Hardwood Shafting

[PeteDavis]

Anybody here shoot ash or hickory arrow shafting?

PD

[n2huntn]

Got some black ash,good stuff. havent tried hickory.
Jeff

[sulphur]

tried both.  the ash tends to need straightening fairly often and will just explode if you hit something hard enough.  but its still very tough.  Hickory is super tough almost indestructible, and will weigh in close to 700 grns at 11/32.  Also the hickory stays straight especially if you seal it real good.

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes, I have. Hickory is tough but heavy. Ash is not as tough but still tough. Not as heavy though. Jawge

[half eye]

Pete,
     Used both of those plus others. Like them both. The hickory will be noticeably heavier than the ash. Have also made them from walnut, black ash, paper birch, hard maple, red elm, and norway pine. My personal favorites are the black ash, and walnut just because of their good looks. But when the arrow hits the critter, you wont go wrong with either of those choices. JMO
    By the way all of mine are 3/8" diameter minimum.
rich

[El Destructo]

Damn Rich....at 3/8".....your launching 1000 grain logs....not arrows!

[half eye]

El D....Ya I know, but they go clean through them deers....also got a pretty short draw (27" on a good day) and "pull to the head" so they aint as bad as 30" shafts or such. Why I call 'em flyin telephone poles
rich

[Ken S]

I've used hickory shafts for carp 900gr with point 60'' hickory selfbow

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[ken75]

i just checked my 3/8th popular shafts 30inches with bandsaw blade heads and hogback turkey fletch their 560 gr. black walnuts are 640 gr.

[Pat B]

I have a set of fully tapered ash shafts I'm hunting with this year. I have used dowelled ash before and has trouble keeping them straight but these tapered shafts seem to stay straight.   These arrows with trade points, stone points and comercial(125gr) points all weigh between 600gr and 700gr.

[NorthernArcher]

Sulphur - is that the weight of the bare shaft, or the finished arrow?

I have a set of arrows I made from some unidentified hardwood shoots cut from the North Saskatchewan River Valley.  I haven't spined them, but they fly well from my 60# Osage bow, and they weigh in over 700gr finished.  My favorite arrow material is still Red Osier.  Not a hardwood, but VERY durable.

[JW_Halverson]

My first set of arrow shafts were ash.  I cussed and swore at those shafts for the year that I shot them.  Because of their weight, I learned some bad shooting form...basically aiming at the sky for 20 yd targets!  I then switched to sitka spruce and found that I liked them much better.  They are pretty bloody durable and are easy to straighten, that is when they rarely need a little straightening. 

The guy that pushed the ash shafts on me was one of those that believes you literally cannot go to heavy for your shafts, even at the cost of severe accuracy loss.  I'd rather go lighter and hit the vitals dead center than punch a broadhead thru and thru somewhere else.

[elk country rp]

i love hickory shafts! so far the only thing that's broken one is this elk...

775gr- they shoot nicely from my HBI 




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[AncientArcher76]

Ive used Maple ash oak birch never tried the hickory but I love them may be a little heavy but they are hard hitting for sure.  One heck of a hole through that elk...

Russ

[NorthernArcher]

Russ - There is a fair amount of Birch where I live.  If I can ever find some that doesn't have twisted grain I'd love to give them a try for arrows.  How did you find the Birch?  Did they fly well?  What kind of weight did you get out of it?

Jason