lethality of wooden points

[sleek]

So many years ago I made two hickory broad heads just for the fun of it, hafted them on a cane shaft with goose fletch. I used to target shoot them into a cardboard box stuffed with towels. Never had a clue how powerful these guys are until I missed the target at Patrick's place. I hit the wooden fence and jammed the arrow half way into the fence. By comparison, I did the same thing with a steel broad head and got the same penetration. 

After digging the arrow out the fence I expected the hickory broadhead to be destroyed.  Nope, a little sanding and reshaping the slightly flattened tip and it was good to go again.  Hopefully Patrick or Josh will be along to post pics. Rhe bow was only a 37# bow at 26" either so tjere is lots of potential in wooden heads. It also was not heat hardened.

[Pat B]

Broadheads kill by causing hemorrhaging. As long as the edge on a wood broadhead can be made sharp enough or stays sharp enough to cause adequate hemorrhaging it will work.

[bowandarrow473]

Check out Billy Berger's video on native testing native points, the shark teeth surprised me.

[riverrat]

a wood point isnt no joke. i put a osage point on a atlatl dart, tossed it straight through a wood garage! did not think that was going to happen. Tony flint/chert/osage/bone

[Dakota Kid]

Wooden broadheads give me an idea. You could mount mircolithics to the edge of the wood point. I may have to try that.

[half eye]

Not exactly on point but there are a lot of incidents in Military Dispatches (available on line for free) where Troops were killed with arrows that were simple sharpened shafts (headless). This also apply to foreshafted types which were deadly on conquistadors chain-male armor in the South eastern States and the "splinter-head" shafts of the Northern Native Americans. A wooden arrow shaft is deadly in any form, without question and is battle tested.
rich

[PEARL DRUMS]

I think the difference between it simply being deadly and actually being a proper hunting head is a mile apart. During war nobody cared how you died or how long it took, as long as you died. We want game dead as quick as possible and severe bleeding does that. I can shoot a field point through a garbage can. Should I hunt with it? Probably not.

[Pat B]

I agree with Pearlie. I do think it is cool trying all sorts of materials that were used historically but I'd only hunt with a wood broadhead if it were a survival situation and I hope I never have that situation happen.   

[sleek]

Id use one on small game, but deer size, no.

Lithics have been attached to wooden war clubs I have seen. Arrow points, I dont know?

[half eye]

I guess I miss read the thread thought he was talking lethality not hunting. Experimenting for hunting purposes would not be good......aint nothing new in archery if the wood heads were the thing to have you would have heard way more about them. Stick to the proven types.
rich

[sleek]

I wasnt talking about hunting I was talking about penetration and durability.

[Dakota Kid]

They also used to attach lithics directly to the arrow shaft and the point was just sharpened/burned wood. Of course you need 3-4" of extra arrow. I don't like getting tore up by the fletchings, I couldn't imagine lithics riding over the hand.

[bowandarrow473]

Durability wise, its probably not so good. the point would get all boogered up after a few shots into anything harder than a piece of foam.

[lebhuntfish]

Sleek here are the pictures of the wooden point. It was pretty cool to see that it held up after hitting my fence. I think it would work if like Pat said, in a survival situation. Patrick



After work pulled it out of the fence.

[tattoo dave]

Hunt worthy or not, that's pretty darn cool! Thanks for sharing


Tattoo Dave