wood arrow vs carbons

[nhbuck1]

can you bareshaft tune a wood arrow the same as a carbon? i was thinking of getting woodies for my thunderchild when it comes didnt know if there different measures as far as tuning went and not using inserts how does this work, thanks all
kyle

[Biathlonman]

I prefer to paper tune wood arrows.  You will break quite a few bare shafting.

[nhbuck1]

i paper tuned my carbons they were shooting bullet holes, shot the bareshaft went tail left showing weak, i hear mixed reviews paper tuning

[SuperK]

You might also consider getting a test "pack" of arrows/shafts.  Fix'em up and go shoot them.  Get a buddy (with good eyes) to watch your arrows in flight.  You will find out what works best for your set up real quick.  To me it seems that wood is a lot easier to tune than carbon.  If you can use 28 inch arrows, and don't shoot more than 50 lbs.or so, I might can help you out with a few arrows of different spine.  (45-50, 50-55, 55-60)  Shoot me a PM if these would help.

[nhbuck1]

how is it easier then carbon? bareshaft tuning is relly not that difficult of a process, do you mean as far as cutting?

[K.S.TRAPPER]

As much as your jumping around and changing everything and still figuring everything thing out I would just stick with the carbons for now. There much easier to start out with and tune, like changing inserts adding and taking off weight.

It's not the same with woodies, not trying to discourage you just saying when you get settled in and spend more time shooting and hunting and having fun and not thinking about tuning it will fall in place.

I shoot nothing but wood out of my longbows and there's a big difference in them but I won't get into that. You have enough going already, save your money shoot what you have and if all goes well then later you can try them., no hurry!

Tracy

[Kevin Dill]

Carbons = brunettes. Woods = redheads.

They act differently under pressure but both are wonderful. Switching back and forth might make you crazy.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

 

Tracy

[nhbuck1]

lol, thanks for the tips guys i was goin to say the same thing, but i really wanted to shoot tradition wood arrows with the longbow when i get it, how does the tuning differ vs carbons?

[SuperK]

These are my observations....Wood is not as critical as carbon as far as  length.  Lots of people recommend only cutting carbon a 1/4 inch at a time when fine tuning.  You don't have to have a high speed arrow cut off saw with wood.  You don't need weight tubes with wood.  If I want a heavy arrow, just get heavy for spine shafts.  If I want a lighter arrow, I can go to spruce.  If I want super heavy arrows, no problem there either.  Many carbon shafts are not consistent in spine.  Many posts on here reporting what some have found.  Good wood shafting is.  It seems to me that wood is more forgiving of a bad release.  Maybe because it's heavier?  I'm not a big fan of bare shaft tuning either.  My form isn't as consistent as it used to be and bare shaft tuning gives me fits. Like I stated eariler, I don't bare shaft tune wood.   I'm not knocking carbon.  It also has many advantages.  I'm just stating that for me, wood seems easier to tune.  Maybe it's because I've used it more than carbon?

[njloco]

Look up,  spine testing for wood arrows, that will get you started.

The better your form and release are, the wider range of spined arrows you can shoot out of the same bow if needed.

Carbon arrows are much more resilient than wood, shoot straighter, stay straighter, easier to work with.

Wood is prettier, more traditional, and above all, cooler !

[Wild Bill MCP 808]

Do yourself a favor watch Ken Beck's Black Widow videos on arrow tuning. That will clear things up for you.

Tundra

[Michael Arnette]

Originally posted by K.S.TRAPPER:
As much as your jumping around and changing everything and still figuring everything thing out I would just stick with the carbons for now. There much easier to start out with and tune, like changing inserts adding and taking off weight.

It's not the same with woodies, not trying to discourage you just saying when you get settled in and spend more time shooting and hunting and having fun and not thinking about tuning it will fall in place.

I shoot nothing but wood out of my longbows and there's a big difference in them but I won't get into that. You have enough going already, save your money shoot what you have and if all goes well then later you can try them., no hurry!

Tracy

Very good advise

[Kevin Dill]

I'll muddy the waters here. When I bought my first serious recurve...too many years ago to admit...I went straight to wood and started killing game. Back then it was aluminum or wood...there were no carbon arrows to speak about. I simply bought shafts as close to my calculated spine weight/need as possible. I did the whole prep from raw shafts and built them myself. They were fletched with hi-profile x 3.

I have serious doubts about the net benefits of bare-shaft effort. Notice I said 'net' benefits. I think a guy can get close on spine and length (factoring in the known things) and make a very good wood shaft selection. There is no legit reason to avoid woods at the outset, but there is good reason not to jump around from carbon to wood to other. And here's one set of factors why...

A majority of wood shafts have larger OD than the majority of carbons. An arrow contacts the bow in 3 places: string, shelf and strike plate. Compared to carbons, the larger OD of woods affects the actual true nock height by elevating the shaft at the shelf and lowering it at the nock point. I did the measurements and proved it. It's not huge but it will affect flight. The same thing is true for the strike plate...the larger OD results in the arrow (center axis) being farther from the plate. Those 3 alignment changes can really affect arrow flight and make for some WILD times with bare shafts.

My finished carbons were easy to build and heavier than the woods I shot...and shoot. I found carbon arrows to be extremely uniform and forgiving of small errors. Dependable. Low maintenance. Brunettes if you will.

I admit my heart will always take me back to wood arrows. I've found them to require more attention in building, from shaft selection to finished arrow. Grain alignment must be factored. Straightness is important. Nock rotation to get best feather clearance thru the bow...I've found that to be critical with longbows. Woods just demand more of you if you're going to see them at their best. And as I sometimes call them 'redheads'...when everything is where it should be, they are phenomenal.  

   

[myshootinstinks]

http://www.arrowskp.com/Kelly_s_Tips.html#setup-tuning

       

[reddogge]

To start use the spine for the arrows matching your draw weight of the bow. Deduct 5# for every inch over 28" (arrow) and add 5# for every inch under 28". Deduct 5# for every 5 grains over 125 grain point and add 5# for every 5 grains under 125#. For a longbow you may have to err on the weak side due to center shot.

This is rough but sometimes it works.

[slowbowjoe]

http://www.arrowskp.com/Kelly_s_Tips.html#setup-tuning

Read this, X2 (as I've suggested before).
Bare shafting isn't necessarily difficult, but as said, it may not be the way to start with wood shafts. Also, while you say your carbons bare shaft fine, I do recall you were experiencing a good deal of frustration with your broad heads (here's where reading Kelly's thoughts might ring true).
It won't be hard to determine the correct spine for wood with your Thunderchild. Personally, I'm also of the opinion that they're easier to tune than carbons, and more forgiving. As well as cheaper.

It's all up to you, of course - but as K.S. Trapper said, jumping around too much can add confusion. I shot wood for some years, and did try carbon for maybe a year. They weren't my cup of tea. Went back to wood, learned to make up my own for a small investment, and haven't looked back, 5 years later.

Shoot what you want. We'll help you if we can.

[JR Belk]

I'm not a fan of bareshafting wood arrows. Tune those by flight or broadhead and go at it.

I make wood arrows and my personal suggestion is to shoot what you like. It doesn't matter what anyone tells you or thinks. It really only matters what you like and have confidence in. I prefer wood arrows, but I shoot carbon and aluminum too. I'd shoot whatever I can get a nock on if it'll tune out of a bow.

I can shoot different material arrows out of one quiver and not really notice a difference. You might at first until you get accustomed to the differences. Shoot them all and have fun with them.

[the rifleman]

Ditto what Tracy and Michael said.