Carbon or alum...bolts question

[coyotewallace]

Well I have 2  carbon arrows  so I need to buy a new 6pak. I was wondering about going to alum . any opinions about this? I will be shooting 40 yrds or less this fall and I'm looking to set up. I'm new to the crossbow hunting. I have a Tenpoint QX-4. 

Also broadheads... I have a few thunderhead 100 g but I need to buy new and was wonder if you guys have found or know of better?

thanks for any help or opinions. If you can provide links to new stuff that would also be great

Chuck

[rickyp]

I have a bunch of carbons that came with my ten point phantom. I shot a few of them and they shoot the same as aluminum.
I have been making my own aluminum arrows for a while now and like them better then carbon.
I can tune the B.H. to the shaft just by heating the insert and twisting it to ling up things. with carbons you have to break loose the glue and reglue the insert  and hopes it stays while it drys. aluminum is cheaper  and just as good out of cross bows.

I am using the spitfires 100 gr this is what came with my arrows.

[jh45gun]

There is quite a debate on carbons versus aluminum. Carbons are faster yet had a rep of splintering some times in the animal you shot which left carbon splinters which you had to cut around and waste meat. Now folks say the new carbon arrows are made not to do that I do not know so I really cannot say. Some use carbons for target shooting and then aluminum for hunting not to take a chance on it. Others just use aluminums which is what I use just for the simple reason I buy the arrows cheap at rummage sales and I cut them down and refletch them and add inserts to make mine since with a Excaliber or Ten Point you can use a insert on both ends since both of them use a flat nock. If you want speed then go with the Carbons since they claim they have solved the spinter problem. if you want penitration and do not care if a arrow bends in a deer ect then go with the aluminum. For heads all I care about is that they fly true and are sharp. Lots on the Excaliber site swear by Montac G 5's and Slick Tricks.

[rickyp]

Carbon is lighter then aluminum  and smaller in diameter. ten point tells you to shoot an arrow no lighter then 420 grs so the lighter carbon is not an advantage and you needs a fater arrow so it sits on the flight deck right.
carbon will not bend but they will splinter and crack and have been know to come apart this is not a good thing.
to get a carbon up to weight you need a brass insert that is not normally carried by local bow shops and they are expensive.
with carbon you have to watch what you use to degrease the shafts with before fletching or refletching some stuff will damage the fibers and you will not know it until it is shot
if you should find some cheap used ones and need to cut them down you need a special saw to cut carbons to length

aluminum shafts will bend but not splinter and less chance of wasting meat
you can tell very easy if they are damaged or bad very little surprises
you can find used ones cheap and use a normal pipe cutter to cut them to size.
most shops carry inserts and they are cheap

[awshucks]

I have about 3 dozen carbon GT LII's.  In thousands of shots I've had two break, one stuck in a 3-D target and one miss that hit a tree.  Mine have the brass inserts which imho, gives a better FOC for bheads.  They are nearly identical to the 10 pt except have alum nocks vs plastic and are much cheaper from Danny Miller.  I have my inserts epoxied in as my experiments have proven to me that spinning the inserts to align blades w/ vanes is an old wives tale, lol.  Aluminum are better for 3-D, as they don't stick in the targets as bad.  I use Slick Tricks and you can take the wobble out of the via spinning the washer between blades and inserts.   Never had one splinter in meat.