Wooden arrows

[Chester Thompson]

I am looking at getting some wooden arrows for the new bow that I am getting in a few weeks (it is stave that I got from Two Tracks that somebody is tillering for me, and I will do the final sanding on it. My question is in general how long do your wooden arrows last? I have some carbons that should work for my stump shooting, so that should help make them last longer. Is there anything that can be done  to help keep them from breaking?

Thank you,
Chester

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The only way to keep woodies from braking is not shooting them. LOL

I have woodies that are 4yrs old.

[pronghorn23]

I have woodies from two years ago. The one drawback I don't like about wooden arrows is if you hit something that will break them or if you hit one while target shooting. Not durable like aluminum but then it gives a good reason to make more arrows.

[moebow]

Chester,  There's wood and then there's wood.  Sitka spruce and Douglas fir are very tough and will last quite a while.  The most common break in wood is right behind the point.  One way to reduce breakage here is to foot the shaft with hardwood.  That also helps with weight forward.  Good luck.

[woodchucker]

I still have 4 ash arrows out of a dozen that Joe Skipp made for me 6 years ago!!!!! I have used them for 3-D,Hunting,Stumping,and Bunny Hunts.(JLMBH) These 4 arrows just refuse to give up the ghost!!!!! If you buy good hardwood arrows,I would not be suprized if they outlasted even CARBONS!!!!!

(BTW, and they're HEAVY!!!!! no "foc" needed)  

[Shaun]

Don't get attached to wooden arrows, they are ammunition and expendable.

[reddogge]

If I break a target arrow behind the point I just retaper it and put the point back on.  It shortens the arrow a tad but they work.  If I break it twice I put a Reparrow on it to bring it back to lenght.  I find mine last a long time (years).

[newtotrad]

I'll second Sitka Spruce.  Strong stuff.

[snag]

I have stumped with Surewood douglas fir shafts and they have held up very well. I have damaged just as many carbon and aluminum shafts as wood. If you hit something hard any of them will either bend or break.

[maxwell]

A good hardwood shaft will last a very long time I have broken more alum.  and had carbon split where wood just absorbs the shock.

[bushytail]

I keep going going back and forth between carbon and wood.I just got some footed shafts i want to try.(never tryed footed arrows).And these are tapered in the back about the last 9in.(never tryed them either).Wood has a nice smell when they break.Carbon or alum has no smell when they break.I heard footed shafts are stronger behind the point because of the stronger wood.But,I also heard the joint of the two shaft where they join is the weak area.I`ll find out when i get them fletch and start shooting them.

[Broken Arrow 1]

Shoot cedar because when they break they smell good!

[Dave Bulla]

When I first got cedar arrows I used to break them like crazy.  I switched to maple shafts and they are the most durable shaft I've used.  I once missed a target butt (Imagine that!) and hit the piece of all thread that held it together so squarely that the arrow bounced about 15 yards.  It actually mushroomed the field point!  The shaft was fine though.  

Eventually I went back to cedars and for some reason I didn't break nearly as many as I did at first.  Maybe I was missing the target less often?

Now I'm trying carbons and while they fly great, the are a bit on the light side and take a lot of tinkering.  They are pretty tough but I've messed up a couple of them too so they certainly aren't bullet proof.

Of all things I've used, cedars are my favorite just for nostalgic reasons.  I got into trad to get away from the technology of archery.  Wood arrows take some work but so does trad shooting.  They just kinda go together.  Ya get out of it what you put into it....

[Chester Thompson]

Thanks guys for the replies, I really want to try wooden arrows, and what I wanted to make sure that unless I mess up, that I won't be replacing arrows every few months. Now to decide what to get.

Thanks,
Chester

[portugeejn]

I have been using Surewood Douglas Fir shafts, and they are pretty tough.  When I first started I used Port Orford Cedar, then tried Sitka Spruce-which seems pretty strong but is lighter than Doug Fir, and have settled on Doug Fir.  Surewood makes a good arrow shaft.

RonP

[Don Stokes]

For durability you can't beat the hardwoods. They are at least twice as tough as any softwood based on scientific testing. I have Superceder poplar shafts that I've shot off and on for more than 15 years. I'm hunting with some of the older ones this year. My poplar shafts are more durable than the aluminums I shot many years ago. It's truly rare for me to break one.

I still have about 80 dozen, so I'm set for life!       PM me if you'd like to try some.