there were four basic arrow shaft materials - wood, glass, aluminium, carbon/graphite - there are hybrids of these materials, too.
wood is absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing for a stick bow hunter - and the least consistent in far too many ways. easily affected by the weather. not recommended for newbies and very casual bowhunters. but we all love 'em and we all shoot 'em.
dunno of any glass arrows available, but i had dozens of micro-flytes back in the 60's. a heavy shaft, reasonably durable, far more consistent than woodies in terms of static/dynamic spine.
aluminium's are easiest to get to fly well, the static and dynamic spine numbers are extremely consistent, can be purty light, easy on the piggy bank, but too easily prone to denting, kinking, snapping.
carbon/graphite shafting pretty much has it all except the aesthetics. they have very Very VERY diverse static and dynamic spine ranges, as noted by how they're spined in 15# groups - that alone sez something. their dynamic spine (flying out of the bow) is Much stiffer than their static spine (sitting on the bow). loading up the front end may not make the shaft as weak as you'd like, either. iow, if you go by a shaft maker's spine chart (even those for "recurves" or "trad bows") you may find those static spine range numbers are waaay too stiff for yer bow and you'll need to drop back one spine number, or maybe two.
Topic: Seeking the Right Longbow (Read 737 times)
