Broke another cedar arrow??? How many...

[BowHuntingFool]

I hear ya Brad, I spent so much time into staining them 2 tone and finishing them it just hurts when they break! I'm glad I didn't put to much time into the crest, I just put a single white stripe where the 2 different color stains meet, kinda plain janes if you will! I think I get a batch of Fir and Birch to see how they shoot for me. These POC are taking some tweaking to get them to group well. Could be my form, I'm thinking I need to can't my bow more for the woodies than the Carbons! The wood arrows are a different beast than the carbons thats for sure!

Thanks again guys! I hate this rain, I'm shooting between downpours!.....  

[Frank V]

Last Sat shot the 1st foam of the season & broke 3. One was able to be fixed. Once I get more practice one/shoot is about average. Frank

[JiminTexas]

Hexshaft wouold bemy recomendation.

[Shawn Leonard]

I love shooting wood, but pretty much only do it target shooting now in the yard. Where i stump shoot, I would break several in a few hours. It di get exspensive. I would go through several dozen in year. I shoot carbon now and once footed break very few. Shawn

[Aaron Proffitt 2]

When talking expense of busted arrows,let me put it in perspective for ya.
A box of 10 bismuth or tungsten-iron shotgun shells sell for around $23 a box.$2.30 a shell.Booom!! there goes $2.30.
Cedar shafts are around $26 a dozen.About the same as the shells a piece,but they can be shot over and over.

That's what I have to keep telling myself.

[John Nail]

when the squirrels are down, I have gone through 30 in a day, lost and broken. I make mine from the cheapest materials, and have about $1.25 in an arrow.

[Arwin]

It seems lately I have plowed through a bunch, mostly from dumb occurances. For instance, I shot at my box target in the basement. It fell forward and snapped my arrow. I have had the stumps take their share from me too. I'm down to 4 cedars and a few overspined alumiums. I have 8 carbons but am holding out on those for turkey if I can't get some new wood shafts.
Chundoo was a strong performer when I had them.

[Orion]

Been shooting cedars for a long time, and I must say I don't seem to have the trouble with breakage many of you are reporting here.  Yeah, I break some when stump shooting, usually by glancing off of stuff, or sometimes hitting a hidden rock.  I look for dead/rotting stumps, clumps of dirt, etc. to shoot.  A direct hit on oak, hickory, ash, etc. is hard on the arrow and often breaks them.

Cedars aren't as durable as hardwoods or Doug Fir or Ramin, but they're quite serviceable if shot with a modicum of care.  I usually use the shafts with poorer grain, or those I've been shooting a while at targets and 3-D shoots.  Doesn't hurt as much when I break one of those.

[bigcountry]

Bowhuntingfool, are you cedars straight grained?  I have had a set of POC for 2years, only broke 2 from missing and hitting concrete.  

They are 11/32" however.  Also out of your shafts, do you have bare shafts to see your spined right?  A way out of wack spine can really be hard on your arrows.  do you see them flipping left or right in the air?

[LBR]

Guess I'm the odd one again (so what's new?).  I bare-shaft my arrows, and can easily shoot them 20 yds with no fletching (as long as I don't pluck, etc.).  I shot Douglas Fir for a while, and they were a little more durable than good POC, but not much.  

I break an arrow occassionaly, but most of the time I know it's going to break before I shoot it--most of the time the shot is preceeded by "hey ya'll--watch this!" or "I bet you can't make that shot".

Even shooting lots of tournaments every summer (and some of the folks that set out targets are sadistic, have stock in an arrow business, or both), a dozen arrows easily lasts me a year (I don't squirrel hunt with a bow--yet).

I am picky about my shafting, but that's not rocket science.  I shoot 66@30.5, but I used to shoot 82#.  Didn't see squat difference then either.  Ash is definately tougher, but not worth the aggravation of trying to keep them straight.

I plan to stick with POC, at least as long as I can get decent shafting.  It works for me.

Chad

[BowHuntingFool]

BC, got them from Rose City, 11/32, straight grain and weight matched, 55/60. When I made up my first one, I shot it bareshaft to make sure the spine is correct, snapped it in half in the 2nd shot! I was informed not to bare shaft wooden arrows. I finished up the others and fletched them, messed with nock point and point weight and they're flying like darts! They weighed in at 541gr, the shafts were 330gr + 160gr tip + finishing came out to 541gr, I have 1 arrow at 547gr. I have found out, at least for me they are are lot more finicky than my carbons!

[bigcountry]

Why did they tell you not to bare shaft?   I always have.  Or shot thru paper.  

Just not sure why you have so many breaking.  But as long as your sure they are not fishtailing, then they should be good.

[Hot Hap]

I'm with LBR-Hap

[Badlands]

I agree.
Bareshafting may not work quite as well with wooden arrows as it does with carbon, but if you arrows are flying bad enough that they will break when shot without fletches, somtingwong.

Brad

[BowHuntingFool]

I do bare shaft  carbons and shoot thru paper but with the woodies I was probably to close, at about 10 feet or so, and my arrow was hitting way nock high, tried it again just to make sure and I found out for sure it was hitting way nock high, snapped my arrow! Adjusted my nock point. No fishtailing at all with my POC's, kinda scared to bareshaft them again......  

[bigcountry]

I don't blame ya.  It gets expensive.  I won't bare shaft any closer than 15 yards.  Haybales are good for that IMO.  Foam is bad.

I was getting cocky the other day and decided to move out to 30-35 yards and bareshaft, and bent an aluminum.  It did fine up to 15 yards, but out there, it was almost completely sideways.

[BowHuntingFool]

It hurt my feelings more than anything, my 1st wooden arrow, I had to wait for tips, glue  2 tone stained them and I hand tapered them, sucked!     :rolleyes:     :D     Foam is bad, I was shooting into the "block"! I need to get a bag of some sort for practice and keep the Block for broadheads! All said and done, it sure is fun!

[bigcountry]

Oh, I see.  Yep, the block will break em.  I use a yellow jacket back.  The more wore out the better.

[bushytail]

You gotta love the smell of a broken woody.It also gives you a good excuse to buy more shafts to make up.  

[Jim now in Kentucky]

BowHuntingFool, I sent you a pm.