How often should you replace wooden arrows?

jbridges

New member
This may seem a stupid question which deserves the insightful answer of 'well it depends!' but please let me explain.
I made 2 doz arrows at the beginning of the year. All the same spine and matched to me and my bow. Four of the arrows I fletched with different feathers ready to do some arrow drag experiments. Anyway, I didn't do the experiment for around 6 months of fairly regular shooting. Now despite getting several PBs with these arrows (so I know they are a good set) when I did the arrow drag experiment, the arrows that had not been shot, consitently grouped noticeably better than those which had been used.
Now bear in mind that there were only 2 differences in the two sets. One set had smaller feathers and had been shot less than the other set.
My hypothosis is therefore that wooden arrows must age with shooting and hitting the target (ignoring damage though missing). I can't (yet) prove this hypothesis so was wondering if any of you have similar observations before I think about another experiment.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
When you pull your arrows it is very easy to bend them slightly so check how straight they are. I halve also found that the spining changes over time due to moisture content (presumably)
 

Corax67

Well-known member
From what I have seen to date with the wooden arrow shooters in our club is that they generally don't last long enough to need changing :D

Attrition rates tend to be quite high on our wooden frames & targets shared with wooden, aluminium & carbon arrows.



Karl
 

dv24

New member
Agree with Karl. Made a dozen a few months ago, 2 broke, 6 are less straight than I would like.

Another dozen is almost ready, just some wax to put on ready for Saturday. My draw length changed so had to make them, but had been pontificating for about 6 weeks about making some more anyway.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
If you maintain your arrows it will preserve their life. So if some are a little curved, then straighten them.

Treat them every so often with a coat of finish or a buff of wax to preserve the finish and resist moisture.
 

jbridges

New member
Raven's_Eye, lets assume for the sake or argument that the arrows are well maintained for straightness, moisture resistance etc. The arrows have not been abused in anyway. Do you have a view as to whether something else is going on to cause the arrow to age? Have you made a brand new set of arrows to find they shoot better than your old set?
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Raven's_Eye, lets assume for the sake or argument that the arrows are well maintained for straightness, moisture resistance etc. The arrows have not been abused in anyway. Do you have a view as to whether something else is going on to cause the arrow to age? Have you made a brand new set of arrows to find they shoot better than your old set?
There are forces acting on arrows that will effect wood more than ali/carbon. The same way with the bows, the bending and flexing will cause them to change over time, as well as for force of impact even in bosses.

What you have to remember though is that each time you make a new set, you are more advanced in your skills and are making them better as well. I've expanded on sets matching wood weight and spine to replace lost ones and some match well and match the existing that are 1+ years old, while some expansions slightly better because I've made them better than the originals because my techniques have improved/changed.
 

Black Sun

Member
From experience I can tell you that yes if you shoot them for long enough the spine on wooden arrows will go. It depends on how often you shoot them (and hit a target) and what kind of draw weight you use. Over time they will get a bit more 'bendy' and will loose some of their ability to give you consistent groupings. I've seen a 50#(ish) spined arrow be able to be bent almost into a C shape due to the spine going - obviously you don't want to be shooting something like that and it should be replaced. In practice though as someone has mentioned - if you're shooting woodies (and therefore likely HT or BB) you're more likely to break or lose them before the spines go
 

Yew Selfbow

Active member
Well, I hate to go against the conventional wisdom, but, I've made thousands of arrows and I can't say I've ever had one go "bendy". Last weekend I was shooting a set of arrows made by William Fergie made in around 1870 and they were absolutely fine.
 

AndyW

Well-known member
Yew Selfbow - that's really interesting as like you say (conventional wisdom ) I've always been told you can shoot the spine out of them. I don't shoot wood myself but I've heard of the old guard getting a stiff arrow and putting it through a compound a few times to "soften it up".
 

Insanity-Rocks

New member
When buying new arrows I'll usually get all the bits for 2 dozen arrows but only make up one dozen. When I lose or break an arrow I'll then make up another one (mostly so I've always got arrows numbered 1-12).

The set of arrows I'm currently using is made up of four of the original arrows I made up at the beginning of 2013 and 8 I've made up at at different times between now and then. I'll usually shoot a dozen field/3D shoots throughout the year, 6 outdoor target shoots, 6 clout shoots and maybe a dozen indoor target shoots, as well as shooting at the club for two hours two or three times a week - so my arrows get shot a hell of a lot, in different weather conditions and into all different types of targets.

As far as I can tell they all shoot exactly the same. I'll straighten them if I notice they're slightly bent at full draw but that's about it. I've never bothered varnishing or waterproofing them either. If they get wet I'll stick them in the airing cupboard for a day or so and they're fine.

One thing that might be worth thinking about - some people shoot a lot better when they have new arrows as they don't want to break them, so they pay more attention to shooting them properly. Not saying that's what's happening in your case but it might be for some of the people who you've asked about this.
 

AndyW

Well-known member
That's a big difference with nfas. I shoot better with old mangled arrows as I'm not that bothered about hitting the tree.:melodrama
 

WillS

New member
Am I going crazy? Can I quickly recap for my own sanity?

24 arrows.

20 fletched with one type of feather, 4 fletched with a different type.

20 arrows shot often, the 4 never shot.

Those 4 are then shot with the other 20 and they shoot better.

You entirely discount the fact that it's the fletching that made any difference (despite the fact that we know fletchings have a huge impact on flight and accuracy) and have theorised that it's purely because they've not been shot before.

Is that right? I think it's right, but common sense is telling me that I've missed something because its ridiculous.
 

jbridges

New member
WillS,
I'm describing what I have observed so your summary is correct. Personally I don't know that fletchings make much difference to the accuracy of a reasonable matched ( to the bow) arrow. My experience does not support any great accuracy influences for the range of feather sizes shot (4" to 1.5"). I was experimenting with arrow drag and observed this noticable difference in grouping. As mentioned in the original post, my hypothesis (a theory that is not yet proved) is that it might be down to arrow shafts 'ageing' through use. From the posts to this thread so far we have 'spine changes', 'wear and tear', 'straightness' and of course 'fletch size'. The first 3 would change over time and then there is your suggestion of fletch size. I should point out that the I have shot my personal best with the older arrows so was greatly surprised to see 2" and 1.5" feathered arrows group better. Any further ideas as to possible causes greatly recieved.
 

WillS

New member
It's really, really odd to take something with two variables and assume that any difference in performance is a result of the most unusual variable of the two.

The reason people use different fletchings is to get different results. Otherwise there would be a standard fletching for every arrow regardless of use. To take 20 arrows fletched one way and 4 arrows fletched a different way and notice a difference but to not assume that difference is based on the fletching is just... bizarre.

You may be absolutely right of course, but it's the LAST option I would consider. The fletching is the most obvious, so it would surely make sense to examine that variable first, instead of the theory that arrows change properties as they get older despite that being an almost completely unheard of theory.
 

jbridges

New member
WillS, I would refer you back to the original post. In that I am effectively requesting some opinions. Like some of the other contributers, I have been told that wooden arrows loose spine over time. I have no data to support or refute this piece of longbow tribal knowledge and was wondering whether other contributers to this forum might have some knowledge in this area before I design another experiment to see what I can learn. As it happens I have re-spine tested all the arrows this evening. The static spine of all arrows (shot and unshot) retain the same static spine as when they were made.
To me this is a relief as I really don't want to discover that changes in spine over time occur or have any noticable effect. I am currently refletching the arrows with 4" feathers for another back-back test.
That gives me arrow straightness still to check between the two sample sets. I don't own an arrow straightener so will need to give that some thought.
 

jbridges

New member
An update on my investigation. I checked arrow straightness in 2 ways. The first involved spining the arrow in the palm of my hand. The second involved spining the arrow on a cresting machine. With regard to the two sets of arrows, the set with smaller fletchings did not seem to be that different from the set with longer fletchings when spun on the palm of the hand. There was however a noticable difference in straightness between the sets when spun on the cresting machine. I also replaced the shorter fletchings with longer ones and shot both sets at 40yards. At this distance there appeared to be no difference in grouping between the two sets. The original observation in terms of grouping was done at 65 yards. At 65 yards the 4" feathers were starting to drop (17") lower than the shorter feathers. So still not sure what this tells me. It would appear that it could be down to straightness but then why wasn't there still a difference in grouping at 40 yards? It could be down to fletching size but then it doesn't seem to show up until I shoot at 65 yards or so.
I may try refletching some of the 4" feathers with shorter feathers and trying again at 65yards this weekend.
 
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