Which wood arrows shoot best?

[ken denton]

I have always used PO cedar or compressed PO cedar shafts so I don't know about the hardwood or other wood shafts.I read once that one guy could not get one of the hardwoods to shoot for him. Which wood shafts(both hardwoods and other woods) shoot rhe best out of longbows and recurves and can you really tell the difference in parallel and tapered? Thanks, Ken

[Fletcher]

Sitka Spruce, Chundoo/Lodgepole Pine, Hexpine and Douglas Fir all shoot very nicely.  I would probably give the nod to fir. It recovers very quickly and tends to be tougher and heavier than cedar.  It can be kinda brittle, tho, so check it carefully if you smack something.

I taper all my shafts and even way back when guys split and planed their shafts by hand, most target and flight arrows were tapered.  It must have been worth it then and I think it is worth it now.  Tapering helps move the CG forward and lightens the nock end helping the arrow to recover from paradox quicker.  I also wonder if it kinda "tillers" the arrow so that it flexes more evenly during paradox.  I hope to experiment with full length tapering soon.

I like and often hunt with hardwood arrows, but I don't feel they shoot as nice a a good fir or POC.

[waiting4fall]

http://www.hildebrandarrowshafts.com/

[larry]

I like cedar and 5/16 ramin shafts. Back when all I shot was wood, most all i shot was tapered cedars, whether or not they actually shot better than non-tapered shafts I'm not sure, but mentally, I had more confidence in them.

larry

[sagebrush]

Ditto what Fletcher said. I like all those woods. Gary

[Weekend Warrior]

I shoot Sitka Spruce got them from  http://www.hildebrandarrowshafts.com/
Great shooting shafts

[stump man]

I like the ones I make  myself from doug fir. And yes Tapered does make a positive difference.
stump

[LBR]

I've tried several different woods, including hardwoods and laminated shafts, and always go back to POC.  

Tapered shafts may make a difference on some bows, but I've never seen a difference on mine.  I don't shoot well enough for 1/64 or even 1/32 of an inch to make a difference.

I shot tapered shafts for years, because that's all my favorite supplier offered.  Couldn't say right now if I'm shooting tapered or paralell, or if both are in my quiver.

Chad

[Bjorn]

For a hardwood, really good ash shafting is hard to beat-in my experience anyway.
But for me, nothing flies as good as POC-especially footed POC.
I always get hunting tapered shafting and have no clue as to whether it makes any difference, I just get it anyway 'cause it looks cool and Ted at Raptor Archery does such a good job.

[overbo]

Lam.birch IMO is the best heavy arro.STAY ALOT STRAIGHTER THAN MOST HARDWOODS and extremely tough.
Downside,they don't take stain as well as some of the hardwoods.