Wood arrows are more hands on, for sure, but not bad. And many of us like it that way. You should always inspect your equipment routinely, especially your arrows, as they take a ton of abuse. If you do as some of us trad gangers do and go roving, or stump shooting, you can really knock those arrows around. In that case, I will often check my arrow for damage after each shot, just to be sure it is not cracked.
Still, wood arrows are not quite as sturdy as carbons in some ways, but I really think that in others they are. Aluminums, at least when I used to shoot them, heck they bent if you looked cross eyed at them, and I was just not good enough to straighten them. Wood arrows on the other hand can be straightened relatively easily. I make my own and tend to shoot wherever I want with not much concern about breaking them. I am amazed at how few I actually break. When I do break one, it is typically not from straight on contact, but rather, from the tip hitting something at an angle, which often causes the shaft to break right behind the head. Other arrows materials do the same, I have seen this.
When you find worn areas, or your fletching is getting ratty, or the sealant is getting worn (note...this is not really that easy, they take a licking) you can, and should refinish them. You can get as extravegant as you wish or simply dip them into a tube of any of a number of sealants. I like to use Watco brand danish oil, which I just wipe on, then wipe off, using a rag. Not really difficult at all.
I have seen only a couple broken arows do a number on someone's bow hand, but it sure can happen just like with other arrows. My wife actually had a broken wood shaft penetrate her hand and poke out of a finger upon release. Not fun.
A wood arrow, if it breaks like that, will generally break into a point, not shatter into all sorts of fibers like earlier carbons did. I am guessing the newer woven carbons won't break the same way. Usually they break on release either because they were already cracked from hitting something, or the grain of the arrow is severe and breaks our on the side of the shaft, instead of running all the way from one end to the other.
We tend to stay away from arrows whose grain runs that poorly.
In general, traditional bows are broken down into longbows and recurves. You can go deeper than that and break out some more groups, such as self bows but these are typically part of one of the first two groups. How the bows are made seem to be much more of a descriptor.
Having fun here, keep going.
ChuckC
Topic: Ever have a woodie fail on impact? (Read 2356 times)
