Who Grows Their Own Shoot Shafts?

[twisted hickory]

If you live near any creek or wet swampy area red osier should be there by the ton. Maybe I am lucky but last harvest day produced over 100 shafts in 3 hrs along a small stream. If your idea works post it:) my niece said just cut then jam shoot in the ground and it will grow if done in wet soil.

[Pat B]

Now would be a good time of year to do hardwood cuttings. I have also che shoots from silky dogwood and just jammed them along the creek that runs through my property and they rooted well.

[Arthur.s.Pankratz]

do any of y'all know what would make arrows in the hill country north of San Antonio, TX?
i haven't been able to find anything really decent around here

[twisted hickory]

Not really sure of Texas. River cane? Do ya have any ornimental maple?
On a side note if ya have pigs down there could I come down next winter and help you find some shoots and maybe shoot a hog? I could bring a couple dozen red osier shafts for ya.
Seriously though I would trade some red osier for some decent quality flint/obsidian
Thanks,
Greg

[Mikeeeeeeeeee]

A few weeks ago, I decided to embark on archery. Having shot compounds years ago, I wanted to go traditional. Then I discovered self bows. Then I found this site. Now I'm hooked.
So, I began looking for switch cane. I drive 52 miles round trip to work. There are at least 10 places along the way where I can park on the side of the road and walk a few feet and cut.
I dug some up and planted it along my creek.
Then today I cut my first pieces to begin drying.
Cant wait to make my own arrows.

[crooketarrow]

  I do n't grow my own persay but the woods on the farm I live on has a unlimit surply of ALt. DOG WOOD as well as all the viburums you can cut walking fence rows and rock breaks.
 I have planted 1000's,100's of dog wood seeds on farms I hunt on and 2 that I manage but it's none for cover as well as turkey food. There's lots of shafts there
  We don't have red osier dog wood here, but would trade some alternet dog wood seeds for red osier.

[dans89]

I've been contemplating planting either Japanese arrow bamboo or tonkin bamboo, but I'm also in Colorado. Maybe it'll be ok in some buckets inside??

[Gus]

Definitely be planting some Cane or some type of Viburnum in the yard here in Houston this year.
Might drive up toward Livingston and hunt Dogwood on public land.

-gus

[richardzane]

crooketarrow sounds like youre in ideal arrow shaft country...here in NE OK theyre a little sparse.
how ya fixed for dogbane? been cutting stalks this morning

[Dan K]

I'm trying to learn as much as I can about "free" natural materials and have been enjoying searching through the woods. Unfortunately, I don't know what a lot of these plant you're mentioning look like.  If you can post some close up pics of the shafts and pics of the plants it'd be great help!

[richardzane]

actually Dan,
you'll find a lot of pictures when you use google and do an "image" search:
try: dogbane, red osier dogwood, alternate dogwood, silky dogwood, viburnum or arrowwood 
they'll often have maps to let ya know where it grows too.
It can help in identifying trees too,since there is some regional variation  even among the same tree types.

[crooketarrow]

  RICH it dos'nt grow around here. I've never used dog brane before. I be willing to trade for a couple dozzen.
  Any shoots 2 years or older will make arrows.
  The straighter the better it all depends on how much work you wish to put into it.

[richardzane]

 Dogbane is great for making a strong natural fiber bow string....not arrows 
Its a reddish hollow stalk and the fiber is strong.. I have a dogbane string on a #50 hackberry - its very tough.

The stalks have given me some ideas though...I think it could make a pretty cool woven quiver,
that way it could serve as back up stalk material for a string that broke on a hunt.

[Lemos]

Heartrnurse I never really give mine much thought ,I picked it up from a job where we dug out a power transformer the guy there was mowing it down yearly and said I could take all I wanted so I stuffed what I could in two buckets and after forgetting about them for a couple of weeks by which time they had dried up pretty well I planted them in a barrel half. Year one gave me quite a few little shoots, so I'm expecting some bigger canes if it follows like most bamboos.

[Dan K]

One shoot I've found here in the NW is Ocean Spray.  I gotta say it's as straight as it gets right out of the ground.  I could leave the bark on, fletch nock and shoot these.  Not sure if Ocean Spray grows anywhere else though.  It grows wild and not sure if it's transplantable.