I find assembling my own arrows very relaxing especially fletching with home cut feathers, you can get a variety of templates from UK suppliers
Help choosing arrows
- Thread starter gareth
- Start date
LittleSkink
Active member
in a way I wish I had started by making my own wooden arrows from day 1, even though there was plenty to learn about archery without needing to do that too. Right now I would have 1 brand of nocks to fit everything (either AAE or Bearpaw), maybe even 1 colour. And 1 set of tips (probably taper screw brass bullet)
Instead, each time I bought some ready made arrows I got some spares to fit, "just in case". So now Ihave so many different nocks and tips in multiple bags its a mess.
- except, alas, typically, this last time when I got a set of plastic nock medievals from KG for my young daughter and forgot to grab some spare nocks specific to those arrows. Her very first shot with new arrows pinged off the target frame and looked to break (she burst in to tears thinking it was broken) all that had happened was a broken nock - 2 minute fix but now I have 11 white nocks in my spares bag (not enough to build a full set of 12 arrows) - my lesson, buy more than 12 of an item when getting spares . . .
Instead, each time I bought some ready made arrows I got some spares to fit, "just in case". So now Ihave so many different nocks and tips in multiple bags its a mess.
- except, alas, typically, this last time when I got a set of plastic nock medievals from KG for my young daughter and forgot to grab some spare nocks specific to those arrows. Her very first shot with new arrows pinged off the target frame and looked to break (she burst in to tears thinking it was broken) all that had happened was a broken nock - 2 minute fix but now I have 11 white nocks in my spares bag (not enough to build a full set of 12 arrows) - my lesson, buy more than 12 of an item when getting spares . . .
Took me quite some time to settle on a scheme but now all my arrows are fletched with yellow cock and light blue hen feathers, yellow nocks and screw in tips (brass preferred), I even had some wraps made to cover my wooden arrows so they matched the colour scheme of my carbons. Even so I now have a collection of nocks, points and other bits and pieces that I will never use. I will have to donate them to my favourite coach.
I had a collection of fletchings, points and nocks in sizes and colours that I don't use any more so I used them to repair the club's beginner arrows in sets of three.
This set a precedent and I did it a few times. This inevitably meant that I ran out so I ended up buying more bits from clearance sales and eBay so I actually ended up with more random stuff than I started with
This set a precedent and I did it a few times. This inevitably meant that I ran out so I ended up buying more bits from clearance sales and eBay so I actually ended up with more random stuff than I started with
Thought I should follow this up.
Because I was really unsure of the spine I needed I went for the cheaper Jazz arrows and used aae plastinocks. If I break one I'll deal with the problem of getting it off then! And if I can't get it off at least I know what spine Platinums to get.
I got some 1816 and some 1916 to see which was better. The 1816 were far too weak - at 20m a fletched arrow would hit the centre but the unfletched arrow would hit the right hand edge or miss the target. The 1916s were much better with the unfletched arrows close to the fletched ones.
Thanks for all the advice
Because I was really unsure of the spine I needed I went for the cheaper Jazz arrows and used aae plastinocks. If I break one I'll deal with the problem of getting it off then! And if I can't get it off at least I know what spine Platinums to get.
I got some 1816 and some 1916 to see which was better. The 1816 were far too weak - at 20m a fletched arrow would hit the centre but the unfletched arrow would hit the right hand edge or miss the target. The 1916s were much better with the unfletched arrows close to the fletched ones.
Thanks for all the advice