I'm just curious to what you guys think the best wood for arrows is (heaviest, strongest, straightest). My first dozen I bought cedar and liked them, I just thought they broke easily. So this last dozen I bought I got Sitka Spruce. I noticed they were lighter and not as straight, but I was going for the strength. So are I have broke 4 of those arrows, two I could understand but the other two I thought was weird :confused: . I thought my cedar arrows were stronger than the dozen of Sitka's I had gotten. I really don't mind straighting arrows (actually enjoy it)so I guess that's not as big of a deal to me. Mainly strength and the weight.
BAMBOO
Doug fir is stronger and a bit heavier than cedar or spruce. All of the hardwoods are stronger as well, though quite a bit heavier -- ash,birch,maple, hickory,etc. I shoot them all, but use POC 90% of the time. Don't have much trouble with breakage.
I've been a cedar only shooter for many years. This past winter I bought three dozen Douglas Fir shafts and have been beating the crap out of them. They make up a 630 gr+/- grain shaft with 125 gr points and still fly (similar sized cedars are 580gr). I taper the last 12" down to 5/16" and that helps any wood shaft recover quickly. I purchased mine from Braveheart and the quality is tops. All very straight and the grain is outstanding. Of the 36 only one took some heat and effort to straighten. And a bit of stain really makes the grain stand out beautifully.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM2175.jpg)
So far one lost to a Robin Hood and another partially split near the tip but repaired (after carefully analyzing and prepping - I do not recommend this). It caught in the grain when retrieving a smacked shaft from a woven target face and split for 4" or so. I used medium CA (instant) glue to repair it with careful clamping.
The target tips have been shot every day this year and they absorb a lot of shaft strikes from other points. My stump shafts I put Ace Hex Heads on and they are all still going strong. That's usually the test of a rugged shaft, but it could just be I haven't run up against many tough stumps.
This winter I did up 12 Douglas Fir and 2 dozen POC have been shooting the hell out of them, outdoors and indoors! I have broke one Doug fir and 2 POCs so far, I shoot heavy shafts and so far durability has not been an issue as of yet!
I use poc for years now they work just fine. :archer2:
I'm pretty sold on Ash right now but I may change my mind after a summer of 3D shoots. Rock solid in the 75-80# range if you straighten and finish them right away. They can pick up moisture and get brittle if you don't.
I like Chundoo as well.
Douglas Fir is my favorite, but I like laminated birch for HHill longbows. 3R sells chundoo now I believe.
River Cane. Ash. Hickory.
Do yourself a favorite and buy some Surewood Shafts. They are "the best" douglas fir shafts on the market! They are durable, a good weight (585-600gr for my arrows with 145-160gr tips), and very straight. Give them a try. You won't be sorry.
I have been spending a lot of time with a light Hill longbow, 43#@27" and have tried several different types of wood looking for a good match, to include sitka spruce, poc, hex pines, ash, and laminated birch. I recently worked my way around to 5/16 ramin shafts from Twig Archery and I think I'm going to stay there. They really work well for self nocks and my first dozen, out of the box, were the straightest raw shafts I've ever purchased. They averaged 350 grains each and finish up around 500 grains with a 125 gr. head. They are tough and fly like darts. I think they will do well on game--ask me in a few months!
I like chundoo. I have some that have taken a beaten and still around.
In wood shafts I like poplar if I can find them. I've also made my own.
Other then that Doug fir is very good and will take a lickin.
Mike
Forgewood, if you can find any. Straight, heavy, and nearly indestructible.
Nothing but POC for many years and many more I hope
Chundoo, Kelly Petersen used to have some awesome shafts made from Chundoo(sp?) I also have some cedarsmith compressed cedar that is absolutely amazing, tough and super straight and stays straight too. Shawn
I have shot ash, maple, douglas fir, chundoo, sitka spruce, POC....and my favorite all around is Douglas Fir for strength, weight, etc.
If you are just looking for the strongest, heaviest, etc.....I would say ASH...with Maple right behind. Tough as nails...but really heavy. Good for hunting but may be too much if you do 3D shoots or hunt at distances over 20-25 yards.
I would say Doug Fir for all around...personally.
I've tried bamboo and doug fir. The bamboo are pretty tuff, the fir I could do without. Nothing like aluminum though.
I've been testing cedar arrows with the front portion having an exterior of aluminum, they are called StumpBusters. So far I've been very impressed with them and just got off the phone ordering some more. Here's the website if you're interested in checking them out. -Jay
http://www.bestfriendbows.com/Home_page.html
I love POC and shoot them mostly...but have shot ash for a "heavy" arrow and they are TOUGH!!!!! I think Chundoo maybe the best "tweener" arrow for weight/toughness, I just bought 18 tapered ones and have to finish them yet.... from twigg archery out of ohio, douglas fir seems like it would do well also but haven't shot it.I also got some 5/16" parallel hickory from Allegheny Mtn. arrowwoods....do them up quick as they move around...but I like their small crossection...good luck....john
Bamboo! They are very tough. Many times I shot my bamboo arrows into rocks or steel plate but hurt notheing except flattened the field points. The same situation the cedar arrows would shatter. My 1916 aluminum had jammed the points and inserts into the shaft few times in similar situations.
Technically bamboo is grass :D
I love hickory. A tough shafts that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Although, I've been shooting a lotta surewood fir lately. Unlike a lot of the folks here, I've broken more than a few. But I shoot a 60+ longbow and have a good smattering of rocks where I stump. That said; they really are a dandy shaft.
Chris how are the rose shoots working, ya get any decently spined shafts? Shawn
Wow thanks guys. I had no idea their was so many options (I'm still fairly new). I'll have to do some research and find one that fits me. Thanks! :clapper:
Douglas fir !
Fir by Sherwood
POC and Douglas Fir, the first one smell good and the second one is heavier,best of both world!
I agree, love the smell of POC, heavys are, douglas fir, birch and ramin shafts, they could take a licking.
I have a supplier who used to have a lot of chundoo. Now all I can get is 23/64 45-50's. They do make nice arrows. At $19 per dozen the price is nice too.
A lot of folks on this thread spoke to the durability of douglas fir. I haven't had the same experience. I've tried 3 dozen douglas fir shafts and honestly can't say they are any more durable than cedar.
I do love the straightness of douglas fir and how great I can get them to fly, but these days I'm favoring ash for it's weight and much greater durability over douglas fir or cedar. (This helps save some $$ during long weekends at Denton Hill).
Douglas Fir for me.
poc
POC for me,the one all others are compaired to.
Funny I was thinking of this all morning .. if you don't miss ceder is great.. but fir is tougher than any alum or carbon I have shot.. they deing , scrape up but are very hard to break... plus shoot well.
I Like POC and Doug Fir. Never bought any D Fir though. Ripped it and planed it from home depot lumber.
About POC durabioity. I have always found it to be pretty rough and ready but an interesting thing, my son in law bought a dozen POC at bass pro and darn they are brittle. He broke four in two days of shooting at a foam target in camp.
Makes me wonder what was different about them?
I started with cedar and found they stayed pretty straight but seemed to break easily.
I thought this was the norm at that point and didn't think much of it.
Then I tried ash. The ash is REALLY tough.
It's really heavy too. I liked it out of my 60# grizz with 200 grain points. The ash wouldn't stay straight for me. It became a pita. It was kinda fn shooting logs though..kaathump
Then I decided to shoot a lighter wt bow (45#) and I found the ash was just too heavy for it. It shot them fine and straight just really arced.
So I tried some spruce. The spruce are staying pretty straight. I've had to do hardly any straightening. A little more often than the cedar but nothing to whine about.
The spruce though no where near as tough as the ash seem quite a bit tougher than the cedar.
Also the spruce is nice light shaft that lets me get a decent amount of foc by just using a 200 pt.
Also, this gets me in about the 11.3grns/# sweet spot I like.
I wonder if the brittleness some of you experience is due to the finish that was applied? Personally I like poc for all my wood arrows just based on the straightness. As an alternate I like sitka spruce in lighter bows and douglad fir in heavier ones.
Ash
Most of my experience is with POC I still have about 300/440 shafts left from my last big orders in the late 80s from Acme and Rose city SO im set for a bit . I have also made arrows from Birch, Douglass , and Sitka ALL good but POC just seems better . I have also been experimenting with Poplar made from dowells at the local Home Depot/Lowes etc HARD to straighten in the beginning but usually stays pretty straight once done and made up. SLIGHTLY heavier than POC and lighter in color. Takes stain well and looks nice when done. Holds up well when shot into rocks !!! :-)
Is ash heavier than Fir ?
Doug fir can range quite a bit in weight. Which is a good thing. It gives you a range of weights to choose from. I usually can make an arrow that with a 145-160gr head cut to 29"bop is around 600grs.
I am going with Surewood Doug Fir. Super quality and straightness and a little tougher than the Sitka Spruce. I am about to fletch some solid birch shafts to try since it was Saxton Pope's prefered shaft for hunting, and he did ALOT of testing...
Douglas fir. All the qualities desired for a strong, straight, beautiful shaft in my opinion.
Maple, yellow birch, bamboo, lodgepole pine.
Ash :D
I got some hickory en-route. Let you all know when I get em.
Like a lot of us I started bow hunting when the only wood as PO cedar. Over the years I went to aluminum, carbon, back to aluminum and then back to cedar. Over the last few years I have been using douglas fir and have found them very durable, straight and a little heavier than PO cedar. Surewood shafts are great.
Ramin is, to me, the toughest out there. In 5/16 I have yet to break one with some being bounced off limds and small trees.
Cedar for me. I had to go down in weight need
shoulder replacement gotta stay around 50lb now
so a cedar arrow with a 125gr tip about 500-520
works best. When i make a new dz seam to break
one right off but, i have some that are over
8 years old and still going strong.
Any hardwood is much, much tougher than any softwood. The lightest weight hardwood that makes good arrows is yellow poplar. Most shafts will make 10-12 grains/pound.
What about hex shafts? Are they tough, light, ect. ? Do you pick what kind of wood you want with them or just got to live with what they have?
I use split hex shafts & love them. They are tough, straighten easily, are heavy, & you don't have to worry about the grain as they are laminated. :)
Frank