I have dozens of wood arrows. Lots and lots..

I also have a great many aluminum Ones.

Not with a goat, or in a boat.

Yes, I even have Carbons, (they don't bend or break).

I like the 450 to 500 grains in a wood arrow. At about 170 fps. 45 to 50 pounds.

But carbon and sharp, is cool too.

What do you think?

wood #1 followed closely by Aluminum

never could warm up to carbons- have tried them many times- don't like my nocks poping out

I have only shot cedar for nearly 40 years. It's more of a romance with me than anything else. I just can't bring myself to shoot carbon. Wood worked then and it works now.

Cedars or fir for me too!

THANKS FOR THE INPUT.

Got my all caps stuck!

I shoot the same weight wood as alumniamon...

Out of the same bows.

Same arc.

Aluminum is way Moore consistant than wood.

Carbon is cool too.

That's great Craig! Back then wood was cheap, nowdays carbon is steep! I resist change and try to be like Fred, i shoot wood and they are just as dead.

Never shot a compound, aluminum, or carbon. Just wood for 60+ years. I just like fiddling around with wood arrows.

Fred shot fiberglass and aluminum too.

Nothing but wood. Nothing else feels the same or smells the same or has life in it. Wood..

cedar and fir

Deno

Heard a story told by fred.In his books It went like this. He was a lion,or was it a leopard? hunting?

According to his field knotes, it was a 150 yard shot!

He wanted to scare the big cat back at at him. So he took a shot And hit it. oops...I

I love fred... And Howard...And the others.

POC and Doug Fir for me.

Wood is fun.

Wood is fun, but I manage to break them to easily, especially stump'n...I Have aluminum, seem noisey...carbons all day long consistent, and durable. I just enjoy shooting, and use all three types.

That distance keeps growing on the "tiger" shot. It was about 80 yards, but yes...Fred was trying to shoot over it and maybe turn it back toward them. Even for Fred, sometimes it was better to be lucky than good. He explained that in his book.

Fred shot alunminum from about the late 60's onward. I shoot mostly aluminum because that's mostly what I shot for over fifty years. Still do most of the time. Never fell in love with carbons at all.

Not ridiculous at all Thumper...it's just one of the many reasons I shoot only wood and have for over 50 years.

When I break or shear a woodie it just seems like that’s just the price of admission to play. When I bend an aluminium it pis@#$&* me of! Never shot carbon.

I mostly shoot carbon but they're all good.I like wood a lot but with all the snow I rarely shoot them in winter.Havent shot alum for years but am thinking of getting some again.

WOOD ..... in 60 years, I have never even had the desire to try anything else. I like making and shooting wood arrows.

Wood first then aluminum, carbon is good for staking your plants.

Wood arrows used to be fun to make and its enjoyable seeing the artwork of others with their best wood arrows.

Retired and busier than ever, don't spend any more time than necessary now making arrows. Like to stick on Onestringer wraps over my carbons and use a six-banger multi-flether to get six fletched at a time.

Wood used to have an advantage for making a quiver full of cheap hunting arrows too. Used to dip a bunch of cedars in red, then put cheap points on'em. Suppose you can spray them now as many do, which is also quick. Wood shafts just aren't cheap anymore, so keep plenty of carbon shafts around and order six more whenever I order a few things off the net. That way, I always have plenty.

Same here Thumper. I don't like leaving garbage in the woods. When I shot aluminum, if I lost an arrow, or the back portion of one after a deer broke it off, I'd spend time looking for it, not wanting to leave it laying out there. Wood and feathers are supposed to be in the woods.

Wooden bows and wooden arrows for me. It turns out, that's all I need... and all I need is all I want.

Here's what I shoot most. Like lots of color.

I shoot tapered cedar which are my arrow of choice, recently bought carbons that paper tune bullet holes even outside in the moist, cant get them to shoot right I guess cause their too light, so I'll stick with my woodies which always feels right.

My bows I like one piece wood. My arrows I like carbon, those things are just tough and I don’t go through as many of them. So even though they cost me a little more I still spend less on them . I do appreciate a nice wood arrow. Aluminum arrows I don’t care for.

Black, sexy, sleek, and thin Carbon was superior and sure to win;

But, I loved the aluminum,just wouldn't leave it My friends, they all laughed but I didn't care There were nearly a thousand aluminum soldiers in my bow lair;

Then I found longbows and recurves, or did they find me? And I shot my fleet of arrows, I felt wild and free But something was missing, what could it be The beauty of cedar! Port Orford was calling to me.

Now, I have it all and its plain to see The fun and discovery is all part of the plan Its the journey thats fun for this archer man

After the cheap dept store wood arrows my first real arrows were fiberglass Micro Flites because they were popular for a brief period back then. And then it was aluminum which lasted into and through the compound period and so seemed natural for the most recent stick bow comeback as most of my experience was with them over the years. Did briefly try some chundoo wood shafts about 20 years ago during a failed stickbow comeback attempt and have played with those again recently as well as some cedar. I really like the looks and feel of wood but the consistency and familiarity of aluminum keeps them around. Never shot carbon and never will.

Wood is all I shoot now days.

Let me get my Cat in the hat book out to see? LOL

Yes my preferred is wood as well and have all the others and can shoot all arrows together as well as various broad heads on the arrows.

Steady at the shot.

Been working on that rhyme since I was about 11. Discovered girls, put it aside for a while, now I am about 11 again..

Roses are red, Violets are blue. Wood arrows are cool, aluminums are too. :~)

I hand plane my shafts from pine or harvest shoots from nature. Jawge

I hand plane mine from raw aluminum, which makes up 8% of the Earth's crust. No...I don't hand plane them, that's a fib.

As Nixon may have said, 'let me be perfectly clear about that'. I also shoot cedar quite a bit as well...love the smell and they fly just as good as any other.

See what I did there? huh? huh?

Dendy likes wood.

Dendy likes wood.

I have buckets of good cedar arrows....but I prefer carbon.

I think it is awesome that some of you guys get caught up in the romance of cedar arrows, I truly do. But I don't. Just like I could not care less about pretty lamination's on a bow.

I will take a krylon sprayed longbow and a carbon arrow every time.

I did used to LOVE swagged aluminum arrows.

I like woodies. I make them, break them, lose them. Then I get to make more.

See how that works?

Fine print:

i - i needs more wood. POC. Sitka spruce. Douglas fir.

missus - oh. I suppose dear, go ahead. What ELSE are you getting?

i - eh? me? nuthin'. am fine.

missus - right.

I have a variety of arrows, but no carbon. I do have some Microflite arrows and wish they still made the darn things. Plenty of mass without having to add weight to them.

I've shot wood and dislike the splinters, Aluminum too, but bends are a bummer, So now it's carbons, both winters and summer.

Art. Clean, unpretentious art. Like Ralphie Parker's Opus to a Red Ryder. I can clearly see why most of you gentlemen love Cedar. You are refined, pure of soul. Probably single malt scotch drinkers who revel in Walden and Thoreau, maybe around a smokeless campfire.

To others who only see an arrow as a means to an end, a tool designed for bloodletting... I cannot argue that you are wrong. But, its like the Music just Died :))

I'm not a poet, do I'll stay out of this one.

How much wood could a woodchucker chuck if a woodchucker could chuck wood?

He'd chuck all the wood that woodchucker could, if a woodchucker could chuck wood.

Dangit!! You guys are good. I am not even going to try. I have a few aluminum but all my crew and I shoot is carbon. They take a beating and keep on killing! Works for us. God bless!

I started with wood and saw that I could,/ but my neighbor shot aluminum and said that I should./ Autumn orange, they looked so sweet to me./ In a quiver I put them for all to see./ Then came carbon, so easy to keep./ No bending or breaking, with confident I'd sleep./ But, then something happened, improvement I saw./ Suddenly, my arrows all began to hit straw./ So, back to the beauty of wood I returned,/ To the love of cedar where I'd first learned./ Today, I choose to shoot them all./ Winter, spring, summer and especially in fall.

Wood out of a wood bow. Is there anything other than that for me? NO.

Wood is ok, Bamboo is better!

Roger, I could care less about romanticism or nostalgia for that matter. I like building and shooting wood arrows. To me, that is a big part of archery. I dislike carbon arrows like many people dislike anchovies. I refuse to use them and if they were the only arrow available, I'd just spend my time fly fishing. JMO

Wood & aluminum have a special feel to them (probably because they weigh more) which I like. Carbon arrows feel like I dry fired the crap out of my bow. Plus I've seen what happens when a carbon arrow breaks & goes through a bow hand & it's very, very nasty. For comfort & shooting pleasure wood first, aluminum a close second. Unfortunately wood is fragile & labor intensive so I shoot almost always aluminum.

If wood arrows never last, and are too fragile for your task,

don't say none are any good, just choose a stronger wood.

Jeff: If you're responding to me read what I wrote again. I never said that "they never last" and that "none are any good". I said they were fragile & if you have any experience at all you would know that I meant fragile compared to other materials. Everyone here expresses their opinion in good faith & without disrespecting anyone else. Don't put words in my mouth just to have an excuse to look for a scrap.

shooter: Doubt Jeff is looking for a "scrap"....guys are just injecting a little humor into the thread.... practicing their poetry is all. I'm no poet and I know it.....so none from me ;^)

Shooter, I was trying to write a poem and have a little fun. In doing so, it helps if there's a rhythm or cadence to it, which makes it tough to exactly quote someone. If I quote you, you'll know it. And no, it wasn't all directed at you. Maybe try to lighten up just a bit.

And since you brought it up, when you say "wood is fragile"(your quote), that may be your opinion, but it's a blanket statement that is flatly untrue. I know because, yes, I have real experience. If you had said "some wood is more fragile", that would be true and I would agree. But not all wood is, it's durability varies immensely, and some is tougher than some aluminums and carbons... 'some', because their durability varies as well. Again, not directed entirely toward you as I've heard others here make similar generalizations about wood arrow shafts.

Isn't the internet just awesome. I'm out.

Have a stupendous day.

This is a refreshing post - a bit of fun.

Some Wallers leave no room for jest// They hold their perceived truths so closely to their chest// A closed mind - a world of black and white// keeps them all night and leaves no room for respite// Argue with a fencepost, they do not mind// For a fencepost, unable to speak, seems very kind.// Wood is strong as steel, no it's actually weak as twig// Aluminum is our kryptonite, no it tends bends like a fig// Carbon that's the answer it's skinny and strong// But a carbon from a wooden bow is all wrong.// Shoot what you may, shoot what you will Enjoy the sport that always gives a thrill// Shoot your bow and leave your neighbor be// He has a different agenda can't you see?

Shooter said "Carbon arrows feel like I dry fired the crap out of my bow". This tells me you don't know what you're doing. You can get carbons to weigh whatever you want. Don't have to shoot 300 gr. arrows.

I have personally shot several 5 Douglas Fir arrows into hard things. Had the tips of field points bend, ferrules of broadheads blow out and tips of Judo's bend over. Not one shaft broke. Put new points on them and kept shooting them. I personally, have seen birch arrows shot into steel plates and bounce off with no perceptible damage. Same with hickory. Not all wood is fragile.

I'm no poet so I'm not even going to try. But here is one I always liked.

O Hunter Be proud while you can, O Hunter,

While the skill and wit are yours,

Combined with youth's strong vigor,

Or Age's canny ways.

Be proud while you can, O Hunter,

And send your arrow true,

Deep into the heart of the greatest beast,

That rules in the frosty pines.

Be proud while you can, O Hunter,

For this year you still strike fear.

Remember that the fire grows cold,

Though hot it once began.

Be proud while you can, O Hunter,

For life, too, plays the game.

And one day the arrow comes for you,

And takes its prize the same.

J.I. Thomas F.

Ahhh well. Winter is officially on its way out the door. I think some fresh air and exercise will do me some kinda good. Yet, I think you guys are pretty talented. Seems to me that archery poetry is an overlooked niche...maybe we got something here.I suspect that writing a poem is a lot like writing a song. Maybe a new thread with video clips of members singing self-written bow and arrow love songs....or not.

Lots of good things to be said about carbon and aluminum but I can't make them myself. I can go into the woods and select a straight grained tree and take it home...season it, cut it into blanks and make my own shafting...It is a lot of work however its something I love. Nothing beats shooting bows and arrows you built yourself.

My arrow stash: 85% aluminum. I picked up various weight/spined aluminum for approx 20 different bows ranging from 24#-60#. It was inexpensive- lots of used arrows, some new old stock. All shoot great. I also have aluminum and carbon I hunt with using a Mathews compound. From my recurves and longbows, I like a slightly heavy aluminum arrow and woodies.

I think if I didn't own a single arrow, I would be inclined to buy aluminum for hunting/ roving and wood for archery in the park.

Wow, people like arrows!

I hate breaking my woods the most, even though they are close in price anyway.

Good wood or good carbon.I

I like arrows too.

Cobra = that's a brilliant idea. I write tons of poems and songs. I'll share in a thread.

I like to match the arrows to my bow by their birthday. My Hill type bow gets wood only. My 70's bears get aluminums only. My more modern metal riser bows get black carbons. My Modern wood recurves and deflex deflex longbows get faux wood carbon arrows. I never really found an arrow I couldn't break or loose. Just an excuse to buy just one more dozen.

Faux wood carbon...yeah I drool over those.

"Thoughts

Carbon nailing the mark Wood hitting in the ballpark I need more training"

I shoot all kinds but I like MicroFLite fiberglass shafts above all others. It kills me every time one hits a rock or hard tree and pushes the insert back, splitting the shaft...I cut off the split portion and they go from my best arrow to some shorter draw archer's best arrow.

"Thoughts

Carbon nailing the mark

Wood hitting in the ballpark

I need more training"

I can see why many archers switch to carbon, but I just like shooting wood arrows.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here