Oak dowels

[LongStick64]

Anyone ever use the Oak or Poplar dowels at hardware stores for arrows? I think they would make some serious stump shooting arrows.

[Charlie Lamb]

Archers have used poplar for a long time... oak not so much.

Not every wood (due to it's dynamic properties and/or weight) makes a good arrow.

[RaybowTx]

Ramin has been my choice for years in terms of heavy wood shafting.  The oak, I'd be scared to shoot because of grain/splitting issues.

[soopernate]

I love using poplar dowels.  I get the straightest I can find in 3/8 diameter and then sand them down till i get the spine I want.  I also taper the back ten inches.  I find them to be way more durable than POC.

[frank bullitt]

Ramin dowels is the way to go. But they are getting harder to come by around here.

  Supply and demand I guess. And politics of trade.

[bowrayme]

I found some really nice straight grain oak dowels but spine was way too heavy 100+. I haven't sanded them down to see if they will come into a good spine range.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Oak is pretty heavy and sluggish to me, but poplar and birch make excellent arrows. ramin is good arrow wood, but it can't be imported into the US any more, last I heard. Check with American Woodcrafters for birch dowels, $25.00/100.

[LongStick64]

Scattershot
Thanks for the tip.
What size do you guys recomend.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Depends on the bow, but the ones I bought were 5/16", and spined in the mid 40's for the most part.

The 3/8" will be 80# plus. You can sand them down and/or leave them long to tune. For my longbows, around 50#@28, which I draw to 26", the 5/16" worked well.