Why shoot wood ?

[Zwickey-Fever]

wood arrows are simply more traditional to me. Carbon & aluminum, not so traditional to me. A primal feeling comes over me when I am blessed to take a animal with a wooden arrow that I made from a raw dow like looking shaft. It takes me about a week , from start to finish a dozen wooden arrows, about 2-3 hours for a dozen of carbon or aluminum arrows. It takes patience and time to make a batch of wooden arrows. No two are the same as well because they have personality, unlike carbons and aluminum. Just my 2 cents.

[forestdweller]

Because they are more traditional and rewarding. They require time and care and are a piece of art. Plus they are less likely to hurt you in case of failure.

I hate checking carbon arrows for damage after slapping one up against another one.

Also all of the wood grain carbons that I have seen look like crap.

The ones I have seen in person have missing parts that are not painted with the wood pattern, have a seam in the middle, they look like plastic crap...lol.

[bearsfeet]

I am switching to wood this year. My reason is I like the weight for my bows setup. I like the simplicity and love the looks of a well crafted wood arrow.

Shot side by side wi High FOC carbon and aluminums and shot them just as good so had no reason not to.

[monterey]

Originally posted by kennym:
I'd start a thread about carbons but those guys are all out shooting......    

Unfair, Kenny!   :(

We wood guys just don't happen to go out much after 6:30.

[Fletcher]

Graps, your initial post says it well.  I can't imagine shooting anything else.

[Sam McMichael]

I really like wood, period. I don't know why, though. It just seems to fit in with my longbows and screams "TRADITIONAL". I do sometimes shoot aluminum but only out of certain bows.

[Matty]

For me the most important thing is that I can make the arrows within 3 gr of weight and 1 pound of spine. (Sometimes closer)  Pavans number 6!  I can shoot a carbon arrow out of most of my bows but they are not "elk arrow" weight without WAAAAYYY front loading them or adding something to the inside of the shaft. Which makes them noisy or gives them poor flight. I can make a 450 grain arrow @ 55 spine or 600+ gr arrow of the same spine. It's quite incredible. And I've had massive luck with the guys at surewood. Ive become a huge fan!

[Kevin Dill]

I've never shot an arrow I didn't build myself. Aluminum, Graphlex, Cedar, Sitka spruce, Carbon, Douglas fir...all of them have passed through my crester, fletching jigs and bows. I mainly shot POC shafts for 20+ years with an occasional foray to aluminum starting back in the '80s. I've had good hunting success with all these shaft types.

Somewhere around 2006 I had grown quite bored with building and shooting wood arrows. I decided to do some serious experimentation with carbon (thank you Bob Morrison) and I made a full switch. I loved everything about the carbon shafts for hunting, and I made them as custom as my woods. I've never owned a set of any shafts that out-performed those carbons for durability, straightness, consistency, and penetration. I shot a lot of game in those years and never had a problem r/t shaft material. So why shoot woods?

Boredom again. I grew a bit tired of carbons and their predictability. Maybe I need drama in my life, lol. I definitely enjoy a challenge and woods offer a bit more of it than man-made materials. A well-made wood arrow is obviously more classically beautiful to behold than the finest carbon. I consider them higher maintenance and a bit finicky, but worth the effort for some of us. I'll be honest and say (for me) their performance doesn't precisely match the carbons I used, BUT their performance is extremely good and certainly enough to confidently use on the game I'm chasing.

I love the aesthetics of wood, but aesthetics aren't enough to sway me. I demand good performance and I want one heck of a hunting arrow in my quiver. When I returned to wood shafts I went to the men at Surewood and they made it happen. I have nothing but praise for their quality and service. I also have nothing but confidence when I look at my quiver.

[Chain2]

OK Guys, You have me shooting a Hill style bow. You even have my bending my elbow while doing it, shortening my 31" draw. Now you're going to get me to shoot wooden arrows. How long can I get them ? I never liked the idea of pieces of carbon in my meat. The wood arrows I see here look fantastic. I hope this wasn't a hi jack.. Thanks Guys

[Ken Taylor]

For most of the same reasons already mentioned.

I don't run into other bowhunters very often, but when I do, they don't ask me why I shoot wood, they just look at me in a strange way.

However, I have to admit that I do sometimes shoot aluminums I have remaining in a size they no longer make... so I guess that's "old" too now, LOL!

this is like the old heavy bow thread, it is about 'why shoot wood', not 'Why shoot wood, when etc. etc."  I need to add a reason.  When arrow loss is a real issue, as in small game hunting, the price arrow starts to count up.  A net length blunt made with the cheep grades, do it yourself shafts, or older dinged up arrows makes for shooting at fast small game more about the shot and less about the cost of the shot.  Also, when arrow loss is higher, you are only leaving some sticks behind.

[Longtoke]

Originally posted by pavan:
this is like the old heavy bow thread, it is about 'why shoot wood', not 'Why shoot wood, when etc. etc."  I need to add a reason.  When arrow loss is a real issue, as in small game hunting, the price arrow starts to count up.  A net length blunt made with the cheep grades, do it yourself shafts, or older dinged up arrows makes for shooting at fast small game more about the shot and less about the cost of the shot.  Also, when arrow loss is higher, you are only leaving some sticks behind.

good points here,  a quiver full of woodies with blunts or cheap  broad heads is perfect for small game.

I do need to admit that I carry expandable carbon walking sticks.  I have arthritis and torn muscles in my low back and landing gear, sometimes the Super Male Vitality gives me more super boy vitality than I should have.  Dang pheasants and bunny hoppers don't make it easy.  They are handy for picking through weeds when looking for a lost arrow, besides making the hills a little more doable. I should maybe make myself a takedown bamboo stick.

[YosemiteSam]

I love woodies for my selfbow.  But for all-around use, it's still carbon for me.  I'd do wood all-around but carbon is way more available due to the local proliferation of compound shooters.  I shoot them full length so no special tools are required.  POC, after shipping, can run pretty comparable in cost to carbons.  Doug Fir and other woods require a disc sander & jig.  Net of all costs and hassle, carbon still has its advantages.

Our ancestors didn't use wood because it was the best tool for the job, biodegradable, aesthetically pleasing, smelled good, etc.  They used it because it was available everywhere and easily adaptable.  I still love wood.  But sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth.

[Mint]

I moved away from wood about ten years ago if I had to guess. I had bought about 200 of them in the mid nineties when there was a shortage going on. Shot them for 3D and hunting. For the Muzzy Stump shoot I shot aluminums since the wood just wouldn't last with hitting rocks are even the foam target and breaking with the torgue.

 When carbons came out I tried them first for the Muzzy shoot and the ease of them just took over. I liked that if I had 3 of an original dozen left over they were the same grain weight as a new dozen I just bought. Loved when I went to florida on my annual hog hunt I could practice in the sane pit with field points and then quickly screw on some broadheads. Also loved how I could change from different style broadheads with ease. Noticed that penetration was better too.

Would I shoot wood for 3D and deer, sure and I just might.

[snag]

'Cause I like to. I like making them and shooting them. They satisfy all my needs as an archer.

[Captain*Kirk]

Sure, carbon and aluminum both have superior qualities over wood. So do magnesium risers and carbon fiber limbs. Not knocking them nor those who choose to take advantage of those qualities, it's just not my cup of tea. I used to hunt with compounds once upon a time...I went trad to relax and smell the forest around me. Woodies and vintage bows just seem to fit.

I shot some indoors today.  My Groves recurve and a longbow.  Normally these two bows will shoot the same shaft in wood and aluminum.  I tried a friend's carbons, they were, of course, ungainly long, but they flew good out of the recurve.  Out of the longbow it was a hell of a carnival. I think that bows that are not center shot are better wood shooters.

[mwosborn]

I love shooting wood arrows.  But I also love shooting carbon and aluminum.  Just depends on what bow I am shooting.  All wood bows I shoot all wood arrows.  Fiberglass bows I shoot woods, aluminums, and carbons.

[Westkyhunter]

I haven't been shooting wood very long myself. I got a wild hair to try some last summer after flinging a few cedars a friend had. I was blown away at the difference in them and the carbon and aluminum arrows I'm most familiar with. The thing is I'm on a pretty tight budget and therefore look for cheaper routes to the same out come or quality of the gear I choose without simply just adding it to an online shopping cart. I decided to go looking for a nice straight grain spruce board that I could hopefully reduce to some nice well tuned and deadly arrows. I won't go into full detail of building them however what I ended up with was five beautiful all natural wooden arrows on my first attempt complete with real turkey feathers which I two fletched with my own feathers from gobblers I'd taken myself. They turned out way better than I had ever imagined and were extremely close in weight and spine too! Their total weight came in at a smudge under ten grains per pound of draw. I skipped the field points and applied some razor sharp Magnus two blades on them. They literally flew like darts! I was ecstatic! They flew so good and were so quiet the carbons sat on the bench when deer season started. I had to hunt with these new to me special arrows no matter what. And hunt they did!! The first three of four whitetail tags were filled with these special arrows. No doubt in my mind no carbon or aluminum arrow could have performed any better or been any more lethal than these cheaply made fine tuned death rays!! I cannot believe I waited so long to give them a place in my quiver. There's something special about having one of these nocked on the string, bow held close, while tucked in a special little hiding place on the ground anticipating the arrival of a beautiful whitetail. It's hard to put those feelings into words. There's no way I'll ever experience those emotions with carbon or aluminum. That's why they'll always be special to me! They're soft to the touch, dead silent in the shot, and fly where I'm looking.  I've already got more made up and they shoot just as good.