i just acquired a self bow in a very interesting way. Gorgeous bow. Its the only long bow I own and the only non-fiberglass. it TRULY looks traditional. it SCREAMS for wood arrows instead of the carbons I own. someone please help me figure out what wood shafts it need to get to fletch up with this bow. 69 inch bow 44@ 28 (I pull about 29.5) I want HEAVY HEAVY arrows I think. thanks in advance matt G

Yeah, selfbows deserve wooden arrows, in my opinion. Hickory, maple, and ash are plenty heavy.

It's hard to say what spine would suit it without knowing more about the bow, how far from true center it's cut, it's efficiency and such, but if it's a straight standing bow and the arrow pass is cut 1/2" out from center, something about 50 lb should be a good place to start.

I really know squat about wood arrows and have just ventured there myself. If you can find hardwood shafts they will be heavier then the Port Orford Cedar, but from the guys I have spoke with a lot of them prefer Douglas Fir as a solid weight and stout arrow. That's all I got and hope it helps a little.

-Bones

Why do you want HEAVY, HEAVY arrows?

Carbons from a selfie is like a scope on a flintlock, imo.

As for heavy arrows, get some Doug Fir shafts those will get you to near 15 gpp. If you REALLY want heavy, then hickory is your shaft. That'll get you into the low 20s. I happen to like heavy slow arrows since I shoot close range only. Have fun. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wapiti will sell you a test kit and Surewood probably will, too...

I wood start there! :p LOL

There are so many variables... Is it center cut? If not how "off" is it? Is there a shooting shelf at all? I mostly shoot flat bows with no shelf. My General rule is to start w/ arrows 10 lbs lighter in spine that the actual draw weight at my length. DO NOT CUT THE ARROWS! Then play with the head weight and length till you find the right fit... If you have a trad archery shop close they could sure save you some time.

Douglas fir or i like Nordic pine,,,of course ceders but it comes down to what the bow will like as far as spine and arrow weight etc In my opinion its something you have try different types and spines and tune the wood arrows properly to said bow Hell som thats the fun part!

A selfbow made for a draw to 28 should be cautiously and carefully worked into your 29.5 draw.

Being a selfbow it should be well before center unless the maker cut a shelf into it. Show us a pic of the shelf area if you can. Without knowing more, I personally would start with 45-49 spine range at full length and a minimum 125gr point and tune to that. If you want a heavier arrow, find a point in the 145-160gr range and jump to 50-54 spine group full length and cut to tune. The closer your are to center the higher your spine should be.

A little more info from you would help. If you want heavy heavy, everything moves up, spine and point weight.

Boy, that blew right by me. Good call on the draw length, Bud. As a self bowyer that scares the snot out of me. I will say you have some extra length there, but I have no idea the rest of the bow looks like. They are tillered to a specific length. Anything under is fine and anything over another 1/2" or so isn't so fine.

Yeah. It would scare me to go 1.5 over. I see HEAVY string follow set in that bow's future.

Folks sure make arrow spine complicated anymore.

Measure the draw weight of the bow at your draw length. Decide the length of arrow you want to shoot. Add 5lbs. of spine for every inch over 28" BOP and go shoot.

Actually you want LESS spine in an arrow shot out of a selbow.

Actually it's never been my experience that self bows need less spine at all.

That goes to the over complication I referenced.

If the string is lined up throught the senter of the arrow, and the arrow is lined up with the target, oddly that's where it goes.

You need less spine because the arrow has to bend more to clear a riser with no cut out in the handle. Every self bow I've made shoots a spine 5-10 # less than the bow weight at my draw. I'm talking true self bows shot off the knuckle,not bows which have a site window cut in like a modern bow.

Guys..the arrow doesn't bend AROUND anything, if you point the entire arrow at the target. That's another popular misconception.

The reason the arrow bends, is because the mass of the arrow is resisting the inertia of the string. And that's all. The arrow bends one way as it absorbs the inertia, then it bends the opposite way to correct it's flight, in line with the application of the force from the string.

The stiffest arrow that one can shoot from ANY bow is the best choice. SImply because the arrow straightens more quickly.

Now, if you aim with the center of the bow, rather than the center of the arrow (where the force is applied) the "bend arond" comes in to play. And that's when spine gets needlessly complicated.

I shot 27" cedar arrows with 125 gr points out of a selfbow (beautiful, made by Jeff Durnell) spined at #60. Pulling around #50 on the bow and it was 7/16ths OUT from center and a dacron string. Arrows fly like darts. fdp is correct :)

I’m thinkin’ this Frank feller knows his apples!

I’m definitely among those who tend toward overcomplicating things; just depends what gives you satisfaction. Some days I’ll do just about anything to get dialed in as tight as I can, and other days I’ll grab whatever arrows I have that are decently fletched and go shoot them out of whatever bow has a string on it. I can hit my target pretty much either way...

thanks to all who replied. some more info he bowyer tillred the bow to my draw (he said he tillered to 30 inches) and that he made some bend in handle as well to handle the long draw. he used a piece of horn to make an arrow shelf and there is not much cut from the handle twd center.

why heavy? quieter, easier on bow, at least a small potential to reduce hanshock - which is not bad but noticable compared to my recurve bows. it just occurred to me that i shoudl ask the bowyer too - but, please keep the comments coming!! Scope on a flintlock - surely you jest!!! best to all - and thanks in advance mg

Frank is correct, you don't under spine self bows. Unless they are poorly made dogs, like any other style bow.

You chose the material. I would use a 30.75" long BOP 55-60 shafts with 125 grain tips. Unless this bow falls into that "dog" category I mentioned, they will shoot nicely for you.

Oh, and Id use a 5.5" feather. No, you don't need them, yes you will notice a huge difference in stability when everything else isn't perfect shot to shot. Its astonishing the difference.

You don't need hardwood to get a heavy Arrow. POC, doug fir or poplar with 200 grains up front will have you around 650 to 700. If that doesn't meet your definition of heavy, then it's on to heavier woods.

I'm in the heavy Arrow camp with you and shoot 625 to 675 from 40 to 45 lb bows. Mostly because I consider myself to be under bowed with light weight ASLs for elk. If I hunted nothing larger than Deer it wouldn't be a thing. Just my opinion though.

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