the advantages of wood.........

[$bowhunter$]

im thinking of getting into wood arrows, what do you guys feel the advantages of wood are? it seems there a little more affordable than my alum. that i currently shoot. ive seen POC and douglus fir shafts. id use either to learn i just want to know the advantages of wood over alum./carbon arrows?

thanks,
steven

[Stumpkiller]

The fun of making them up.  The selection and straightening process.  The smell of tapering them (I full-length taper them with a razor plane/Bowyer's Edge).  The satisfaction of staining and cresting them.  Fletching them up nice and colorful.

I just enjoy wood.  The traditional aspect is rewarding when you smack a deer with an arrow you "knew from birth".

When you factor in your own time and the cost of them anymore there is no real savings vs. aluminum.  They are less consistant (and therefore less accurate) than aluminum or carbon.  And they break.  But so do carbon and aluminum bends and splits.

But then you get to make more!

More of a challenge - and that is why we are here.    :D

[CG]

I feel like I can get a wood arrow tuned to my bow easier.  I'm not saying that the other materials can't be tuned just as well, just that, for some reason, I can get a wood shaft (tapered or parallel) tuned easier.

It's difficult for me to think about wood arrows without having some nostalgia come into it as well--the smell of POC brings back lots of memories.  Perhaps that's not a good enough reason to choose them but, then again, my enjoyment of shooting a recurve has a lot to do with nostalgia, so why not....

Compared to aluminum, a wood shaft is easier for me to keep quiet while hunting--i.e. if I bump it against the riser while nocking it the sound doesn't seem to be so alarming to game.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

woodies have a soul

I get more Honor from making a wood arrow then I have with Alum and carbon.

Did I say Woodies have a Soul!!!!

[Jim now in Kentucky]

Wood was alive once. It grows. It requires no smelting, melting or forming other than what is accomplished with a sharp edge.

I can make shafts out of a tree. I can't make shafts from bauxite. I can't make shafts out of synthetic resins and carbon.

Wood is an ancient resource, having been used to make arrows from the first use of the bow.

Not many reasons, I guess...

Jim

[reddogge]

I've been a wood guy for a long time but last year I went back to aluminum and now I'm trying carbon.  To be honest, I'm tired of straightening and maintaining wood and having points pull out in targets in freezing weather.  My arrows are stored straight up in tubes in an arrow barrel and when I pull some out it seems I have to do a lot of straightening.

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

I shot woods years ago and always enjoyed the benefit of having a good excuse for a miss!

[Bowspirit]

Soul indeed...

My favorite wood of choice is hickory, however, because of it's durability. I've shot CX Rebels, CX Heritage, Gold Tips, Axis, and GrizzlyStiks, and only the last proved as durable. It does require straightening now and then, and I would suggest it for lighter draws. But it sure does what I need it to...

[bendbig]

Wood arrows are just plain FUN to craft yourself. You can make them plain or as fancy as you want to, it's a good way to make the cold winter days pass working on a few dozen woodies, then when the 3-D season starts watch your buddies eyes light up when you bring out your fancy arrows and beat them shooting their store bought ones, haha. All jokes aside it's just plain fun making them.

[Bowwild]

I made up some wood (POR) 10 years ago or so. I bought 100 shafts, hunted up the straightest, and then had at it.  I made a mess with the dipping tubes. I did like tapering for points and the smell. I liked the cresting best of all as I had a crestor.  Of course I've fletched my own arrows for years, whatever the shafts.

I could see making wooden arrows again but it wouldn't be to save money or time. It would be for the nostalgia and craftsmanship.  BUT, I'd have to do a lot more research about selecting shafts, sealing them, staining, etc.  

I'll never forget the first one I shot into the grass -- I tore that yard up looking for that arrow -- I had too much time in it to lose it so quick!

I applaude the fellows who are good at this and I have no doubt a lot of them can put their woodies beside my carbons or aluminums in a target, stump, or beast.

[chad graham]

go for it and you will see what a great feeling it is to build them and harvest with them.there is something special about wood.if you need any help or pointers your in the right place,plenty of great wood arrow builders here.good luck.

[Rob DiStefano]

imho, i would not recommend messing with woods as a main arrowshaft material if you haven't solidified a decent shooting form, with decent consistent accuracy.  woodies are simply not as durably consistent as carbs or alums.  something to consider.  

if you are still in the trad archery learning curve, you want to make sure that you missed because of *you* and not the arrow.  

now, if you know yer way around trad, and yer a good shooter, hunting with woodies is a natural connection to the true aesthetics of trad archery/bowhunting.  i love my woodies.

[Ken Babicky]

I use all three depending upon the bow. I use wood probably more than anything when hunting in my home state. I really like it but I gotta say at times wood can be a pain because I think it requires more care to insure you don't do something that causes a set, or if you're hunting/traveling with someone else, you need to be sure they don't set something on top of them or against them to cause a set that you have to straighten. The nice thing is I have alot of them made up and I don't worry about losing them or busting them on a frozen stump because they didn't cost me as much to make. On the other hand, when I head out west on a hunting trip, I tend to use aluminum or carbon because they're not as likely to have to issues... one less thing to worry about.

[arrowslinger22]

I only use wood shafts, but then I only shoot all wood bows, doesn't seem right to do anything else.

[Bjorn]

I agree with Rob; wood is a terrible material: crooked, expensive, in accurate, slow, can't penetrate, did I miss anything? You continue with the other materials and leave the wood to me!  

[Rob DiStefano]

quote:Originally posted by Bjorn:
I agree with Rob; wood is a terrible material: crooked, expensive, in accurate, slow, can't penetrate, did I miss anything? You continue with the other materials and leave the wood to me!    

[Orion]

Wood is quieter off the bow.  It's available in the widest range of spines and weights, making it easier to match to your bow if you already know what it requires. It's better looking than carbon or aluminum IMO.  Of course, those of us who shoot wood also think it ties us more closely to times past and the spirit of archery.  As others have said, wood just has soul.  Also makes a good fire starter in emergency situations.

Cons.  Good wood arrows are more difficult to build than aluminum or carbon arrows.  It takes good shafting and good craftsmanship to build good wood arrows.  There's a lot of junk out there -- bad grain, severely mismatched spine and weight, etc.  And a lot of folks don't have the patience, skill or know how to build good wood arrows.

If you factor in the time required to make them, cost of quality raw material, the finishes needed to seal them, and the equipment needed to make them -- spine tester, grain scale, sanding disk taper tool, etc. --  good wood arrows will cost just as much as aluminum or carbon.  In fact, a lot of junk wood arrows also cost just as much.

The bad wrap that some lay on wood arrows can almost always be traced to poorly made arrows, mismatched in spine and/or weight and/or having crooked nock and/or point tapers and thus nocks and points that are not aligned properly.

I've been shooting wood for about 50 years, and i spend very little time straightening arrows.  I start with premium quality shafting, which is quite straight to begin with, straighten those shafts that need it and seal them.  That's it. Unless I sit on them, try to yank them out of a target sideways or have a critter fall on them, they stay straight.

[Andy Cooper]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
 

quote:Originally posted by Bjorn:
I agree with Rob; wood is a terrible material: crooked, expensive, in accurate, slow, can't penetrate, did I miss anything? You continue with the other materials and leave the wood to me!      

If there's ever a POC shortage, it'll be because Bjorn has it all!  :cool:

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Andy Cooper:
If there's ever a POC shortage, it'll be because Bjorn has it all!   :cool:  

ain't dat da truth - and all the PRIMO poc, too!  :D

[trad_bowhunter1965]

All I can say is if you can master building wood arrows than your and Arrowsmith,and after watching Gary and Connie Renfro building the footed arrow and pestering Bjorn    I can't wait to start building wood arrows.