Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: CherokeeKC on February 03, 2013, 04:47:39 pm
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I am about 99% sure this is red osier but just wanted a little reassurance since this is the first time i have cut some. I found a lifetime supply in hundreds of acres of clear cut and along the ditch banks where we ride horses. I appreciate any replies ahead of time.
(http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab144/charnockk/Arrows/2013-02-03141023_zps1d9e6fff.jpg)
(http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab144/charnockk/Arrows/2013-02-03141033_zps33b41c0d.jpg)
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Not sure, but what red osier I have seen, looks nothing like that. Let's see if this works. Take a look if it does
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/6986/1000683nn3.jpg
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That looks more like Maple to me !
Still might be worth trying !!
And yes your link works Stringstrecher and a good pic !
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Yep, pretty sure that is maple with red new growth.
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It doesn't look like red osier but it has opposite branching like most dogwoods do. You might as well try it and see how it works out. In the spring you can take pics of the leaves for proper ID.
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Jeez...what a let down....I thought for sure it was red osier because the branches and new growth was so red. Does red osier have a pith? These do not
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and does maple have opposite branching also?
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Yep, maple is what I cut for "wiener roasting sticks" for the kids. It branches out opposite.
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Why dont people use these for arrows? Are they just too light when dry?
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On the maple I tried the diameter had to be too big to get a high enough spine. Let those dry and see what they will do. You probably won't now what they are until spring anyway. You've got nothing to loose but time. ;)
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Here in Michigan, Whitetails LOVE eating on those clusters of Red Maple in the Winter ! Bob
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Red osier will be really red in winter.
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Red osier this time of year is very red. If you get some you will like red osier. It's a little heavier than cedar but takes stump and tree shots better. If straight they shoot almost the same as my cedar arrows just a little lower.
Greg
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I've used Sugar Maple for shafts a few times. Light, flexible but doesn't stay straight well from my experience.
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Those are maple. Are there lots of sapleings missing the bakk around the base to 2 feet up. If you have rabbits you'll see lots of maple sapleings where the rabbits have fead on the bark. in the winter time.
As other have said, red osier is really red in the winter.
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has anyone here had any luck transplanting or cultivating red osier and using it for homegrown arrows?
I see it offered for sale in a number of places (and with a wide variety of prices)
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Red osier is used quite a bit in landscapes. You should be able to buy it at most large garden centers. The main landscape appeal for red osier is the red stems in the winter. After about 3 years of growing the red stems turn a grayish brown color so you cut the shrub back to about 6" in the spring(or selective pruning) and let the new, red shoots sprout. You have to give these shoots at least 2 years before they are ready to be made into arrows but with a few plants and a good thinning method you can have arrow shoots every year.
Another good shoot arrow plant you can buy at a garden center is arrow wood viburnum(Viburnum dentatum). Both should grow well if planted according to planting instructions and in an appropriate area of exposure.
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thanks Pat,
viburnum is definitely worth considering putting in the garden.
Do you know anyone harvesting arrows from red osier they cultivated? just curious as to how it compares in spine strength
to wild growths.
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I don't think you would notice any difference. Red osier is a rambling, multi stemmed shrub that spreads into colonies. It would be a plant that would not be a focal point but in the background or along a creek or a woodline. Probably no special fertilization needed.
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the pic that Stringstretcher has up is red osier, most of the trunks are bright red in winter not just the buds and twigs. A nother good one you may come across is silky dogwood, it gets taller then the RED O and as the lower older growth turns green to gray look at Thea's pics on an old post of mine.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,24114.msg323712.html#msg323712 (http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,24114.msg323712.html#msg323712)