Simple bolt/arrow question

Okay, so I read through the search results on bolts and found some good information but NOT specifically what I was looking for. My hunting crossbow is going to have a max draw weight of 190lb and I want it to be good enough to hunt something as large as elk. So I know I need to make decently heavy arrows, but I'm still wondering about what diameter of wood shaft material and whether spine weight makes any difference. The last set of bolts I ever made were quick and dirty for my SCA target crossbow. I think they were Port Orford Cedar and either 11/32 or 23/64 and probably the highest spine weight I could find - probably 80+ lb or more if I remember correctly. Should I just buy the largest diameter (23/64) wood shafts I can get and just go for the highest spine?

Spine I guess doesn't really matter when you're not having to deal with Archer's Paradox, except maybe a higher spine would make for a more durable arrow because they're less resistant to bending and thus more resistant to shock one would think. Also, if you're buying 32" shafts and cutting them in half, or perhaps cutting them slightly longer (16-17") then you're increasing the spine and getting an even stiffer arrow, theoretically. Again, maybe none of this really matters in a crossbow. Also, I see now that none of 3 Rivers wood shafts are available spined any higher than about 80-85lb. Also, they now include some other interesting, heavier options than the typical POC shafts, namely Douglas Fir, Ash, and Lodgepole Pine to name a few. All of those appear to be available in 23/64 as well. Looking at the hunting regs where I would be using this bow, it appears that the minimum length I can get away with for an arrow is 16". If I'm lucky I might be able to get two arrows out of a single shaft, assuming with the tip (either field point or broadhead) would make the total length be 16" or greater.

I shoot 3/8" oak bolts...with 250gr tuffhead broad heads. Total weight is about 600gr.  That will blast through an elk. Tuffhead BHs come in 300gr as well. That much weight FOC is devastating, with elk I would limit my shots to 30 yards or less.

Stonedog,
With that size of arrow shaft, do you have to really taper down the point-end to get it to fit the broadhead? I'd be looking to make not only some arrows with broadheads, but a lot more with field points since most ranges don't allow broadheads. I'd like to set up some arrows with field points and try to get the weight as close with those as it'd be with broadheads so that as I'm practicing I have everything pretty similar so I know how the bow behaves when shooting a certain grain-range of arrows, etc.

I shoot 3/8" oak bolts with a total length of 15" from tip of point to the end of the bolt.

Yes, you do have to taper for the broad head.  I have a home made taper tool that sits on the disc sander section of my belt sander set up to taper 5* (standard BH taper angle).

My taper tool is permanently set to 5*, as even with my longbows I shoot self nocks that are hand cut.

Mine is like this one, except not adjustable for nock end.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=17608.0

I've always used the pencil sharpener type of tapering tools, but I guess if I'm going to be doing shaft diameters that are larger than 23/64 then I'd probably need to build a grinder type of tapering tool. Seems like something that big would be a bit messy, but I bet I can build one based around a smaller grinder set up and have a shop vac hooked up for dust collection.

I make mine from 3/8" oak dowels from Lowes. Come 36" length so I cut in half to get 18" arrows. Use the same method as stonedog to taper my shafts. On some I foot with a 1 1/2" long piece of 3/8" cooper tubing for extra weight. Later I will weigh but I know they are heavy.

Todd

Todd,
Could you post a pic showing how you do that footing? I'm having difficulty visualizing that.