Woodies more forgiving?

[Rick Richard]

I have been tuning for the past 6 months with various carbons for my bow and have come up with a reseonable match.  However, I have noticed that when shooting the arrows they are very prone to magnifying human error (release or form).  On the other hand, I have experimented with wood shafts and found that they are very forgiving to human error.  They still appear to hit the target where I am aiming unlike the carbons. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Jeff Strubberg]

My experience was the opposite.  

What kind of bow?  Woodies tend to be a larger diameter than carbons.  You could be getting inside the centerline of your bow with the carbons and getting some squirrely results.

[Ragnarok Forge]

My experience has also been the opposite.  The spine is uniform from shaft to shaft with carbons.  It varies more with wood shafts.  Once I have carbon shafts perfectly tuned they are very forgiving.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Doooop!  Double post.

admin: now ya made a triple post.    

please just either leave double posts alone, or go back and edit out all your text/imgs - we'll take care of the rest if either you tell us, or we stumble on it, as i just did now.  thanx

[David Mitchell]

My experience the opposite as well.  Nothing shoots out of any bow I have like my GT 3555s.  Don't have any idea why, but if things aren't gpoing right with my woodies, I can pull out the GTs and all is well again.

[reddogge]

Wood ranks last behind aluminum and carbon for me in accuracy.

[Anointed Archer]

Yeah, if you have the right spine length combination with carbon arrows you can't beat the accuracy and durability of a carbon shaft.

[Knawbone]

What poundage is your bow.......just courious!

[Rick Richard]

My bow is 47 lbs at 28, however I shoot 26, which puts my about 41 lbs.

[cthorsman]

I pluck the string on release, so i finally figured out i need big feathers. I no longer see the arrow wobble on release and i shoot much tighter groups.
How do the feathers on your woodies compare to those on your carbons?

While it is possible to get carbons to be more consistent, it is easier to get a set of cedar shafts to be good shooters with less messing around. Some bows with specific poundages and draw will not tolerate an arrow that is too stiff. In those cases the wood shaft, because, as Howard Hill stated has more life in it, will clear the bow better and give a more accurate shot.  on the other hand if anything is off with the carbon shot arrow whether it is balance, spine or a soft shot on the shooters end will result in a wayward flying arrow. the thing about the common cedar arrow that one makes them selves is that for less money many can be made, allowing one to have a quiver full of arrows to play with. I have heard the argument that in the end the price is about the same, but frankly I don't believe it. I have perfectly good cedars that are 20 years old, and I make myself a bunch of cheap arrows every year that have one purpose, shoot at small game and stuff with the expectation that the arrow will either be broken or disappear. I would rather lose a cedar arrow in the woods than a carbon arrow and I get the opportunity to shoot a reasonably accurate shot more often. To reanswer your question,can a cedar shaft be more accurate than a carbon? In your particular case, obviously. do what works best for you.

[Rick Richard]

Carbon and woodies fletched the same.

[Overspined]

Wood all day all night!!

[David Yukon]

I shoot way better with wood arrows than allus or carbons, so my woodsy are more accurate!!

[Larry m]

Jeff S
Point well made!
For me it is the bow I'm shooting. If center shot adjustable the carbons fly very nice indeed. If not center shot I dial in the spine as close as possible and then play with fletch length and point weight. I do like a well made set of woods as long as focus is more to consistent weight and spine. That is why I make my own!!!

[Rick Richard]

I went back last night and intentionally made bad shots to see how the woodies would respond and again they were very tolerant of my mistakes.  Did the same with the carbons and they were all over the target.

[David Mitchell]

Rick, just the opposite for me.  Different strokes for different folks I guess, and the thing is, I really like woodies better since I'm pretty old school about things archery related since I've been messing around with this stuff since about 1955.  :D

[Rick Richard]

David, I am going to continue the test with carbons and see if I can make them more...tolerant. Maybe play with side plates and etc..  Always need to pursue excellance.  I find Traditional archery a journey and not a destination.

[rraming]

maybe the wood shafts are closer to the correct spine, let's hear your set up
Bow and weight
your draw length
shaft, length, insert and tip weight etc..

[Rick Richard]

47 lbs at 28 inches except I draw @ 26 inches.
CE 75, 27.5 inches with 125 grain points, fletched 3 x 5 and standard insert and nocks. Bareshafting they fly straight with an occasional tad stiff if I have a bad relese.