Hex shaft wood arrows

[WidowEater]

Can someone please tell me about these.  I understand they are made to be uniform the whole way around but are there any advantages or disadvantages to them?  Would nock direction not be as crucial?  How are they manufactured?

[Rob DiStefano]

Here's the scoop on hex pines ...

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/

[hill boy]

I am shooting my first batch of hex shafts right now.I think I'm really going to like them.By looking at them and if I understand correctly its basicly a laminated arrow.durability would be better and nock placement wouldn't be an issue because there isn't a grain running the full length of the arrow, these are several shafts cut full length in a pie shape and then laminated back togeather to make a completed shaft.Maby this helps.there is probably a better way to explain it.

[WidowEater]

thanks rob for the site info, and to you mike for your experience as well

[BobW]

Its the same way a split bamboo fly rod is made.....

[Dustin Waters]

I noticed when you hit something with them the glue laminations try to give way right above the point.  I wasnt a fan and havent shot them in a year or so

[Jeff Sample]

WidowEater,

I'm working up a set of footed hex shafts that I got from Bob Burton at Whispering Wind Arrows a couple years ago. I'll let you know how they do. As to your original questions, I bought them because I was looking for a heavier arrow for Africa - they are heavier than POCs, and I have a hard time getting hardwood shafts in my spine (90-94#). The ones I got from Bob should finsish out at 775 gr with a 125 gr BH; my equivalent tapered POCs max out about 620 gr. Because of their composite design, nock alignment (to grain) is not an issue, which is nice, 'cause after the end is painted and sealed, it's hard to see the grain at the nock end of a POC shaft when installing the nock. Mine are quite straight and have stayed that way (unsealed), and those that had a slight bend in them were easily straightened with some heat from a heat (paint) gun, as per Bob's instructions. They also have a nice grain pattern that shows through the finish, and the footed ones are sure purty!

[bushytail]

I tryed them.Like some of the other have said,nock placement isn`t a issue.Other than that i realy didn`t see a differance.

[Rigs]

I tried the Hex shaft last year and I loved em. Easy to work with. Durable and great weight selection. Did I say durable??


I've bounced em off lots of rocks and stumps I didn't think were as hard as they were while stump shooting and found no damage to these arrows. I broke one arrow last year hunting and that was the deer's fault...

I bought my hex shafts from Bob Burton at Whispering Wind and followed his directions right down to the sealer used on the shafts and am quite happy with the outcome of the arrows and the service.

Happy hunting,
Jason

[Rob DiStefano]

I've used hex pines quite a bit.  I like them because they're durable, pack some weight, have a fairly even spine around the shaft, and they stay reasonably straight.  If I hadda shoot nothing but woodies (heaven forbid!), hex pines would be my first choice.

[Overspined]

All of these posts are the exact opposite of how I felt about working with hex shafts, and on another thread of about 15 people or so, there wasn't one happy customer. It was a thread on the widow wall I believe. I found only 8 even near straight and I had ordered 2 dz. The ones I tried to straighten either wouldn't take, broke, or were a lost cause. Maybe I got a bad batch, but I will stick with POC from my local shop where I can take a quick look at what I am buying. JMO and experience

[aromakr]

Overspined:
A quick lesson in working wood shafts. The primary difference between POC and NON-POC shafts is the moisture. In POC the moisture is oil, this retards a shaft from warping. In NON-POC shafts the moisture is water, as water content decreases or increases the shafts will warp, no different than any other type of non-POC wood. Yes the Hex-shaft will require straightning, some none,some a little, some alot. Then seal them well too keep the moisture as stable as possible. I have been in on the ground floor with the Hex-shaft and have thousands of satisfied customers, and like you some dissatisfied customers, but I believe that was because they did not know how to work the shaft, and they didn't call for help. which I'm more than happy to do.
Bob

[San Juan Slim]

I had some old hex-pine shafts I bought from 3-Rivers a few years back when they carried them.  I made up a dozen for a mountain goat hunt and they worked great.

I then bought some more from Bob at Whispering Winds and I did have trouble straightening them as well as trouble with them not being as tough as my older shafts.  Bob did suggest that I use heat to straighten them.  And that helped.  I have heard other guys saying that different batches of hex shafts they bought performed differently, so I wonder if the wood quality and adhesives sometimes vary and cause some of the shafts to have more problems than others.  My older shafts seemed to have much cleaner and tighter joints where they were put together.

Mike

[Walt Francis]

I have used hex shafts for several years and been extremely satisfied with their performance.  I went to using the footed shafts after breaking a few of my non-footed hex arrows while stump shooting, though  the non-footed shafts were a lot more durable then any cedars I have used.  Like mentioned above, I use a little heat when straightening the arrow then seal with Bob's sealer, and they have stayed straight.  They might take more work to get right, but when done properly they are the best wood arrow I have found.  If you want a perfect arrow get yourself some Arrow Dynamic carbons, they are the best shafts currently on the market.  Personally, I can't bring myself to shoot carbon arrows from my selfbows, though I have no problems using them in my glass bows.