# wood or aluminum arrows?



## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

ttt


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## martha j (May 11, 2009)

aluminum= consistances. wood= inconsistances.


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

Your question is quite broad, thats why your not getting many responses.....Aluminum and wood are two very different beasts obviously. Narrow your question and we would be glad to comment....


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

what do you mean narrow my question. im not sure exactly what you mean? well i guess for hunting. ummm easton gamegetters for aluminum and 3 rivers wood arrows (cedar). if that helps any


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## bambam1 (Jul 22, 2007)

My opinion,,, if you like to tinker alot, then wood is for you. Aluminum stays straight(for the most part). Don't have to worry about moisture, warping or inconsistent weights. I love the look and feel of wood aras, and they work well when they are mated up right. I think it's easier to find the right spine and screw on diff. points with aluminum to find what works best.


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## redneckone (Nov 2, 2010)

For me the question would be wood or carbon. Wood if you like to tinker(said above) and carbon just stays straight and easier to match up spine and fletching and BHs. aluminum just isn't worth it for me, they bend break and cost just as much as good carbon, but if you want to go trad then teh wood could be alot more authentic. I am just getting into trad archery and i'm still using carbon until i can keep all my shots into the dang target then i will consider wood!


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## rraming (Aug 5, 2006)

IMHO - wood is nice for a "winter project" doll them up all you want shoot them and loose them and never have it bother you, they shoot as well as anything BUT I guess more likely to break and shove into your hand (NEVER happened to me and I have no worries). Aluminum is more expensive, perfect weight for hunting BUT bends and if you loose them if bothers you.

Douglas Fir - How can you beat that - you can't (carbon maybe - shhh!)


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

yeah they guys have it right... I would go carbon if your not going wood, but thats just me... I shoot wood arrows all the time in the SCA because it is all we can shoot. They are great to work with and the possabilities for making them look great is endless. It is an investment to make them like the above picture, but the inconsistancy that some are mentioning is minimal if you order them right and from a place that is decent. I get my spruce within 10 grains of each other and thats not bad. Carbon would be the way to go for hunting as they are more durable in the long run. So that is what I mean by narrow your question, are you after good hunting arrows or something for target, both, etc.....


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## Pikkuhannu (Apr 3, 2009)

I like, and use both. :teeth:

Won´t even look for carbon...:angry:


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

i mainly want to use for hunting. mostly big game (deer turkey pigs). dont like carbon with recurves just dont like the snap i get when it hits sumthin hard and the light weight of them. i like aluminum because of consistancy and heavy weight. DOESNT bend very easilly only bent one ( my fault shot a stump). i dont know bout wood cause i havent made any to try. so i guess its my new winter project.


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## Bobman (Dec 18, 2004)

aluminum and buy a good straightener, 

I have some arrows that have been thru many deer. That often bends them I just clean them off straighten them and I'm back in business. I have one bear metric magnum is what they called them in the 60's, that I still shoot. I bet its been thru 10 deer or more.


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

where do you get a straitener and how much do they cost?


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## Night Wing (Feb 4, 2009)

Aluminum for me. I've been shooting it for 46 years now.


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## Bender (Dec 6, 2006)

Wow, the times they are a changing. Some honest and realistic answers. Wood is for competition when your class mandates it, you like to tinker, or if for personal reasons you want to maintain a certain "Traditional" aspect with your gear. Many will maintain that there is no difference in performance betwteen wood and the synthetics. That may be kind of true, depending on how well one shoots, and if you shoot 20 yards or less. Stretch your limits and challenge yourself to become a better shooter and the superior performance of the synthetics will become obvious as you improve. Easier to tune, easier to build, easier to keep straight, lower maintenance. 
Anyway here is a link to an aluminum arrow straightener:http://www.bowhuntingstuff.com/product/6535/AAE-Arrow-Straightener.html. I have one and once I get the big bends out I also use it on my woodies. Using it I have gotten woodies down to +/- .003" straightness. Not like they'll stay that way, but they shoot pretty good for a while, then they need straightening again.


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

martha j said:


> aluminum= consistances. wood= inconsistances.


Maybe from the factory and in bulk that is true. I know out of a gross I get a good 4 or 5 dozen of hunting quality (meaning target quality as well) arrows. Good wood takes a lot of abuse. I don't use carbon or aluminum anymore, but a shot into lava ended the life of an aluminum arrow. Not so with wood and some woods seem to love the challenge.. :grin: Ok... a stretch... you don't rove in the lava fields, but a chip off of an ash arrow is not a deal killer (I'd trash a cedar arrow for that however).

I think that if you were going to use wood, you need to commit to the use... and by commit, I mean make your own. Learn the woods, spend the money. This makes for a good understanding and in the long run makes shooting a lot less expensive.. (if you shoot a lot outside of the target environment... like roving which I do).

Roving arrows... the other half of my typical gross, are ok hunting arrows but don't group consistently and that is why they become either a specific bow arrow.. (and I hate this) so I shoot them with all bows and the irregularity of spine makes them an out of bucket at 22 yards arrow but still a shootable arrow... just not at golf balls.... volley balls more like it.... :teeth:

I am now into making my own arrows from scratch... meaning from growing tree or bush to finished product, and this is just my way of saying I love wood. By the way, also with wood... there is a fetish with straightness in arrow that in my opinion, is really a marketing hype, and has little in the way of application especially for hunting.

Restraightened aluminum or wood arrows, still hit where you point them. I am convinced, and it's easy to convince the simpleminded, that as long as the nock is lined up with the point, your arrow will get there on target. Talking about a 300 round, like they are here, might be a different story... I couldn't tell you, the spot I shoot at is usally a coffee can or lid... 

Much Aloha... :beer:


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

doesnt a metal coffie can hurt your arrows?


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

$bowhunter$ said:


> doesnt a metal coffie can hurt your arrows?


Not at all... but then I'm using blunts generally into the coffee can because my arrows with target tips have stripped off my feathers before or take the can down the road... What I do usuallydo is nail the can to a wood back stop and shoot blunts into it... the arrows bounce out and I don't have to spend 10 minutes having to pull them out of a hay bale etc... and wood in some McKenzie targets is almost impossible to remove without using some kind of lube on the arrow.... hence the blunt and the coffee can... :grin:'

I shoot my broadheads into a homemade foam target of foam scraps, wraps, and bedding foam rolled up into "body" and put on a stand X---X . Snuffers are good for about 20 shots befor you have to turn it around, over, or have to be re-wrapped with maybe some newspring inside to "toughen" it up a bit... but I only need a few shots to see if that arrow is going to go where i send it.

I shoot my target tips into the foam too, but I love to shoot, so the blunts are generally the mission for me.

Much Aloha... :beer:


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

yea i would like to try wood arrows for all the heavy wieght choices in tips( i figured the heavier the better sine the bow is low speed correct me if im wrong). how much would it cost to build very basic wood arrows on a budget?and what kind of wood shafts are best?


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

$bowhunter$ said:


> yea i would like to try wood arrows for all the heavy wieght choices in tips( i figured the heavier the better sine the bow is low speed correct me if im wrong). how much would it cost to build very basic wood arrows on a budget?and what kind of wood shafts are best?


Hard to say up there.. here in Hawaii, unless you can beg them to send the shafts USPS, can add a bit to the price... quite a bit actually..

I buy quite a few shafts from Rose City and some others for different woods, like ash.... http://www.rosecityarchery.com/POC_Shafts.htm http://www.arrowwoods.com/fixins.htm

This is a great website for basic information on wood shafts. Cost for us here start to finish is probably $4.50 per arrow for the non-reusables. I buy shafts by the 100's though.

Feathers are almost indestructible and fly well even if severely damaged and are lighter than vanes (usually) and are great except in rain. I've recently sprayed some shoe water repellent/waterproofing on my feathers... so we'll see how that works out.. (I cover my feathers anyway).

If you get into it, the fletchers and all... buy the best you can afford... I have both a Bitzenburger and JoJan.... they both will work, but the Bitz is WAY more versatile. 

Good luck if you take the plunge.... don't get discouraged and go all the way.

Much Aloha... Tom :beer:


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

is there a goal i should have on my first batch of arrows if and when i try?


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

$bowhunter$ said:


> is there a goal i should have on my first batch of arrows if and when i try?


If by a shootable arrow.. yes. Tapering tools are important... by the way... and quality tapering is important... maybe not for you first hundred arrows or so... but a good tool or sanding blocks for the plastic ones is going to make a huge difference in your enjoyment of making arrows. Mark your fletching tool so that the base of every feather is at the same place. I'm a believer in rotating nocks so that they sits with the grain... a lot of guys pooh pooh this... I won't know for a couple of weeks when I can spine each arrow with and across the grain... for now... it's nock with the grain for me with the idea of paradox being affected by the grain of the arrow... I have no idear... another technique for this taking a look where the grain runs down the shaft and nock in line with the tightes grain... and if the grain is tighter on one side than the other... witchcraft tells me to side the tightest grain next to the riser.

Taper, nock, and even fletching (looks more than anything... but you know... ). You need your taper to get everything else in alignment. Other than that.... start your project.... sealing arrows in in my opinion, important, not critical... polish your shafts with shoe polish will weather proof them enough for basic nocking around... :grin:

As you get into this, tapering shafts and other techniques are something you can evolve into... learn first how to make the arrow... make sure you get the right nocks for the shaft too... you don't want nocks for an 11/32 shaft on a 5/16 shaft or vice-versa... or you especially don't want a 5/16 nock on an 23/64 arrow shaft... tapering here helps immensely if you get into this that far...

Nock taper, point taper, feathers... that will get you started... then a shaft alignment tool.. (you can make these easy enough with buttons if you're desperate as I've been...  and a lot of other stuff you'll get into but this is a good start... 

Aloha... :beer:


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## $bowhunter$ (Jun 28, 2010)

is there a cirtin type of wood thats best and which size shaft should i git?


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## Dry Feather (Sep 16, 2010)

Just found this site and these wood shafts look to be super strong. Just something else to think about.

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/about_hexshafts.html


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