Hi PEOPLE, I've had a bug in my brain about stumping and may have to RE-THUNK this issue. From what I have heard from People on the Wall, it seems that shooting at stumps can be really bad on breaking arrows (on impact) Mush-rooming at the insert point for aluminums & carbons and other nasty results? Maybe the idea of TRUE roving ( root-balls, clump of grass, patch of leaves etc.) is better?? For one thing, I do NOT wanna carry a battery powered drill to retrieve arrows from a rotten stump ( or near rotten stump). Breaking arrows is like breaking my heart. Maybe I'd better stick to targets that are more SAFE?? ANY ADVICE will be highly appreciated.

Batman, don't overthink this. It's roving, stumping is just another term for roving. People like me who have lots of stumps call it stumping. You can foot your carbons to help, but the smartest thing is to pick the softer targets. It's roving my friend...rove and enjoy whatever you can find that is safe, and legal to use as a target.

BATMAN.....I've been roving/stumping for over 40 years. And while I have damaged a few arrows along the way, it has never been a significant enough number to make consider quitting.

Of course carbon arrows would be my very last choice for a roving/stumping arrow.

All I shoot for roving is carbons, make sure they are the trads or something wrapped, they tend to hold up better than the black ones. And yes, shoot softer targets. Where I live the stumps don't tend to do a lot of rotting, they just get real hard. I shoot clumps of grass, flowers, etc. you might occasionally break an arrow, but I haven't broken one in quite a while, just pay attention and don't shoot at rocks, haha. Also I don't foot the shafts or anything and have had no issues

Those photos show wood arrows...Twig Archery hardwood, 5/16 diameter.

I love to stump or rove. I always use a Judo point with carbon arrows and mostly use flu flus. I enjoy watching arrow flight with them. Never lost or broken an arrow stumping. Recently I've been footing my GT trad 400 with 2216's about an inch. No difference in arrow flight. Hoping for the best

Pick your targets wisely. If you bust an arrow you will be much wiser on the next one. Have fun. >>>----> Ken

I stump shoot on my property almost daily so I get to know which stumps to stay away from. Never the less I always use slip on rubber blunts on my wood shafting. It saves a lot of arrows and when you hit something hard they tend to bounce off instead of killing the arrow. You still break a few with side glancing shots but not many.

Pray with each shot ! LOL

A lot of logging goes on here and if u see a flat stump in the ozarks, u generally want to stay away from it. U really have to learn to pick your targets. And pick them wisely. As a rule, I will never shoot cedar stumps, especially flat top ones. They petrify and are hard as steel. They are usually gray. Lol I like shooting stumps that are naturally broken off trees, and if it has an orange center, even better. I only use carbons. And foot them and use a combination of different types of small game points to ensure they don't go under the leaves too bad.

These are my stump points of choice. Allen thrashers and concerts forge behind the point blunts. Works well for me. Penetrates enough to absorb a lot of the shock of impact, and catches leaves and grass well so they don't bury up.

Shawn , what is a "concerts forge" behind the point blunts? Thanks

2 bears had some good advice.

I rove more than I punch targets. I DO NOT shoot at things that are hard....on purpose. I use Judos and shoot at weed heads, grass clumps, leaves, shadows, etc. The only time I may lose an arrow is the very rare occasion when I hit a branch and the arrow goes ballistic.

As George said, "stumping" is an all inclusive term for roving.

It was suppose to say "converta forge blunts" three rivers has them. Think it's 6 dollars for 3

I love roving. Even more then 3d. I'm also an aluminum arrow guy. I foot my stumping 2016's with a 2" piece of 2215. I keep the insert in the 2215 footing. Not indestructible but they hold up really well. Around here there are a lot of rotted blowdowns and softer stumps in my hunting wood. No lack of target opportunities. Judos are a must for me. I also carry a Leatherman and an old 8" flathead screwdriver for prying arrows from harder stumps. And I take along a DIY arrow rake made from an old arrow shaft which helps me to find the occasional buried arrow.

I like Shawn's ballon idea!

Don't get caught up in the name. It's just a walk in the woods shooting at "things." As Woods Walker said above "I use Judos and shoot at weed heads, grass clumps, leaves, shadows, etc."

Pick a target, any target. Just something unique from the other background in the area. After a while you'll get the hang of soft targets versus hard targets, except for the occasional rock camouflaged as a dirt clod.

Shoot stumps-break arrows-loose arrows-make more arrows-shoot stumps. Circle of life for a traditional archer. Learn to make your own Port Orford Cedar arrows.....environmentally friendly......smell great when broken......part of the traditional experience!

I protect mine by not shooting at stomps and rocks. I like shooting at stuff I know won't break my arrows. Plus it is illegal in WV

Is there a time when nothing is in season in WV? How about coyotes? If you can hunt coyotes anytime, and the bow is a legal weapon, then you can manage some roving while doing so. Don't advertise it on the radio or morning paper. Just go hunting and see what happens.

A Carbon arrow footed properly with a scrap of Aluminum arrow. I have been unable to break one. I have tried. Easton ST Epic 500 footed with 2 inches of 2016 shaft held on with gorilla epoxy.

Shoot carbons and avoid rocks

When I am stumping in the woods around our house I use my arrows with ash shafts. They take a hell of a beating before they give up the ghost. I can still manage to occasionally break one and it is still a good idea to be careful choosing targets. But I have at least 2 or 3 dozen ash arrows that have been abused in the woods and are still in fine shape. They aren't the ones I would show to somebody as an example of how pretty an arrow I can make although once upon a time they were.

And don't get quite so emotionally attached to your arrows. As someone said they are part of the traditional archer's circle of life. Just make more.

Footed carbon is the way to go. I use XX75 footing and only cut it 3/4". I've never broke one, my son's never broke one either. And it's cheap.

Yo! PEOPLES! LOTS OF GREAT IDEAS! MUCH TO THINK ABOUT! BLESSED BE! BATMAN

Good point George I could always say I was coyote hunting.

Footed carbons are great Bat they really are. I have arrows I got from other guys that footed them I hunt with I like a lot. Plus it looks cool some what.

You can use the rings like Shawn showed and you can use blunts or just judos to they won't bury under.

Do do break arrows though depending what you shoot at. Just have to use your head but if a rock crops up under ground well be prepared to say good by to arrow.

Don't want to use your best go to Sunday meeting arrows now either.

BATMAN, Here is the mindset you must use. It’s simple, Bows are equipment...arrows are simply supplies, consumable just like paper and ink for your computer. That’s how I justify wrecking or losing arrows Arrowchucker out.

If I do shoot at a stump, I will walk over to it first to make sure that it is definitely rotten. If I want to "burn ammo" I shoot a firearm! Once I know that a specific stump is soft, then I will shoot at it again without question.

Many ideas on protecting arrows,just get out there shoot thy bow.

I dunno. I always figured that roving/stumping and a few broken arrows go hand-in hand. A small price to pay for a lot of fun.

Someone should throw in the Utube video by Big Jim, 'Big Jim Classic Test'. The big guy, and big gentleman, slams some Gold Tip Traditional Classic shafts into concrete blocks. It is worth looking up just to watch him string a 57# bow against his thigh while he is talking.

youtube.com/watch?v=HguD9JgdU4I

BATMAN, Brother, just get some Douglas fir shafts from Surewood and slap together some cheap arrows for stumpin'/rovin'. Look, you only need a couple coats of sealer (let it cure), 3 feathers, a nock and a blunt. No stain. They dont even need to be super straight, just fly decent and that should mostly be spine. You can make up a bucket full in a couple days and just go out and fling some arrows. If you get one stuck, just snap it off and move on. Same with lost, consider it gone and move on. Everything will return to the earth but the nock and the mice will chew that. Nice thing about woodies, they are biodegradable. Guess I just like to make wood arrows.

Envious of your ability to stump shoot.....not many soft spots here in central Texas.

I am jealous we don't have stumps. We just have weeds, dandelions, and milkweed husks to shoot at. I lose a blunt now and then, but I never break any.

Roving and protecting arrows are mutually exclusive. I don't use my pretty arrows for roving. Jawge

More IDEAS! Keep them rolling! BLESSED BE! BATMAN

Batman, I cant speak for others but I dont shoot at stumps if I can help it. Arrows are too expensive to risk damaging them on stumps..lol

I do a lot of roving Batman..

Because I rove I don't use carbon arrows as the sudden breakage issues from damage to the shaft worry me and that is likely to happen when roving due to arrows glancing off branches and hard objects.

So I use aluminium arrows. 1916's, 2016's, and 2114's, depending on the draw weight of the bow.

I don't foot them or do anything to protect them other than taking reasonable precautions to not shoot a rock!

I was out two days ago roving for a couple of hours.

Here's a pic of my best shot of the day...proves even a blind pig will eventually find some corn!

The bow is a 56" Westbow Jupiter (nice length to carry around in the bush here in Quebec) and is 51#.

Of interest is that the two 1916 arrows in the stump have been in my roving quiver for three years now.

I have taken hundreds of shots with each of them and they are both still A-1.

Only reason I mention that is that many people say that tin arrows are not tough. That may be their experience but it has not been mine.

I do a lot of stumin'/roving in rough woods (rocks, hard woods, etc), an hour or two a few times a week. Been doing so for 10 or so years. I shoot wood arrows, mostly all Doug Fir. and Judo's. Tried carbons for a year or two, and went back to woodies, this time making up my own. Carbons are tough, to be sure... but they still break, nocks pop off, and they get lost just as easily as any other shaft. I like the Ace hex blunts, but I definitely break more arrows with them than with Judo's. The Judo's absorb some impact with a little penetration, and the flexible spring arms, si that's all I use for points. I've gotten more selective in my choice of targets, but still lose or break some, often when least expected. Need to accept that as part of the game.

Carbon GT trads footed fore and aft with 3/8" copper tubing. Nothing's unbreakable, but these are darn tough. Shooting with 70#'s of skookum magic.

Forgot to add: I started using RepArrows a couple of years ago. My arrows usually break right at the base of the point, losing about an inch. Cut shaft to solid wood, re-taper, glue on reparrow footing... they can add up to 2" to your shaft, which repairs most of my breaks. I've probably used around 5 dozen of them, which means I've saved that many shafts for about $1.25 a piece, and some patience aligning them. I think they're tapered perfectly, but if my shaft tapers aren't, it takes a bit of tweaking.

This is fascinating! sounds like a few judo points might be the best solution. I know that judo's are not 100% but might prove to be better in the long run. Any more ideas?? BLESSED BE! PS? the vid with BIG JIM shooting at the cinder blocks made me cringe! He definitely has some muscles to string that bow with no stringer. IMPRESSIVE!

Hey Batman...forgot to mention that I only use Zwickey Judo points.

They are incredibly tough and will not slip under the grass and leaves. I have some that have hung in for years.

The cheap knockoffs are crap...springs fly off the first time you bury the point in a sandbank.

Highly recommend the use of very BRIGHT fletch for those times when an arrow ricochets off a branch or the target...makes them easy to find. Yellow, orange and blue are good colours.

If one does take off like that make a mental note where you last saw it and walk to that spot in as direct a line as possible keeping your eye on the spot.

Stringing a bow is the only thing I'm good at! I must string a hundred or more at an event weekend.. I sware I sting a thousand at ETAR!

I shoot a lot of weight usually and only shoot carbons. I have very little issue with their durability. For the last six months, I've been shooting the Beman Centershot shafts and have yet to break one. The seem to be extremely durable, and a bargain compared to most other shafts, carbon, wood or aluminum.

Foot them if you like as it will certainly make them last longer, but without the footing they hold there own.

I've never cared for the footings because of my long draw, they tend to drag as I draw the shaft over the shelf..messes with my head.

Some time shortly, Easton and Beman will be coming out with 32-33" shafts in all sizes of there wood grain. I've been working on them for a while and as soon as existing stock runs out they will implement the longer shaft.

BigJim

"Hey Batman...forgot to mention that I only use Zwickey Judo points. They are incredibly tough and will not slip under the grass and leaves. I have some that have hung in for years.

The cheap knockoffs are crap...springs fly off the first time you bury the point in a sandbank."

X2!!! I tried the cheap ones once....literally, as that's about all the shots I was able to make with them before they fell apart. And this was NOT from shooting at anything hard. My Zwickey's have lasted for years.

Foot your carbons like this. Get the right diameter and epoxy them on there. I shot one into a cement wall 20 plus times with no damage to the arrow. The field point was a blunt by the time I was done.

The greatest number of arrow failures I have had over the years is the insert acting like a splitting wedge going back up inside the shaft. The footing seems to really reinforce the end and give the point a larger shoulder to sit on. I'm sure this topic has been beat to death here before.

Many thanks for all the responses and Ideas! Great Photos too! STAY SAFE & BLESSED BE! BATMAN

No need to foot carbons. A carbon arrow will break if you hit it with another arrow. If part of a carbon is sticking out of a deer, it will about always break off as the deer runs off. Otherwise, they'll pretty much bounce off a rock, undamaged. That's my experience. I wouldn't bother to foot them.

Joe

General roving in my woodlot isn't feasible. Imagine a rock pile covered with leaves and trees. I stick with shooting the stumps. Real actual stumps. And they're not all that punky either. I go through A LOT of arrows.

I only shoot wood shafts with regular steel blunts or .357 casings. I make them cheap and I certainly don't cry over a broken one. Lately I've been using oak dowels from Lowes for shafting.

Regular roving with soft targets is done with aluminum and Judos. Never broke or lost one.

How do like the oak shafts? As good as birch?

Oak and birch are similar for stump arrows. Heavy, tough, cheap. The 5/16" oak are what I use and are fine for my 45#ish bows. I hand flex in the store to sort out the light spined dowels and stick with the stiffest. I use hard pressure with a hook to straighten. Good enough for stumps.

The oak seems to be a bit more flexible and holds up well to side glances. They rarely break off behind the point.

Thanks. Sorry about the rocks but you seem to have adapted well.

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