.

Jim

If the aluminums work, do not switch now. We are getting too close to the season to be making big changes like that. Shoot what is working.

Glenn, give us a few years and the carbons will catch up. Aluminums do have a bit of a head start. For that matter, wood shafts over the history of archery have killed more animals than aluminums have also...

carbons

I will go along with Randy in saying that I believe that carbons are tougher than aluminum arrows. Carbons do not bend either, they are straight or broken. Carbon arrows do not oscillate nearly as much as aluminum arrows upon impact, which increases forward energy/penetration. Carbon arrows can now be bought in straightnesses nearly comparable to aluminum arrows, but I doubt that most hunters would ever see the difference in accuracy of an arrow of .oo6 vs a .002. What you should be worried about with carbons is proper spine and spine consistency. Most shooters I talk to seem to find that to error on the side of a little bit stiffer spine tends to be better with release shooters and broadhead shooters. I think what you may have to keep in mind is that the dynamic spine of the arrow changes when you add the extra length of a broadhead (the length of ferrule is much longer than a field point in a lot of cases. . . this may not apply to some of the shorter broadheads (ie. NAP nitrons, slicktricks, Rocky Mountain Ironheads etc.) which could probably explain why in a lot of cases the compact broadheads tend to shoot right with fieldpoints). I like the idea of the carbon crossweaves that have recently come out. I think the first was a PSE version, out last year, called a Radial X weave. Carbon Xpress has come out with their version this year called a Maxima. I think the process used to make these arrows will yield much more consistent spine = better accuracy.

fd

futuredoc said:

Carbons do not bend either, they are straight or broken.

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That is true with solid carbon but the carbons with the aluminum core will bend. I shoot the latter and they are still tougher than aluminums though.

Boy you guys are tough on a fella

I just like alluminums and until I find a carbon that has enough weight for me I will stick with what works. I shot PSE extremes for a few years and that is the only carbon I have ever tried so I guess I should try again.

But Jim is right that the season is about a month in a half away so if your change you need to do so fast.

Reylamb you are right about carbons catching up with alluminum and even by passing them soon, but what I was trying to say is that before carbons alluminums were the norm and killed alot of game. Wood mainly cedar still kills alot of game for traditional archers but never will by passs either unless we all go primitive.

Anyone want to go back to spear and loin cloth....

Not to be too persnickity, but carbons are ot either straight or broken. They may be as straight as they ever were, but there is not a carbon out there as straight as an aluminum. Granted, as was stated earlier, no one is going to tell the difference in the straightness, but they are not technically straight. The bigger problem with carbon arrows is that they will loose their spine over time. The newer crossweaves, as doc mentioned, should eliminate that problem.

Glenn, how much do you want them to weigh? You can easily add weight to a carbon and make them weigh whatever you want by adding weedeater line inside the shaft.

Thanks for all the suggestions....I got a buddy who said he'd let me try his Axis carbons...his arrows are almos the same length as mine....I'll see how they shoot, but I might stay with what work this year unless I'm totally amazed at the difference with carbons.

Jim, you are all about the latest greatest accessories aren't you??? The Primos slogan fits you perfect....its not a passion, its an obession!!!!!

Derek, keep in mind you will have to retune your bow to shoot the Axis arrows. If you do not retune they will probably not fly very well for you.

I am with reylamb it is getting awful close to the opener to be switching. If you decide to try it do it fast. Confidence in your set up will go along way come bow season.

this may be a dumb question...but how do I do that??? I am just starting to get serious about bowhunting.

Take it to a good shop, tell them what you wanna shoot and they can tune ya and let you shoot in the shop to see if it works. Im running late on getting started this year i need to get a tune up on mine as it has set for 6 months

If your comfortable with your aluminum's, stick with them being this close to deer season.

What everyone else said about carbon's is true. But, an aluminum arrow will kill a deer just as dead. I'm still shooting aluminum and I've been flinging arrow's at deer for 14yrs!!!

I am however retiring my old PSE after this season and going all out on a Matthews and all the goodies next year. Carbon's will be part of my arsenal.

Tommy

Glenn said:

Alluminums have killed alot more game animals than Carbons ever will but that is my 5 cents

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Carbons didnt slow me down any on the deer I get every year with my bow after I made the switch. You can match the weight up to what your alum. setup is with carbons and about the only difference I see is the carbons are way tougher than the alums. No more bent arrows and no more shooting broom sticks!