I have a custom made longbow,68 inch 54lbs@28 inches and presently shoot carbon arrows but want to take the traditional experience a little further and take a deer using wood arrrows and glue on broadheads;
I must admit that I know nothing about wood arrows but trully want to learn; any information fow those who use and hunt with wooden arrows would be GREATLY apprecieated; thank you very much for your time;..... :thumbsup:
Benderofwood
A good start would be to go to the How to Resources a lot of info.to be found there.
Charlie Brown.
Hey Barry, I just started using wood arrows and it ain't as difficult as I thought it would be. I am using ash shafts and they are tough but pretty dang heavy. I finished mine with rattle can polyurethane, but when I can spend some more money I think I will start dipping with gasket laquer. Everybody says it dries alot faster. As for weight my arrows are 11/32" and 28 1/2" back of point, with 125 gr. heads and they weigh right around 620 to 640 gr. with 3 5" feathers and a snap on nock. I limit myself to 20 yard shots when hunting so the extra weight won't effect me much and they made my bow much quieter. Have a good day and keep 'em in the middle, TMG.
If you are going to shoot 125 grain points and your bow has a dacron string 55-60 # spine should work, otherwise I would start at 60-65 and if they are stiff you can increase the point weight. Hardwood shafts are heavier then cedar but also a lot stronger and at typical bowhunting distance you will never notice any change in trajectory. Also if you are going to use hardwood shafts I would stay away from gasket laquer. It does not seal hardwoods good enough to keep them straight. You need a penetrating finnish for that. It is ok on cedar because it is a resinous wood and does not gain and loose moisture like hardwoods do. It is not very durable either. Almost any of the polyurethanes will work good, steel wool in between coats. The only exception to this is when they are shot into 3D targets made out of polyurethane foam! Dalys Pro Fin or another oil based finish are good choices also. There have been several good articles in TBM over the years about wood shafts and arrows. Joseph
Good advice Joseph. I double coat my hardwood shafts in Minwax Polycrylic and it seals them very well. You hit it on the head about the foam targets. Some seem like they are glued into the foam after a shot and I advise rubbing a little hand soap on the front of the shaft to prevent this.
I have made a few 'test kits' of hardwood arrows to try. I make one parallel and one tapered shaft of each spine range starting at your draw weight and one range below and one range above. You can then add your points and nocks to do a test with your bow.
Dennis
Good Old Turtle Wax, or any Paste Wax will help with the Pullage! Of Course, just My 2 cents.
Buy a matched set from Paul Jalon or Paul makes them for shrew archery, shoot these first and then when you find out how well they work then try building them.
Regarding target burn, I agree that most (if not all) types of poly will adhere fiercely to a target's internals. After some testing, I've found that if I apply a couple coats of water-based poly, then 3-4 coats of gasket lacquer, I get the best of both worlds. It's sealed well, nice and glossy, and doesn't stick to the target innards. Just my $.02...
Victor