Hello All. I recently bought a new to me Jet "Hill Style" Longbow. It is cut 1/8th before center and is 69" long, 47# at my 29" draw length. I have a fast flight string on it with Wool silencers. I have been shooting carbons and was able to get perfect flight out of my GT3555" cut to 29.5" with 100gr inserts and 175gr points. I desperately want to start shooting woodies and bought a test pack from Surewood shafts. The ranges I purchased are 45-50,50-55 and 55-60 and all of them seem to fly weak cut to 29" with 125gr points on them. The 45-50 fly totally sideways and break on impact and the 50-55 and 55-60 fly seriously nock left and impact right of the target. Does it make sense I would need a stiffer spine at my specs? Every chart I read tells me that 50-55 should be good and maybe even 55-60 but according to everything I have seen anything stiffer should be way too stiff. It suppose it could be form but I can get my carbons to fly straight and tune but I cannot seem to get the woods to fly. Should I try a stiffer test pack or am I doing something terribly wrong?

Your nocks are probably oriented 90deg wrong. Wood arrows have a stiff sidee and a weak side..

yes go stiffer till it shoots,, the chart is just a ball park,,it could be part your form,, my release is not that smooth, so sometimes a stiffer spine works better for me,, you will get lots of advice on this, but bottom line is it has to shoot good for you,,once you find that spine pay no attention to the chart or what anyone says,,,

I have two hill bows that are 50# at 29 inches, both shoot 55-60 spine arrows cut 30 inch bop with 125 to 160 grain broadheads , yours should be close to the same I would guess

jk-

I am pretty sure I oriented the nock correctly, I have the grain perpendicular to the string if I am correct? I just get real erratic bareshaft flight. Not sure if bareshafting wood arrows is different than carbon or aluminum? If I can get proper bareshaft flight out of Carbon arrows should I expect to get good results from wood or is bareshafting wood trickier?

I'd fletch a 50/55 and 55/60 and see how they fly at 20 yds or a little more. Then if you want something other than your eye to check 'em, paper tune. Or cut right to the chase: put a broadhead on a fletched shaft and shoot it. 20 yds or 20+.

Personally (and it's no more than that) - I find the form variables in bareshafting (I just shoot wood) negate any precision I'd be looking for, so I go more with how the actual arrow shoots.

Just my preference.

firekeeper-

Thanks for the advise. I seem to get great flight out of both of those spines with feathers on them, they seem to hit where I am aiming its just when the are bare the fly scary nock left. I can actually see the whole side profile of the arrow and they strike right. If I had a tree in front of me I think the arrow would curve around it! Either they are real week and the feathers are doing an amazing job or they are spinned okay and my form is effecting the bareshaft flight.

Sharky: You haven't said how long the arrows are cut! Keep in mind AMO spine for wood arrows is at 28" BOP when you lengthen the arrow it will weaken 5# for every inch longer than 28". So the spines you received are for a 28" arrow, with a 29" draw you've already lost 5# if your cutting them to 30" you've lost another 5# and the 175gr point will further weaken the spine. Then the fast flight string will require an increase of another spine range.

I would suggest either 60/64 or 65/69 spine with the 175 gr point and ff string. The first thing I would do is drop the point weight to 125-145 grs and try the heaviest spine group. And quit bareshafting.

Bob

aromakr-

Sorry. My arrows are currently cut to 29" BOP. I know this is short but I have not used broad heads yet so It has not been a problem. Eventually when I have time to hunt again I will have at least 30 BOP. I cut them down to 29 though trying to see if they would fly better. The points on them are 125gr, the 175's I mentioned were what I was using on my carbon arrows. I needed a real heavy point to weaken the 500 spine shaft. I would love to quit bareshafting, I just dont know how to know when the spine is correct without seeing how they fly without feathers? I seem to be able to group the 50-55's the same as the 55-60's so what if the 60-65's also group where I am aiming? Is it better to go stiffer or weaker?

Listen to Bob (aromakr). The low stretch string adds 5# pretty much, so you are alread 15 pounds more than your bow weight due to arrow length and string material.

Thats what makes this place great! Thanks guys great info.

Sharky:

What will tell you if the spine is correct is. If you place a strip of 1" masking tape on your target vertically. Shoot at that strip placing the arrow point in line with the tape you should hit somewhere close to the tape. For a right handed shooter, if the arrows are printing to the left of the tape the spine is too stiff, to the right of the tape they are too weak. That will tell you more than any other indicator if the spine is correct. If the spine is way off the arrow will wag its tail at you in flight. Since your arrows are only 29" long I would suggest a spine of 55/59 or 60/64. The heaviest spine you now have should shoot very well WITH FEATHERS ON THEM!!!! If your not going to shoot your arrows without feathers Why would you shoot bareshafts. Yes you might bareshaft carbons but not woods.

Bob

Thanks Aromaker. I have a new set of test shafts coming starting with 55-59's. I will fletch all of them and use the technique you described to determine which spine is best for me.

Thanks everyone for all of your help!

I would take Bob's advise as well. After a simular issue I had and reading what him and others wrote I have nice flying woods from my recurve. I also took the time to figure out the "calculator" using it for wood arrows. The results echoed what Bob and others wrote. You see I am not willing to break NOS Acme shafts, hand weighted and hand spined to plus or minus 2# on bareshafting.

60-64# cut to 29"s should work for you but if you go to 30"s I would go to next spine. Shawn

Yup.

If you just do what aromakr said, you'll know in about 15 minutes what the proper spine is.

I shoot a 49 lb RD longbow and 70-75 lb spine tapered POC shafts with 125gr points cut to 30 inches. I draw 28.5 inches and shoot ff string. I have found that I need to go way above the recommended wood spine to achieve perfect flight.Im guessing 60-65 spine should work for you.

I ran your numbers through Stu Miler's latest calculator. It is showing a recommended static spine of 63#

This may have been said as I didn't read all the posts. I have a Hill String Follow 69" 50@29, (47@28). It shoots 29.5" 3555's perfectly with regular inserts and 200gr points. I have the same length woodies in a couple different spines and it shoots 65-70# spine with 125 gr points. Surprised me but my Great Northerns do heavier spines also. You want to be on the heavy end of the spine range as long as the shafts shoot perfectly. Another solution is changing point weight once you are close on spine.

In that range of weight my Northern Mist longbows like a 60-64lb spine range

That's right in there based on my experience.

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