I just got back to KS/MO after spending two weeks in VA. While I was there a friend gave me some bows and a bunch of fiberglass arrows. My friend has killed tons of deer with fiber glass arrows so I am sure they are effective, my question is why doesn't anyone use them?
at 1200 grains they will shoot thru a piece of plywood! Monty Browning uses them and has taken Cape Buff and other such creatures. At 15-20 yards which is bowhunting range, why wouldn't you want to shoot a heavy arrow?
Thanks for the reply...i just am curious that when people discuss arrows they talk about wood, aluminum and carbon and...never fiber glass
What he said: weight. Microflite sold a bunch of f/g arrows. And guys would blow-through the straw bales with them!
But now with all this heavy arrow trend lately they'll likely come back. A nice tapared fiberglass arrow - like a fishing rod - ought to be the berries.
Ever bunny shoot with a barbless fishing arrow? They punch through brush but are a close range proposition.
Are they the Microflite woven glass shafts or the solid like bowfishing arrows, Biggie mentions?
The ole micros were used alot by folks years ago! I have a few in old arrow boxes.
They were thin walled, but I can't say woven or not.
I was a big fan of fiberglass, especially Micro Flites. The problem with them was if they hit a rock or other hard object they would sometimes crack, the cracks may not be easily seen. Then on the next shot long slivers of broken glass would flex out at the shot and sometimes hit the shooters arm. I never had this happen to me, I always bent/flexed them after hitting a hard object. They were very straight, and consistent spine, very good shafts. As long as you were careful with them, they were safe and shot straight. Micro Flites came in sizes from 0 (smallest) to 12 (largest).
There were several different brands of fiberglass arrow shafts made back in the 60's and 70's, Microflite being one of the better ones. They made great hunting arrows and were pretty durable, but on the heavier side. Like carbons, they were straight or broken. Aluminum just seemed to take over the market and fiberglass disappeared.
I'll check the brand out when I get home but the box is marked 1976 and I think they are 8s or 9s..he shot them with a 50# martin mamba
Do they look like these?
(http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac22/TraditionalBowhunter/CIMG0525.jpg)
I recall using them in the 60's and liked them...and still have some that I shoot on occasion.
We all seemed to shoot cedar on a regular basis back then, but when we had extra money and wanted some good hunting arrows, fiberglass was the choice.
Of course, aluminum was more expensive and most shooters considered that material superior.
With carbon and aluminum dominating today, I doubt that f/g would make a big comeback.
If they're 8's or 9's they could very well be microflites. I shot 9's for years!
Now you have me curious.....
Fletcher, quit screwing around on the computer and get my arrows done!
:bigsmyl:
The man who gave the arrows to E.AllenIII was my traditional bowhunting mentor(Fred Balmer). Fred shot microflites tipped with Bear Razorheads out of his 50@28 Bear Grizzly and Martin ("Mamba"). He took his yearly limit of deer with stick and string when others were just thinking about it. I have several of his microflite arrows but they are a little short for me. Check your arrow length Ed. I'd be surprized if they are not too short for you as well. :archer2:
Ahhhh...microflites, now that brings back some old memories. I still have a few laying around myself. A very good arrow material.
I think it would be interesting to see what could be made with todays tools and technology using a combination of glass and carbon built on a tapered mandrell....
Talk about getting some "Big Game" arrows... Sure would be a "nitch" market.
In the mid 70s I had some green ones that I used for a few years. My friends and I would wrap the first inch or so with Fishing rod guide thread and then coat with epoxy....This would help keep the ends from splitting when hitting anything really hard. After going through two dozen pretty quick I went back to aluminum and wood.
i have some #6 micro-flites; 1/2 dozen i think. i'll have to check.
I have some, and shot them a lot back in the day. You can "foot" the shafts at the point end with a 2 to 3" section of aluminum shaft, 2314, as I recall, and it really toughens them up against hard impacts.
That 1200 grain figure, BTW, is for a solid FG fishing shaft, not a hollow woven one.
I still have some of my tan Herters Farbenglass F arrows from the late 60's that are 28 5/8in. They weigh 568gr w/125 gr point and spine at 49# on the spine-o-meter. I also have some of my Dad's Herters green fiberglass arrows from the 70's that are 30 3/4in and 621 gr with a 125gr point and spine at 70#. I have found them to be tough as nails except when hitting a rock.
Bill is correct, they are all microflights with bear razor heads. They are made by fleetwood and from the mid 70s.
I hoard Micro-Flites, I also have some of those Herters Farbenglass with the Herters Broadheads on them. I was going to sell them but now you guy's got me thinking about killing a deer or turkey with them :bigsmyl:
They were great arrows.I liked them alott.I also like the Martin graphlex.They were tough.Probably were expensive to produce.Had a few scares with ones that would have a lil crack and not see it.
My friends and I bought a bunch of Microflite #12's around 1980 at an outdoor show in Michigan from a vendor who was trying to unload them. I shot them for a number of years and they were very rugged. When I was getting low on them and switched back to wood arrows, I gave what I had left to Steve Turay since he's a great guy, bowyer and the only guy I knew at the time using heavy enough bows to use them. Microflite shafting makes a very good arrow. The straightness tolerance wasn't quite as good as aluminum, so many back in the day went with aluminum. Also, as Fred Asbell has written, there has been a heavy arrow/light arrow swing throughout the last fifty years in archery and I think the heavy Microflite shafting gave way to the lighter aluminum shafting in the eighties. The late eighties and early nineties seemed to be the resurgence of the wood arrow when traditional was starting to gain popularity again.
Thanks for all of the insight guys
I think that the old Herter's Farbenglass arrows were as tough as they come. They were heavy, hit like a hammer. Too bad they went out of business. I remember shooting at a woodchuck once with a Farbenglass arrow and a Herter's RAM X broadhead. The chuck was in an old abandoned stone foundation. I missed but the arrow stuck in a rock and the tip didn't even bend and the shaft never split.
I donated a dozen of the Gordon GlasShafts in I-60. They take 2018 internal components and were pretty darned tough.
I shot big fat dark green buggars in my youth...NO recollection, but thought maybe...maybe "Lamiglass"?-- split a 3" maple tree with a direct (mis-directed) hit. Had to saw the sucker off to split it to get my undamaged shaft back!
ABS experiemented with an internal fiberglass composite on early Grizzly Sticks.
Use Mico's for years loved them, wish I had a doz #6 now....
Cool! Keep us posted guys!
Here I thought the fiberglass shafts were for kids bows...
Not for kids, silly wabbit..... LOL
They were some tough arrows. I have them listed in a 1969 Bear cat. Micro-flite targets and Kodiak Supreme Hunting. $42.00 for the target and $41.75 cut to length with Razor Heads per doz.
WoW, would I like those prices for those arrows....
I serve the end with epoxy and fishing rod serving thread and always use glue in inserts since they are longer and don/t break out like the shorter converta point inserts. Out of my heavy bows i used #12s with a wood dowel inside, then tapered the dowels sticking out to glue points onto. Out of Hill style longbows, they are just about the perfect amount of weight and recovery speed. I would not use them if i were you, it would be way better if you sold them to me.
If you want to know more and see more about the Micro,and other glass shafts, ask over on the History forum.
I like my stash of Graphlex, too!
I just came across 35- #8 -28 3/4" bop with Bear broadheads on 22 of them. Blunts and field tips on the rest. The bears have been sharpend but not shot. Any interest ????
Hi Nancy
Could you give me more info?
Kurt