Which arrow straightness grade is right for you?
July 8, 2024 by Leigh Hauck
If you’ve ever taken a close look at arrow prices, you’ll know that there is a huge range of prices for products which don’t look very different from one another at first glance. What is behind the massive price differential between the left and right side of your local shops arrow rack? The number one thing is the arrows straightness grade. Is this a crucial factor to assess in your setup for the year, or something that you can save some money on?
What is an arrow straightness grade?
Arrows have three key numbers that you need to look at when you are comparing shafts.
Spine is a measure of the arrows stiffness and does not impact cost. It is sort of like selecting your shoe size, a size 10 will not cost less than a size 12. In extreme cases, a rarely used spine will cost more, just like how Shaq has to spend more to buy custom shoes for his massive feet. Spine numbers look like 250, 300, 400, etc... selection of your arrow spine is a blog for another day!
GPI stands for grains per inch, and is exactly what is sounds like. This tells you how much an arrow weights per inch of carbon, and while it is something to consider in your build, it also does not impact cost. GPI numbers look like 9.9, 8.7, 10.2, etc.
The final number is the one that determines a huge portion of the price, the straightness grade. Generally, you will see three options: 0.005”, 0.003”, and 0.001” or sometimes you will see ‘match grade’. The lower the number, the higher the straightness grade. This number comes from the amount – in inches – of deviance that a full length arrow has from a true straight line. Even a 0.005” is an extremely straight projectile, but how much does this number really matter?
It depends
The first thing to ask yourself is how long your finished arrows will be. If you are a short draw archer, shooting 26-28" arrows, you can easily take the savings and opt for 0.005” arrows – and it will save you a lot! When you cut down an arrow, it inherently becomes straighter, so short draw archers finally see a benefit out of their draw length here!
Shop All Broadheads
If you are a long draw archer, only cutting an inch or perhaps nothing off your arrow, you will need a straighter shaft. If you are in this category, like shooting long range, and especially if you shoot fixed blades, you should opt for the 0.001” arrows. When we are talking about long range shooting with fixed blades, every little detail counts.
Most archers opt for 0.003” arrows, including myself – shooting 30.5” draw length and a 28.5”-29” shaft. The mid-grade 0.003” shafts are going to work for 99% of archers, and if you don’t know enough about your setup to commit to either of the other options, you can’t go wrong here. I can put a fixed blade right on top of a field point at 80-90 yards with my 0.003” shafts, but it took some work to make that happen!
It’s more about your build than the shaft!
While shaft selection is important, your build quality and consistency is far more important when it comes to accuracy down range.
Even a 0.001” top of the line arrow shaft will never fly properly if it isn’t built well. Ends aren’t squared? Your broadhead flight will suffer. Didn’t make a careful calculated decision for spine selection and cut length? Your arrows might be spined incorrectly. Fletchings aren’t consistent? Your arrow flight may be erratic.
Shop All Broadheads
I have built probably close to 300 dozen arrows in my life, with about 1/3 of them being 0.005” straightness. I have never had a customer come back with flight issues, because I take incredible care with each arrow. Build quality is paramount. If an archer comes to shop with a 34” draw length however, I am not going to send him out the door with even the best 0.005” arrows. You have to know the limits of the materials you are working with.
Where do straightness grades come from? Why aren’t all arrows just made to be 0.001”?
Arrows are made by laying out an extremely long and wide sheet of carbon that is incredibly thin. The sheet is then rolled into a compact tube, forming essentially a super long arrow shaft. 32” sections are then cut out of the tube to create arrow shafts. The shafts that come from the middle of the roll tend to be straighter than towards the end. So your 0.001” will be center cut, 0.003” will come from just outside the middle, 0.005” are closer to the ends, and the very ends tend to get sold to discount retailers and places like Walmart who are selling the bare minimum when it comes to archery equipment.
Basically, it isn’t possible (or reasonable) to manufacture 0.001” arrows without also producing some of the other grades. Because there are naturally less shafts that can be cut out of the center of the roll than from the ends, the 0.001” arrows are lower in supply hence the higher costs.
Shop All Broadheads
So, the next time you go to your local pro shop have a look at the cost difference between two shafts of the exact same model that simply have different straightness grades. You will now know that they probably came from the exact same roll of carbon and can make a more informed decision as to where you apply your archery budget for the year!
Shop All Broadheads
The bottom line is that you should be putting more time and effort into building flawless arrows, than you should be putting money into premium shafts. For 95%+ of you reading this, a 0.005” or 0.003” shaft will be a perfect choice, and will save you a bit of gas money for the fall!
I still find the challenge of building flawless arrows out of 0.005” shafts a thrill. When I tell a client that I can save them money on arrows that will outperform his or her more expensive shafts from the past, I am often met with skepticism. It usually only takes a day or so before I get a text along the lines of “these arrows are freaking awesome!!!”. That never gets old!
Shop All Broadheads
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the topic further, please feel free to reach out to us at sales@toothofthearrowbroadheads.com
If you liked this article, make sure to subscribe below to receive more helpful bowhunting tips, hunting news, and product releases.
