really primitive bowhunting

[new hunter]

Question for the primitive bow hunters out there .
Ive been making split shaft arrows by splitting off cuts of straight grained cedar siding and then carving and sanding to an appropriate diameter . Unfortunately I can only get my shafts so straight ,but not quite straight enough . I am a fairly skilled wood carver so its not really a question of incompetence with a knife .
Any thoughts on how I can garuntee a perfect shaft ? Ive been thinking of making a jig and steam box , or even trying to make some kind of natural resin laquer { to provide a stiff shell around a wood core after manipulating the wood }.
Ive been hunting with a hemlock long bow I carved last year {about 60#} and Ive been making medieval style Iron socket point broadheads , so Id like to find a fairly low tech aproach if possibe.
As of yet I dont have enough faith in the accuracy of my self arrows to inflict them on anything but targets , so Ive been hunting with factory aluminum shafts and commercial broad heads. Any info wood be appreciated as it wood get me a lot closer to a true primitive hunt . Also any general info on primitive bowyering techniques , material preferences , and arrow making would also be appreciated , you can never learn too much

[tomahawk]

I haven't been into the wood arrows for 20 yrs or so but you likely know that most wooden arrows were made from Port Orford Cedar, they have very good strength and fairly straight grain and can be straightened. What about trying to find some end cuts of cedar that are left in the log slashes and try them if you don't want to buy woods?

[new hunter]

I don't mind paying for materials , but there arent any archery suppliers up here , and I do like to be as self sufficent as possible . I do like your Idea though , Think I'll take the chainsaw out this weekend .

[Bow Walker]

These guys aren't "Primitive" but their idea on the shafts might help you.

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/

Maybe try making some that way and then taking it to a lathe to round it off? Sorry - I'm not a wood worker at all, just thinking out loud.

[new hunter]

Any and all thoughts and Ideas are appreciated , even if theyre not based on personal experience . If you think it could work I'd love to hear it.

[tomahawk]

These guys aren't "Primitive" but their idea on the shafts might help you.

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/

Maybe try making some that way and then taking it to a lathe to round it off? Sorry - I'm not a wood worker at all, just thinking out loud.

Neat idea on wood shafts, have you tried them?

[Bow Walker]

No I haven't tried them - yet. But I like the concept. Should help the spine quite a bit, I'd think.

[Onesock]

The hexshafts are hard to get and keep straight. I have tried them and wouldn't recommend them. There are lots of fir logs in your country. Cut some chinks 34 inches long and then rip the pieces into 3/8 inch square shafts. Build yourself a jig, chuck these into a drill and run them through a dowl maker. They make great shfts. If you have to chuck a couple its no big deal because they were free to start with.

[Flingin' Sticks]

The hexshafts are hard to get and keep straight. I have tried them and wouldn't recommend them. There are lots of fir logs in your country. Cut some chinks 34 inches long and then rip the pieces into 3/8 inch square shafts. Build yourself a jig, chuck these into a drill and run them through a dowl maker. They make great shfts. If you have to chuck a couple its no big deal because they were free to start with.

I Just finished up a batch of hexshaft arrows (haven't been able to get them out yet), but I also had problems straightening them. The one upside is that they weigh out somewhere between cedar and birch (~600 grains). We'll see what happens when I get out and shoot them, but they fought me in making them for sure.

[Monashee]

Not really primitive but if you have modern tools then Yellow cedar makes good arrows , the wood can be twisted so choose a good piece . Yellow cedar is closely related to Port Orford cedar. Fir works but you want the really tight ring stuff , fast growth is too coarse ringed.

Since you are doing the primitive approach consider shoots , from shrubs , not sure what is around your area but look for willow along train tracks and ditches . In warmer places on the coast ocean spray has really good heavy strong 2 year old shoots that make very good arrows, you can even prune them so you have a future supply of shoots year after year .

What width are the limbs of your hemlock bow ?