Wood arrows

[DanielB89]

I have only shot wood arrows once.  That was this past weekend at the Louisiana State Longbow Championship(Sterling Harold Memorial Archery Tournament).  

A great friend of mine, Steve Raggio, let me borrow his just for the fun of shooting another class(Modern Recurve, Traditional recurve, Modern Longbow, Traditional Recurve).  Well, suprisingly, I shot really really well with them.  Well enough that I accidentally won the state longbow championship.

It made me want to get some woodies of my own, but I have NO IDEA where to even start.  I am assuming that getting into building them can be very expensive, especially since I am starting at ground zero.  

I was also wondering about the spine of them.  I was shooting a #51@28 longbow that I build a few years ago and the arrows were spined around #65(he had it written on the arrows).  I was also wondering how consistent you find them to be.  I did notice that some of the arrows would shoot higher than the others. Some may shoot left, right.  So i basically found a good arrow and tried to shoot the whole round with it.  

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Gator1]

Wood arrows are awesome, I would get in touch with David at Wildernerss Custom arrows, he will get you close,  and sell you a test kit spine range.

That way you can get the exact spine you need, his arrows are fantastic, and his knowledge is outstanding.

You'll be very happy...

[awbowman]

You are absolutely correct Daniel, wood arrows just add a whole meaning to traditional IMHO.  A good wood arrow is fun to shoot also, but carbon and aluminum is much more stable.

Talk to Steve to find out the specifics and then call David at Wilderness Custom Arrows.  You can go Plain Jane all the way up to works of art.

[snag]

Hi Daniel, congrats on the big win! Does your bow have a shelf that is cut to center? How was the nock fit on these arrows to your string?

[slowbowjoe]

If your arrows are closely spined, fletched correctly, and spin straight ( shaft, point, or nock can be out of line), and close in weight… they will fly consistently for you.

About building them: I have only been at it a couple of years. I have a spin tester, fletching jig, nock & point tapering tool, and a straightening tool. Of course, the adhesives,points, and feathers also. All these can be acquired pretty reasonably, especially if you find suitable stuff in the classifieds. Around the cost of 3 or 4 dozen good shafts.

What it does require a lot of is time and patience (at least for me). It can be very satisfying.
And, going back to the consistency: having the tools and understanding of building arrows lets me know what's up with the arrows, and correct when necessary.

All that said, if and when I do buy a made up set, I'll talk to Snag. He made my last set, and I'll add myself to the list of fans.

[mcgroundstalker]

Why don't you click onto RMSGear and see what they can build for you......

... mike ..    ...

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by snag:
Hi Daniel, congrats on the big win! Does your bow have a shelf that is cut to center? How was the nock fit on these arrows to your string?

snag, I know i replied to you pm, but I will reply here also so others can benefit from this thread.  

My bow is cut back right to center, but not past center.  The nocks fit very well.  

The main reason I want them are for use in the tournament.  I wouldn't hunt with them.  Not that I am opposed to it, but I feel that I want to use the absolute best equipment possible and i feel that a wood arrow doesn't compare to a carbon in strength, consistency, nor penetration.  Now I am only basing this off of my opinion, so it very well may be long.  But when shooting those competitions, my carbons would go a few inches into the targets when the wood arrows would barely go past the point.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by mcgroundstalker:
Why don't you click onto RMSGear and see what they can build for you......

... mike ..     ...

Mcgroundstalker,
i would love to buy some, but i wouldn't be willing to pay what they are worth.  I pay around $55/dzn for my carbon shafts and I couldn't see paying nearly 100 for arrows.  Now that is not saying that it isn't worth every penny.  But i wouldn't pay that.  Just like a bow, a BW is worth  $1300 to some people, and they shoot awesome(i own one), but i also traded a hoyt dorado to get it(the guy must have been on drugs, but i was not mad at him).

[Fletcher]

Making your own arrows doesn't require a great investment.  All you need are a good fletching jig, some polyurethane, paper towels, and a method for cutting nock and point tapers.  A good straightening hook and shaft spinner is good to have, too.

For tapers, I strongly suggest some type of disk sanding setup.  True nock and point tapers are important for good and consistent arrow flight and sanding the tapers is the only way I have found to do that.  I use a 4" belt/6" disk combo sander and find it to be great for tapers and a very versatile too for other things as well.

[NBK]

I called snag to help get my first woodies.  Very helpful, and I figured I may as well get some of the best right from the start.  They should be coming shortly I hope!    

[slowbowjoe]

[[/QUOTE]Mcgroundstalker,
i would love to buy some, but i wouldn't be willing to pay what they are worth.  I pay around $55/dzn for my carbon shafts and I couldn't see paying nearly 100 for arrows.  Now that is not saying that it isn't worth every penny.  But i wouldn't pay that. [/QUOTE]

Daniel, sounds like you might just want a set on hand for your competitions? If so, buying made up shafts is the way to go. Fine ones can be had for less than $100. When you say a dozen carbon shafts for $55, do you mean just shafts, or finished arrows? A set of premium wood shafts are around $40 a dozen.
You will not save money building your own unless you plan on making many dozen. If you do the math, you'll find buying a set really isn't much more than building your own, for the quality you're looking for. Particularly for a "plain, no frills" sort of arrow.
Depends what your real intention is, I guess.

[Frank V]

I've shot nothing but woodies for probably 7 years now & I'm not looking back. They shoot well when matched to your bow & you. I think they quiet a bow, won't click & clack when you put them on your arrow rest, don't squeak as you draw, & just overall feel better. You won't get carbon splinters from them & contrary to popular opinion, I think they are just as tough as carbon or aluminum. I've had both carbon & aluminum split & shove the insert back into the shaft hitting a hard old stump. They will look rather like a banana peeled if hit straight on. A wooden shaft may have the point driven back onto the shaft it the taper doesn't fit the point, but I just trim the small splinters this leaves & go on. They will break with glancing shots, but so will carbon & aluminum.
  Overall I like them a LOT better.
Good shooting.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by slowbowjoe:
[

Mcgroundstalker,
i would love to buy some, but i wouldn't be willing to pay what they are worth.  I pay around $55/dzn for my carbon shafts and I couldn't see paying nearly 100 for arrows.  Now that is not saying that it isn't worth every penny.  But i wouldn't pay that. [/QUOTE]

Daniel, sounds like you might just want a set on hand for your competitions? If so, buying made up shafts is the way to go. Fine ones can be had for less than $100. When you say a dozen carbon shafts for $55, do you mean just shafts, or finished arrows? A set of premium wood shafts are around $40 a dozen.
You will not save money building your own unless you plan on making many dozen. If you do the math, you'll find buying a set really isn't much more than building your own, for the quality you're looking for. Particularly for a "plain, no frills" sort of arrow.
Depends what your real intention is, I guess. [/b][/QUOTE]

I think you may be correct Joe.  I may just have to 'bite the bullet' and buy some.

[Caughtandhobble]

I'd do my best to buy Steve's arrow.  

[Cavscout9753]

A lot of the "problems" some people have with wood arrows are made out to be worse than they are. I have bounced back and forth between carbon and wood a number of times. "But carbon are so much tougher.." I tell myself. But they never feel right out of a trad bow to me. So I go back to my woodies. They don't cost that much, to build or buy, in the long run. Many of the supplies last for more than a few dozens of building, so that cost is defrayed to an extent. Do they need straightening from time to time? Yeah, but its not hard to do, 2 or 3 seconds? And my cedars never bend that much and I live in east alabama. Do they break? Yeah, so I build or buy more. Salvage the point and nock and it goes into the pile for spares. Besides I think I've broken...2 over the last year or so. Plenty of time and money in that period to pick up feathers, shafts, etc. wood isn't for everyone, and thats okay too. I just hate to see the "reasons" why be of such little things. Pick up a dozen, keep your carbons, and just shoot some of the wood on the weekends or something. Over time it'll all seem more managable and less like you're undertaking a huge endeavor by shooting wood. I'm just about to start my own building from raw shafts up, always bought pre-made arrows or finished shafting in the past. But I know it isnt a dark art. Some paint, some stain, some poly, some fletch tape and away-we-go. I wont make arrows like snag and some of the other guys here, haha but maybe thats a good thing, I think I'd cry if I broke one of those! One of mine? Eh, fly true, look "good", do the job, and when they break, grab some more shafting and do it again. Haha happy shooting whichever road you go!

[Terry Lightle]

Nothing in the world like shooting wood.

[Fletcher]

Daniel, if you are wanting these only for target use and don't plan on making more, I would suggest having a set made.  How consistent they are will depend on you and your fletcher.  
Woods can be as closely matched as alum or carbon, it just takes a large bunch of shafts and extra time and work to find them.  For serious target I would suggest a range of 3 lb spine and 10 grains weight.  

Your friend's arrows seem pretty close to your spine.  Try paper tuning with them to find which arrow shoots best then send that arrow to your fletcher so he can adjust as needed and match up a set for you.

[donnyjack]

Congats Daniel on the LTB win you shot a great score.  You might get in contact with Michael Harbison at [email protected]. He builds some wonderful arrows, he was at the S/H on Saturday, he builds some basic arrows that wont brake the bank.  Of course he also builds some works of art and if you saw the ones he donated you know what he can do. He's lives south of DeRidder in Longville and he also makes some great strings and he's a life member of the LTB.

DJ

[legends1]

I have used many arrow types. I still go back to woods. Shoot best for me.

[Wheels2]

You should try carbons, aluminum, and woods.
Each has benefits, but is not the perfect arrow.  If it was, the others would not still be made.  One of them will be the best arrow for you.  I like shooting all three types of arrows for fun because I have a few of each.  However, the weight differences require me to re-learn to shoot each due to trajectory differences.

The other day we were shooting and a new guy showed up with some old fiberglass arrows.  I was jealous.
My first bow was a Kodiak Hunter I bought in 1974 and the first and only arrows I ever shot off of it were fiberglass arrows from Kinsey's Archery.