arrow shafts in mn

[stickthrower]

Hey, I haven't posted in here before.  I just recently finished a bow, and am wanting to make some arrows.  The bow came in a bit lighter than I had wanted, but it is all good.  It is shooting 40 lbs off the handle.  My question is, I am in MN, and am looking for some material to use for arrow shafts that I can go out and get for msyelf.  Does anybody know something that I would be able to do that with?  I am in central MN, so that narrows it down a bit.  I don't know if there is something I can get along the Mississippi or if I need to go someplace to get something I can use. 

I am looking at making the arrows with the feathers laid on the shaft like what was talked about in the magazine a couple issues ago.  That is what I am looking at doing, so I am hoping someone has some ideas for me.

Thanks,

Nathan

[Pat B]

Red osier dogwood should be plentiful in swampy areas along the river. Red osier is a multi stemmed shrub with redish shoots. It might be hard to ID this time of year unless you already know the plant. Red osier makes excellent arrows!

[BowJunkie]

I did not know Osier made good arrows.
I have a bit of those in my neck of the woods, mainly around drainage run offs.
Good information Pat I will keep this in mind.

[Pat B]

  This is a set of Plains style arrows I made a few years ago from red osier. I donated them to the raffle table at the Tenn. Classic

[Lee Slikkers]

Pat, those look great.  For someone who is just harvesting their Osier shoots...should they be dried/cured for any special length of time before being shot or can they be debarked, straightened and go straight to shooting?  thanks~

[stickthrower]

Those are really nice arrows Pat B!  I will have to look online and see what I can find out about it, and see if I can find some.  There are a few good swampy areas near my house along the river, so I may be able to find some. 

Thanks!

[Pat B]

Lee, it depends on the type of shoots and the time of year.   With sourwood shoots I can immediately scrape the bark off with no ill results. I've even forced dried sourwood shoots under my wood stove in the winter and made an arrow 2 days after cutting. With viburnums you have to cure them completely before scraping the bark or they will check. To be safe leave the bark on for at least a month and after scraping the bark off give them another month before beginning heat straightening.  Some folks will bundle the shoots and every 2 or 3 days unbundle them and cold straighten them with their hand then rebundle and let rest another few days before doing it again. Before you know it they are straight but will need minor heat straightening before you're done.
  Stickthrower, Google Red Osier Dogwood. That should get you plenty of pics to use for ID. It may be in bloom now or early fruit to help too.   When you find some be sure it is a mature shoot before you cut it. If it has just leaves on it it is immeture. You want to cut shoots with small branches where last years leaves were. Take a 3/8" open end wrench to use as a guage for appropriate size. If they are a little bigger they can be easily reduced with a thumb plane or small block plane.

[Lee Slikkers]

Thanks Pat.  I cut a bunch of Osier early this spring but hadn't processed them yet.  Seems like a very usable shoot.

Stickthrower, the Osier is fairly easy to tell the difference between 1st year growth and 2nd year...at least here in MI it is.  The bark from the 1st year is usually a lighter, brighter burgandy/red and the older shoots look more greyish and start to have less smooth bark, not really "wrinkled" but more texture than the 1st year stuff.  It is also much stiffer than early growth shoots.

Good luck~

[stickthrower]

Thanks Pat and Lee.  I will try to talk the wife into going for a little "expidition" this weekend to the park down the road.  There is some nice swampy areas back in there.  I will have to see if I can get back far enough to find some. 

thanks again!

Nathan

[bowtarist]

stickthrower,

better take your bug off this weekend.

this is not a traditional arrow wood in the U.S., but multi-foral rose works great.  i cut it about 5/16 to 3/8 inch, the sraightest ones i can find from the middle of the patch, wrap them up with rope or rubberbands work better and staighten them like patb said.  maybe six or eight per bundle. i leave the bark on and have started not even peeling the bark, but just sanding them down.  takes about a month, maybe six weeks to cure.  i cut mine long, once cure, i cut to length, cut in my self nocks, tip it how i like, get that fletching on there the best i can and go shoot.  mulit-foral rose, most people want it gone, easy, strong, plentiful, but not native...unless you live in japan.

i've been doing that same fletching you're talking about.  i use secondary chicken feathers.  not so easy, but when it works, it's really cool.  good luck!!  and play that string music daily!!

[usmcsgt]

  I lived in Sandstone for a little while.  Lots of good arrow shaft material in Central Minnesota.   There are 4 different kinds of dogwood.  Most of what I got was roundleaf dogwood.  There is plenty of wild rose.  Serviceberry and chokecherry are all over the place.  Serviceberry is about my overall favorite for both bows and arrows.     Most of this stuff is found along rivers and streams as well as trails and roads.   Just look around.   

    I cut arrow shafting all year long.   Be picky, there is so much to find out there..... 

[Stalkingfox]

Is there a preference between Dogwood species for shafts? I have two to choose from Pagoda and rough leaf.

[Pat B]

I've never used either of what you mentioned but I do have Pagoda dogwood growing here on my property. I have used red osier, silky dogwood and gray dogwood. I preffered red osier with gray next and silky last.
 Rough leaf dogwoos is a shrub type so I would think it would work better but that is just a guess. Pagoda dogwood is an understory tree here but it does sucker.

[Dictionary]

Any bush/stands of shoots you see that have long straight shoots, cut them. Simple as that. I don't even know the names of any of the arrow shafts i have.

[Pat B]

Dictionary, knowing what woods you are using will help with arrow consistancy. I have cut many, many types of shoot material but only use a few for arrows. Not that I couldn't make arrows with the other stuff but when I find something that works well I tend to stick with it.