Could you make, market, and ship them cheaper?

 

Right. Great arrows are worth the money.

 

Everything is expensive in archery and the shooting sports. My Excalibur crossbow bolts tipped with a broad head cost me $20+ a shot and I almost never get em back. I shot a bear, turkey and deer so far this year and have found 0 for 3. They cost so much because of the materials used and the tolerances in the manufacturing process. Today’s arrows/bolts are light years ahead of the older ones on performance and unfortunately cost as well. There are certainly less expensive arrows like the ones at wally world and in most cases they get the job done. Still, the better ones will last longer and perform better unless of course you are like me flinging bolts into the jungle with precision but little chance of recovery.

 

My archery set-up cost about the same as my M&P but I don't have to keep buying boxes of ammo. Of course, I am sure things could get more expensive as I crave new gear but, that'd be true with handguns and rifles, too.

Ultimately, I spend much less on archery... from the range fees to the arrows.

I consider it a hunting prep, not defense.

 

I buy carbon fiber, last box of 5 was around 65$, as well as make my own, set down and figured it out once, between material , and if I charged for the time I spent shaping and fletching, it works out cheaper to buy em pre made, I prefer wood and feather, don't get me wrong and I still make my own, its just less costly and time consuming to buy pre made.......

 

After making a few wood shafts/arrows from scratch by hand, $4 to $10 each seems very reasonable, especially for lighter stronger straighter more durable carbons that can be shot from modern high speed, high energy compounds.

http://www.rosecityarchery.com/Logs2Shafts.html

http://poorfolkbows.com/arrow1.htm

http://www.3riversarchery.com/Building+the+Footed+Arrow+DVD_i5065_baseitem.html

http://www.3riversarchery.com/making+bamboo+arrows_i6351_baseitem.html

Building carbon arrow shafts required tools equipment and manufacturing knowledge beyond the ability of most individuals.

Arrows are reusable (for target practice) and I've shot many of them hundreds of times each. With the addition of a broadhead they can harvest any land animal. When we consider that ammunition for big game averages $1 to $5 per shot, the arrow - within its range limitations - is quite economical.

 

yeah... i'm tossing the yellow caution flag on the field here on the $4 arrows...make sure you note the poundage rating on cheap arrows before you take em out in the back yard for practice...forgive me if I'm insulting something you already know...

I just worry when I saw the $4 price..cause I don't think I have gotten cheaper than maybe $6 or $7 for lousy range stuff that at least met the lb requirement of my recurve and compounds for practice...but the guys are right..when it comes time for some serious arrows...you'll really be choking on the cost to put a half dozen in your quiver.

 

Ever seen what happens when an arrow breaks during the firing process? It is well worth inspecting and tossing bad arrows and paying for good ones.

 

I had a brand new carbon shaft shatter on me when I released on a target at a tournament. I was very fortunate that none of the splinters stabbed me. This was an arrow I paid $4.99 for. (I was broke at the time) The amount of energy being transferred into an arrow when you shoot one off is incredible! Think about it: Accelerating a 2 oz stick from 0 to 130 feet per second.

 

$4 is nothing, my traditional wood arrows, that I fletch myself are $15 and up.

 

I'm sure our Ancestors thought arrows were expensive also. But the ones who survived paid the price of time and hard work to have what they needed to get the job done. The ones that didn't never passed on there genes.

 

You can get good wooden dowels for less than $1 each, use duck tape (or feathers if you have them) for fletching, and spoons to make broad heads(or just fire hardened tips for pracitice). If its just practice, a dowel with duck tape fletching and a fire hardened tip only cost about $2 each, assuming you already have duck tape. I don't know how it would work in a compound, but my flat bow has at least a 50lb pull and the dowels hold up, they are a little thicker than standard arrows though.

 

Dowels can make good arrows, but you still have to QC them. You want the grain to run up straight for 2/3's their length. If you wanted nature material arrows that are home depot cheap, the cane garden stakes are worth looking at.

 

what do you want for them 1$, better buy in a garage sale,,,its already cheap:thumb:

 

I pay, including the inserts, upwards of $12 per arrow. I then have to buy the points, and I have two sets...field points and hunting broadheads. These are carbon arrows. I also have a set of gorgeous Port Orford Cedar shafts with bodkin points on them that were $17.50 each (mostly for decoration or part of my ren faire gear)
As much as I shoot archery, I have got my money's worth out of the arrows I have bought, and they still have plenty of life left.
I wouldn't rely on $4 arrows for anything but teaching future kids the basics of archery.

 

Because it is deer season. The same reason the price on anything rises when the demand rises.

 

$4 per is really, really cheap for arrows and being at Wally World I doubt they're of much quality at all. If you want to really freak out about price, look up Easton X10 shafts and the X10 tungsten break off points (they're what the US team used in the Olympics).

 

Let's start with aluminum. Aluminum arrows are extruded at Easton, likely theyou pay the guys who do that an hourly wage. Then there is the costs of the matreial. I think it's about 83 cents a pound. Don't know. Then the shipping and all that. Same for carbon fiber. Complicated process add the mark up at the reseller for both and there you have it.

 

If an arrow is hand-made correctly, then yes, they deserve to have a higher price. But to pay some of these ridiculous prices for a manufactured arrow is total bull****... period.

 

Just before Christmas I found a dozen Gold Tip Ultra Light Entrada shafts for C$35.00 on Amazon.ca with free shipping. I think at the current exchange rate that works out to about US$19.00.

 

if you think about it, its cheap. a crap box of shells for a 9mm costsmore than an arrow and you only get 50 to 100 rounds out of it. the arrow can be shot countless times, eventually the arrows start paying you, and thats a gooooood feeling.

 

A lot of hobbies can start off expensive. Some can pay for themselves better than others.

Making your own arrows saves money, but must invest in a good jig and then just the material. Like Walcott said a person can shoot them arrows a bunch.

Reloading ammo will save a person alot, if they shoot alot. Buying the reloading press, dies etc adds up fast. So, takes a while for it to pay off.

Fly fishing is another one flies can be very expensive.

I make my own flies & arrows. Use to reload but I don't shoot enough anymore to justify it However, I might again invest in reloading for a round that isn't common.

 

wow better change your needs, just 4$ and you are complaining, 10 pcs is just 40$, :thumb:

 

Yeah, I was browsing at a sporting goods store and had the same question. A box of 25 shotgun shells there cost $7. it seems like someone could figure out a way to sell 25 arrows at that price.

The gun folk here talk about taking a thousand rounds to their BOL, seems if you were a bow-and-arrow person you would need at least that many arrows but who could afford it?

In dystopian novel "Alas, Babylon," they made arrowheads by hammering down pennies. Hard work - but the price was right.

 

There are many ways to cut cost on arrows, but they will never be cheap. What ever you save in coin, you will spend in labor. With carbon and aluminium and such, lots of engineering go's into them. You pay for that effort to. Same with primo ammo for your guns I guess, although, as I am starting to reload my ammo cost as much or just a bit less for my rifle ammo, but way cheaper for my hand gun ammo. So, if you want to spend less on arrows look around at your options. Wood is pretty good and there are many low cost options.

 

Spend more on arrows and less on the bow and you will have better results than the guy who does the opposite...figuring in equal practice time. Don't cheap out on what matters most, cheap out on what matters least.

 

Arrows can be shot countless times OR only once. They get lost, they bend, they break and no Dowels do not make good arrows as they are rarely straight.

Arrows are expensive because they are not easy to make for any type modern bow. This type of post always leads to the make your own arrows replies and we all know where that one ends up. However you can save lots of money by buying your shafts and fletching them yourself. Also if you shop you can find deals. I found a good source for crossbow bolts right here on this forum. Im paying half what I was paying locally for good quality bolts.

If you are shooting traditional or recurve look on ebay and craigs list for used bulk arrow buys. I sold 60 Aluminum shafts for 50 bucks a couple years ago. Some even had all three fletches on them. Modern compounds and crossbows need good strong ,straight shafts to be safe. BE SAFE .

 

Hahaha! $4 is cheap. I have around $12 each in my competition and hunting arrows..
If you're upset about $4 you're correct. Archery aint for you. I have over $1k in this Mathews Z7 and it's a beater bow I threw together for deer hunting and the advanced hunter class in 3D.
It is the single most expensive addiction one can get into besides 3 gun.

 

My Easton Gamegetters are over 20 years old.

My wood dowel specials are about $1.00 to make.

 

Yeah some of my favorite arrows are diy dowels. I fletch them with vinyl safety flag and make my own broadhead from stock steel. Maybe $2 in cost amortized.