Are wood arrows more forgiving???

[STICKBENDER98]

It's been fun working with wood again, playing with different stains, and finishing them up with cap dips and cresting them.  I did each spine weight a different cap dip and fletch so I know what I'm shooting when I grab them.  It's nice to know that when I get settled on a specific spine weight it wont matter what bow I grab, I will be able to shoot the same arrow set up out of it.  I was very surprised with the straightness of the Surewood Shafts, very little if any initial straightening required.

Jason

[KyRidgeRunner]

Threads like this make me spend money...

[hitman]

That is true by my experience also Jason.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Originally posted by Sawpilot 75:
Yes, I find wood to be very easy to tune and more forgiving than anything else I have shot. It is beyond me how people have a problem with wood.

Exactly!  

Tracy

[KeganM]

Not for me. I tried multiple types and woods, everything from home made to professionally matched and weighed. They're never as forgiving or consistent as my carbons, even the best ones that cost more than a set of fancy carbons. If they were that's what I'd be using, but alas, no luck.

I'd like to like woods... but they don't like me back.

[SpikeMaster]

I think it's because you can get a wood arrow that is within 5 pounds of your actual draw weight. With the small choice of spine weights with carbon arrows it is necessary to add weight to the point to get them to flex enough to shoot well. I think that makes carbons more sensitive to shooting flaws than wood arrows. Just my opinion.

[kennym]

I can't tell any difference in arrow material in a well tuned arrow.

Kegan, I have had a few guys say the same as you, but were curious about wood arrows.  I gave none of them free arrows.  I think that is why they showed up.  I do go out back with them and see what's up.  In every case, at least so far, they lay down a bunch of barriers about how things get done.  Very often they are not shooting like they say they are, then when they resist any input, I give up and send them on their way.  We hear how Hill style bows are a perfect fit for wood arrows.  I believe it is much more that Hill style shooting likes wood arrows.  I have seen slow mo stuff where a carbon arrow can have numerous segment bends.  The one that college kids did, showed that wood arrows have a more singular long bend initially that smoothly melds into the 's' as it goes around the bow and transforms into a smooth opposite bend, without doing any extra kinking.  That was done with longbows and recurves that not negative of centers, like some bows are these days.

[hitman]

I just love wood, the grain  looks so good just like a beautiful wood bow. Haven' t seen many beautiful carbon bows or arrows.

[snag]

Exactly Kennym. Often because we fall short of proper tuning we want to blame the bow or the arrow material.

[KeganM]

Pavan, perhaps some day when I have more time I'll revisit woods but I just don't have the time or money these days. I've worked very hard to get my shooting to the level it is today and still want to go further, so I'm not comfortable changing how I shoot just to use them, especially when a good set costs more than my carbons. I shot Hill style for years... I'm no good at it.

I've found what works for me. If I have to change my shooting just to use them, then they're not very forgiving. Competed with them at trad world's a few years ago and the other LB shooters said the same. It wasn't the bow that made that class tough, it was the wooden arrows.

I shot them for years out of my selfbows and imagine I'll always have a soft spot for them. However at this time in my life I don't have the time to really devote to them. Meanwhile my inexpensive Bemans have proven to be well suited to all the shooting I do and last for quite some time with very little maintenance. Different tools for different jobs I guess.

[kennym]

Originally posted by snag:
Exactly Kennym. Often because we fall short of proper tuning we want to blame the bow or the arrow material.

I always blame the bow for poor shooting, because  the arrow is farther away behind the target somewhere.   :D

[Zwickey-Fever]

 

I have heard people state that wood arrows are not consistent weight or forgiving. Its not my experience. If one takes the time to, let's say, manipulate the weight of the arrow, then take the time to tune the arrow, it will give you the forgiveness that you're looking for in a wooden arrow. Most people do not have the time, or don't make the time to make wooden arrows. I believe that some may suffer from "instant gratification" to some degree. JMO.

[STICKBENDER98]

KeaganM, price wise, the dozen and a half doug fir shafts I purchased from Surewood Shafts didn't cost me any more than a dozen carbons.  I started to feel a little nostalgic thinking about when I switched to traditional, and wanted to shoot woods again.  Surewoods came highly recommended and I can see why now.  

Jason

[Zwickey-Fever]

Originally posted by STICKBENDER98:
KeaganM, price wise, the dozen and a half doug fir shafts I purchased from Surewood Shafts didn't cost me any more than a dozen carbons.  I started to feel a little nostalgic thinking about when I switched to traditional, and wanted to shoot woods again.  Surewoods came highly recommended and I can see why now.  

Jason

X's 2 on Surewood shafts.

[Thumper Dunker]

I think Woods are much better than any thing out there. Shurewoods fir for me are the best. Hard to break and fly great.
 

[KeganM]

I'm rough on gear but can get carbons, especially footed ones, to last at least three times longer than woods. Even if woods are cheaper by the dozen the still cost me more in the long run. Same thing with aluminums. I love the romance of woods but they're just not as practical or accurate.  

I'm just giving my opinion/experience; not trying to steer anyone towards or away from anything.

[forestdweller]

I'm envious of those woodies Zwickey-Fever.

Honestly I shoot carbons now but hate them. While it's true that they will last forever especially when footed, the whole look and feel of plastic arrows with a traditional bow does not feel right to me.

The carbons that do have the wood grain look (At least the Carbon Express ones) tend to have large spots where the wood grain is missing and they lose the wood grain over time with use.

I made a post a few months back about how I thought woodies were pointless but honestly since beginning to make my own selfbows I have favored wood heavily since then since it feels more traditional and I love the all wood look and the process that comes along with making your own equipment.

One major advantage that I do believe that woodies have over carbons is that if a carbon arrow does explode on you, there's a good chance your hand and arm are in trouble and are going to be filled with carbon shrapnel. Having to bend an arrow each time you miss (I shoot at small targets most of the time) tends to get really annoying.

From what I have read with woodies you can build them so that if one does break it will break up and away from you so there's no risk of one splintering into your arm or hand.

As for accuracy if they were good enough for Howard Hill, The Willhem brothers, and all of these other archers of the past than there's no way I will ever out shoot them.

Some of the guys on here have gotten their woodies to very tight straightness tolerances along with spine and weight as well.

I also feel with the traditional lifestyle it's beneficial to get away from the mass produced stuff made in today's instant gratification lifestyle and to make things on your own using a craft that has been used for thousands and thousands of years.

But again, maybe I'm just a little bit crazy because I don't even like fiberglass backed or backed bows in general. When I build and shoot a selfbow it feels very special and feels like I'm apart of something that my ancestors have been doing for thousands and thousands of years.

The whole process and craft of making your own bows, arrows, and strings is very special and goes against the grain of modern society's screwed up materialistic instant gratification values.

[Kevin Dill]

Well I really can't say either or any shaft type is more forgiving than another. That word (forgiving) is totally subjective and can mean different things to each guy. I have made wood, aluminum and carbon arrows (all) fly extremely well and not be touchy to shoot. Generally an arrow I consider touchy or less forgiving will be lighter weight, borderline spined or not matched well to the bow.

I love woods and have decades of history with them. They'll kill anything that walks and do it with style. I find they fly best when the bow is specifically tuned for that shaft and the arrow built from it. Anyone who can't get woods to fly correctly either has a mismatched bow/arrow setup, a tuning issue, or they do something differently when shooting woods. I've seen guys be very distracted or have no confidence to the point the arrows are bound to fly with less predictability. Usually it's a combo of issues. Once dialed in and confident, the arrows fly fine and hit the mark.

Carbons? Love them too...no apology. I shot Beman/Easton and found them to be wonderfully dependable and accurate. For my money the carbon dozen will likely have greater uniformity and shaft-to-shaft exactness. I happen to think they tune up very easily...as easily as any shaft type.

There might be one major advantage to carbons and that's penetration. I have no proof, but there is plenty of anecdotal and empirical evidence supporting that nothing penetrates as well as carbon shafts. For most guys it's not an issue, but some will settle for nothing less than maximum penetration performance, especially on very large or dangerous game. I like aesthetics but I'm pretty sure they don't matter an iota to me when I have a big animal bearing down on me and my brain is chilling down and entering predator mode. I just want the kill and it had better be a clean shot.

[KeganM]

From what I have read with woodies you can build them so that if one does break it will break up and away from you so there's no risk of one splintering into your arm or hand.[/QB]

I think someone's blowing smoke. How do you design an arrow so it only breaks a certain way? Do they mean running the grain off on purpose?

The carbon through the hand are mostly compound'ers. It's still in vogue to just buy a 70# compound from Dick's, practice for a week, and try to go kill a deer.  We actually had a guy do just that at our club's 3D shoot a couple years ago (our last shoot is the week before archery here in PA). He had missed target number two on a downhill shot and hit some rocks behind/below the target. Pulled it out of the dirt and kept shooting. A couple targets later that arrow exploded on release and the dry-fire caused the string to come off the cam. Never saw him again.

It's not hard to check your arrows when you hit something hard, but there are always people who either don't know or can't be bothered, and that's when injuries happen. Same as anything else.