Hey guys, just getting back into Trad. Built a longbow a few years ago and last winter I had a work related accident where I nearly lost my left index and middle fingers. I tried shooting my longbow and due to the surgical scar and the handle style of my longbow, I can no longer shoot it. I purchased a recurve bow and have been shooting 100 arrows a night in my basement(~15 yrds). I bareshaft tested my recurve and was getting nock right target impact. I believe that is to stiff of spine. My bow is 40#@28". I am drawing 27.5". My arrows are Easton Traditional 500 and Gold tip 500 that are 29.5" long. I have messed around with different point weights. 100 grain up to 175 grain. The 175 grains are still knock right. Bareshaft and Fletched they are slapping shafts so they are hitting pretty much identical. I notice when shooting from 15 yards, I can see the the nock kind of whip right and correct. Is there anything I can do with my existing arrows or am I doomed to buy new ones? What effect will these arrows have on broadhead flight? Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

I think at 29.5” those 500 shafts are pretty much doomed. You could try front loading them more. Like maybe a 75 grain brass insert with your 175 point. But for some reason I’m thinking your gonna need even more. At 27.5” draw that bow is probably between 38-39#. I think 500 could work at full length with a heavier point than a 125. To answer your broadhead flight question, it would fly to the left and ugly. Good luck.

Being a longbow i would think your bow is not cut deeper than center. 500 s are much too stiff. I would advise carbon express predator iis in .800 spine or axis .700s. depending on point weight up front you want one of those should be THE arrow for you. Big jim and Lancaster both sell single shafts if you can bear the shipping.

Therifleman, This is a recurve.

I know guys with your specs. that shoot 600s uncut. out of all their bows. I shoot less than you and can shoot 600,700s, and 800s...ron

Nock right in flight is caused by a stiff shaft (RH). Shoot carefully at 20 yards and I would expect the bareshafts to hit left of the fletched shafts. As stated above, you can load up on point weight, but the trajectory will suffer. You might be able to use a thinner strike plate and raise the brace height a bit, but I've found that these changes only make a small improvement. Tune the field points well before you try broadheads.

600 spine or 700 spine will work a lot better.

It’d really help to know exactly which recurve we’re talking about, but either way I’d say you’re probably SOL with the 500s; my draw length is about the same, and I can’t get 500s to fly right at full length out of a #55@28” which is probably a bit heavier than marked. I haven’t experimented with any really heavy points, but people who know better than I do have mentioned that carbons are more responsive to length than to point weight...

I do have an Entrada 600 at 28”, and that bare-shafts out of my #55@28 RER LB and my #50@28” Bamboo Viper - both of those with 125 up front, and the Viper is cut somewhat closer to center... but not past, IIRC.

So I would guess 600s if you don’t mind some overhang and 700s if you want to cut them closer to your DL. Worst thing about carbons (IMO) is the business of cutting them down without damaging either the shaft or getting dust into your lungs....

Good news (if you don’t have a good local retailer) is that Lancaster sells individual shafts at the same price as by the dozen, so you can build up a test kit easily enough... though for some reason it’s easier to find heavyweight points at 3R. But that’s good, too, because you get to support 2 sponsors instead of just one....

3 Rivers has an arrow weight point kit... goes from 150 - 300g. That may be an option. Of course you'll have to make peace with the idea that your arrow may fly best with super heavy tip. Also - are you shooting against a thick plate? May be able to grind/slice/trim that thing down so that your arrow sits closer to center shot. Also - before you go out and buy/change... give some thought to your grip. Maybe a little wrist/tightness experimentation will give you some feedback. I found that my arrows "like" a specific grip...

Good luck. Don't rest until they fly like darts.

Benny, The first thing I'd do is put on a 300 grain point and shoot it fletched and bare. Then read this and decide what to do - www.acsbows.com/bowtuning.html click on 'download printable version'. That should tell you if you can get away with .500's, and I'd guess no.

Second you're shooting your 100 arrow from about 13 yards too far. You're working on form. Just start shooting from 6 feet, maybe even with your eyes closed. You'll see what a difference not having to aim makes.

Third, there is no third, if you know the acs document. You won't have to judge anything by shooting just a bare shaft which is prone to false readings. IF you ever run into false readings you may put a bullet in your head. I almost did. ACS saved my life!!! If you do the acs 'planing' method at 20 yards and still have a little kick in the bare shaft you can get it out with a few twists or untwists of the string.

Bowmania

Changing the point weights to get it to shoot..if you can even do it then will give you an arrow so heavy that it will have a rainbow trajectory.

You are doomed to buy new shafts if you want it to be right.

Try the Beman Centershot 600's or Axis 600's or you will have to go to a 700 spine. That is unless your bow is cut past center.. then the 600's should work. The Axis is the smallest diameter of the wood grain at 17/64 but they are a little on the expensive side and $110 per dz.

The Beman Centershot is a 9/32 and we sell those for $69.99 and it is also a wood grain. That doesn't mean much to some, but the wrapped shafts are generally considerably tougher than non wrapped shafts of the same make at least.

BigJim

Big Jim

Yeah load them up.....if you like lawn dart trajectory!

Rather than loading them up with a bunch of point weight, why not just try increasing the center shot first? Remove whatever you have on the sight window and either leave it bare, or put on the thinnest HARD not SOFT material that you can find.

Never understood automatically jumping to adding point weight to an arrow to reduce spine.

Every 1/16" that you increase the amount of center shot will decrease the spine 5lbs.. So, an 1/8" incrase in centershot changes the dynamic spine by 2 spine groups.

The reason for trying a heavy point, it is the easiest, cheapest,quickest way to prove your spine is to stiff. Then get the right spine arrows. Not a fix just a test. All info seems right on, to me. I shoot 600's with 40 to 45 pound bows and have a 29 1/2 draw. Good luck. >>>----> Ken

Thank you all for the input. It is much appreciated. I have ordered some 600 spine. I went up to 175 grains on the 500 spine and like Big Jim stated I did not care for the rainbow trajectory. Thanks again all!

When you get you shaft don't cut them to length right away. Take what point weight you want to shoot and slowly cut your shaft length back to where you get the arrow flight you want, how ever you test them for flight (paper or bare shaft) You can always remove shaft length you can't add it back on. Use only a couple of shafts when testing. When you get them where they need to be, then cut the rest of them to the length needed. DANNY

Thanks Linecutter, they are coming full length.

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