just starting in traditional archery im getting a lot of info coming in to fast and furious. im shooting 2016 at 29 inches with 125 gr points out of bear 50# amo 60. they shoot 4/5 inch groups at 25 yards. ive heard comments like those 1970 bows were made for wood. im looking for insight comments / advise on arrow selection . thanks
QuoteOriginally posted by troutguy:
... ive heard comments like those 1970 bows were made for wood. im looking for insight comments / advise on arrow selection . thanks
welcome to trad!
nonsense, all bows can shoot any reasonable shaft material. my recommendation for you is to stay away from woods while yer learning form, getting consistent and improving. the arrow is more important than the bow and woods are far more difficult for any manner of consistency. stick with your alums for now and just enjoy. :thumbsup:
There was lots of aluminum around in and before 1970. You are doing well why confuse things. Enjoy.
does a left helical fletch shoot better than a right for a right hand shooter? are woods lighter than aluminum?
thanks.
my draw length is right at 28 and half. my arrows are 29 inside nock.will the half inch be ok with broadheads.
QuoteOriginally posted by troutguy:
does a left helical fletch shoot better than a right for a right hand shooter?
don't matter at all, just make sure ALL yer arrows have the same wing fletching
are woods lighter than aluminum?
either shaft material can be had/made light or very heavy. you'll want an arrow that's between 8 and 12 gpp. click the 'new to trad?' link in my sig line
QuoteOriginally posted by troutguy:
my draw length is right at 28 and half. my arrows are 29 inside nock.will the half inch be ok with broadheads.
long as ya don't cut yerself yer good to go. i pull an even 29" and my arras are 29.25" or 29.5"
on fletching it is what you like. some say if ya right shoot left but they both shoot dam good so hey up to you as for half an inch over thats ok as long as ya dont cut ya self. have fun :thumbsup:
wow rob did you write all that great info thanks ill checkout. im going to buy an arrow fletcher do you reccomend any.
sam
It is all about fletching clearance. If you turn your nocks so the fletching has the best possible clearance to the arrow rest and sight window...you can use either. There may be some jigs that have enough adjustment to use either and end up with the alignment you desire; however, I personally have found with the jigs I use that for the "fletch and go" TYPICALLY it is easier to set up a opposite fletching jig/hand combo so the feathers come out with the near ideal alignment. However, for those that use the same feather/handed combo, I have found AFTER glue up that all that is needed to get ideal clearance is just a slight nock rotation. This is easily done on carbon and aluminum, but with wood it can be a little more difficult as you need to be aware of the grain so the FINAL product not only has the best clearance, but also results in the arrow's grain is basically horizontal (to best handle the arrow's paradox) and with any grain "run out" pointing forward on the top side of the arrow (which is a little safer should you have an arrow shaft break when shooting...although I wouldn't personally want any arrow to break during shooting...ouch).
So, if you don't yet have a jig, I would get one of the opposite orientation. But if you do already have a jig...you can use either with perfect results if you just pay attention to the final fletching alignment desired and set your jig up accordingly OR rotate your nocks after the arrows are fletched.
The most versatile and adjustable is a Bitzenberger but it does one feather at a time. I've used Jo-Jans for over 40 years and it does a great job and 6 feathers at a time.
QuoteOriginally posted by troutguy:
wow rob did you write all that great info thanks ill checkout. im going to buy an arrow fletcher do you reccomend any.
sam
single feather fletching jigs range from cheap polycarb types to not-so-cheap metal types. i use the cheap plastic ones - they all get the job done. like bow and arrow selection, there is much to learn and decide upon about making arrows. check out the 'how to - resources' forum for help, for starters.
rob this is a great site im glad to be here hope to learn a lot. everyone so far has been great.ive been caught up with all that speed, for to long. the reason for the arrow question is if im going to start something i want to start off right, with the proper equiptment.
anybody on how to care for a bear recurve.
QuoteOriginally posted by troutguy:
anybody on how to care for a bear recurve.
don't dry fire. the rest is plain common sense.
The best care for a Bear recurve is to shoot it lots.
Good advice Rob.
As a relative newbie myself, I'd go with aluminums to start. There's a certain romantic nostalgia with shooting wood, and when I first started, I bought a dozen beautiful wood arrows that shot great (or as great as a bad shot like myself can shoot!). Problem was, my poor shooting resulted in not only a few lost arrows, but also in the breakage of all the remaining wood arrows. I didn't know this at the time, but wood arrows (like carbon) can eventually splinter and explode during a shot, risking potential injury to the bow arm. A lot of my shots ended up missing the target and hitting concrete, hardened tree trunks and stumps, etc., weakening the wood arrows and resulting in small, almost imperceptible stress cracks (at least on those arrows that didn't end up breaking completely upon impact). So in about a 2 to 3 month's time, I eventually destroyed or lost all of them.
Aluminum, on the other hand, won't (or shouldn't) splinter and explode like wood or carbon, but they can still bend upon a hard impact or develop some kinks and dents if hit by another arrow. Still safer, though, in my opinion, to bend or kink aluminum than it is to have wood one explode and go through a bow arm. Of course, if the aluminum is kinked, or bent so badly that it can't be safely straightened, then it's lost, too, (I've bent and kinked quite a few that I've had to throw away!). But even with that, I've still found them to last longer than wood.
For the more experienced archers, though, wood should last longer simply because their shooting skills will be better and they won't miss and impact hardened stumps, walls, etc. as much. So for that reason, I'd wait until your shooting improves before trying wood.
I started with wood, then aluminum and now carbon, and I'd never go back, straighter, don't bend and cheap.
I've made wood and shot them some, more 40 years ago than now. I have never owned wood arrows that were as straight as aluminum or carbon. In fact, if my aluminum arrows had the bends that my wood arrows have had, I wouldn't shoot them. This isn't a condemnation of wood arrows -- it is an admission that I don't have the skill to make or take care of wood arrows.
I prefer carbon over aluminum for durability. I have hundreds of 2016 arrows and a couple dozen 1916's but I don't prefer them. I just discovered fletching tape this year after using glue with Bitz, 6-arrow Jo-Jan, Arizona, and Bohning, Grayling, etc. jigs. With the tape I prefer a single fletch and the Bitz is my favorite. I owned one for nearly 35 years until I left it in some state (on business) and had to buy a new one.
I shoot wood and never have any problems with Orford cedar. I have arrows over 50 years old that I bought used and still as straight as the day they were made. I like to put new nocks on them and refletch when needed but the arrow itself is still good. You can still get good deals on old bear arrows and heads if you look around. IMO wood arrows are the quieter than aluminum and carbon. I like to hunt with my self bow and it wouldn't seem right to shoot anything but wood out of it.