Learn How To Read Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart

 

The Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart appears relatively straight forward, but if you miss this step then you are likely to end up with the wrong size arrow shaft.

 

The first time I purchased this brand of arrow my experience was painfully expensive and embarrassing.

I had three competitive youth archers who where switching equipment at the same time and they all wanted a thin shaft target arrow for the long distance outdoor tournament.

When the arrows arrived, they all were the wrong spine - they were too stiff and I could not tune them to fly right.

I missed the detail that says the Carbon Express Arrow Charts use an "adjusted bow weight chart" to determine the proper size shaft.

The Carbon Express Bow Draw Weight (Adjusted Weight Chart) states...

"For proper spine selection it is CRITICAL that you determine your adjusted bow draw weight before going to the selection shaft charts".

How To Select Archery Arrows From Carbon Express

Download then print the Carbon Express Calculated Draw Weight worksheet.

In this example we will find the adjusted draw weight for a recurve bow. For compound bows, the process is straight forward - just follow the information on the adjusted draw weight chart before using the arrow selection chart.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 1:
Measured Draw Peak Weight

On the first line enter your Calculated Draw Weight in the far right column.

In our recurve bow example the draw weight is 24 pounds and the arrow shaft length is 25 inches.

NOTE: If you do not already know your draw weight or arrow length, click on the respective links.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 2:
Cams and Wheels

This section is for compound bows. A recurve bow does not have wheels or cams so I enter "0" (zero)

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 3:
Let-Off or Recurve

Our recurve bow has a draw weight of 24 lbs.

The chart indicates that if the bow draw weight is 59.9 lbs or under we will subtract 4 lbs (-4).

24 lbs. - 4 lbs. = 20

Write 20 lbs in the calculated draw weight column on the far right.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 4:
Arrow Points

We are using 60 grain glue-in target points in our example.

The chart indicates that if the bow draw weight is 59.9 lbs or under we will subtract an additional 9 lbs (-9) from the calculated draw weight.

20 lbs - 9 lbs = 11 lbs

Write 11 lbs in the calculated draw weight column on the far right.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 5:
Arrow Length

Our sample arrow length is 25 inches.

The chart indicates that if the bow draw weight is 59.9 lbs or under we will subtract an additional 2 lbs (-2) from the calculated draw weight.

11 lbs. - 2 = 9 lbs

Write 9 lbs in the calculated draw weight column on the far right.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 6:
Finger Release

Because we are shooting a recurve bow we are obviously shooting "finger release".

The chart indicates that if the bow draw weight is 59.9 lbs or under we will ADD an additional 3 lbs (+3) to the calculated draw weight.

9 lbs + 3 = 12 lbs

Write 12 pounds in the calculated draw weight column on the far right.

Carbon Express Target Arrow Chart
Step 7:
Speed Rating

Our recurve bow shoots well under the AMO speed of 240 FPS.

The chart indicates that if the bow draw weight is 59.9 lbs or under we will ADD an additional 2 lbs (+2) to the calculated draw weight.

12 lbs + 2 = 14 lbs

Write 14 lbs. in the calculated draw weight column on the far right.

Then enter 14 lbs. in the Adjusted Bow Draw Weight column on the bottom of the page.

NOTE: In an unofficial study of 73 different recurve bows, only 23% shot faster than 210 FPS while the remaining 77% of bows shot under 200 FOS. Based on the information you can assume that if your draw weight is under 40 pounds then the bow speed is under the AMO 240 FPS and IBO 300 FPS rating.

That's it - Now we know what the adjusted bow draw weight is for our example recurve bow.

Now That I Have This Important Information What Do I Do With It?

The next step is to use the information we have and cross reference it with the Carbon Express Shaft Selection Guide.

Open, download and or print the Carbon Express Field Target Shaft Selection Guide

We already know that...

The Arrow Shaft Length = 25"

The Adjusted Bow Draw Weight = 14 pounds (from doing the exercise above)

Now...

• On the Carbon Express Field Target Shaft Selection Guide the top row says TOTAL ARROW LENGTH. Then below that are the total arrow lengths that we are looking for. Move to the right until you find 25".
• On the left of the Carbon Express Field Target Shaft Selection Guide is the column called BOW DRAW WEIGHTt. Move down the column until you find the row that lists the Adjusted Bow Draw Weight. In this case we would use the 13-18lbs. row since we figured our Adjusted Bow Draw Weight was 14lbs.
• Slide across the 13-18lb row to the right until you come to the 25" TOTAL ARROW LENGTH column.
• Where the 13-18lb row and the 25" column intersect you will find the recommended arrow shaft. In this case it is the MXR 1500.

At the very bottom of the chart the legend indicates that the MXR is the Medallion-XR Series.

The number 1500 refers to the shaft spine.

When you read the description of the Medallion-XR arrow shafts you see they are a slim diameter. You will also see that the Medallion-XR uses an adjustable target point that ranges in weight of 60 to 110 grains.

The adjustable target point feature will give you the ability to fine-tune the spine of the arrow.

Because my student is gearing up for a FITA tournament and shooting long distances this arrow shaft is perfect for her application.

Other than selecting the rest of the components that make up the arrow, that is really all there is to know about selecting the proper arrow shaft from Carbon Express.

What about aluminum arrows - Is the process the same?

Go here to learn about selecting aluminum arrow shafts from Eaton Archery

 

 

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