Stickbow Target Archery Forums

Yes, stickbow target archery has rules about what kinda arra material can be used with what kinda bow and in what kinda event.
IMO, most of those arra shaft material rules are simply not in the best interests of fair shooting, turns the sport into more of a game of chance, and needs to get changed. Hence, my long winded personal opinions on arra shafting ...

Preamblen Of all yer archery gear, the arrow is the most important. There is no debate on this issue. Period. It must be as straight as possible, and remain as straight as possible under all adverse conditions, shot after shot after shot.

Shaft Materialsn Woodies are nostalgic, aesthetic and what most trad archers consider "traditional". They have a wonderful life, a spirit and aura all their own. A woodie shaft is an organic material that MUST be fully sealed from the environment - yet remember that even a well sealed finished shaft will still react to heat and pressure (and in some cases, even moisture). However, even the best of 'em are very difficult if not impossible to match for consistency, and take lotsa care and tweaking to remain reasonably straight. Remember, straight = consistent = accurate.
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Alums are straighter and more durable than woodies. They have a better tolerance for going out of round than woodies, and are *much* easier to match up for spine and weight. However, alums - even the best of 'em - can be bent out of round. Alum/carbon shafting is extremely durable - and pricey!n ...
Carbons are the most durable arra shafting we can affordably buy these dayze. They'll remain straight to the bitter end: broken or lost. It's almost impossible to bend a carbon out of round. They can be easily weighted for FOC and/or total weight. There's a huge assortment to choose from at most any price level. However, IMO, carbons can be difficult to properly match to your bow and your shooting style - this may take some experimentation and dollar$ well spent. Do NOT rely on the spine ranges the carbon shaft makers list for each model!n
Pricing
A really GOOD set of woodies can easily cost as much as a good set of carbons or alums. The range of arra pricing for all shaft materials can run a large gamut of dollar$. IMHO, I've been quite happy with cheap carbons in the $40/doz raw shaft range.

Epiloguen Choosing the right arra shaft material, and proper arra spine and overall weight, can be a daunting task due to the HUGE selection of shafting and arras available these dayze. Not an easy row to hoe for both newbie or seasoned vet. Nostalgia and org event rules aside, carbons are at least the best choice for durability and having consistent arra flight - and that's best for any archer, under any shooting criteria. IMHO, allowing carbon or ACC arrow shafting greatly levels the playing field of traditional competitive archery. Target archery is a game of shooting consistency, and the tools used should reflect that description. The defining criteria for winning should equally place much more emphasis on the archer's skills, and not the tools of the trade.
Soapboxn IMO, "traditional archery" is about a sticks 'n' strings. What materials those tools are made outta don't matter a hoot to me as long as they're the best they can be to get the job done - I still hold my stickbow with one hand and pull back a string with t'other. That's my kinda "traditional".
YMMV. :saywhat:

How true, I just got some carbons (cheap ones) and they outshoot anything else I have used. Plenty straight, good weight. Can not ask for more. I found one on a range recently and tried shooting it. Was I impressed. Even run some durability test on it (by accident) and it survived and is still shooting. Anythingelse would have bent or broke for sure. Sure agree with your soapbox as well. If the form of the equipment is what we think of as traditional, recurve, longbow, self bow etc. It does not matter what it is made from. The form of an arrow will always be an arrow so material should not matter.

<can>n
Nice to see a post here once in a while. This one is guaranteed to stir up the usual nest of hornets (if they aren't busy at the Leatherwall...).

Well, I, myself, shoot aluminums off my ACS longbow. It is just sooo much easier to use AL, I can order identical arrows and they'll match my current ones exceedingly well in spine and weight. I'm still waiting to try Carbon/aluminums (I'm a bit wary of the tendency of all-carbon arrows to blow up and slice people's hands) but still not sure what to try to replace my 28" xx75 1916s with, and calculating wrong is **expensive** so I've put it off.

I like shooting ALs because it lets me have arrows that match and fly as well as the woodies only cash endowed fanatics can put together. But I also have a soft spot for the older forms of archery--including shooting woodies. I'm regularly bested at 3D shoots by a really good primitive shooter who beats all but the top trad recurve class shooters. Among equals, equipment makes the difference but at the trad 3D shoots, the greater variability comes from the shooter.

If mechanical accuracy were everything, then this forum wouldn't exist and we'd all be shooting Compounds with titanium tipped ACE arrows. I'm a little torn on the subject of arrow classes. Since you can't really have primitive or selfbow "unlimited" class (though I have thought of making a "primitive" FITA bow with wood stabilizers, sight and clicker...), what we are really talking about is letting Carbons into modern longbow class. I'm resistant and yet I can't think of why I should be allowed to shoot a carbon fiber R/D bow with an ACS cross section but not carbon arrows... n
</can>n
Of course, if I remember correctly I recall that some people thought that R/D longbows were sort of ruining traditional archery. I even recall buying one of that person's R/D bows as he got out of shooting such bows. It sure would be ironic for a person like that to be advocating carbon arrows n
PSn I don't consider changing ones opinion to be hypocrisy. To never change your mind is to never learn or grow.

I'll leave carbon out of my reply but I do have a point to make about aluminum.

I have a book with a photo showing a Bear Archery Co. booth at an outdoor trade show. The picture is dated 1939 and you can clearly see a poster at the booth promoting "Aluminum Arrows". Fiber glass in bows was introduced in the early 1950s so aluminum pre-dated the use of fiberglass by some 12 years or so. What's not traditional about aluminum arrows if you shoot a laminated bow?n
NAA recognized some of the above in their new rules for the "Traditional Nationals" where they now allow wood riser recurves and modern longbows. Aluminum arrows are allowed there and I think it is entirely appropriate.

If you're shooting a all wood bow shoot wood arrows. Otherwise allow aluminum, at least.

Dave

{Sound of crickets chirping}

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Hey Rob,n
What about fiberglass?

Not much happening/available with fiberglass shafts. MicroFlyte is long dead and there ain't much around to choose from besides finding the occasional stash of Gordon glass shafts and some unknown origin black stuff I see once in awhile.
More stable and consistent than wood, less consistent than alum, FG shafting is probably best for hunting or roving. The good thing is that if ya can find glass shafting, it'll probably be pretty cheap. However, in the long run, sticking with one kinda shaft material and having arras that are pretty consistently matched is best. Still can't beat carbons.