I'm looking for a T.U.S.A (The Ultimate Stumping Arrow) By now I have splintered wood-arrows, mushroomed and bent alu's and cracked carbons... Stumps are sometimes hard to shoot at, especially when they look soft on the outside, but hard as steel inside. Cracked one of my favourite carbons yesterday on one of those... split in the nock-end. Wrapped and glued, but ruined in my point of view.
So, what the heck is the ultimate stumping arrow? Something that shoots well, tuneable and stands up to a direct hit on Norwegian granite (well at least rock-hard treestumps) Please help me out here, because arrows are ridiculous expensive up here.

I do a lot of stump shooting and I shoot bows 59-61 lbs. Aluminum 2018s are very tough arrows. I have mushroomed only one 2018. I also shoot 2216s which aren't quite as tough. You're right sometimes those stumps look soft but they're hard as a brick.

Can I shoot 2018's from The Dark One? (44#@30")

For me the only thing that works in the rocky area I stump shoot is carbons footed with aluminum shaft pieces at both ends.

I believe you can shoot 2018s. You'll just have to tune them to your bow. You can plug the bow and arrow info into the 3Rivers spine calculator and it will get you in the ballpark.

The best head I have found is a steel blunt drilled to accept weed whacker line.  If the line breaks slip in another piece.  The nice thing is you can make the head any weight you want.  I buy 250 grain field points and cut down according to what weight I want.  As you can see from the abuse they are darn near indestructible.

The real trick to stumping is knowing what not to shoot. Master that and your arrows will be just fine.

2020 aluminums are pretty durable.  I often used 1916s or 2016s footed with another short section of aluminums, 2117s if I recall.

Since I know I'm going to destroy at least one arrow on a good roving session I don't use my expensive arrows for that. I get the Kimery Specials doug fir from Surewood Shafts, seal and fletch them and go stumping. I wouldn't hunt with the Kimerys but they fly straight and true, and I don't worry if I break a few.

My solution is to carry two stumping arrows: a judo and a rubber blunt.  The judo is for stumping in grassy areas where arrows have a tendency to get lost; the rubber blunt is for rocky areas or shooting at questionable stumps.  My solution to the cost of shafts is to shoot only found arrows, usually carbon.  I shoot just about every day with my dog at my club, and rare is the day that I don't turn up at least one lost arrow.  If I don't need any new stumping arrows, I turn them in to the found arrow bucket, if I do need a new stumping arrow, well, I guess you could call it my "stumping tax."

Quote from: Jegs.mich on March 24, 2025, 08:09:29 AM
The real trick to stumping is knowing what not to shoot. Master that and your arrows will be just fine.

That is true in most cases... But a good an rotten stump from an old pine can be rock hard in the center, and that is impossible to spot.

Your eye for picking the best stumps will improve with experience, but you'll just have to accept the fact that you're going to break an arrow now and again when stumpin.  No arrow material is bombproof.  You can go to less costly arrow shafts like hickory or bamboo.  As tough as any synthetic shaft, and cheaper. 

Arrow Dynamics Hammerhead. Lots of extra radial wrap carbon up front. THAT is the most indestructible arrow I've ever shot.

Next, compressed maples and regular AD Trads.

Take this with a grain of salt because I'm a newish trad shooter.

I've been shooting Black Eagle Vintage & Sirius Tradstar with stainless inserts/collars. I think having that stainless insert/collar makes a huge difference. I've also been using VPA "Small Game Thumper" heads which helps prevent me from losing arrows in the grass/brush. I've yet to break an arrow (knock on wood) from shooting a hard stump or missing my mark and hitting a rock. I'm shooting my 46#/30" longbow - nothing really high poundage.

I've learned the hard way (evidently I'm a slow learner) that field points aren't the right choice for stumping; I've lost a half dozen arrows since I started shooting trad.  Since picking appropriate heads I've not lost any arrows while out stumping.

Sorry, based on Lumen's post, I need to add this......

Shooting out of 60 to 70# bows.

I have more stump shooting arrows than practice arrows, my favorite point is the judo and then steel blunt tip I shoot wood 50/55,XX75 2016, Dark timber carbon 500 all work great and I've broke a bunch of wood I just make more, Carbon hands down is the toughest. My bows 47@27 and 41@27   

Shoot at something other than stumps. Rotton logs, pine cones, sticks, grass clumps, etc etc

Thanks y'all
Went through my (all too many) arrows last night, and I will be going with Ken E here... Three old GT Trads have now got pieces of aluminium arrow in both ends, tipped with 125gr Hex Blunts. Have some Judos in 125gr too, if needed. The arrows just need fletching in some bright colors, and off they go. Pics will follow...

Footed at both ends should be almost unbreakable. Notice "unbreakable" because I have not seen an unbreakable arrow since some guy made one from stainless steel back in the 1980's.

Yes, by all means Hammerheads!!!

You can bang your head all you want, but nothing is tuffer than the Hammerhead. It has to be just by design default. Closest arrow to an anvil I've ever seen by far.