Back in the spring, I purchased a dozen Ash shafts from a fellow Leatherwaller. 60-65 spine. I also purchased some Ace Standard 160 heads on Ebay. Though they were used, filed, shot etc I got a good deal and wanted to use them as practice heads.

The shafts had 4 that were very straight so I made them up first. 30" BOP, 4 coats of Poly, 3 feathers, and a Mercury nock.

Last night, I had the grain scale out and decided to weigh the ash arrows. 2 with the old 160gr Ace heads and 2 with 125gr field points. The weight of the 2 with broadheads was 706gr and 708gr! Just 2 grain difference! The 2 with field points were 668gr and 670gr!

I was very surprised at the closeness of the variation in weight. Just 2 grains between 4 shafts. Yes, it is only 4 shafts but we're talking WOOD shafts and for them to be that close? Thinkin' I should go buy a lottery ticket with those numbers!

When I have the option I make all my wood arrows match within 2-3 grains & 1/2-1# spine variance. I wont tell you its essential for hunting or even above moderate distance shooting, but it gives me peace of mind knowing they are nearly exact replicas.

I'd be willing to bet if I gave you 4 arrows that actually weighed 15-20 grains different and told you they all weighed the same, you would not be able to tell there was that much difference.

Bob

I agree with Bob. Few folks can tell the difference in 20-30, even 50 grains arrow weight in their shooting. However, shafts that are very close in weight (and spine) do add to piece of mind. Like PD, I try to build mine with tolerances as close as possible.

You may have gotten a bit lucky. The field points may each be the same weight, but if the broadheads have been sharpened, it's likely they're not, and that they just happened to compensate for differences in the shaft weights. Then again, they might be right on.

If you bought a matched set, then it wasn't luck, it was a very good shaft dealer.

We do let numbers get into our heads too much.

I picked up a dozen POC all spined 68#. When finished they weighed between 581 and 624, but six of them averaged 586 with only a 6 grain spread. I was thrilled.

Yessir, today it is about the numbers.

Actually, the broadheads were both just a couple of grains under 160. I just thought it was surprising that both pairs were only 2 grains apart. That's all.

As Salvador points out, if you bought a matched set, the shafts should be close in weight. A couple of grains is very close, but should always be within 10 grains if they're sold as matched unless the seller specifies a broader range.

I actually don't care about the numbers.

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