what i've used for building lots of woodies over the decades, and though your mileage may surely vary this is how i
OVERALL regard each wood genus, in no particular order ...
- poc - quite light, not near as durable as all the other shaft woods, takes a deep stain and darkens well, straightens reasonably well, smells great, tastes great, less filling
- chundoo/pine - medium weight, pretty durable, not easy to stain, takes finish well, a bit hard to straighten
- birch - medium weight, Tough and Durable, stains ok, ok to straighten most of the time
- hex pine - medium weight, tough, durable, doesn't like stain, hard to straighten imo
- ash - medium to heavy weight, pretty durable, stains well, straightens ok
- hickory - heavy weight, tough as nails, stains ok, straightens ok
- doug fir - medium to near heavy weight, tough and durable, stains well, easy to straighten
- sitka spruce - light to medium weight, tough and durable, stains well, easy to straighten
bear in mind that there can be big differences in different lots of wood shafts, which also considers just what sub-genus of a particular wood is selected. iow, there's a bit of a gamble in deciphering which wood will yield which precise attributes, and the answer to that is "are you feeling lucky?" this is just the way it is with wood, that sometimes amorphous, not-all-that-consistent, organic arrow material we all love - and sometimes curse.
my fave is still doug fir, for a heavier, tough hunting arrow that's easy to keep straight. if i needed a lighter mass weight arrow that was still pretty durable, for use with a lower holding weight bow or for a faster flying arrow, i'd go right to stika spruce - which may be the better shaft wood for most folks.
i use surewood doug fir and hildebrand sitka spruce - trad gang vendors can supply both.