Hey all,

I received a nice osage bow recently and it feels wrong to shoot carbons off it. I've never bought wood arrows before, so I'm not confident where to start. I saw wilderness arrows came recommended, but I don't know about spines for wood arrows. My bow is #50 and has a shelf but isn't centercut. Is it worth buying a test kit? Or will 45-50 spine be close enough? Any tips on wood arrows would be appreciated.

X2 for wilderness arrows. I was going to make my own but since this is going to be my first set of woods I'm going with wilderness because they can make them cheaper than I can. 45-50 with 125 gr head sounds about right.

I would recommend giving Raptor Archery a call. I get all my arrows from there. Ted does a great job building arrows at a cost that I couldn't match making them myself (if you include time). He will also cut and install points free of charge if you want them. I would also recommend going with the Raptor cut fletching for your arrows. They are slightly larger than shield cut and just look bad ass coming off a self bow. As for spine, if you are going with the 125 gr, then yeah go for 45-50. I usually go with 160 gr and up the spine 5 pounds. Good luck and welcome to the club. You won't regret it.

I second Raptor.

Self bows are particularly tough to guestimate spine for.  Each one is different and there are several things which influence what spine will best match the bow and shooter.  A good test set is the best way to figure it out and I prefer a set with the arrows individually spined rather than just grouped where you never really know what you are shooting.  

What is the bow weight at your draw, arrow length, point weight and how far out is the bow cut?

Spine test kits are incredibly nice to have.
along with an assortment of tip weights.

If you plan on getting into this you're most likely going to go thru a few bows.

The test kit takes so much guess work out of it..and really reduces the chance on wasting money on arrows of incorrect spine.

This is my setup. I shoot a 48@28 Osage self bow and I'm shooting 40-45 poc arrows cut 28" behind the point for a total length of 281/2" and a total weight of 460 grains and they fly great. with the straight grip on my bow I do loose about an inch of draw length so it would be safe to say 45@27.  you might want to check your draw length and see what your actual draw length with that bow. If your under 28" I would go 40-45 with a self bow.

Raptor Archery X 3

Do yourself a favor and order your arrows from Raptor Archery instead of guessing.

Ted builds self bows and can set you up with some fine arrows that match your set up.

Test kit individually marked is a good investment as has been recommended ....

Give David (snag) a call at wilderness custom a call, I am on te same path as you in rediscovering wood arrows, I gave him my arrow length, poundage etc... He sent me a couple arrows in different spines to try, he is getting a call tomorrow with my order, David is a class act!

Did the same thing Stix and he's also sending me a couple of test arrows.  


BTW, his arrows are art!

I am sure Raptor is good also, but I have experience with Snag and I don't know how anyone could be better to work with to get the right arrow for your bow.

elite arrows sent me a test kit that was pound to pound so I got 6 arrows all matched to the pound so 45-46-47-48-49-50 pound spines,, weights where perfect too and these arrows where so matched I actually put broadheads on 3 and hunted with them!

all good arrow makers here though, I've owned snags arrows too but knew the spine I needed and they where perfectly matched..  never had raptor's but based on his bows I'd have no hesitation ordering from Ted..  I've never had a problem with any arrows I bought thru here.

Update, David sent me some trial arrows, all I can say is PHENOMINAL!!!!!!!  Check out Wilderness Custom Arrows, you will be glad you did.