# Wood Arrows make my head hurt.....



## frankwright (Dec 4, 2012)

Like most I have bought properly spined wood arrows for a particular bow and could never get them to shoot right.

So I decided to get a test kit of parallel cut Surewood Douglas Fir shafts. Three shafts in four spines from 45-50 to 60-65. 11/32"

Howard Hill Cheetah 50@27 and I draw 26. Not center cut and with a FF string.

Arrows cut to 29", 140gr point and three 4" parabolic feathers.

I am not big into arrow tuning but I know weak spined arrows usually group right and vice versa for over spined arrows, both for a right hand shooter.

So I get 1 arrow of each spine, back off to about 12 yards and try to get a good release. 

I end up with this. What does that tell me? I was expecting way left and right arrows. Hard to tell in the picture but they are mostly in a straight line with one on top of the other and the top one very slightly right.Picture makes them look slanted but they are in a straight up down line.

All the arrow flights looked pretty good, no left right wag or banging off the shelf.

Help!


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## jerry russell (Dec 4, 2012)

I can't help you but I can say that I never could get parallel shafts to fly perfect for me. Tapered were what I always had the best luck with.


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## Dennis (Dec 4, 2012)

HH bows like a weak arrow because there shelf is way short of center. I have better luck bare shafting arrows. Put some broad heads on them they will show more flight problems and if you can get the broadheads flying good you will be where you want with practice tips


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## TNGIRL (Dec 4, 2012)

sorry, I know nothing exactly either....I just spit out my apple........


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## Al33 (Dec 4, 2012)

jerry russell said:


> I can't help you but I can say that I never could get parallel shafts to fly perfect for me. Tapered were what I always had the best luck with.



Same here. For  me, rear tapered shafts fly better than all the others. I have not bought woodies in a long while now but I do love them. When I was buying them if I got 8 out of a dozen to fly right with the same heads from the same bow I felt pretty good about it. Any that didn't fly true I would try them out of different bows then maybe different point weights or head types. All of my hunting woodies are marked to designate which particular bows they like. Some like only one while others may like as many as three. Not the best way to tune them but that's how I do it.


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## Killinstuff (Dec 4, 2012)

Hill type bows can be wierd. My Morrison is a hybred and will shot anything well but my two Harrison HHC's (Howard Hill Classic) only shoot well if the cock feather is in. My release also matters. Poor release means poor arrow flight everytime.  

CJ


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## Jake Allen (Dec 4, 2012)

I would think through your set up the 60-65 spined shaft would show a good bit stiff.

Do you reckon someone might have, (by accident), shipped you all the same spined shafts?


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## frankwright (Dec 4, 2012)

I don't think so. They were all separated and marked.

I have been shooting them a bunch more and when my release is right the 55-60 spine seems to hit more to the spot I am aiming for.
I will keep playing with them but I was expecting a more clear result.


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## sawtooth (Dec 4, 2012)

A bare shaft will tell you the truth every time. Even though I know you may not want to skin the feathers off your new arrows......it will save you time and headache in the long run.


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## Al33 (Dec 4, 2012)

Frank, I don't mean to sound like you don't know anything about all of this because you have been shooting a long time, but are you saying you are concerned about where the arrows are hitting versus if the nock ends are left or right? Reason I ask is that you made note that the top arrow was to the right. 

Also, have you checked to make sure the nocks are not too tight on the string? This often over looked yet simple problem has caused many to have fits trying to tune arrows.


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## Mudfeather (Dec 4, 2012)

I use to shoot wood alot but they are like females...Have a mind of their own and it sometimes changes for little or no reason..lol...Is the weaker one the one that went straight into the target????

Hill bows do like a weaker spine and also I have noticed longer Hill bows want a weaker spine. I will also add that I like alot more feather on my woods than you have on those.. but they should fly ok with field points and those feathers...


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## Fatboy (Dec 5, 2012)

Only way to tell without stripping the feathers is to put big broadheads on them and shoot.Start close because if they are bad off in spine you may not hit the target.If one spine seems to shoot good back up as far as you can and still make a good shot to see if they are really close.Once you figure out which spine it likes then you can fine tune with side plate and brace height.


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## TIMBERGHOST (Dec 5, 2012)

First off, it looks to me like you killed that deer good and dead four times.  What's the problem? ... Just kidding. What is no joke however, is that a perfectionist who insists on shooting wood arrows is going to spend a bunch of money in the long run.  No way around that.   

As others have said,  tapered shafts will reduce your headaches. That increased FOC encourages better, more consistent flight and faster recovery from archer's paradox. 

Beyond that, consistent construction is key. 

Weight:  Insist on close tolerances of physical weight (I try to stay within 2 or 3 grains on the raw shaft. Variations can be adjusted by applying less finish on the heavier shafts and more on the lighter ones). Be conscientious and consistent about the amount of paint (wraps?), glue, and weight of feathers used. A couple of grains here and a couple of grains there really adds up and have impact so be meticulous.  

Spine: Insist on strict tolerances in spine (+/- 2 pounds max). 60 - 65 is too broad for consistency in my opinion. 

Be finicky and demanding as I have seen shaft weights range 50 grains or more among the dozen and shaft spines spanning 10 # rather than the advertised or marked 5#.  Yes, this is expensive but its worth it in the end. 

Also, try orienting the nock with the grain of the shaft the same way on each arrow. This, of course,  needs to be done as part of the fletching process so that the final fletched arrows have the feathers all oriented the same way.  I like the fletching on my wood arrows oriented at @ 11:30, 3:30, & 7:30 with the cock feather up on the string and only one feather making contact with the shelf or riser upon release. I always try to put the cock feather on the ridge line of the grain which points to the point end of the shaft.  This is just a trick to help insure more consistent spine. 

Hope this helps and that I didn't bore anyone. Just thought I would share some of the tricks I use to build more closely matched wood arrows.


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## frankwright (Dec 5, 2012)

Thanks for all the replys. Al, I was concerned that there was so little left/right distance between the spines.

I have been playing with a 145 snuffer and the 55/60 spine hit about 3" to the left every time. I tried the 50-55 and they are pretty dead on. 

Wood seems to be more sensitive to release too. I do have the grain oriented correctly and the nocks fit just right. Arrows leave the shelf smoothly and I get no wig wag or up/down.
I use to use 5" feathers but have not used any in years, the 4" always seem to do the trick.
Woodies seem to require more work than I remembered, but I will keep playing with them.
I am happy with minute of deer, I don't want to get too technical because if I did I would buy something with a bunch of knobs and set screws.


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