Wounder why these where not more popular ? like carbon is today ? any thoughts, has anyone ever used them. what was the wieght?

I recall them being heavy. A bit before my time but some were still around. My Dad kept me in arrows with some garage sale buys. They didn't like glancing off stuff and taking a sideways hit. I remember long splinters.

They were popular. I shot them for ages and so did my dad.

I still have about 4 or so dozen.

They had a bad habit of suddenly exploding on release. George Stout will likely be along and relay the details of an incident he witnessed. I don't think that was an isolated case and people got gun-shy. They mixed glass and graphite fibres in the same arrow and that might have been the cause have they have a different modulus. I have some and they shoot well. One set is black and the other brown like in the ad. The brown ones are so stiff I could pop hubcaps with them!

Have never had one explode on release, and never actually witnessed it. Unless it had already been subjected to some type of trauma that damaged the shaft. Like today's carbon they don't stand up to glancing blows as mentioned above.

fdp, I did....twice. And for sure they were damaged, but that is one of the things that turned me away. Guys just don't check them every shot, and yes....I was also guilty of that and still am. Neither one I witnessed was my arrow but both were enough to get me away from them. This was back in the late 80's I guess...best my mind can recall.

First one was at the Pa. Bowhunter Festival, and the guy beside me was shooting them from a compound. When it exploded (and it did) it was a shower of shards and powder...damndest thing I ever saw. That guy was darn surprised too and luckily wasn't hurt. Second time was at a local club shoot and the result was much the same, just bigger pieces and less cussing. ;). I figured it was likely to happen to me because I wasn't good at checking arrows after shooting them, so we parted ways and I went back to my aluminum. I doubt my experience was isolated but I can't verify what others went through...or didn't.

I am still hunting with these in a 17-6 size since the 1980s, and it is still my favorite arrow. They are not as heavy as other fiberglass shafts. I have had no problem with "blowing up". I believe those events were due to the shooter not checking the shaft particularly after a side hit.

I remember back in the day, the proprietor of the local archery shop was bragging that they were the end all to new arrows. While doing that he was bending one in half to show the superiority of the NEW shafts, well you know the rest of the story, he had it bent into about a 4 inch rainbow and it exploded in his face ! Needless to say those present for the demonstration stuck to wood and aluminum !

raghorn what kind of finished arrow wt. are you getting with them.

I remember selling them in my shop, and using them myself. Seems like they were inconsistent in spine and weight. I shot the black ones, and had problems with consistent grouplng.

If any one has 16.5 or 17.6 Graphflex they don't want and want to git rid of let me know.

bigdog21:

17-6 arrow- 28.5 160 gr point 3 5" feathers= 589gr #7 fiberglass- 28.5 160 gr point 4 4" feathers= 540gr

Thats pretty good wieght. thanks

I found Graphlflex to be reasonably tough. My experience was shooting 19.8's with a 65# recurve. I be welcome to take any XT 19.8 full length shafts if anyone has some.

In my area almost no one used them. I think I saw 3 or 4 guys goung to shoots every weekend. Most guys here shot 2117, 2216, or 2219s and the graflex wasn't light enough to bother. Plus guys didn't like the idea of having to check them after every shot and they weren't as durable as todays carbons. I only ever saw one explode but after that I never saw another graflex at a shoot.

It wasn't the fact that it blew up Craig, I've seen many over the years. It was the fact it "blew up"...literally, so knowing me and my lackadaisical self, I opted for something else, albeit an old companion I started with....those tempered beer cans. :) Never had one of them explode into dust and shards.

Exploded and splintered going through meat. They sucked!

Graflex wasn't the same material as carbons today. It didn't take much to break em and guys just decided it was too much hassle checking them after ever shot. Around here most shot heavy weight when they came out coulda had something to do with it.

I picked up a dozen as my first non-wood hunting arrows in my teen's/20's. Had the first black ones and think I recall they had a tendency to bio-degrade when exposed to allot of sunlight. Had one accordion against my arm, though I would have an arrow sticking out of my arm, just got a nasty welt. Last I used them in the 80's.

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