I shoot woodies exclusive now and wonder how many others are the same?

What type of wood do you shoot and why?

Wood is not the only thing I shoot, but Almost. I have a few different types currently. The best so far has been the POC. Just seems to tolerate my continual shooting. I have Douglas fir, but I don't particularly like the grain as much, and I have Chundoo, which have been okay, and are slightly heavier than the POC, but do not stay as straight.

I like the feel and fun of wood arrows. I have a couple people to thank for that, as I am a cam-bow cross over who shot nothing but carbon. Thankfully they introduced me to wood, and the consistency that is available with good shafts.

-Bones

From 1969 to the late 1980s I shot wood only. Then I shot aluminum for a couple years back in the late 1980s. From 1989 till present I shoot wood only. 90% of the time I shoot cedar, but I also shoot pine, maple, ash, douglas fir, and laminated pine on occasion. Sometimes I make my own shafts and sometimes I buy them. I enjoy making/building my own wood arrows, sometimes I build them plain and sometimes fancy. There is just something special to me about a well made wood ( specially cedar ) arrow.

It’s been POC for me 35 years. I’ve been holding on to this dozen that are 60 some years old

All wooden arrows and wooden bows for the last couple of decades. Hickory arras for most of it. So durable and in good hunting weights. Gives me 10 gpp for bows from 50 lbs to 90.

Like Frank, for me it's about practicality, has worked for millenia and works just as well today. I like being part of that.

Bows and arrows grow on trees.

No carbon, aluminum, or fiberglass doesn't equate to no success.

Hickory, doug fir and cedar. I quit 2117s in 2003. Why? I always hated the tink tink sound of hollow aluminum arrows, it wasn't their performance. One day I was pushing a half dozen new arrows into a foam board because I had read in TBM that was a good way to quiet them down. "Whut the hell am I doing?" came out of my mouth. Been making wood arrows from boards ever since.

N

My own white pine arrows hand planed arrows are all I shoot. Jawge

I make my shafts from spruce and D. fir. Occasionally, I use yellow pine.

All my bows and arrows were alive once. No use for metal or plastic.

Really good feedback. I am shooting PO so far but may consider some heavier shafts for Elk.

I shot POC exclusively for about 50 years. Shooting more carbon now.

I like white ash because of the way it shoots in my bow.

I shoot POC only. I have even got gotten good at fixing the I just love the traditional feel and range of creativity involved

Wood. Pine or Doug fir shafts I make myself. Bought a Doug fir floorboard for $6.29 yesterday. Cutout 20 blanks. Made 3 shafts so far 425 gr, spine 50-55lbs. POC once in a while.

Nothing but POC for me. I wouldn't mind trying douglas fir or white ash. I have no desire to shoot aluminum or carbon, though I'm sure they are fine arrows.

Scott

Hickory or vintage POC.

:)

Not yet, still shooting aluminums for now. The spine consistency is so easy with aluminums its hard to get away from. However, I do hear wood arrows calling me. Maybe soon.

I do shoot real black powder though in my sidelock muzzleloaders! :)

Chuck, how much did they spine at? ^<>^

I found out a couple decades ago that life is too short to restrict myself too much. I shot pretty much all the time from 1982 to around 2000 for hunting, but I've always had other shafts, especially aluminum. Good wood arrows are wonderful for sure and when well made, will shoot with any alloy or synthetic. Enjoy.

They make arrows out of something other then wood??

: 0

Who woulda thunk

Elderly OCR, yep. You have a point. I was thinking of what makes the bow go. I do like my takedown sleeves, though in fact, I use them so I can put two billets together easily. 8-)

I like making woods. I like the process of making them. More hands on, more use of a persons craftsmanship. BUT I can outshoot myself with metal arrows or carbon. I prove that all the time, but I still have dozens of woodies made. They are fun to shoot.

I like POC and spruce. Love making them. Love shooting them. Love eating meat. Wood does it all and anything else does not seem right out of my longbow.

I shoot POC, DF, and SS. I use wood exclusively and when properly made they shoot just as good as anything else. They last a long time too if you hit your targets;)

It depends on what bow I grab as I head to the woods. Most of the time the arrows are cedar but when I use one of self bows I use bamboo or wild rose tipped with stone.

I shoot wood mostly but I like aluminum too. For wood, I have some POC because it's a classic arrow wood and makes my arrow boxes smell great. I also have some Douglas Fir arrows because I recognise it's quality as an arrow shaft. I still have some Ash arrows I built and they fly great and hit hard. I think my all- time favorite wood has to be Hickory. I dont think you can get much tougher shaft than a good Hickory shaft. Very heavy though but hits hard. I have a difficult time keeping my targets upright shooting the Hickory and Ash shafts.

Tapered cedars

All home made shafts, mostly local Ozarks river cane, but I found Chinese bamboo (Ron Reycraft Bamboo Supply), Japanese Arrow bamboo, and some other varieties of bamboo to be superior to the cane.

At times I will also gather local sucker growth: Red Ozier Dogwood, Syringa, Viburnum, hazelnut, ash, etc.

At other times I have cut straight grained old growth Douglas Fir, pine, etc & turned my own shafts from blanks using a "drawing plate". (See my article years ago in Primitive Archer).

I use mostly wild turkey feathers & deer sinew, hide glue, pine pitch & plain old Elmer's for binding feathers. Home made stone points get pine pitch & sinew for hafting.

There was a time went I shot wood exclusively as well but as stated the time came to shoot carbons even though I fought it I found they were great arrows eventually when they got perfected better. Alloy and fiberglass yes shoot those as well also. I shoot all arrows now but the love of labor can't be duplicated other than with wood really.

Cedar and douglas and some ash. Woods are expensive anymore to buy. I still have enough to last rest of my life anyways.

Only wood, starting back in the '60s. Making my own since the '80s. Poc, Doug Fir, Spruce, Ramin, Ash, Hickory and recently some Oak. Also Cane/Bamboo.

I prefer wood myself. I mostly use POC but I have some ash arrows that I like as well. I do have a good inventory of aluminum that I shoot when I don't want to lose or break some of my wood arrows. But I don't reach for them as much as I used to.

I use nothing but wood for hunting. I make my own shafting with a jig very much Like Jim Davis's (thanks for sharing your plans) Most of them are Douglas fir or hemlock, some reclaimed and some from local woods. I will confess that I recently built a couple lighter bows and have picked up a few 600 and 700 spine carbons to try in them…Still going to use my woodies for deer and elk though

Reluctantly doing more and more wood. "Reluctant" because I hate busting them- and wood-grain carbons have been such easy-cheesy mindless fun, but like synthetic sweeteners and non-alcoholic beer are providing less and less satisfaction.

Wood arrows that I had to assemble myself and can break make me shoot more carefully, and that's usually a GOOD thing!

But simple arrows for my simple soul- plain old POC with goose fletching and Asian style "speed" nocks from Cinnabar Archery.

I have used wood for decades love the smell and warmth of POC . I ve tried Ramon, Mahogeny in different bows at different times. As much as I dislike aluminum and carbon I have come to realization that they have their place . Only thing better than allwood arrow is consistent arrow placement. Handsome is as handsome does as they say. I shot ligh bow and short draw so ...

I am slowly converting over to wood. I have a test kit coming in from 3Rivers, then the journey begins. :-)

Wood only for me since around 1990. I played with aluminum for a while before that but I love the look and feel of wood and the process of building perfectly matched, aesthetically pleasing wood arrows. Compressed cedar and Douglas Fir for me, all tapered.

Wood since 1985. I prefer lodgepole pine and fir but have also used spruce, birch, ash, yellow pine, hickory and, as a last choice, cedar. I have tried to learn to love carbon but it's not working, although I understand why others like it. I put a lot of work into my woodies and end up with tapered arrow sets matched within 3 grains weight and 1 lb spine, as straight as carbons, and about 16-18% FOC, which I think is near the point of diminishing returns for arrow stability. I think they're better for hunting because they are quiet and biodegradeable.

Nothing but Surewood douglas fir nowadays. I used to make my own douglas fir shafts before they started production. Wood since around 1986 or so.

I shoot wood for whitetails out of my recurves and longbow. I use Surewood Doug Fir and Forrester Mahogany hardwoods. I also have a dozen tapered Ash that I purchased from Silent Pond Shafts.

POC for me, but I have made some dandy shafts from old growth Doug Fir and Ash. Richard

POC ans DF here

Deno

Yup. POC's, because they're the best. But I do shoot carbon also, because wood shafts don't like rocks at the 3D range when I miss. :)

You fella's are all great! I enjoy straightening and staining my own too. Much fun..

Nothing better than wood arrows.. Mostly Douglas Fir, seems like good cedar is hard to find. I enjoy making pretty arrows, brightly colored arrows catch the kids eye and I hate to shoot ugly arrows.. LOL

chris

This spring I made up my last 2 dozen aluminum arrows. I will use them this spring and summer in archery shoots, with the goal of being converted to Wood 100% next winter and then it is lodgepole forever. (shoot the shundoo).

I harvested a considerable amount of lodgepole from my place last summer and milled it into 2" lumber over the winter. I purchased a table saw/ a planer shaper/ and a pole sander this winter, with the idea I would start making my own shafts as soon as the lumber was dry enough.

I am real excited about it, hoping it works as well as I think it will. Still in the process of gathering everything I need, but the plan is to be shooting my own lodgepole shafts a year from now when the spring shoots start up.

oz

Where are you guys finding hickory shafts ?

Mike Yancy had 5/16" hickory the last time I talked to him. Said he was getting some 11/32" in the not too distant future.

Sorry, can't help you. The places I used to get it from have closed up shop. Fortunately, I stocked up, hickories are really hard to break, and I have a pile of perfectly straight grained hickory in the garage :^)

Hard maple is another good hardwood choice.

I need to get a dowel maker.

I've got some Twig Pass Through, hardwood arrows in a swap with my buddy Scott and they look pretty good as well. A few need heat straightening, but all in all they are very good. I'll use them this year from the Osage selfbow for hunting since they are flying so well from that bow.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here