arrow straightness

[bowstalker210]

how important is arrow straightness? By that I mean, if I buy arrows that have .006" straightness compared to a .003", is it going to make that much of a difference in my arrow flight path?

[TX_H-F]

how important is arrow straightness? By that I mean, if I buy arrows that have .006" straightness compared to a .003", is it going to make that much of a difference in my arrow flight path?

your about to get a whole lot of different opinions. I know that the idea is the straighter the better but i cant tell the difference in the gold tip expo hunters that are .006 and the xt hunters that are .003 straightness. Never could afford any straighter, maybe someone else could chime in

[DFWPI]

Only if your into that kind of thing....

[Raptor012]

would be interesting to see what people have to say, but i think not. You're talking about hundreths and even thousandths of an inch.

[DRT]

Depends on what you are doing. Hunting I wouldn't sweat it. Dots at 80 yards? That is another story. I will say this, I don't believe I've ever missed an animal due to my arrow not being under .00X in straightness. That said it can affect your groups with broadheads. Especially fixed blade heads.

[rocky]

If you have a shaft with a .006 straightness, then a nock with .002, then an insert with .002, then add a BH with a .002 tolerance, and the runout is on the same side, you have a curved shaft.
With the straighter shafts, it is easier to build a straighter arrow, and the cost difference is very little.
I think you can build (out of a dozen) some very good arrows out of a .003 shaft, for fixed heads, and.001 is not necessary, but .003 to .006 will make a difference.

[Leftridge]

If you have a shaft with a .006 straightness, then a nock with .002, then an insert with .002, then add a BH with a .002 tolerance, and the runout is on the same side, you have a curved shaft.
With the straighter shafts, it is easier to build a straighter arrow, and the cost difference is very little.
I think you can build (out of a dozen) some very good arrows out of a .003 shaft, for fixed heads, and.001 is not necessary, but .003 to .006 will make a difference.

This.. For hunting purposes I shoot .006 for a long time. I shoot .003 now and have 3.5" groups at 60 yards.. I think I'd possibly be 5" with .006.. The straighter the arrow the better.. But its al relative to what your trying to do..

[lbbf]

I've played with this idea some. At 40y I cannot tell a difference between a GT Pro and a GT expidition. Go out to 100y and the Pro will hold about 1" tighter for me. So if I'm hunting I'll go cheap. If I'm out playing the long range game at the club I'll need a straighter arrow. The solution for me.... GT XThunters.

[Raypo]

Target Shooting: Very Improtant
Hunting: Not so much, unless your shooting fixed blades and can effect your groups a lot

[23wyatt]

If you have a shaft with a .006 straightness, then a nock with .002, then an insert with .002, then add a BH with a .002 tolerance, and the runout is on the same side, you have a curved shaft.
With the straighter shafts, it is easier to build a straighter arrow, and the cost difference is very little.
I think you can build (out of a dozen) some very good arrows out of a .003 shaft, for fixed heads, and.001 is not necessary, but .003 to .006 will make a difference.

How do you know the tolerances of the nock, insert, and broadhead?

I don't know that I've ever seen this info published on the manuf. websites or packages - may have missed it, though.

[inkedspot]

I read an article that said that for good grouping your shafts couldnt be off by more than .010" over the length of the shaft or accuracy would fall off significantly. When a shaft is listed as +/- .003 or +/- .006 that is the maximum allowable run out, so a +/- .003 shaft could have +.003 on one end and -.003 on the other end for a total of .006. Shafts that were +/- .006 could then be up to .012 variance. These +/- tolerances are just what is allowable at the factory - not necessarily what the shaft actually is.

If you have a bunch of+/- .006 shafts and one of them is routinely a flyer, it is probably manufactured at the edge of the tolerance. I would just cull out any arrows that routinely shoot outside of the group. I use both the .003 and .006 and they all group about the same. But if there is routinely a shaft that always hits outside of the bunch - it goes in the trash.

[bowstalker210]

Thanks for the advice, I'm primarily going to be using for hunting and target practice. I only shoot out to 55 yds max, and I went with the .003"

[bowhuntntxn]

Tolerance is measured an inch from each end. So if you would like to make .006 shafts .003 or better, cut about an inch off the back, then cut them down to size on the front.

[TX_H-F]

Tolerance is measured an inch from each end. So if you would like to make .006 shafts .003 or better, cut about an inch off the back, then cut them down to size on the front.

is that all there is to it?

[bowhuntntxn]

is that all there is to it?

Yes. You might have to strip the vanes if you buy Pre-built arrows, but that is all there is to it.