Here are some of mine. These are Douglas Fir but I also really like Sitka Spruce.

Arne

I’ll add that with wood arrows, I am NOT a fan of EFOC or UEFOC! All my woodies are about 14% FOC with 125 grain points. As most wood shaft shooters know, wood arrows tend to break just behind the point and adding weight there just makes the problem worse. Just my feeling.

Arne

No, I have never used any “hardwood” shafts. I get the impression that they are harder to keep straight (just my impression) and I have no problem with that with Doug Fir or Stika or POC after finish is applied. Plus, Doug Fir produces a nice weight arrow, and is VERY strong.

Arne

PS. Wood is all I’ve ever hunted with. I lived in Alaska for 20 years and used wood all that time. Grew up in South Dakota in the “wood” years so wood for hunting all my life. I do use aluminum a lot for 3D, and instruction simply because they hold up better with foam targets and are easier to pull. You can have carbon, just don’t like them for anything.

I have shot tapered ( and do have some) but I guess I’m not good enough to see that the added work of producing them or cost to buy them is worth it. Yes, they move the weight forward a little, but I just have never seen the advantage.

Arne

Moebow wrote: I’ll add that with wood arrows, I am NOT a fan of EFOC or UEFOC! All my woodies are about 14% FOC with 125 grain points. As most wood shaft shooters know, wood arrows tend to break just behind the point and adding weight there just makes the problem worse. Just my feeling.

Arne

Yep. 😀

I’ve been thinking for the last few weeks about the fact that Ishi footed his arrows. I think I’m ready to follow his example, for reasons of strength and FOC:

“The sticks thus straightened he ran back and forth between two grooved pieces of sandstone or revolved them on his thigh while holding the stones in his hand, until they were smooth and reduced to a diameter of about five-sixteenths of an inch. Next they were cut into lengths of approximately twenty-six inches. The larger end was now bound with a buckskin thong and drilled out for the depth of an inch and a half to receive the end of the foreshaft. He drilled this hole by fixing a long, sharp bone in the ground between his great toes and revolved the upright shaft between his palms on this fixed point, the buckskin binding keeping the wood from splitting.

“The foreshaft was made of heavier wood, frequently mountain mahogany. It was the same diameter as the arrow, only tapering a trifle toward the front end, and usually was about six inches long. This was carefully shaped into a spindle at the larger end and set in the recently drilled hole of the shaft, using glue or resin for this purpose. The joint was bound with chewed sinew, set in glue.”

How Ishi made his bow and his method of shooting

wow those are some beauties. Ive never tried splicing fletching like that whats thee secret

wow those are beauties. what is the technique to splicing feathers? I been making my own wood arrows for thrity years but never tried splicing like that. Im reaslly impressed i believe id like to try that. do the spliced feathers hold up well to field use?

?

codger,

There are 2 ways to splice feathers. The easiest way to start is “butt splicing.” Simply cut all the way through the quill and fit carefully end to end. Then be VERY careful loading the spliced feather into the fletching clamp to get everything aligned.

The other way, is a little harder IMO but is overall better is membrane splicing. You use the quill of one feather and glue the membrane of different colors onto it.

Neither method is really hard to do BUT it DOES TAKE ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!!! AND PRACTICE. AND PATIENCE!!

Spliced feathers MAY not be quite as durable as “self” feathers but arrows get used up one way or another sooner or later.

I think if you do a search of You Tube, you may find some “build alongs” or tutorials that might give some better instruction. If folks are interested in the local area, (Northern Minnesota) I’ll work with them in person, I just don’t think I could do a viable or reasonable video on this.

Arne

PS. I’ll add that I certainly don’t build all my arrows with spliced feathers!! My “indoor” aluminum arrows NEVER get splicing but they are normally used for instruction and foam targets.

Arne

Those are “REALLY” sharp looking arrows Arne.

And not just the splicing, its the cresting and the color combos. It appears that the fir really takes the stain well.

Bruce