# Wood or Carbon Arrows for Recurve??



## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

Hello. 

You probably knew this was coming: try both. 

Everyone has their faves and flops with reasons either fer and again'. Once you've tried both, you'll formulate your own reasons either fer or again' (don't forget aluminum!). 

You don't need to try them both at the same time. Perhaps pick up six or a dozen carbons to match your bow and fly them long enough to become secure with shooting them. Then, pick up six or a dozen woodies to match your bow and do the same. Get good recommendations from either forum folk or an expert recurve dealer to properly match these arrows to your bow in order to get the best flight possible from the get-go without having to formally tune your rig (saving that for later once established in technique and consistency). 

You'll have your own answer soon enough concerning your preference based upon your experiential observations. You may surprise yourself and lean towards the one you didn't think you would. You may even end up loving and shooting both depending upon your mood du jour. 

I know what I prefer because I've shot them all. So I'll leave it at that. 

Now ... your turn. 

Good luck in your quest.


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## Sauk Mountain (Aug 3, 2015)

Don't rule out aluminum either. I know I just made life more complicated for you but I think you should try all three. I have, and I'm not sure which one I prefer. They all have their positive and negative attributes.


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## dhaverstick (Jul 26, 2006)

Since I have never shot carbons all I can do is tell you why I love to shoot wood arrows. I make my own and the time and effort I put into this endeavor makes my hunting just that much more of a personal experience. I love picking out the shaft material, the fletching color combination and deciding how I'm going to decorate the dozen arrows I make for each season. Straightening them is no big deal. If you have good shafts, once you get them straight they tend to stay that way if they are sealed properly. And I think they are just as accurate as carbons if the arrows you're shooting are matched in spine and weight.

Good luck on your quest!

Darren

Shafts from the past


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## Stumpknocker (Jul 20, 2006)

I have carbon, aluminum and wood. Love building the wood arrows, but time is an issue these days. Carbon is my choice because I can get out my hunting arrows and they are ready, and I don't worry about them under any weather conditions or changes in humidity. Here in the deep south I had fits keeping wood straight. 

Carbon is infinitely tunable with inserts for any broadhead and arrow wt/foc that makes you happy. And, carbon is tough, especially when footed. Go carbon first and get you stetup the way you want, especially if you are hunting. Then play with wood arrows when it makes you happy. That's my vote based on all the arrows around my house and experience.


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

I'd say carbon or aluminum to start out, then try wood down the road if you want to. 

It's probably just me, but wood arrows only have an appeal if I'm making them myself. Wood arrows can shoot very well but will also require more attention to the details of consistency and culling, something that can be taken for granted with carbon or aluminum. That said, making wood arrows can be a rewarding hobby in itself. There's really no arrow prettier than an well crafted woody, especially one or a set you made yourself.


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## sprinke (Jul 9, 2015)

Most of the "trad" archers that I know personally have those Gold Tip Traditional carbon arrows that look like wood, and they give them more traditional looking fletching like barred feathers, shield cut, etc. So you can get the "look" of wood and the performance/convenience of carbon.


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## Wobbley (Sep 26, 2014)

Carbon for convenience for me. Stumpknocker mentioned humidity in the South. I am in that same (humid) boat in Florida. So I have chosen carbon because I don't want to spend time on my arrows beyond finding the right settup. Aluminum would be fine too, but I have settled on carbon.

If I had more time? I might do wood if I could spend the time to maintain my own arrows and get the feeling of accomplishment from having learned a new skill in archery.


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## Mick Smith (Aug 11, 2015)

Carbon arrows have a lot of attributes. They're either straight or broken. They're very tough and long lasting compared to woods. They're easy to make as they don't require sealing. They're always consistent. They don't tend to lose their spine. They're easy to bare shaft tune. They're very versatile with screw-in points/broadheads.

Woods look nice. They're biodegradable.


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## webster2 (Nov 24, 2013)

Based on your description of what you enjoy about shooting your recurve, I'd say wood. Not everything worth having needs to be easy or perfect.


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## Leopardtrack (Dec 21, 2012)

Thanks for the thoughtful replies fellas!

I think that I am going to start out with Carbon, maybe Easton Traditional?, then buy a dozen wood. I have a feeling that I would break a few of those $150 per dozen wood arrows during my relearning curve.....I haven shot a recurve in over 30 years!


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## Tradbow Guy (Feb 9, 2007)

Why no alluminum? Cheaper then carbon, easier to build.


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## Knygathin (Feb 10, 2015)

I have a related question. Is it ok to have both carbon arrows, and back-tapered wood arrows, in your quiver? Or will it cause problems in consistency of hitting center of the target? Is it recommended that you stick to one kind of arrows, and perfects shooting accuracy with those?


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Knygathin said:


> I have a related question. Is it ok to have both carbon arrows, and back-tapered wood arrows, in your quiver? Or will it cause problems in consistency of hitting center of the target? Is it recommended that you stick to one kind of arrows, and perfects shooting accuracy with those?


i definitely wouldn't mix them.

whatever you choose, you want it to be in an appropriate weight range (particularly heavy enough for the bow), and a spine that allows you to tune an arrow within the limitations of shaft length, as well as front end weight, not just from FOC standpoint, but also as it impacts total arrow weight.

you can order individual points and shafts from lancaster, which isn't a bad idea, in. that it lets you try a few options on your way to deciding what works best.


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## BroWolf (Mar 13, 2014)

Carbon is the way to go. Wood arrows are amazing and fun but they also require a bit more maintenance than I would like but it is a traditional tool and it is organic, but I would say use carbon and work with that till you get the hang of it and then break out the wood ones.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MikeWinVA (Feb 14, 2014)

Carbon arrows are a whole lot more durable than wood. Especially if you are just learning. The first year I was shooting traditional (about 2000 shots), I only broke 2 carbon arrows, but had to replace about 2 dozen field points that were flattened against a steel backstop or buried in a Plywood shed. If I had been using wood arrows, I would have had to replace dozens of arrows. 

Additionally, are easier to spine and don't warp in the humidity.


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## Falk (Feb 11, 2006)

I never owned a carbon arrow to this day, but do in fact have 2 dz. (long extinct) Gordon Glass shafts (K-75), which I always liked for rough training purposes. I guess one could swap Glass for Carbon and achive the same thing!? But then, there are about 500 wooden shafts of several spines standing next to me as I write. Some are a little over 30yrs old and still work okay. It all depends on what you want and what you are going to do with your shafts. I guess you already know what to do, as you described your "farm feelings" going back to all wooden gear. I see no reason why wood wouldn't work today as it did back then. And all the little frustrations caused by weakness and inconsistency of the material are probably outweighted by the joy of arrow making and a time periode correct amounition for your Kodiak Magnum ...

Cheers,
Falk


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Woods are great shooting and very forgiving but heavy and you need to start with good shafts. If you buy custom woods, you will find them expensive.
Carbons are easy to find and light for best speeds.
Aluminum are my favorites. More weight than carbons but less than woods. I find them a good trade off on speed vs penetration. 
I also find them to be the most consistent in weight and spine. I like that they pull easily from targets. You also get a wider array of spines available via combination of diameter and wall thickness. XX75s are good, but the X7 is really durable due to harder alloy.
So long as you stay with a "16" wall or better, they are just as durable as carbons. I have broken more carbons than any other shaft, usually around the point/insert.
In carbons you can find that finish varies. GT are harder to pull than a polished shaft like the Beman or the Easton Aftermaths.


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