Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Spotted Dog on July 28, 2015, 03:09:27 pm
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Will honey suckle shoots work for arrows ? My neighbor has some that have just gone nuts.
Bushes over 8' tall . She won't trim them , so if they do I will trim them back. If not I will trim them back. :P
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No personal experience but I've seen a number of arrows made of honey suckle on various forums including this one.
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I cut 3 pieces and left bark on and tied to a board to dry a bit.
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I've read about honeysuckle(Amur) used for arrows. Cut some appropriate shoots(about 3/8" at the butt), bundle them together with rubber bands and set them aside for a month or 2. Let us know how it works out.
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I'll get some more cut and do that. I am heading to the woods in the morning. Looking for dogwood and
an elm sapling or two. Maybe a hickory too. I was told at this park I have volunteered at for 25+ years
go and collect.
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Honeysuckle makes a decent arrow and long straight shoots of it are common. It has such an abundance of long clean shoots that it is hard to walk past a big bush of it and not take a few for arrow shafts. The large and soft spongy pith makes them almost like a cane shaft except that the outer wood walls aren't near as strong therefore they are not the most durable arrow. I like to insert a short, 3'-4" piece of a bamboo skewer into the point end pith to reinforce the arrow when you accidently hit a rock. I also usually do the same at the nock end, about 1.5" skewer, to reinforce the self nocks I cut in.
One thing I will say is that they are not a good choice for blunts or stump shooting. A straight on impact into a tree or hard object will most often end up with a long split in the shaft.
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I guess there are different types of honey suckle too. We have a bush here I can't ID . looks like honey suckle.?
Just for fun I took a small piece and barked it. Within 2 hours checked and split all over.
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I've used honeysuckle for arrows in the past. It works good. Especially for lighter bows(25-40 lbs.). Josh
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The Honeysuckle we have around here is very vine like. Is that what you have? Do you have to hold it straight while it dries?
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We have the vine and bush here. Some use a variation of it for hedge around their homes.
The vine has the trumpet bloom. The others a small white blooms. Tie them together and let em dry.
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It works fine, but as others said it's a bit on the fragile side. I made a few recently that fly good and are still in one piece. They will be super light for the diameter tho. Mine are only 380 grains WITH a 125 grain point on them.
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high bush honeysuckle makes great arrows, maybe a bit lite but they will stay straight. Peel some of the bark in summer like a strip around each quarter. so you have four narrow stripes down the sides. It will allow moisture to vent out the sides without coming out the ends. I have a friend who cuts shafts year round and does this. Prevents most checking and wrap them in groups of seven, six around 1. straiten every other day and they will be strait when dry.