I have just finished up making some nice poc wood shafts for an upcoming trad shoot. I have been shooting poc shafts all my life. I have just ordered some sitka spruce and douglas fir shafts, as I got a good deal on them. I have read alot about these shafts on this forum and know that douglas fir is supposedly quite heavy in comparison to the spruce and poc. Supposing all shafts are spined at 60-65 pounds with the same point weight:125grains, the same nock, 5 inch feathers, the same length and shot out of the same bow, would they land in the same relative spot? Lets say the archer was having a good day and was pretty consistent with his draw and form on the day.

In other words, would the poc shaft, the douglas fir and sitka spruce all land together? Or, due to the variations in the wood species, would the df impact lower because its heavier in grains even though all shafts are spined the same? I'm confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Being a little heavier they will hit a bit lower but not enough to worry about.

Thanks for that Bernie. I havent had a chance to test them and thought that would probably be the case. Cheers, Dan.

Deflection (spine) is deflection no matter which wood carbon or aluminum. Recovery from that deflection is another matter.

Heavier arrow will group lower.

Bowmania

Bowmania stated it well. It is all about arrow recovery. With woodies, one has to find the spine (deflection) that works best in a particular bow. Case in point, I can shoot cedars of a certain deflection out of a bow perfectly, but the same bow with ash shafts need a stiffer spine (less deflection) for proper flight.

Variation in growth ring and density will also change from batch to batch on shafts of the same species. It can make the 'art of woodies' maddening; but also a lot of fun, as you probably learned from POC long ago.

would'nt see any real difference unless at maybe very long range and you were a much better shooter than the average bear

Andy Man and Bernie X 2.

The spruce is going to be lightest. Followed by the cedar, than the fir, However, fir can be on the same par as cedar in the heavier spines due to the cedar being bigger around to make the spine requirements.

God Bless

Thanks for all your great advice guys. I really appreciate it. I am looking forward to trying out the Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir shafts when I can. Seems like a bit of playing may be on the cards!

If you got decent shafts, you'll see great benefits over POC in either of those species. If you ordered Surewood fir shafting, you'll likely never shoot another species or brand of shaft. They are the best of the best in all regards. God Bless

Thanks for the WV Mountaineer!

I've made many dozens of doug fir shafts. They make a great arrow for sure.

I always ask for the specific weight range of shafts when ordering spruce or doug fir. Haven't shot cedar in a while, as I've found both other woods to be stronger.

While spruce is generally lighter than fir, they can be close, depending on the particular batch. As far as flight, I think they each react slightly differently, but I don't think you'll see much difference in grouping. Doug fir will be the strongest (my preferred shafts), they're my first choice as I seem to break less of 'em than spruce, which we also shoot if needed for weight.

I have found that P.O.C. shafting physical weight in the heavy range just about matches Douglas Fir light range. The major difference to me is that while really good quality P.O.C. is hard to come by, Douglas Fir is durable, very straight, stays that way and is easy to come by. In my experience, Surewood Shafts Douglas Fir is outstanding as is dealing with them.

Thanks for you valuable contributions guys. I have no experience with these other shaft materials and really appreciate the words of wisdom. I am looking forward to trying them. It also gives me a good excuse to make up some more arrows.

After a few shots you will automatically adjust your release point and it won't be by much. No problemo.

I sort my arrows within just a few grain for weight for my hunting arrows.

I have found that sitka generally on average is lighter than POC and douglas fir.

Right now i'm shooting a mixed bag of practice arrows 1/2 dozen fir and one old sitka spruce that's ages old.

The sitka is lighter,and faster but out to 20 yds doesn't seem to be much different, certainly not enough to worry about if i were hunting.

However past 20, 22ish yards it starts to show, by 25 yds the sitka is noticeably flatter shooting.

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