Main Discussion Area > Arrows
Various natural shoots arrow material, where it grows, how to ID them all.
aznboi3644:
I usually strip the bark off my viburnum shoots and never have a problem with them checking if I seal the ends. They make super tough arrows and good bows also. I’ve missed my target bag and had viburnum shoot arrows go full speed into the brick siding of my House to only have the front 1/2” of shaft crushed. Nothing else damaged. They are my favorite shoots. They are planted all over the place here as ornamental bushes.
Pat B:
The best place to find sourwood shoots in SC is along road cuts. The Hwy Dept bushhogs those road banks every 3 or 4 years and after the second year you will see their shoots standing straight up. This time of year the leaves are bright red so they are easy to find. Cut onlt shoots with small branches at the top and not just leaves. I've cut a few hundred shoots in a few hours in about a 1/4 mile section here in the mountains. Hwy 11, The Cherokee Scenic Highway, along the base of the mountains has lots of these banks with lots of sourwood shoots on them.
Jakesnyder:
Can you harvest hardwood shoots in winter time?
Pat B:
That's the best time. IMO.
ssrhythm:
Ok...Since starting this thread, I have found four types of natural arrow shoots that I have cut and brought home. One, I'm fairly sure, is red ozier dogwood, one is a mix of various domestic rose shoots from around town, one is some other type of green-barked dogwood, and one is some type of viburnum (I think) or viburnum-ish shrub.
After a couple of weeks of drying in bundles with occasional non-heat straightening, all but the roses seemed just about as wet and pliable as they did when they were cut. I took one of the viburnum-ish shoots and scraped the bark off except for two inches on each end. Within 24 hours, that shoot was obviously drying and stiffening significantly. Within 36 hours, a crack opened and continued until it was 6' long and very deep. I now know that I can't rush that particular shoot and seasoning will take a long time.
So I'm nearly a month out on the rose harvest (those were the most recently harvested shoots), and the red ozier and the green-barked dogwood-ish shoots seem as if they are just as wet as when I cut them. I have had them inside our house where the humidity level is lower than the already low humidity outside our home here is SE Wyoming. At this rate, those shoots won't be dry and stiffening up for ages. Is this normal for shoots like this?
I'm going to strip at bark on one of the red dogwood like shoots and one of the green to see if I can speed up the process and see if they split horribly like the other shoot did. Any suggestions on the proper way to season dogwood shoots is much appreciated.
The rose seem to be drying out and stiffening up pretty nicely. I can still bend them without heat and straighten them and they will now actually stay put after I work them...all the others will bend in all sorts of manners but are still so wet that they won't stay for two seconds. I think the MC is low enough in the roses that I can strip the bark except for an inch or two at the end without too much concern over them opening up significant cracks.
With all that said...Can someone with lots of experience with various shoot arrows please try to list their experience with various shoot seasoning techniques and times. For instance...I've read that with rose, you can fairly quickly strip the bark without having to worry about significant cracking and drying checks. How about with red-ozier dogwood? Viburnum (especially if different techniques and times are necessary for different species)? Sourwood? Crepe Myrtle? Ocean Spray? ANYTHING that you've ever used for shoot arrows. Thanks in advance.
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