Accuracy, The Expensive vs. Cheap Debate

[Brandon Pattison]

Has anyone scientifically tested 0.005" and 0.002" Easton arrows' straightness and consistency for accuracy with broadheads?

 

[5MilesBack]

You can measure straightness, but when it comes to accuracy and consistency it's hard to separate those results from straightness and spine. They both contribute to consistency or inconsistency, but hard to separate the two to determine how much each affects that. I shoot a 30" arrow so I always get the straightest spine sorted shafts I can find.

Eastons are supposed to be very consistent, but I have a set of Axis shafts at .003" straightness that have never been as consistent as other arrows I shoot. Is it the straightness? Spine? I don't know. They were cut and prepared just as all my arrows are (squared), and they still have never been as consistent. I even changed out all the nocks and that didn't help. Not scientific, but it is what I experienced.

 

[LostArra]

It's kind of amazing we could even hit the ground with wood arrows.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

It's kind of amazing we could even hit the ground with wood arrows.

I know. I'd rather spend less and have more arrows. I remember seeing shafts rebadged the next model year and their specs dropped as well.

 

[5MilesBack]

I know. I'd rather spend less and have more arrows.

But what good is more arrows? You can only shoot one at a time. With some cheap arrows, it may take 3 or 4 dozen to get a quiver full of the same consistency arrows. What good does that do you? Then there are some that are one and done type arrows because they break every time they hit anything other than foam. In the long run not very economical. Of course I'm sure there are those that could be shooting the best and worst wood, aluminum, carbon, or plastic and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference on the target.

Use whatever meets your level of satisfaction.......for both consistency and economically.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I've been shooting the same Carbon Express arrows for the last three years now. I'll probably have to buy more this year. Out of the baker's dozen I bought, I only had one or two that wouldn't spin a broadhead straight.

I guess it all comes down to how you want to use them. My personal thought is, the faster your bow shoots and the longer distance you plan on wanting to be able to shoot, you'll benefit more from tighter spec'd arrows. The spine consistency is also a big factor in accuracy.

In reality, I may not be a good enough shooter to truly maximize the benefit of expensive shafts, but I'll keep trying.

 

[StrutNut]

I have shot cheaper Beman ICS arrows, Gold Tips and the more expensive Easton Axis. I had problems with the Gold Tips but really no complaints about the Bemans except the thinner Axis flew flatter at longer distances and penetrated better than the Beman. They also seem to last longer before needing replacement as they seem more durable. There are a lot of options out there and I have not tried many as I have found a great arrow that performs very well with fixed blades out of my rig. The heads that fly the very best for me are the VPA heads. i never had a problem with them not spinning well on my rig and I shoot them over and over all summer long and resharpen them up in the fall. Kind of nice to have a lot of range experience with the exact head/arrow combo you will be taking out into the field.

 

[Nick Muche]

Buy less expensive arrows and do this...

https://youtu.be/NVjeyAVfVSs

Pretty good advice here.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

But what good is more arrows? You can only shoot one at a time. With some cheap arrows, it may take 3 or 4 dozen to get a quiver full of the same consistency arrows. What good does that do you? Then there are some that are one and done type arrows because they break every time they hit anything other than foam. In the long run not very economical. Of course I'm sure there are those that could be shooting the best and worst wood, aluminum, carbon, or plastic and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference on the target.

Use whatever meets your level of satisfaction.......for both consistency and economically.

Just wondering if the marketing warrants the extra cost. The expensive arrows didn't last any longer than the cheap ones. I shoot a lot of arrows and have noticed this but don't have the expertise nor time to test my theory.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Thanks, Nick. I'll be looking at more GT videos.

 

[5MilesBack]

Just wondering if the marketing warrants the extra cost. The expensive arrows didn't last any longer than the cheap ones. I shoot a lot of arrows and have noticed this but don't have the expertise nor time to test my theory.

I've been shooting the same doz Trophy Ridge Crush 300's for 8 years now. I would guess well over 50k shots on the dozen. And I've shot elk, deer, grouse, and even rocks with them. I got a great deal on them so bought 3 doz, but still haven't opened the other two. Not sure what you consider expensive or cheap, but I look more at what the specs are......not what their MSRP is. I don't think I've ever paid full price for arrows.

I shot some 3D yesterday with a guy that had GT Hunters. He broke two arrows missing targets. I much prefer the thinner diameter thick-walled carbons to regular, larger, thin-walled carbons for durability. Just choose and shoot wisely, and they should last a long time.

 

[ontarget7]

The biggest difference between the tighter tolerance shafts and the less tolerance shafts is the residual bend or what I call the stiff plane, when measured on the RAM spine tester. The tighter tolerance arrows will hold that stiff plane longer then say a .006 shaft. This makes it even more critical for precisely indexing this point. For instance, you can take a .006 shaft and hit the stiffest reading on the RAM and move it not more than 10* and it will fall off that stiff reading. Now the .001 shafts will hold that stiff reading much longer when spinning the shaft to measure readings. Thus, making it more forgiving and much more room to play for indexing your arrows. This will all equal tighter down range groups with the tighter tolerance arrows and far less fliers within a dozen arrows.

 

[Manosteel]

Ontarget7 - I am just in the process of reading your results and experiences with spine indexing arrows over on AT. I have never spine indexed my arrows but now I realize why my .001 shafts always grouped better past 50 yards then my .003 shafts. Tighter tolerance gave me more room for error on spine indexing without me realizing it.

I am now convinced of the importance of spine indexing arrows but is there anyway to do it on the cheap, without the need to buy a RAM spine tester? I could always nock tune each arrow with bare shafts shot thru paper but as you and others have stated this doesn't give you spine indexed arrows but rather the point at which each arrow will react to the others in the group.

Or am I left with buying my arrows South Shore Archery where they can RAM test the arrows before sending them off?

 

[Beendare]

I agree with the above spine is more important than straight comments.

I bet most guys can't tell the difference between .006 and .003- though

that said, I have had cases where even the best shafts like Axis have one out of about 2 dozen that won't group [and thus one reason for testing all of your hunting arrows with Bh's before a hunt] Usually I can spin the arrow 90 deg and refletch and get it to shoot.

 

[Blockcaver]

Why in heck don't the arrow shaft makers put a "trademark" on the stiff point of the carbon shaft, just like wood baseball bats? You would think that would be a selling point if they did so we don't have to test them. At the price we pay it would seem reasonable to expect that. That said, based on the lack of QC I experienced with excess runout on supposed +-0.003" deep-six shafts last year, the spine issues mentioned are no shock. 8 of 36 shafts got sent back for >0.006" total runout as measured on my old aluminum arrow straightener over the 12" support distance between then bearings......not very good in my opinion, and certainly not what was advertised!

 

[Brandon Pattison]

You can make a spine tester with an indicator and some rollers.