Which Are the Best Hunting Arrows? Aluminium or Carbon Graphite?

Hunting with the bow and arrow has been part of mans survival for thousands of years. Archery bows have developed over the years to the modern fast compound bows, recurve and longbows of today. Hunting arrows have also become more advanced, with a wide variety of materials used, such as carbon, alloy, but what makes a good bow hunting arrow?

Aluminium VS Carbon Graphite Hunting Arrows

Aluminium and carbon graphite are two of the most well-known materials used for making arrows, particularly hunting arrows, which require great craftsmanship in order to be truly effective weapons, as they need to be durable and accurate.

In bow hunting, there can be no room for mistake, so archers must always be armed with the best archery equipment and hunting arrows are no different. Aluminium and carbon graphite each have their share of pros and cons, so it’s best to study them first before making a decision.

Aluminium Arrows

Hunting arrows made from aluminium are relatively heavier than their carbon graphite counterparts, with all things being equal. This permits them to sustain greater kinetic energy after the arrow is released and they contact the target.

Arrows with greater kinetic energy have greater impact as well as deeper penetration. However, since aluminium gives these arrows weight, they also suffer from a decrease in effective range. The drop in inertia is more rapid, and the trajectory after a specific range of distance falls low, this also affects bow hunting accuracy.

Aluminium arrows also tend to develop tiny bends in their shaft after some time of repeated use. The effects of the usual wear and tear are usually too small to be noticed by the eyes, but they affect the arrows’ flight trajectory as well.


Carbon Arrows

One of the carbon graphite’s arrows advantage is the possible safety features it offers. Carbon graphite arrows do not have the tendency to develop permanent bends in their structure; they adapt to the forces involved in the situation, in other words, more flexible.

For instance, if the force of impact that is placed upon the arrow is greater than usual, or if the arrow is shot forth at a target that is extremely difficult to penetrate, it will simply split or shatter into broken pieces. This is sometimes safer because then you won’t be left exposed to accidents by using the same arrow for another bow hunting session; you’ll simply just have to replace it. Of course you still should inspect the carbon arrow for any micro cracks or splinters to be safe.

No matter how skilled an archer you are, you can never be accurate with a bent shaft, so it’s best to go for carbon graphite arrows that let you know right away if you have defective weapons in your hand.

Carbon arrows are relatively lighter as well, which helps obtain a flatter trajectory. This eliminates a bit of guess work of how far the target or bow hunting game away is.

However, as stated before a heavier arrow will penetrate better, so it is a bit of a trade off between speed and penetration. One solution is to go for a happy medium and that might mean a heavier carbon arrow, so you still have the advantages of carbon spine stiffness, but also a heavier hunting arrow. The Beman or Easton arrow selection guide should steer you in the right direction.

Another factor to consider is the game you are hunting. A big game animal will generally require a heavier shaft compared to a light or small game animal.

The Hunting Arrow Verdict

Most serious target archers use carbon arrows these days, so you can be sure the carbon arrows are accurate. So for bow hunting, as long as the shaft is correctly spined for the bow and heavier enough for the game intended, the carbon arrow is the way to go.

Another option is to look at the combined carbon/alloy hunting arrows made by Easton archery.

The cost of carbon arrows can be expensive though, especially for newcomers, so it might be advisable to use aluminium hunting arrows for a start. You can buy some alloy ones like, the Easton Gamegetter arrows for a reasonable price and they are a durable hunting arrow. When beginners have a bit more experience than they might can later upgrade their hunting arrows to carbon graphite once they have practiced enough and have significantly improve at the sport.