Should a trad newbie shoot woodies?

[Scott357]

I need some more advice. Based on my other thread about poor accuracy with my broadheads it appears I might have to buy some new arrows at some time soon. When I got back into this I had the intention of ditching aluminum and carbon arrows and going to wood at some point. My question is with me still being fairly new and inexperienced to traditional tackle should I just jump in and go to wood shafts or should I stick to modern arrows until I gain more experience? I already fletch my own aluminum arrows. I was reading some of the tutorials here and it looks like all I would really need to buy was a tapering tool and I could just get one of those cheap plastic ones to keep the costs down and I could improvise some of the other tools needed. I saw a video somewhere with a guy who was hammering table spoons into trade points and hafting them onto his woodies. Things like that really appeal to me and I sure couldnt do that with aluminum arrows. I know the wood arrows will need more maintenance than aluminums. Should I just jump in with both feet and do it?
Thanks to all for your patience with a new guys endless questions.
Scott.

[JamesKerr]

I think if you have the time to make wooden arrows and enjoy doing it go for it. Really good wood shafts are getting harder to come by it seems like every day. Most places where you can buy wood shafts will have them spined right but they are nowhere near being weight matched. There are quite a few guys on here much more knowlegable about wood shafts than I am. Welcome to the site!

[Broken Arrow 1]

Shoot what feels right to you. I have never shot anything but wood. Remember to have fun with it.

[Scott357]

When you say weight matched are you saying individual shafts should be weighed and sorted like I would with bullets if I were reloading rounds for competition?

Scott.

[Steve O]

Stick with what you know.  I think wood arrows are for experts.  Every time I try them, they humble me.  I do not think beginners need the extra complexity a wood arrow brings.  Carbon and aluminum make more sense to me and I am not a beginner    

[ChuckC]

Scott, woodies are great.  Don't be afraid of using them.

Until, and unless you are into big tournament perfection, don't get TOO wrapped up in perfectly matched shafts (spine / weight).  Get them close and shoot em.  

I have also found that woodies fly best out of some of my bows.  

Another trick,  whether you bare shaft tune or not,  get a decent spine match (to your bow) then use 5 or 5.5 inch fletch and you can shoot nearly any reasonable arrow, especially with field tips or narrower broadheads.

Have fun and shoot some arrows.  Gain some experience before you get too into the perfection thing.
ChuckC

[snakebit40]

Originally posted by Steve O:
Stick with what you know.  I think wood arrows are for experts.  Every time I try them, they humble me.  I do not think beginners need the extra complexity a wood arrow brings.  Carbon and aluminum make more sense to me and I am not a beginner      

X2

[m midd]

I started with wood and still shoot wood and some aluminum. Dont be afraid to use them but if you cringe at the sight of a broken arrow you might want to start out with something else.
Dont get me wrong i love wood arrows and love to build and hunt with woodies. Try them out and see what you think.

[Bjorn]

I love wood and it is all I shoot but I would not recommend it to a newbie-too overwhelming. Would not recommend reloading to a newbie either. Focus on shooting ability, form etc. When it is all under control and you are looking for more try some wood arrows and if you really fall in love-go for it!

[Glunt]

Yes.  We are talking wood arrows here, not rocket science...well I guess its sorta like rocket science.  Really woodies aren't complicated.

That said, for me carbons are by far the cheapest arrows in the long run.

[Roy from Pa]

Wood arrows are neat. They are not as perfect as aluminum or carbon though. If you buy a dozen shafts, most likely 4 of them will be perfect and good for hunting, 4 will be ok and good for 3-D, and the other 4 will be good stumping arrows. All depends on what you want to get out of Archery. I number my arrows and take note of which ones fly the best, those are my hunting arrows. If I have one or two that just don't fly well, even after trying to straighten them, I brake them over my knee:)

[darin putman]

If you can tune em shoot em, if you can't keep trying that's the only way to learn, and sooner or later you will get it.Lots of great advice on site, Good Luck and Happy Shooting!!!!

[Flying Dutchman]

I like woodies a lot. Try to find a supplier who is willing to match a batch for you. My suplier handspines and weightmatches my shafts for me so they are all very equall and close to carbon.
I straighten them myself. I always check, before I go shooting, if they are all still straight.
When you have well matched, straight arrows, who are right for your bow, nothing equalls them!

[Night Wing]

I've shot both wood and aluminum arrows when I was starting out in trad bowhunting 48 years ago. I found an aluminum arrow was very easy to tune to a bow rather than a wood arrow.

To this day, I've always shot an aluminum arrow.

[reddogge]

Turning out a matched set of woodies takes some know how and effort. Also maintaining them takes effort. They all warp  some so must be kept straight. Buy a supply of reparrows while you are at it. You will need them.

[joe ashton]

they smell better than carbon.

[Scott Teaschner]

You really dont need another variable in the equation when learnig. Find a carbon or aluminun that is spined correctly and get some instruction on tuning your bow and maybe a lesson on shooting and form. The lesson on shooting and form may just be the best investment you ever make!

[Rustic]

I say jump in with both feet. Thats the only way you will know if they work for you. A fellow TG member gave me a dozen Sitka Spruce shafts. I love these arrows because I've learned to hand straighten them, put self nocks into them and add various field tips and broad heads. BTW, they shoot like darts.

[NEB]

Some here may disagree with me, but shoot what you want to shoot.  I have bows that are cut to center that I shoot carbons from and I can get them to shoot with minimal fletching.  But I also have bows not cut to center that when compared to center shot bows can be a nightmare to tune.  Work hard on getting the best tune you can, but don't give up because you are not getting lasers out of every arrow.  Slap some 5.5" bananas on there and get in the woods.  I love wooden shafts, and like them specifically with particular bows.  However, they tend to fly best with narrow broadheads and big fletching, which means they are not very forgiving and really hard to get to tune perfectly. I will never shoot aluminum again because I simply cannot find a reason to do so; I like wood and really old wood (carbon). My 2 cents.

[LimBender]

Depends a lot on your free time, because there is a lot of other stuff to learn and master.  I have not become good enough in other areas to take on wood arrows.  I tried, but got frustrated because my time is very limited, and was first used for things like practicing and learning shooting, learning how to cut arrows, fletch arrows, sharpen broadheads, tune a bow . . . But it's something I look forward to doing one day.

Good luck.