Arrow flight

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
why would an arrow that is theoretically too stiff for a bow shoot like it was too weak? This is a heavy barrel tapered shaft. It is going towards inside the bow.
In other words it is shooting towards the inside of the riser as opposed to out the window or shelf.

this is a traditional longbow shot off the shelf .
We are talking 2 feet off at 30 yards which is an appreciable amount. It is not poor form as it is consistant and I can shoot another arrow both before and after in the bullseye.
 
Kevin, you are delving into the dark arts of archery ;) I've read about this and it seems to have something to do with the bending weight of the arrow matching the shooting weight of the bow. It's all so confusing :eek:

All I can suggest is adjust your windage :D
 
Just a theory, but the barrel taper might have something to do with it. I believe that reduces the spine of the arrow. It would make sense to me that making the ends taper would make them more "springy" which may make it jump off the shelf a little more.
Then again, I may be full of crap!:D
 
Kevin the grey said:
why would an arrow that is theoretically too stiff for a bow shoot like it was too weak? This is a heavy barrel tapered shaft. It is going towards inside the bow.
In other words it is shooting towards the inside of the riser as opposed to out the window or shelf.

this is a traditional longbow shot off the shelf .
We are talking 2 feet off at 30 yards which is an appreciable amount. It is not poor form as it is consistant and I can shoot another arrow both before and after in the bullseye.
Click to expand...

Kevin,

Did you personally check the spine on the arrow (s) to make sure it is correct (you didn't mention if you build your own arrows).? Yes, tapering either end of the arrow will reduce spine.

I used to double check the weight and spine on my wood shafting when I would make up a dozen for a customer to make absolutely sure they were within 5 pounds of spine of each other. Some arrow makers do not recheck each and every arrow shaft as it comes from the factory. The electronic weight and spine checks the factory would do on the shafts was not always very accurate.

One other thought; the weight of your broadhead or field point can dramatically effect the spine of your arrow as it leaves your bow. For me, personally, I always have to go up 5 pounds in spine if I am shooting broadheads. I find adding larger fletching (I burn a Pope & Young pattern) helps too in getting good arrow flight.

Archery (especially traditional and primitive) is about continuous experimenting with your equipment to get the most out of it. I've been shooting traditional and primitive for about 40-years (building bows and arrows for about 25-years), and still find myself learning new things...especially when I'm teaching archery classes. :)
 
My guess is that you've got the feather grain "in" instead of "up" a dangerous setup. Have you tried to shoot it cock feather in?
 
mewolf1 said:
My guess is that you've got the feather grain "in" instead of "up" a dangerous setup. Have you tried to shoot it cock feather in?
Click to expand...

That is one I,ll have to check in the morning. A good observation on your part.
Some of these arrows are a little feathery . I am not used to it . My other shafts are from a guy who makes arrows cheaper than if I bought the parts . The straightest cedar I ever did see.

The ash shafts are from square blanks I hand scraped round and tapered. I am tapering them to learn to spine and weight match arrows. For now I am concentrating on spine . When I have made a dozen matched spine shafts I will learn to match them to weight as well .

Its tough cause I know a bit and then something like this jumps out and lets me know I have along way to go.

I made a spine tester from an aluminum arrow straightener. (At least its good for something.) It has a dial indicator in thousandths . The issue may be its travel range. one revolution encompasses spine from 30 to 60 pounds approximately . It may be small variances in needle position make too large a difference in spine . I don,t know what I can do about that. I have a good feel for spine . I still have a ways to go before I can do it entirely by hand.
 
I'm going to stick my neck out and say that your other arrows are flexing and your stiff arrow is not...giving you what you think is "off". My stiffer arrows shoot more to one side too.
 
Kevin, if memory serves me correctly, the best way to test your arrows, is to bare shaft them. Remove the fletching and shoot into the target butt from 15ft. out. If you are right handed and the arrow is hitting left of target (tailing into the bow), then the arrow is too stiff. A weak spined arrow would hit right of target and tail away from the riser.

If you are left handed, it would be the opposite.
 
longbow50 said:
Kevin, if memory serves me correctly, the best way to test your arrows, is to bare shaft them. Remove the fletching and shoot into the target butt from 15ft. out. If you are right handed and the arrow is hitting left of target (tailing into the bow), then the arrow is too stiff. A weak spined arrow would hit right of target and tail away from the riser.

If you are left handed, it would be the opposite.
Click to expand...

Bingo! :D This is what you're describing, right?

Have you ever seen the stop-motion videos of an arrow? It's amazing what a small difference in spine will make with arrows! However, if you shoot an arrow with "100% spine" (Think a broom handle) from an un-centered rest it will go to the rest side of the target. I'd imagine that at the point of stiffness where an arrow doesn't flex, the above rule stops applying...

Now, the curious test would be to see if you are still PRECISE with the heavy spine arrow or just inaccurate.... Does the arrow hit the same spot but way off every time?:p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top