hickry' arrows.

[huntertrapper]

hickorys good for arrows right? or does it bend to much. any info on past experineces with it would be good thanks guys.

[Hillbilly]

I haven't used it much, but I've made a few arrows from it. It works great for heavy hunting arrows and you're not gonna break 'em. A lot of the Northeastern tribes made hickory split-timber shafts, many of them with big, carved blunt heads.

[Kegan]

Makes excellent shafting. Very heavy- a plain 11/32" shaft weighs 600 grain alone. 23/64" will come out... 675 grains, and 3/8" about 800. Plus about 150 for the head and you've got a heavy arrow!

[huntertrapper]

aint exactly a bad thing havin a good heavy arrow.

[JackCrafty]

Yes, very heavy.  Also, there is a LOT of variation between shafts.....I need to get a good batch (maybe 50-60) to get a matched set of 6 (by weight).  Spine also varies a lot and the heavier shafts are not always the stiffest.

It polishes nicely but getting the wood smooth and level is a chore.  Once you got the shafts polished/burnished don't expose them to humidity and don't use a water-based paint or finish.....the grain will raise and you'll have splinters popping up in the softer rings.

They seem to hand-straighten pretty well but after shooting a while they will be crooked again.  It's best to start off with the straightest wood you can get.  Heat straightening works pretty good - like most other wood.

The wood fire-hardens VERY well and if you like shooting sharp wooden tips (like me) they are a real pleasure.....and DURABLE.  I think ipe is the only other wood that will make tougher arrows (something I've been itching to make - no pun intended).

Hope this helps.

[Badger]

   I like jacks tip on fire hardening. I think it might help it to stay straighter. I think I will try that. I haven't been too happy with hickory staying straight and swithced to ash and maple. Steve

[huntertrapper]

alright thanks guys. i was actually gonna buy a batch from a company just 100 or so miles north of here so they will already be spined and straightened. all i gotta do is add fletching and points. but i plan to cut some myself sometime.

[Trapper]

This is too answer Jackcraftys reply, Dogwood is heavier than hickory and tougher also, and another one that is even harder is pomagranite. Oh and if you are having problems with the grain raising on your hickory shafts , I just sand and wipe with a wet cloth and then just keep doin this till it doesnt raise anymore. it Might take ten times but can be accomplished.  Trapper

[JackCrafty]

Trapper.....hmmmm....dogwood is heavier than hickory?    Maybe instead of smokin' that red osier, you should weigh it?   

You're right:  flowering dogwood has a specific gravity of .80 and the true hickories have a range of .69 to .75.....but who makes arrows from the trunks of flowering dogwood trees?  Dogwood shoots have a pithy center as well....often making them lighter than a hickory dowel of the same diameter.

Keep wipin' and sandin' them hickory dowels...I'll just use alcohol or oil based stains and paints, thank you very much.   

[Kegan]

I'm gonna try to make hickory arrows from a hickory board (if I can get my paws on one). It's my favorite shafting so far, and was also the favorite of Will and Maurice Thompson, and liked by Pope and Young as well.

[artcher1]

.....but who makes arrows from the trunks of flowering dogwood trees? Me  ! I was very disappointed in a set a flowering dogwood arrows I made up about ten years ago. Not to say that they won't make good arrows but the one tree I made my set from made lousy shooters. It's great wood for self-nocks and foreshafts (and bows) but I don't think I'll make another set of arrows from it anytime soon.
Badger, I believe some of those boo arrows I sent you have some remnants from those arrows.-ART B

[1/2primitive]

I havn't used it for arrows, but I have used it for forshafts, and it is very tough. I've shot a cane arrow with a hickory foreshaft into an oak tree, and it sticks in it without being the least bit nicked. Of course, it's mainly penetrating the bark, but I've broken foreshafts made of different woods on the same tree.
     Sean

[huntertrapper]

thanks guys, i actually got the ash arrows thats all that was in stock for my draw and spine but i do plan to cut some next winter, thanks for all the info.