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Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 6:41 pm
by Mattkaye
So iv only ever shot carbon and aluminium arrows. BUT, I want to shoot wooden arrows with my trad bow. are there any advantages of shooting wooden arrows and are they liable to break all the time. as I said im only used to shooting modern arrows but it just doesn't seem right to do it with a traditional bow.

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:27 pm
by Roadie
No, All arrows can Break or Bend if you are being stupid. Cheers Roadie.

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:39 pm
by Stickbow Hunter
If they are made correctly and matched to your bow you shouldn't have any problems with them. The advantages are they have character and a feel to them that no syntharra can ever match. :mrgreen:

Jeff

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:49 pm
by Mick Smith
Timber arrows are more likely to break if you hit a rock or and tree than carbons or aluminiums.

On the positive side though, they're much, much nicer to look at. The added time and effort required to make a good matched set of timber arrows will probably make your archery more fulfilling and satisfying, as your arrows will be unique, as opposed to most carbon and aluminium arrows, which often seem to be lacking in personality. Timber arrows are nearly always cheaper to make than synthetic arrows, even when you use the best components. Lost timber arrows will break down in time, unlike synthetic arrows, which is better for the environment.

Always buy matched sets of timber shafts. You want the ones that are matched for both spine and weight. Take the care to align the grain in the shafts with your nock, so they're as similar as possible. Always seal your shafts to exclude moisture.

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:01 pm
by Jim
Matt,

I don't think there's any technical advantage to shooting them, and my experience is that the common softwoods like port orford cedar, sitka spruce and douglas fir do break more readily than decent carbon shafts on heavy impacts (like hitting a rock or tree). They're also a little less convenient as you can't just swap out heads as readily and you have to straighten them occasionally.

But to be honest, the little 'inconveniences' are one of the things I find charming about wooden arrows. One of archery and bowhuntings big draws for me is it's insistence to slow down, take a breath and that the gratification is not going to be instant, but the result of an investment of time and patience. Wood arrows, and all the little processes that go into turning them from bits of wood to deadly arrows are a nice reminder of that bigger bowhunting picture.

And if you like stumping or roving, just pick forgiving targets, like rotten stumps or tufts of grass, rather than living trees or recently cut stumps :wink:

Wood is good!

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:05 pm
by Mattkaye
Thanks guys. another question is where is the best supplier of wooden arrows ( buy this I mean do you guys know a reliable pro shop or person to buy good quality arrows from. the only thing that worries me is buying a set from a store and there being a big weight difference between the shafts, I know there will be some I just don't want a lot as it would affect consistent shooting )

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:09 pm
by Mattkaye
Thanks Jim

that is exactly the reason I want to shoot wooden arrows, shooting carbon or aluminium just seems wrong and takes the traditional out of the trad bow. im looking forward to having to straighten an arrow and not crying everytime I break an expensive carbon.

and like I said they will look beautiful with the bow, carbons just don't look right with a trad bow.

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:17 pm
by Mick Smith
Mark at Tradbits sells matched timber shafts, as well as finished arrows. They're matched to within 10 grains of one another. You would have to be a very good and consistent shooter to notice the difference.

http://tradbits.com.au/

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 10:33 am
by Ian Turner
Hi mate,
With wooden arrows its very important to get the right spine to suit your bow weight and how you shoot.
You dont want to go out and spend a lot of money on arrows that are not spined right for your bow.
Cheers

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:20 pm
by Stickbow Hunter
Ian Turner wrote:Hi mate,
With wooden arrows its very important to get the right spine to suit your bow weight and how you shoot.
You dont want to go out and spend a lot of money on arrows that are not spined right for your bow.
Cheers
No different to syntharras Ian. :confused:

Jeff

Re: Traditional Wooden arrows VS Carbon or Aluminium

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 8:35 am
by AndyF
Hi there,

My tuppence worth. I shoot carbons, alloys and have a made a few thousand woods in my time.

Woods do break more easily, so carbons or alloys are great for 'bashing' about and practising on rolling discs and the like. However, I reckon woods are much nicer to shoot from a traditional wooden bow. My girlfriend, who hasn't been shooting her flat bow very long, noticed that woods 'felt' better almost immediately, and so refuses to shoot the alloys I bought her for 'bashing' about. So I'm stuck making her 'pretty', matched woods with fancy spliced fletchings etc, which she then proceeds to trash with great accomplishment around Wisemans etc. Such is life.

Woods also offer you the pleasure of making a part of your own equipment (the most important part, many would say). And you can match and customise wood arrows to a far greater degree than alloys, carbons or even 'bought' woods allow.

As far as buying finished arrows goes, Steve Wallace makes great arrows,. He also sells custom made shafts. Someone has already mentioned Mark at Trad Bits for shafts too. And John MacDonald in Sydney is also worth contacting. Personally, I occasionally buy shafts from Steve and John, but I buy of lot of the hand weighed, hand spined POC shafts from Kustom King in the US (they'll also let you specify what grain weight you want within +/- 5 grains, which is a great start for making super matched arrows).

Hope all that helps.

Andy