Should a trad newbie shoot woodies?

[lt-m-grow]

Wood is cool, but stick with the aluminum or carbon as a beginner as some others have offered IMO.

Tradition hunting and shooting rocks, but take if from someone that only started shooting trad 6 or so years ago.  Don't buy into the"how simple it is" crowd.  There is a lot more complexity than some folks admit to.  My theory is they have been shooting trad for so long that a lot of the complexity has become normal or simple through time and experience.  That is great, but confounding to the new guys that are trying to learn.  

 I too started with wood, and now only shoot carbon as I don't want to screw around with arrows.  I want to shoot and shoot.  I work on form and go hunting...I have a great time.

Seriously, nothing wrong with wood either and I may do it later, I just would advocate eliminating some variables at the onset.  Heck you can play and add more complexity as you go.

And I do agree have fun, but you will have more fun through success.

[heydeerman]

Every traditional archer should cut their teeth on wood arrows at some time. Most guys buy the bow, string, leather goods all made by someone else. You can buy arrows made by someone else too. If you buy a couple dozen wood shafts, stain em, seal em, put nocks, feathers and points on em...no matter how pretty they are or not...you made something and are contributing to yourself and the sport. You can do the same thing with tin or carbon shafts but it aint the same. I aint saying wood is the only way to go. I hunt with carbon arrows most of the time. But making wood arrows is just plain fun. You get to make em yours.

[OffTheKnuckle]

Still pretty new to archery.  I like the woodies But I prefer to practice with aluminum because it is cheaper and if I ain't shooting right I can't blame the arrow!

In some cases wood arrows are much easier to predict for spine than carbons or aluminum for a beginner.  It takes quite a bit of experience to tinker and tweak carbons to get them to fly for some bows and draw lengths.  Woodies can be just as closely grained as anything, my last set only varied two grains for the entire dozen, I have never even had aluminum arrows get that close.  Some bows will like to have the woods over spined and some like Hills will either be right on or slightly under for shorter draws, from the spine charts. Knowing what your bows is and your real draw weight and length could help you get more accurate pointers on which wood shafts to buy.

[DayTripper]

I am relatively new to traditional archery as well. I agreed with Heydeerman, jumped in both feet. Buy a dozen handmade arrows and have at it. I started out buying arrows now I am learning to build them. Like fly fishing you can tie your own flies or buy them. I know a very good arrowsmith if you need one.

[Caddo]

It's all about what you want to get out of your Archery Journey. Yep, there are things that have to be learned about wood arrows, especially if you get into building your own. For some folks, it's right. For others, not so much. I've been shooting wood arrows all of my life, so I like to think that I know them pretty good. For me, wood arrows have a certain "life" to them that you'll never experiance with carbon or aluminum. It's another one of those wonderful things about Traditional archery, you can do what's right for you.
  The other thing is, you'll never know unless you try. I'd hate to think that I missed out a possible, great experiance just because I didn't try it to see what I was missing!

And for the nay sayers, thank God that Aluminum and Carbon arrow shafts came along! I don't how anyone managed to kill anything with a funky old wood shaft!    

LD

[Roger Norris]

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      

A lot of good sense in that statement. I love wood arrows, but they are a challenge unto themselves....

[PTLMG]

I agree that we should shoot whatever hits the right spot on our quarry.

[Sam McMichael]

I started out with wood so have never considered there to be any greater learning curve with them than aluminum (I have never shot carbon). Just do the work necessary to tune up your equipment and go have fun. However, the "learning curve" with cedar sure smells good.

[wooddamon1]

Sounds to me like you already might have an inklin' towards wood arrows. Get some stuff and slap 'em together, you'll love it!

Serious wood shaft/arrow providers can set you on the right path to a short testing period, which means more time to shoot!

[Stumpkiller]

Used to was wood arrows were the inexpensive way to go.  I started with wood, briefly tried aluminum when I bought a compound in 1980 (some "pro" selected the dia. & wall size I needed).  After two years I was disgusted that the aluminum arrows were ruined quickly when roving and went back to trad bows and wood arrows.  

Now it's not the money savings it used to be, but it is still possible to turn out cheaper wood arrows.

Never tried carbon, and I have no idea how to order up an aluminum arrow now if I wanted to try.  I consider aluminum and carbon much more difficult to grasp than wood.

Guys with one eyebrow and stone knives were making wood arrows before they knew how to write or make wheels.  It ain't that hard.

[Fletcher]

If wood is what you want to shoot, then absolutely go for it.  The sooner you start learning the sooner you will figure it out.  Wood isn't some mysetrious substance that only a master can make work, just start with good shafts from Surewood/Braveheart.  If you want some help with spine, shoot me a PM with your phone # and we'll figure it out.

[59Alaskan]

Yes

[thump]

I started out with wooden Bear arrows around forty years ago. Then went with aluminum when they were popular .And have been shooting wood again for the last  25yrs. So yes try them.

[Mint]

Wow, i can't believe all the responses on how hard it is to get wood arrows flying. To me wood arrows were always more forgiving to shoot and really not hard to get flying right. Ask another archer at a shootto try some of his woods to see which spine arrow flys best for you. Then get those spined shafts and try them out. You can always changed the point weight from 125gr down to 100gr or up to 160gr to tweak while tuning. might even have to cutthem down a little but by no means is it hard if you buy arrows close to what you need in spine.

[Bill Turner]

I for one prefer wood and aluminum over carbon. I shoot wood for the additional weight,looks and noise reduction,  and aluminum for cost, ease of building, and consistancy of flight. Tried carbons but never liked the challenges of weight, cost and problems with different types of glue. With that said, shoot what you like and can afford.  

[bigbadjon]

Wow, some of you guys are really intimidated by wood. There really is no special skill in using wood arrows, other than straightening if they get bent. I do suggest you get better spine groups than the 6# variances commonly sold though. Drop a line to Tommy at rmsgear. They usually have shafting spined to the pound for about the same price as the standard groups.

[Sam McMichael]

A number of folks have spoken about the difficulty and maintenance issues with wood, but I just don't see it. They must be tuned to your bow like any arrow but are no more difficult than anything else. Maintenance has never been a problem, either sometimes a quick sight down thw shaft will show a bit of crookedness but a few flexes of the shaft usually puts things right again. I don't repair wood shafts, though. If one cracks I discard it, but replacing lost points, broken nocks, and damaged fletching is easy.I  don't think it will be especially difficult for you. If somebody as unskilled as me can do well with wood, anybody can. After you break up a dozen or two, you will be an expert.Remember this, whether you go with wood or some other arrow material - Don't fall in love with your arrows, because they won't be around that long. That's just part of archery. Wood is fun, so jump right in..

[Shakes.602]

I agree, Jump In With Both Feets!!     I just Love to make my own arrows, and they are, in the long run, Cheaper to Replace!! You dont cry so hard when ya wreck a Woodie.     There is a Multitude of Dealers and Most of them, if not all will treat you Right!! Hint: If you are serious about staying with wood, buy a  GOOD  Taper Cutter! They are Invaluable!! I have used the Pencil Sharpener Types for Years, with no Complaints, Blades are cheap to Replace! Good Luck to You, and above All Have FUN!!  

[Scott357]

I am going to give it a try. More my first batch I wont get fancy. I will just get some stain and polycrylic from the hardware store and one of those plastic taper tools. I already have a fletching jig and a few feathers. If they dont work out for me I guess there are still plenty of aluminum arrows floating around out there!

Scott.