Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Trond on March 24, 2025, 03:17:31 AM
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I'm looking for a T.U.S.A (The Ultimate Stumping Arrow) By now I have splintered wood-arrows, mushroomed and bent alu's and cracked carbons... Stumps are sometimes hard to shoot at, especially when they look soft on the outside, but hard as steel inside. Cracked one of my favourite carbons yesterday on one of those... split in the nock-end. Wrapped and glued, but ruined in my point of view.
So, what the heck is the ultimate stumping arrow? Something that shoots well, tuneable and stands up to a direct hit on Norwegian granite (well at least rock-hard treestumps) Please help me out here, because arrows are ridiculous expensive up here.
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I do a lot of stump shooting and I shoot bows 59-61 lbs. Aluminum 2018s are very tough arrows. I have mushroomed only one 2018. I also shoot 2216s which aren’t quite as tough. You’re right sometimes those stumps look soft but they’re hard as a brick.
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Can I shoot 2018's from The Dark One? (44#@30")
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For me the only thing that works in the rocky area I stump shoot is carbons footed with aluminum shaft pieces at both ends.
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I believe you can shoot 2018s. You’ll just have to tune them to your bow. You can plug the bow and arrow info into the 3Rivers spine calculator and it will get you in the ballpark.
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The best head I have found is a steel blunt drilled to accept weed whacker line. If the line breaks slip in another piece. The nice thing is you can make the head any weight you want. I buy 250 grain field points and cut down according to what weight I want. As you can see from the abuse they are darn near indestructible.
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The real trick to stumping is knowing what not to shoot. Master that and your arrows will be just fine.
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2020 aluminums are pretty durable. I often used 1916s or 2016s footed with another short section of aluminums, 2117s if I recall.
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Since I know I'm going to destroy at least one arrow on a good roving session I don't use my expensive arrows for that. I get the Kimery Specials doug fir from Surewood Shafts, seal and fletch them and go stumping. I wouldn't hunt with the Kimerys but they fly straight and true, and I don't worry if I break a few.
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My solution is to carry two stumping arrows: a judo and a rubber blunt. The judo is for stumping in grassy areas where arrows have a tendency to get lost; the rubber blunt is for rocky areas or shooting at questionable stumps. My solution to the cost of shafts is to shoot only found arrows, usually carbon. I shoot just about every day with my dog at my club, and rare is the day that I don't turn up at least one lost arrow. If I don't need any new stumping arrows, I turn them in to the found arrow bucket, if I do need a new stumping arrow, well, I guess you could call it my “stumping tax.”
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The real trick to stumping is knowing what not to shoot. Master that and your arrows will be just fine.
That is true in most cases... But a good an rotten stump from an old pine can be rock hard in the center, and that is impossible to spot.
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Your eye for picking the best stumps will improve with experience, but you'll just have to accept the fact that you're going to break an arrow now and again when stumpin. No arrow material is bombproof. You can go to less costly arrow shafts like hickory or bamboo. As tough as any synthetic shaft, and cheaper.
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Arrow Dynamics Hammerhead. Lots of extra radial wrap carbon up front. THAT is the most indestructible arrow I've ever shot.
Next, compressed maples and regular AD Trads.
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Take this with a grain of salt because I'm a newish trad shooter.
I've been shooting Black Eagle Vintage & Sirius Tradstar with stainless inserts/collars. I think having that stainless insert/collar makes a huge difference. I've also been using VPA "Small Game Thumper" heads which helps prevent me from losing arrows in the grass/brush. I've yet to break an arrow (knock on wood) from shooting a hard stump or missing my mark and hitting a rock. I'm shooting my 46#/30" longbow - nothing really high poundage.
I've learned the hard way (evidently I'm a slow learner) that field points aren't the right choice for stumping; I've lost a half dozen arrows since I started shooting trad. :banghead: Since picking appropriate heads I've not lost any arrows while out stumping.
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Sorry, based on Lumen's post, I need to add this......
Shooting out of 60 to 70# bows.
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I have more stump shooting arrows than practice arrows, my favorite point is the judo and then steel blunt tip I shoot wood 50/55,XX75 2016, Dark timber carbon 500 all work great and I've broke a bunch of wood I just make more, Carbon hands down is the toughest. My bows 47@27 and 41@27
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Shoot at something other than stumps. Rotton logs, pine cones, sticks, grass clumps, etc etc
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Thanks y'all
Went through my (all too many) arrows last night, and I will be going with Ken E here... Three old GT Trads have now got pieces of aluminium arrow in both ends, tipped with 125gr Hex Blunts. Have some Judos in 125gr too, if needed. The arrows just need fletching in some bright colors, and off they go. Pics will follow...
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Footed at both ends should be almost unbreakable. Notice “unbreakable” because I have not seen an unbreakable arrow since some guy made one from stainless steel back in the 1980’s.
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Yes, by all means Hammerheads!!!
You can bang your head all you want, but nothing is tuffer than the Hammerhead. It has to be just by design default. Closest arrow to an anvil I've ever seen by far. :readit:
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I'm with 60Gunner. I've done this to some of my arrows,and they are still going strong. I just don't take those shots much anymore,and the better I get don't seem to lose and destroy as many arrows anyway.
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Gotta get real guys. You're not going to find out or get a REAL answer by guys posting their favorite arrows. They are NOT all the same in durability.
Someone would have to do a test as nobody here has tested all shafts available. I've tested my fair share for sure. And as stated earlier, the double layer of radial wrap on the front end of the Hammerheads are far superior to anything else I have found. I have never hunted with them, they are not my favorite arrow, yet I'd like to see them tested against all the other's mentioned here. They are simply the tuffest arrow I've ever roved and stumped with. I have yet to break one in over 10 years. I only have 2 designated for stump arrows.
As for the other 10, I might hunt with them someday. Kinda saving them for when I REALLY need them. For now, the other brands/models I'm hunting with are very sufficient.
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Thanks, Terry.
Must check out the Hammerheads, and if they are available in Norway. In my experiance, it is the nock end that cracks. Inserts get loose, and creeps out, but the nocks shoots out, and leaves the shaft cracked. Collars helps, but not all the way. I know that the perfect, unbreakable arrow does not exist, and that is not what I expected to find in this thread. Just wanted to find the closest recipe for an arrow that can take the beating of stumping in hostile environments. Seems that the conclusion will be a Hammerhead shaft, footed with aluminium and with a steel collar in the nock end would be the closest to the perfect stumping arrow you can get. That said, this will be continued as the quest for the "perfect" and almost indestructable arrow goes on...
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Trond, yes, the nock ends. ALL of the nock end splits I've experienced were with 'plug in' nocks, NOT glued in adapters and nocks over that. Once glued it seems to make the entire arrow an entire 'Unit' and stronger.
If you want an indestructible arrow.....
Epoxy all inserts, nocks and points with a hi grade epoxy. Now you don't have 'pieces parts' but an entire 'whole arrow'. CLEAN all components before epoxy via recommended method.
Nice thread, glad you started it. :campfire:
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These folks are leading you a stray!
The Only material that will withstand alot of stumping and squirrel shooting,
Is Rivercane and or Bamboo!
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These folks are leading you a stray!
The Only material that will withstand alot of stumping and squirrel shooting,
Is Rivercane and or Bamboo!
And, they are the least accurate. KAPOOOW!!! :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
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I have the gt trads and trad classics xt’s. The xt’s do seem tough. But how tough compared to other arrows I cannot say. You need a reference. I think I got them after seeing big Jim’s cinder block test. And they came with a collar. They are very heavy gpi for a small diameter arrow. But I’m not sure their manufacturing process. As some have said, much of it may depend on how their manufactured.
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Without getting into brand of shafts, some things I like to do to make a good stumping arrow is to beef up the inserts.
I like to use brass inserts and round or bevel the back edge to give the shaft a chance to sort of flex around the insert in the event of heavy torque instead of crack along the back edge of it.
I also like to turn the front of the insert down to the same outside diameter of the arrow so the footing can slide over the insert and the arrow shaft seamlessly.
I also like to make the footing just a bit shorter than the insert.
When I build my thumper arrows this way the point of failure is usually the thread post of whatever point I am using. Not the arrow itself.
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2x McDave: judo and rubber blunts. If stumps are too hard, save plastic dog food bags, shred and store in a Burlap or fiber bags that vary in size from 10 x 14 in. to 24 x 40 in. Tie a few to a bush or limb in a safe area. Setup your own course.
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I'm shooting 50 to 60# bows and I still use Douglas fir. Like Jess said: know your stump. Though I still find the occasional petrified wood or . . . gasp . . . misjudge a window and pinball an arrow through saplings. Oh well. I taper and fletch my own so that gives me an excuse to make more.
My wife has asked "How many arrows do you need?" To which I reply: "How many are there?" I make up two dozen at a time. Probably snap six a year out stumping.
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Three old Gold Tip Trads modified and tested to satisfaction. Shot at the toughest stumps, and dried up trees... no problem. Did not even kick out the nocks... looking good.
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What’s collar is on the nock end, is the footing an arrow shaft?
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Trond. Good luck with those. As stated earlier that is what I use and works for me. Have fun.
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This may be helpful. I usually shoot Gold Tips so may need to measure other brands
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What’s collar is on the nock end, is the footing an arrow shaft?
Both ends are pieces of aluminium arrow shaft.
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Ahh. Ok :archer2:
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I wonder if guy used J-B weld to put his nocks in carbon arrow if that would make it stronger, you could never replace the nock.
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Glueing in the nocks will be fine, until they break… then you have a problem getting them out again. I have considered pin-nock adapters, though. Then it will be pretty solid in the nock-end, and easy to replace the nock.
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Simple, use a metal knock and weld it.
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What did you think of that big Jim testing the GT trad classic xt ? They had to be durable to take that.
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My conclusions over the years..."You can't cheat the mountain pilgrim"...
The stump gods will have their sacrifices !
So you must educate yourself...stompology ... :archer2:
Nothing "as with everything else in life" surpasses experience . Stumping is no different imho.
Pick your targets wisely ;)If...IF one wanted a pretty hardy arrow, I would "think" it hard to beat a solid fiberglass shaft for busting more stumps and less arrows...
But then again you are missing a "lot" of the fun ;))I shoot (read try to) not only corky stumps-but downed limbs, leaves,pieces of bark , etc... makeup the bulk of a well rounded rove .....
Nothing better for hunting practices , actual field hunting conditions , all the while sharpening your subconscious distance judgement , physical stamina , and your natural Nature connection that will have you more intune , and comfortable,confident , field educated come hunting season...
That in itself is worth the cost of a few arrows my friends ............ :campfire: