Best Archery Bow Wood – Archery for Beginners

When choosing an archery bow, you should consider your needs and what kind of bow you would like to shoot best. You may also want to consider how much money you’re willing to spend on a new bow. There are many different woods used to build archery bow.

Some woods are better suited for certain purposes than others. For example, if you plan to hunt deer, you might choose a hardwoods such as maple or hickory.

These woods are strong and durable, and they won’t break easily. However, these woods aren’t very flexible, so they won’t bend easily.

You should start by gaining an overall knowledge of the different types of woods available before making any purchases. you can learn about this by reading archery book.

There are several types of archery bows today, including wooden, metal, plastic, fibre glass, and composite bows.

TYPES OF THE BEST ARCHERY BOW WOOD

Each type of wooden arrow has its own unique characteristics. You need to know these characteristics before making a choice. Here we list the positives and negatives of each type of wooden arrow.

HICKORY-Hickory Longbow

Hickory is a common type of tree that makes good quality arrows. Ash is one of its most popular varieties. Pignut and Shabbarok are two other kinds of hickory trees that are often considered when choosing a hickory tree for arrow construction.

• It’s an excellent choice if you want something that will last for many years at a low price.

It doesn’t hold up well in humid conditions, so don’t use it if you’re going to be taking pictures in damp, wet environments. Over time, it gets brittle.

MAPLE

Maple is a common type of tree used for making arrows because it has good qualities including strong and flexible properties. When an arrow made from maple is shot, it stores a lot of energy.

• The Good: strong and sturdy; very durable and thus long-lasting; affordable
• The Bad: prone to scratching

RED OAK

Pinky-red oaks are among the hardest woods used for bows, so they’re an excellent choice if you want a strong bow but don’t want to spend a ton of money.

• The Good: strong, dense, and durable; affordable, readily available in most cities
• The Bad: can be difficult to work with; tends to splinter and/or shatter when using thin pieces to make a bow; a heavier bow wood choice

EASTERN REDCEDAR

Eastern red cedar is actually made from a type of juniper called a juniperus virginiana. It’s often used for bows because it has a nice grain pattern.

• The Good: this bow wood ranks high on the best bow wood list due to it being light; minimal tension and strong compression pair together to make eastern redcedar a great choice for longbow designs.
• The Bad: must add backing to address the minimal amount of tension and is difficult to find

OSAGE ORANGE

It’s called “The King of Bows” because it’s one of the most popular types of woods used to make woodbows.

• The Good: offers great compression strength; doesn’t rot; one of the best archery bow woods available today
• The Bad: osage orange wood bows tend to be hard to find; possibility of allergic reaction; expensive and become more flexible with heat.

BAMBOO

There are more than 600 types of bamboo, but only five or six of them are suitable for making bows. Most commonly, bamboo is made into arrows.

• The Good: very affordable; should last for a few years if made using quality bamboo
• The Bad: requires more time and effort to make a bow using bamboo wood

WHITE OAK

This strong, dense, durable wood has been specially treated so that it dries quickly and doesn’t warp. It’s best used when it’s completely dry. it’s popular for making woodbows.

• The Good: good tension so very bendable; easy to find
• The Bad: tends to be on the heavier side; doesn’t last as long as other archery bow wood types

BLACK LOCUST

Indian archers of old often used the wood from black locus trees to make their bows. Black locus trees are preferred by most archers.

• The Good: a good choice for making a self-bow
• The Bad: extremely dense making it difficult to work with

ELM

Choose any of these hardwoods for making a cross-section of an arrow shaft. They’re all good choices.

• The Good: very durable; offers great bending qualities; a good bow wood choice for making a self/simple-bow
• The Bad: prone to cracking over time making backing the bow necessary to add strength

IPE

As this Brazilian hardwood option has a high density, it works well when paired with hickory wood or bamboo to create a strong and sturdy laminated arrow.

• The Good: works very well when under compression
• The Bad: an unstable wood so develops compression failure after 6 to 18 months of use

BASSWOOD

This type of softwood isn’t used as often as other kinds of bow wood because of its unique characteristics.

• The Good: lightweight; easy to work with; pleasing to the eye
• The Bad: not very strong; low density doesn’t result in quality, long-lasting bows; rots easily over time

YUCCA

Yucca wood is an easy to cut hardwood making it a good choice for backing material.

• The Good: a strong and lightweight bow wood option
• The Bad: not a very sturdy bow wood option

LEMONWOOD

An archery bows’ type of hard and springy material that ranges from yellow to brown in color. One example of an archery bows’ high score was achieved using a lemon tree.

• The Good: a good, basic bow wood choice: affordable
• The Bad: difficult to work with; slightly on the heavier side

YEW

Yew is a type of tree that has been used to create bows since ancient times. However, yew trees are no longer as common as they once were because there are many other types of woods that are easier to use when making bows.

• The Good: makes for a good temporary, lightweight hunting bow
• The Bad: the hardness and stiffness of yew make bows more brittle over time; yew bows tend to be expensive

WYCH ELM

This type of wooden arrow shaft was often used to make shorter and stouter arrows as weapons for war.

• The Good: a popular bow wood option for flat and broad-limbed bows
• The Bad: low draw weight; over time wood becomes brittle, causing the bow to fall apart in a short amount of time; unseasoned green wood doesn’t support a long-lasting or strong bow

HAWTHORN

Hawthorn trees produce wood with a tight structure, which makes them ideal for flat bow construction.

• The Good: hawthorn wood that’s been properly seasoned makes for a strong bow
• The Bad: the interlocked structure makes it difficult to use so not recommended for new archers

LABURNUM

A rare wood, laburnums make for a good bowwood if you can get a suitable wood in the right size and shape.

• The Good: a great bow wood choice when used to make D-section English longbows
• The Bad: archers are more apt to experience string follow issues

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEST ARCHERY BOW WOOD

The best archery bow wood needs to meet certain requirements before it can be used to craft a new one.

FLEXIBILITY

Each type of archery bow has different strengths and weaknesses. Stiffer woods help provide greater stability for the arrow but less flexibility. Flexible woods allow arrows to bend easier but lack the stability needed to hold their shape during flight.

COMPRESSION & TENSION

A broken string can cause a lot of frustration. But if you pull your string too hard, you’ll break your arrow! To avoid this problem, make sure you keep enough slack in your string so that it won’t snap when you shoot.

TEMPERATURE

Because some kinds of wood don’t do well in hot weather, it’s a good idea to avoid them if you’re going to be taking pictures in high-heat climates. Warping and changing shape are two of the most common kinds of heat-related wood problems.

LONGEVITY

You need to know that some bowswood lasts for many years while other wood only lasts for a few months. What kind of wood would you prefer?

CHOOSING THE BEST ARCHERY BOW WOOD

Archery archers who wish to know which types of woods are best for making their own wooden bows should either purchase from a reliable online store or a local shop.

It really depends on your personal shooting style. As a general rule, the best archers use different types of bows for different purposes. You need to choose your wood depending on your own personal needs and circumstances.

Laminated Longbows – Great longbow woods include Yew, Hickory, Maple, Ash, Purple Heart, Greenheart, Satin Wood, Lemon Wood, Osages.

how to make an archery bow from wood?

In the video you can see complete process of making a traditional bow from wood.

Conclusion

Don’t overlook the significance of choosing the correct kind of archery woods to suit your needs of making your own traditional bows. Although there are lots of types of archery woods available, be certain to concentrate on your preferred shooting discipline to assist you to make the ideal choice.

Let us know in the comment what’s your best archery bow wood?