I'm getting into the hobby cold and see a tremendous range in cost on arrow shafts and broadheads. I'm an aerospace engineer so I have a good understanding on materials yet I can't seem to separate what's a good value vs performance. I'm new to the hobby but don't want something cheap that I'll be upgrading from in a year.
What's the right intermediate grade arrow and broadhead combo for hunting deer?
There are so many options to choose from... My advice to folks (especially those just starting out) is always to find something from a reputable brand in the middle price range. You can get hunting arrows from Amazon/Alibaba fletched for $40/dozen or you can get some .001" micros for $200+/dozen for bare shafts.
I don't recommend the $40/doz shafts to anyone for a number of reasons:
1) I don't want to risk the "life" of my $1000+ bow to a cheap arrow. If you're new, you may or may not have spent that much on a bow... but that doesn't mean that your bow is worth risking.... Not to mention your eye sight or other injury from a blown up bow.
2) Every time I see a batch of these, there is always a few that just will NOT fly like the rest of the batch. I had one that damn near flopped off the spinner when I was trying to figure out why it wouldn't group. This is money wasted.
I don't recommend the $200/doz shafts to new shooters because "You're new, you're gonna break and or loose them when you miss the target". You might get to a point where you'll see the difference in quality and consistency to justify that cost.... but you aren't there yet. It's better to loose an $8-10 arrow than it is to loose a $20+ arrow.
In some ways it's no different than going to the auto parts store to get brake pads for you commuter car... The guy at the counter will say something like "I have brand X for $140, Brand Y for $60 and Brand Z for $19.99" The Brand X is probably much better but, unless your commute looks like a scene from the "Fast and Furious" you'll never push the car close enough to it's limit to notice. The $19.99 brake pads are more than likely garbage and you'll be back in 3 months to get new pads. (Would you trust those brake pads enough if your kids were in that car???)
My advice is pick a reputable brand, get some appropriately spined .006" arrows that are in the $90-$120/dozen (fletched shaft) range and go shoot!!!
As far as brands are concerned, there are a bunch of options and everyone will tell you to use what they use. (I'm guilty of this too) Some brands to consider:
Kill'n Stix (I use these)
Black Eagle (I shot these for years)
Easton
Victory
Gold Tip
For broadheads, I like Tooth of the Arrow and Magnus. I've had success with Montecs. Truth is, they all will do the job if they are sharp and you put them in the right place.
