Guess I'm the odd one again (so what's new?). I bare-shaft my arrows, and can easily shoot them 20 yds with no fletching (as long as I don't pluck, etc.). I shot Douglas Fir for a while, and they were a little more durable than good POC, but not much.
I break an arrow occassionaly, but most of the time I know it's going to break before I shoot it--most of the time the shot is preceeded by "hey ya'll--watch this!" or "I bet you can't make that shot".
Even shooting lots of tournaments every summer (and some of the folks that set out targets are sadistic, have stock in an arrow business, or both), a dozen arrows easily lasts me a year (I don't squirrel hunt with a bow--yet).
I am picky about my shafting, but that's not rocket science. I shoot
[email protected], but I used to shoot 82#. Didn't see squat difference then either. Ash is definately tougher, but not worth the aggravation of trying to keep them straight.
I plan to stick with POC, at least as long as I can get decent shafting. It works for me.
Chad