Are there woods more suited for arrow shafts than others?Can I just use any straight and thick enough stick?Is there a list of species that make good arrows?
Depends if you want to make compound or simple arrows. For compound arrows you need a hardwood for the forshaft and a light weight for the mainshaft. For a simple arrow, either a hardwood (large game) or soft (small game) is good.
has anyone ever used or heard of being used pampas grass for arrow shafts
Ai’ve never heard of ANY uses for pampasgrass. If you can use it for this, ai will shout for joy. Ai’m pretty sure the stems are semi woody, but break easily, right? Seems like it could make a toy arrow or disposable/single use?
I got a few stalks of pampas a few days ago.I peeled the outer layers down to the and now it is drying.It feels kinda flimsy though.Has anyone ever made a reed arrow from another species of reed?Did it feel flimsy before it dried?
The thing about arrows are… do you want to use them multiple times or just once? While arrows are not easy to make, many people would happily trade an arrow for a game animal of good size. Arrows only need to be strong enough to survive flight and impact. The more important thing is the kill point. A good broadhead, regardless of the material, is more important than the arrow that delivers it. I have had deer snap carbon arrows like they were toothpicks as soon as they darted off, but the broadhead went deep and did the job. I found the deer just 50 yards away. Remember, in Japan they used to make their arrows out of hollow bamboo, and could take down anything with it. Several Native American peoples even used dried cat tail stalks to make arrows that could take rabbits and birds.