I generally shoot off the shelf because, as Schultzy says, it's one less thing to worry about. No need to worry about your rest breaking because, if it does, it means your whole bow broke. [8D]

If you use an elevated rest, it's better to have a flipper than one of those all-plastic jobbies, that have the little finger sticking out to set the arrow on. I've had those plastic things snap off when shooting in cold weather, and 'cold' here means anything under 30 degrees. I've had flippers fail on me, but not nearly as much as those plastic things.

An elevated rest is generally more accurate, as I found out shooting competition. Actually, my competiton bow - a '65 model Wing Presentation II - has a built-in flipper and doesn't even have a shelf.

Now, I love wood arrows but.... I think they aren't the best choice for a newbie traditional shooter. As Bobco recommended, 2016 or 2018 would be good for a start. A friend of mine shoots several full size Kodiaks (he's a full fledged Bear nut ) has a similar draw length and draw weight and he has perfect arrow flight with 2114's. Or go to Kustom King and order some 200 or 250 gn field points so you can try shooting 5575 Gold Tips. Feather fletched for shooting off the shelf. Plastic vanes work fine on a flipper.

When you get the form down and the ol' eye sharpened, to where your misses are reasonably rare, then give wood arrows a go. Cedars aren't as cheap as they used to be and they are easier to break than aluminum or carbon.