wild rose arrow shafts

[boo]

has anyone tried the wild rose in the N.C. mnts for arrow shafts? my wife gets some every year and grows it around the house but it doesnt look like it would make a shaft or at least what we have dosnt. thanks boo

[billy]

NEver tried it boo.  Out west in Oregon is a wild rose that is more like a woody shoot, and it works very well for arrows.  I've seen multiflora rose in Iowa, but it's too weak and lightweight for arrows, plus it doesn't grow straight enough.  Up there in NC you outta have rivercane and sourwood.  Both of those will make good arrows.  You can also make 'em outta split hickory.  I saw some Cherokee arrows in the Smithsonian last year that were made outta split hickory, and another set that were sourwood shoots.  They didn't have any that were rivercane, which is unfortunate cause that's what I really wanted to see.

[boo]

thanks billy, yea i use sourwood and river cane now , i was just looking for other stuff to play with. ill give the hickory a shot and see what i come up with. is it best to get a 36'' log cut and cured and then split it up or split it up into staves then cure? thanks boo

[Pat B]

Bobby, I have made a few arrows with multiflora rose and they worked out well. One thing I don't like about them is the thorns.     Also, they will check badly if you peel the bark too soon.    Pat

[n2everythg]

Bobby.
I have made a few out of rose as well. used what ever creeper rose grows down here in the NC piedmont. stuff grows all over the place. not sure if it is the same variety as what you have up there or not.
Seemed to me to made a good light weight arrow. I prefer vibernium, cane or sourwood but rose works in a pinch or for my kids arrows. Also works good I think for lighter weight bows. the other varieties end up a bit heavier than I like for a 40 lb bow.
Like pat said, checks if peeled before dry.... and the thorns are a pain to harvest and remove.
but it works pretty well.
N2

[Hillbilly]

The multiflora rose that has eaten half of western NC makes good arrow shafts. I've used it quite a few times, works good and grows all over the place, so it's easy to find. Just be sure to cut at least year-old canes that have fairly thick walls. The center is pithy, so first-year canes aren't as strong. Rose shafts are as tough or probably tougher than commercial cedar shafts, and weigh similarly to them.

[TRACY]

Multi flora makes excellent shafts. It grows well in the midwest and don't have any problem being picky and finding thicker/straighter shoots.

Tracy

[Shooter_G22]

when ya'll say rose,  i cant help to think that we are talking about a rose bush with rose flowers on it???  like the rose bushes my mother and grandmother always had along the side of the house on a weve fence and makes pretty flowers...
is this the same stuff we are talking bout here does anybody have any pictures of the stuff growing wild... i do have some wild rose shoots that madcrow sent me and i have made one arrow from on of them and i like it but i didnt think the arrow would be worht me going over to a rose bush and cutting the thing up to get some arrow material...lol...

what exacly is rose shoots comming from???

[Hillbilly]

Shooter, what most people refer to as wild rose is multiflora rose, an invasive rose bush that was introduced here from Asia and is now growing all over the place. There are thickets of the stuff here that cover acres and acres. It is one of the parents of many of the hybrid garden roses. There are also some native wild roses that make good arrow shafts-here we have swamp rose and carolina rose, I have used both. Garden roses will work if you get the second-year canes. Do a google image search for multiflora rose.

[Pat B]

Any roses will make good shafts if the "canes" are appropriate...ie. long enough, thick enough and as Hillbilly said, mature enough.
Shooter, The roses you are probably talking about are hybrids that were developed for flowers. If their canes are long enough, they will work. Some of the old fashioned roses(shrub types) would be more appropriate as are the wild(native and non-native alike)roses.  Do a Google search for multiflora roses. It is an exotic plant that the wildlife folks planted for erosion control and for wildlife habitat and food...and it has taken over the country with a vengeance.   Leave it to the experts to screw things up!!!

Steve, great minds think alike!!!

[boo]

im not excited about a lighter shaft but i guess illl try some when i find it. the stuff ive seen on the web looks to have very large thorns so it should be easy to find. can the center pithy area be removed easily ? would it be possible to remove it and dowel it like cane? it would add some weight if thats posible.  boo

[Pat B]

Bobby, Look into any unkempt fields and you will see clumps of multiflora rose, also under power lines and along fence lines. Birds spread the seeds like with ERC so it should be easy to find.
  I guess you could add a dowel to replace the pith at each end but, like with boo, I just cut self nocks and wrap.    Pat

[brownhillboy]

I have some that I collected here in VA that I'm working on.  I have one that is near finished that I will post soon.  Like some of the others said, make sure that they are large enough in diameter because after you take the bark off they are quite a bit smaller.  I'm not that good with the names of plant life, so I'm not sure if they're multiflora or what.