Practice with stone tips?

[Prarie Bowyer]

Do you guys recomend practice shooting with stone tips?  I broke a nice one in 1/2 yesterday when I missed and hit something harder than my stuffed box.

What do you guys normaly shoot at? 

Is loosening the tip a concern?

[Pappy]

I usually only shoot them once if they fly good and hit true, if not I will tweak them
to what I think they need and shoot again,once I see they fly good and hit where I am pointing,I put them in the quiver,I also try VERY hard not to miss,very rocky where I live.
   Pappy

[JackCrafty]

I shoot the shafts without the arrowheads when I'm making a matched set.  When I've got some that fly correctly, then I clean up the tips, cut a notch, and mount the arrowheads.  Most of my stone arrow points are small bird points, so they don't affect arrow flight.

I've target practiced with stone tips only once or twice.  I only shot the arrow once each time, just to check the flight.  Worked great.

I've either given away, traded, or sold all my stone-tipped arrows and haven't hunted with them yet.

[bowtarist]

I've shot nearly every one that I have hafted, maybe around 6 or 7 hafted w/ stone, I have shot them and shot them until I miss the target, then I have a broken arrow head and it becomes a small game blunt.  I have rehafted one shaft w/ a new point and have not shot it yet.  i like the way Pappy and Jackcrafty have been doing it.  I plan on hunting w/ stone this year, so I will do my best to follow there rule of thumb.  I just have so much trouble stopping shooting when I have a new arrow, especially w/ a stone point on.  dp

[Mesquite]

It's just like gambling with anything else, only play with what you can afford to lose. 

[gutpile]

once I get my spine right and point is attached and spins true..like store bought..I put in quiver and they are good to go..no need to shoot them....gut

[Pat B]

Any arrow I'm gonna hunt with get shot no matter which point I use. If it don't fly well it don't go humting with me! 
  I have a large rubberized foam targer block I use with all broadheads.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I was told a double layer of 2" blue or pink foam does a good job of stopping STONE heads. I have never tried it to know.

[mullet]

Find you an old couch cushion, they work great!. It will either bounce off and fall to the ground or just stick the point in and not hurt it. I'm like Pappy shoot it once and tweek it, never more than twice.

[Prarie Bowyer]

I had this idea.  Use the duplex nail in the shaft UNFIXED to work the arrow shaft.  Then when that is working switch the nail for the head.  Shoot it to double check and be done.

Or make a nice set of arrows that is roughly spine weighted and all the same havt them and hop like hell.

[crooketarrow]

   I've shot foam blocks for as long as I've shot. The ones we've always got are 3 1/2 x 4 1/2. After there shot for a while there perty solf there solf anyway. I don't make knaped hunting heads barbed to hunt with. IF YOUR HEADS DO HAVE BARBS IT'S HARD TO PARCTICE WITH AND KEEP THEM ON YOUR SHAFTS AS THERE PULLED FROM THE FOAM.
   Barbed heads don't pull out easy. I'll reheat before I use them to hunt with. Just enough to reset them to the shafts.  I always shoot my knaped heads some alot some. If they fly exture good and I'm going to hunt with them after 10 or 50 shots I'll resharpen if needed and save to hunt with. I've alway shot on arrow at a time and never have had a head break.
   I have knaped headed arrows I'll practice with as the season progress's. Lots of people quit practiceing when they start hunting. Other that shooting knaped heads across the lawn at know distances. I do all the rest of my practiceing stump shooting judio's.