# Recurves and wooden arrows



## Ft. Jefferson (Apr 11, 2011)

How many of you shoot wood out of your recurves on a regular basis? I see mostly longbow shooters using wooden arrows at the shoots I frequent. Carbon dominates the recurve shooters with only a few guys shooting wood that I observe. Was wondering what your observations are.


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## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

Two big problems with wood arrows these days--finding decent quality, and finding them at a decent price. POC has pretty much gone out the window as far as I can tell-I ordered a dozen very light spine for a friend of mine the other day and he said maybe 6 were decent--and this was from a respected vendor.

If Raven still sells shafting, theirs was among the best I've ever seen, but I haven't bought any from them in several years. Don't know if Tom is still turning them, and if he is what they cost.

That, along with the price of carbon coming down and the spines getting simplified, is one of the main reasons (I think) you see fewer and fewer wood shooters. Most of the big shoots require wood in the longbow class, so we'll keep on trying to find decent shafting to compete with. If the next 5-10 years is as bad on us wood shooters as the last 5-10 years, I'll just shoot carbon in the recurve class.

Chad


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## BLACK WOLF (Aug 26, 2005)

Ft. Jefferson said:


> I see mostly longbow shooters using wooden arrows at the shoots I frequent. Carbon dominates the recurve shooters with only a few guys shooting wood that I observe. Was wondering what your observations are.


That's pretty much been my experience also...although I do see alot of shooters using aluminum but the trend is definitely more towards carbon.

I think many longbow shooters take it a step further in by recreating more nostalgia using wood arrows than many recurve shooters, which can be one of the reasons why many longbow shooters prefer wood over carbon or aluminum.

Ray :shade:


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## beemer1234 (Dec 2, 2010)

I shoot wood, but i definitely can understand the trend to shoot carbon. They are lightweight and have constant spine making the bow shoot faster thus flatter. Making quality wood arrows is much more time consuming than fletching up aluminum or carbon arrows. I take a great deal of time getting a dozen wood arrows matched to my satisfaction but I also get an undiscribable satisfaction when my arrow hits its mark I also get very low when i miss my mark and cant find my arrow The Highs always out way the lows! :cocktail::cocktail:


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## appalachianhunt (Feb 5, 2011)

the real problem with shooting wooden arrows is finding the quality arrows its so much easier to just buy carbons that you know are going to be straight than try and find good spine straight wooden but the best arrows i have ever shot out of my recurve and longbows where wooden with 5.5 inch barred feathers with a left helical but now im shooting the alaska bow hunters grizzly stiks and i can honestly say and mean i will NEVER waste my time with wooden arrows or straight carbon again the penetration durability and quaility of the grizzly stiks are emaculent


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## scout4 (May 18, 2010)

I've shot wood arrows for many years, only just recently have I tried carbon with any real interest. I love big cedar arrows! I shoot 23/64" dia. cedar's all the time. I get them custom made for me from a long time arrow smith. scout4<>< 3 in the front are my cedar's, the 2 others are birch I made.


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

Ft. Jefferson said:


> How many of you shoot wood out of your recurves on a regular basis? I see mostly longbow shooters using wooden arrows at the shoots I frequent. Carbon dominates the recurve shooters with only a few guys shooting wood that I observe. Was wondering what your observations are.


Shoot only wood period. Aloha... :beer:


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

LBR said:


> Two big problems with wood arrows these days--finding decent quality, and finding them at a decent price. POC has pretty much gone out the window as far as I can tell-I ordered a dozen very light spine for a friend of mine the other day and he said maybe 6 were decent--and this was from a respected vendor.
> 
> If Raven still sells shafting, theirs was among the best I've ever seen, but I haven't bought any from them in several years. Don't know if Tom is still turning them, and if he is what they cost.
> 
> ...


No... that is only a problem if you let someone else make your arrows for you. If you make your own arrows and understand the workings of spine and arrow making, pretty much you're home free. Any straight shaft that fits your bow is shootable.... and Cost? There are lots of shafting materials out there... cedar is only just one of them.

Aloha... :beer:


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## ftw46 (Jun 5, 2004)

I like shooting wood and have made many dozens of them in the past.

I pretty much shoot carbons now for several reasons. One is the last dozen I built for a friend cost me $65 just in material, and I tried to keep the cost down.
Secondly, I am lucky that we have a large Traditional following in Georgia and I can shoot probably a dozen or more Traditional Only bow shoots every year. Those guys really like to have you shooting through small holes and around trees. I can shoot all year and maybe "lose" two carbon arrows. I can break a dozen wood arrows and it just is too much work to have them break and shatter.
The cost of carbon has really come down if you look around and watch the archery forums and auction sites.


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## TWarrows (Jan 14, 2011)

I will never give up my woodies......................


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## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

IFAA Longbow you have to use woodies and when I lived in UK we had a Recurve Div called 'Hunting Tackle' which had to shoot woodies also. 

Making a well matched set of woodies is a skill in itself.


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## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

> Any straight shaft that fits your bow is shootable....


As is any bow that will hold a string. As is any string that won't break when the bow is braced. Etc. etc. etc.

I can make my own arrows, no problem there. I don't make shafting, and don't care to. There's a whole lot more to a good wood shaft than just being straight. Being perfectly straight isn't even at the top of the list.

Chad


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## Ft. Jefferson (Apr 11, 2011)

rattus58 said:


> No... that is only a problem if you let someone else make your arrows for you. If you make your own arrows and understand the workings of spine and arrow making, pretty much you're home free. Any straight shaft that fits your bow is shootable.... and Cost? There are lots of shafting materials out there... cedar is only just one of them.
> 
> Aloha... :beer:


I agree. Make my own and have no problem getting good cedar shafting. In fact, the shafting I get now is some of the best I've ever seen - every bit as good, or better, than what I was buying 25 years ago. You just have to find a good vendor I quess.


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## dayrlm (May 20, 2010)

I participate in the Society for Creative Anachronism (middle ages recreation) They allow any bow without a pully or a cam but they require wood shafts and feather fletched. I have been making and selling wood arrows within this group since the mid 80's. I match my sets to the same spine weight whenever possible occasionally a 2# range and I start each set so that all shafts are within 10 grains of weight. Mostly I am using POC, unless a customer specifically requests a different material. I do have a few regulars who buy Carbon or Aluminum as well.


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## Ft. Jefferson (Apr 11, 2011)

LBR, made a point earlier regarding straightness not being number 1. This is true. For me the most important thing is grain that is parallel to the shaft and not running out or swirling. You can get nice straight shafts with crazy grain patterns. The shafts will spine out okay on a spine tester but have hard spots fore and aft and not recover off a bow the same way all the time or when compared to other parallel (good) shafts. They also tend to wander and warp in humid weather no matter how you finish them.

That said, I still find just as much good cedar shafting today as long ago. There is also far more choice of woods and even hex shafting that can be very good albeit too heavy to suit me. Hunters love them if weight is your thing.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I've been making some great shafting from VG Fir, ever so slightly heavier then POC but substantially tougher. Spruce has also been great.
The nice thing for us on the West Coast and especially in Canada is that these are locally grown and commonly used for boat building which means they are available with abosultely perfect grain orientation. Frequently I can get offcuts because we only require 36" to run through the jig.
Working on barrelling and tapering jigs at the moment. We can frequently build arrows with tighter spine tollerance then most carbons have.

Of course I shoot carbons for 3D with my recurve, but I'd like to see a selfbow with wood arrow class spring-up eventually.

-Grant


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