I'm wanting to build arrows that can float and be retrieved by canoe from a lake. Naturally wood comes to mind but I could also use a carbon shaft and seal the ends to have a hollow tube that should float as well. Has anyone experimented with different types of arrow builds and found one to have superior buoyancy?

I think wood and aluminum are your best bets.  Don't recall many, if any, carbons that float. 

I think they all float if not extreme point weight, at least all mine do, be it wood or carbon. They are hollow.

the carbons I have shot into water floated with the knock at the surface, it depends on the weight of the point your shooting weather it stays up on the surface or goes to the bottom. the ones I shot had 300 grns up front, 100 grn insert, 200 grn blunt. the water was shallow enough that I didn't have to dive for them.

Aluminum will float, guess it does depend on point weight though and perhaps shaft diameter. Used to be a local 3D shoot that had a long distance shoot across a lake. Back then every body shot aluminum shafts. They would go out in a boat and pick up the floating shafts.

With carbon and alum... depends on whether the insert and nock ends are sealed. Some inserts have a threaded hole at the back to add threaded weights. The nocks on all my carbons are just friction fit.

OkKeith

They all float.....point down. I haven't seen an arrow yet with a heavy enough point to sink one to the bottom. The nock end never comes near the water so doesn't have to be sealed as long as your point insert is tight

Just curious, what are you trying to do? Ducks? Squirrels from trees overhanging creek?


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Fill carbon with round foam that is used for screen door...perfect size.

Quote from: jbpharmd on January 29, 2019, 07:29:05 PM
Just curious, what are you trying to do? Ducks? Squirrels from trees overhanging creek?


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• waterfowl is on my list if I can find a place legal to use archery equipment with
• small game on a couple of islands in a nearby lake where the arrows may skip into the water is my primary goal. I went on a canoe camp trip this past weekend and these islands are teeming with rabbit, squirrel, and dove...shotguns are legal here and I have a great 20, 16, and 12 of which all would be adequate but I like to bowhunt the most. My shotguns only come out for sentiment on occasional hunts because they came from my late grandfather.
• just purely for fun I want to toss some styrofoam in shoot off a cliff at it a bit this summer then jump in and retrieve all my arrows as another way to "stump shoot"

Guess we shoot over the wrong pond. Waiting for the one at the range to dry up so I can retrieve my wife's arrows from last 3D. No, they didn't float, they sunk.

My thoughts would be old microflites or cedar shafts