the advantages of wood.........

[highcountry]

Hey, I want 2 cents in this! Here is my findings. And I have a garage full of all three materials.
Metal; If you want to put some arrows together fast and whack targets. Good for coyote hunting since they will bite your arrows. Pretty light so I would have to add weight. I like them for FITA shooting.
Carbon: UGH! Took me much time to find the right spine, weight, cutting for spine. I really like the Alaskan Grizzly shafts. But $$$.
WOOD: Now that is where I alway go back to. If I get shafts from makers like Great Basin(Kye)they are perfect! Straight, exact weight and once sealed they stay that way. I have shafts I still shoot from Kustom King from 1984-5. Smooth,quiet and just fly great.  

I have found that with some bows, self and Hills as example, beginners have better arrow flight with cedar than anything else.  There seems to be a larger tolerance for spines with wood with these types of bows, where they can get real fussy with stiffer materials like carbon and metal.  You still need to get into the ball park with wood, but go a little on the stiff side with aluminum and you got a wobbly failure on your hands.  With bows that are more center shot that advantage is not the same.  My cedars seem tougher and more predictable than what some are describing here.  I don't know if that is a handling or a supplier issue.

[Rob DiStefano]

i hear ya, lawrence - but i wouldn't ever start a newbie off in trad with a self or hill bow.

It is more practical to start out with a used lower weight recurve for sure. From good form with a 40 pound recurve to a bit heavier Hill style is not so difficult if they have a good mental image of what they are trying to do.  I have seen many try to reinvent that wheel on their own with no input or background and come up with some bizarre looking thing on their own that never works, then blame everything on the arrow.  That is the one thing I like about recurves, just about any good arrow will do.

[myshootinstinks]

Did I say Woodies have a Soul!!!! [/QB]

Not to overstate the issue but I agree with the above statement. Beside that, cedars are generally quieter than carbons or aluminum. The last two deer I've taken were with cedars and I'm stickin' with 'em.