Hunting Arrows for Traditional bow

[Valley1320]

So got a question that hopefully some of yall can give me some input on. My uncle who builds flat bows made me one for Christma, and I need to get some arrows for it. What should I get? Can I use my same black eagle rampage 300 spine arrows I already have for my compound and just put feathers on them and make sure they are cut to length for this bow, so i dont slice my fingers off?

 

[mevertsen]

300 spine are going to be way too stiff.

Call 3 Rivers Archery and give them your specs.

For targets, you'll be looking at a 29" 600 spine.

I like the Gold Tip Traditional line.

Or you'll bee looking good at 35-40 spine wood arrows with 125 heads at 29 inches.

 

[wytex]

Nice bow!
Its' telling me tapered wooden arrow shafts. Doug fir to be exact, lol.
Good luck.

 

[Nick87]

I'm no help but that's a cool gift.

 

[BOHNTR]

That bow deserves to be shot with a quality port orford cedar shaft! I would contact Kustom King Arrows and give them your specs (poundage, draw length, etc.) and they'll send you a arrows that will fly incredible out of it.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Cool bow. Every bow that is shot off of the shelf and isn’t center shot will require an arrow matched to the specific shooter of the bow to be accurate. It can be a frustrating pursuit for accuracy if you are trying to figure it out on your own.

When I shot a recurve I went down the rabbit hole of bare shaft tuning and it was amazing how accurate my bow shot when I got the shaft spine matched to my draw length and the bow. It was also amazing how much incorrect spine affected my accuracy when it wasn’t right.

If you really want to have fun shooting it, I would highly recommend making the time and energy investment into understanding bare shaft tuning.


There’s lots of videos on YouTube that explain bare shaft tuning for a traditional bow. Make sure you are watching a traditional bow rather than a compound bow tuning. The physics are the same but the methods of adjustment are different.

 

[blackbeard]

Surewood shafts has been good to me. I've done a few handmade bows and they've always been more than helpful. I'm different and went with doug fir.

 

[Coop]

It's rewarding to make your own arrows from blanks, but I now use the Gold Tip trad line as well. Have fun with it though- it's a big learning curve, but well worth it. Also, I started using the AAE trad vanes and didn't look back. Thanks for the post. Gives me a nudge to start shooting my trad bow again.

 

[Valley1320]

Thanks for the info guys! Gonna do some more digging into these different options yall put out here so far and see what hits it looks like will shoot good for me and what hits my fancy. This trad deal is totally new to me shot a couple shots with my uncles gold tip trad arrows he had at 10 yards and hit consistent both times. Was quite where I thought I was aiming but was the same shot both times.

 

[Valley1320]

That bow deserves to be shot with a quality port orford cedar shaft! I would contact Kustom King Arrows and give them your specs (poundage, draw length, etc.) and they'll send you a arrows that will fly incredible out of it.

Definitely leaning towards kustom king arrows I think

 

[Jnasa]

Find what poundage it is for your draw length. Can look at some charts from there. Depends how traditional you want to be also. I like the thought of cedar shafts but would probably use carbon.

 

[Bill Zent]

I would shoot traditional port orford shafts with barred feathers as they are stronger than white dyed. Buy a fletcher and make your own arrows, that way you can replace a lost feather with ease.
Back in the 60's I bought 200 shafts at a time from a place called Anderson Archery and fletched six at a time using Dupont Duco cement which is no longer made. Hunting with a dozen guys on a southern Ca island for sheep and hogs it rained everyday and I was the only one to have feathers on a shaft after two days!

 

[BOHNTR]

I would shoot traditional port orford shafts with barred feathers as they are stronger than white dyed. Buy a fletcher and make your own arrows, that way you can replace a lost feather with ease.
Back in the 60's I bought 200 shafts at a time from a place called Anderson Archery and fletched six at a time using Dupont Duco cement which is no longer made. Hunting with a dozen guys on a southern Ca island for sheep and hogs it rained everyday and I was the only one to have feathers on a shaft after two days!

Hunting the islands was awesome back then!

 

[Sheltowee]

Agree with everyone saying you’re going to need a much weaker spine. If you’re a Black Eagle fan, I’d recommend their Vintage line. Have had pretty good luck with them.

 

[Valley1320]

So I was drawing it with my other arrows on it that are 29.5 " long and if I had arrows cut for it at that length that would put a broadhead a lil closer to my hand than I care for. There's no harm being done bumping it up another half inch in length on my arrows is there?

 

[mevertsen]

So I was drawing it with my other arrows on it that are 29.5 " long and if I had arrows cut for it at that length that would put a broadhead a lil closer to my hand than I care for. There's no harm being done bumping it up another half inch in length on my arrows is there?

No. You will just need to have a stiffer spine.

But keep in mind, with a low bow weight, going longer also adds weight, so you loose velocity.

How much velocity can you loose and it still be good enough, with enough energy to to the job when the arrow gets there? Who knows.

 

[BrentD]

+1 on the Port Orford Shafts if you can find them. If they still exist, 3-Rivers will have them.

 

[grizzly63]

On the pointy end, a two bladed cut on contact broadhead. I use GT 600 arrows. Wood is good too, probably has more flexibility than carbon. Do not try to bare shaft until you feel confident in your form and release.

 

[wytex]

I'd put a leather rest on that shelf and a tapered arrow will help with the overall weight, get it down a bit.
Taper at the nock end and I agree with a lower spine to try but that shelf looks cut close to center shot- not at it though.
Feathers for sure for fletching, right or left wing does not matter.

Port Orford are great for starting with wooden arrows, you can smell when they get a crack. I prefer doug fir for the weight.
Carbons would probably shoot well but I can't wrap my head around carbons from a self bow, lol.

I'd try to get a 3 pack of sample arrows and start with 30, 35 and 40 # maybe. Looks like Surewood has some tapered doug fir and other shafts in stock: https://surewoodshafts.com/collections/test-packs

 

[BrentD]

I'd put a leather rest on that shelf and a tapered arrow will help with the overall weight, get it down a bit.
Taper at the nock end and I agree with a lower spine to try but that shelf looks cut close to center shot- not at it though.
Feathers for sure for fletching, right or left wing does not matter.

Port Orford are great for starting with wooden arrows, you can smell when they get a crack. I prefer doug fir for the weight.
Carbons would probably shoot well but I can't wrap my head around carbons from a self bow, lol.

I'd try to get a 3 pack of sample arrows and start with 30, 35 and 40 # maybe. Looks like Surewood has some tapered doug fir and other shafts in stock: https://surewoodshafts.com/collections/test-packs

Are carbons even safe in a self bow? I thought they were too light and would result in damage eventually, similar to dry firing.