So don’t fuss at me too much!!!

Since I’ve been away so long and want to get shooting again ASAP in order to be ready for the fall, I need help choosing carbons.

I have all the gear to cut and fletch. So I really just need raw shafts.

I’m shooting a 60@28” Kodiak Magnum, but here’s the thing: my draw length is 25-26”, so it’s more like I’m shooting a 50-52# draw weight.

So what spine and length do I shoot with a 125grn 2- blade?

(I’ll make my way back into woodies over next spring and summer!)

I think you could start with 500s and be rather close - assuming that Bear is cut to center. I know nothing about Bear bows. If you cut them to 27-28", maybe even 600s. Others here are far better with theses recommendations than me, so I'd get input from them.

Try a spine calculator to get close. Here is Stu Millers on Rick Barbee's site:

http://www.taylortel.net/~rickbarb/dynamic_spine_calculator.html

I'm guessing a .500 spine and keep them long and then trim down as needed. Short .600 spine arrows may work as well.

I believe Jeff has you in the ballpark. Id advise picking either 500 or 600 ( or 1 of each) and shooting them for awhile, until you're confident of your form. Then carefully begin tuning.

I was thinking keeping them 27” with 125grn heads just to have a bit more weight.

From what I’ve found it looks like 500?

You have a flaw in your request. Let the tuning precess tell you what weight head to shoot.

I don't think a full length .500 would tune with a 125 gr head. Plus if you went with the .600's you would be very light with a 125 gr head.

Eight grains per inch is probably a middle of the road arrow. If you were shooting a 28 inch arrow it would be 224 plus 125 and 50 grains for components (which is high), that would give you a 400 grain arrow. If that bow is 50 at your draw lenght that's 8 gpp. Mr. Bear would say, "put some weight on that some-a-b".

Carbon recovers so quickly that I don't think you can be as accurate with a light tip as 175-200 grains. For a few years I tried to stay in that area and finally jumped to 285 - 160 broadhead (lots of good choices in that weight) and a 125 grain adaptor. Seems to me when I point all that weight at something, the rest of the arrow just follows.

Bowmania

.550 spine shafts. My go to shafts for low 50 pound sticks. Stiffer than a .600 spine but weaker then a .500 spine. Don't need as much foc on them like you would a .500 spine.

HOLY CRAP!

Carbons are EXPENSIVE...maybe I will shoot woodies!

what bowmania said. and there are some bemans that are very reasonable. or you could look at aluminum. lots of good choices there...

If you want cheap carbon shafts, look for GT blemished arrows or look at the Dark Timber arrow shafts from Big Jim.

On another post on here, someone posted a link about bamboo shafts. Those shafts were $52.00 for 25 shafts. That is hard to beat.

"I have all the gear to cut and fletch."

Maybe, you've been away for awhile and carbons are different.

You just can't settle on a point weight and match the shaft to it, as was done with aluminum. From what I hear on leatherwall, tuning has to do with adjusting the point weight to get the best flight.

You can still find aluminum shafts, and I would suggest 2016 for you and the bow you have.

Carbons have been the least expensive shafts i have bought ( and i dont mean cheap carbons). For me they last many times longer than aluminum--- i bend them just looking at them and i break cedars often. You'll get a lot of mileage out of a good set of carbons.

Come to think of it, I do have some Ash shafts in the basement. I think 2 dozen in-fact!

With a center cut shelf, they can be a bit stiff and still be fine....if I’m remembering core.

I draw 26 and shoot 28 to 28.5-inch carbons. They hang out there a ways but those csrbons seem to shoot well long and get finiky when you start cutting them down much. As said above cut them a little at a time and start with reviewing Stu's Calulator. It gives you a good idea of where to start, but better, just playing around with it, and adjusting the numbers gives you some ideas how length affects different shafts. Like Shawn said, if you like short arrows, might go to less spine and that will work too. Again, Stu's Calulator should show this.

Check out Lancaster Archery. They have sale on some fletched carbons I was looking at. Never shot a carbon. All my arrows are wood or aluminum. I always fletch my own. Just happens the fletched are less $ than the raw shaft.

Rich K.

Lowcountry, I want to thank you for the plug, but will reword your reccomendation a little. There is nothing cheap about the Dark Timbers. They will perform with anybody elses shafts... maybe better than some. They are however inexpensive.

Thanks, BigJim

Bow is cut -1/8 according to chart prepared by Stu Miller and associates. It doesn’t say current or past productions. I would post the chart but can’t figure out how to move it here from IBooks.

I'm no expert by any means, (converted to trad 2 years ago hunted with compounds for 30+) but I was in a similar situation and after getting advice from Ken (2bears) and some other guys on here I bought a test kit and arrow saw from 3 Rivers and started testing, what I found was out of 55 @28" Toelke Troll I came up with a 500's with brass insert and 125 gr head cut at 28 1/4 "and weighing 504 grs flew like darts I draw 27" so I figured I was probably around 52 1/2 to 53 pounds. 600's flew like crap no matter the length but are darts outa my 43#er ... another thing I found .. I enjoy the tunning journey as much as shooting .. great excuse to buy another bow!!

I'm no expert by any means, (converted to trad 2 years ago hunted with compounds for 30+) but I was in a similar situation and after getting advice from Ken (2bears) and some other guys on here I bought a test kit and arrow saw from 3 Rivers and started testing, what I found was out of 55 @28" Toelke Troll I came up with a 500's with brass insert and 125 gr head cut at 28 1/4 "and weighing 504 grs flew like darts I draw 27" so I figured I was probably around 52 1/2 to 53 pounds. 600's flew like crap no matter the length but are darts outa my 43#er ... another thing I found .. I enjoy the tunning journey as much as shooting .. great excuse to buy another bow!!

I'm no expert by any means, (converted to trad 2 years ago hunted with compounds for 30+) but I was in a similar situation and after getting advice from Ken (2bears) and some other guys on here I bought a test kit and arrow saw from 3 Rivers and started testing, what I found was out of 55 @28" Toelke Troll I came up with a 500's with brass insert and 125 gr head cut at 28 1/4 "and weighing 504 grs flew like darts I draw 27" so I figured I was probably around 52 1/2 to 53 pounds. 600's flew like crap no matter the length but are darts outa my 43#er ... another thing I found .. I enjoy the tunning journey as much as shooting .. great excuse to buy another bow!!

Ignore the Stew Miller calculator.

Get some 500 and 600 Dark Timber from Big Jim.

And yes carbons are expensive. And they're not the be-all/end-all of arrow shafting.

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