This past spring I watched Fred Bear's hunting DVD set and it caused me to purchase a recurve just for fun. At the time, I hunted with a Mathews compound, but was intrigued. Well, I fell in love with instinctive shooting immediately. I shot daily all spring and through the summer. But, when archery season opened, my want for venison outweighed my want to use traditional tackle and I ended up using the compound all season. After the rut ended, I found myself deeply regretting using my compound all season long. So I made a decision my friends find insane, but I walked in and traded in my Mathews to my local shop and had him order me a Bear Super Kodiak. With the extra money, I bought supplies to build my first dozen arrrows. I built three so far and have some questions for the pros on here. How straight do my arrows need to be to be accurate? On my spin tester, there is a slight wobble in all 3 that I cannot seem to straighten out. There are also some minor imperfections in my sealant that I think are from air bubbles that also seem minor to me. I guess I am wondering if these arrows are going to be servicable to practice with, and what range will those imperfections start to really become apparent? Thanks!

I'm not a pro at building arrows, I just wanted to say welcome and you made a decision that you will not regret trust me.            

As far as your arrows go they're probably perfectly fine for starting out as long as they're spined good. Should be more focused on form in the beginning. But I'll let someone more experienced with arrow building answer.

Welcome Mark!!!

Sorry but that is all I have to offer, I shoot carbon arrows.


 

Welcome to Trad Gang.  It is fun and addicting, isn't it...  Deer are killed using trad equipment every year in every state(in which there are huntable deer populations) so don't for a minute think you can't do it.  You might need to change your tact a bit and get closer for a good close shot.  You can do that too.

Regarding the arrows question.  There are many folks on here more experienced than I at building arrows ( good arrows that is).  I find that wood arrows will almost never be as perfect as good carbon or aluminum arrows, but they sure work.  

My opinion is that spine is a more important factor ( keep them as straight as you can... cork screw shafts are not gonna work well) than how perfectly straight your arrows are.

When it is time to put on the broadheads, spin them, each of them, and be sure that the broadheads spin pretty true.

SHow us some pix of your arrows when you get them completed.
Chuck

I too don't have much to offer but a welcome...  That being said, the woodies that I have built were sure alot of fun and I have 2 doz more to build!  If you're using a hardwood, you might have to add some heat to get them straight. My shafts are surewoods and i can do a pretty good job of using  the heel of my hand... I sight up each shaft and rotate.  I also am using tru-oil for sealing them...  rub it on and don't have any trouble with bubbles...

I'm sure others will give much more advice than I can... just remember to take your time and have fun with it!

Good luck, shoot straight and God Bless,

Rodd

Thanks yall! Another reason I chose to switch to traditional gear is because I found compound archery lost it's challenge. I have taken 13 archery animals the past 4 years with one miss in that time frame. Almost all were well within my recurve comfort zone which is currently a touch over 20 yards. I had a Sammick Sage with Traditional Only carbon arrows that I used constantly for 6 months and got very happy with my abilities. When I decided to go full traditional, it just felt right to build and use wooden shafts as well. I'm just itching to pick up my Bear and start the process of becoming one with my new partner!

tru oil to seal them? what does the finish end up like? is it literally oil you rub in?

Those bubbles can be rubbed out using 0000 steel wool or lightly sanded using 400 grit, wet dry sandpaper. What finish did you use? No, Tru-Oil is not an oil like pure Tung oil, it is a mix  a varnish and polymers . It works well for those of us who like to wipe on a finish. I use it to finish bamboo flyrods.

A slight wobble in the shafts, nor a small bubble will be noticable. Folks shoot cane and bamboo shafts accurately all the time, even though there is nodes, and are not perfectly straight, yet they hit where you aim. This is a close range game anyway, and 20 yards to me, is a pretty long poke at a deer. The vast majority of my deer have been between 9 and 15 yards.

awesome! Thanks guys!

The tru oil sets up like regular lacquer... might be a little thinner is all...  rub them with 0000 steel wool and do several coats, then when I'm satified, steel wool the area for fletching.
I posted pics a couple months ago... will see if I can find them....

http://imgur.com/IAMjIN1
http://imgur.com/ZauEBE4
http://imgur.com/RCZ0q02
http://imgur.com/H0OTR5X
http://imgur.com/IUslagH

Here ya go....

Welcome to the wonderful world of traditional archery .
Glad you were able to shed the training wheels .

Nice Rod! I have the same colors for my vanes and nocks...but I stained my shafts in cherry first...What are the benefits of using steel wool to sandpaper? I see a lot of guys use it.

On your next arrows before you assemble them roll them across a flat surface to catch the bends and straighten at that time. I do each shaft several times to make sure they are good and straight before finishing and fletching.

Mark.... if you are shooting off the shelf ( not using some sort of elevated launcher / rest) you may wish to reconsider using vanes for your wood arrows.  At least, if you are talking about plastic feathers (ie vanes).  They work for some, no doubt, but most will probably give you the same advice.

I do shoot off the shelf and I have 5 inch feathers on my on a left wing and left hand helical.

Like Reddoge, I put a lot of time into keeping my arrows straight each step of the building process - they tend to stay straight once sealed.

I find it does matter to shoot a straight shaft. You already have a spin tester, which is a great help. Try viewing the arrow at eye level; otherwise where the high spot is isn't necessarily where you think. Work the high spot(s) down a little at a time, the length of the arrow. Just takes patience and a little practice. I do much better with a roller straightener than by hand.

Yeah I will definitely be doing that...I was just impatient and wanted to get started! I have a shaft tamer that I will make sure I use to straighten every step of the way. Thanks everyone!