A question occurred to me recently - are arrows more or less 'sensitive' to the quality of your release if they're cut to your draw length (+ a bit) or if left full length.

I tend to leave my arrows full length, 31 inches or whatever they come as, but I draw about 27.5 - 28 inches. So I could tune arrows at 29 or so, but I don't.

Mine fly well enough but when my form/release hiccup, arrow flight follows.

Would this be the same at shorter length or no difference?

(I generally find that carbons are very sensitive to being cut shorter and stiffen up rapidly so I'm hesitant about cutting them in general.)

Am I overlooking something? A bunch of things? ;-)

I found carbons and ASLs to be more touchy than cedars and cedars with the arrow cut to the shortest possible length without getting over spine to be the most forgiving. Too stiff will show up quicker in a hunting scenario than slightly too soft. However, I hate full length cedars more than carbon arrows with extra length. A weak draw or release will make a carbon act stiffer, but a chunky release with a full length cedar can get the arrow going all over the place.

I'd say you're onto something there Dana and here's why...

I have three different arrow configurations that are well tuned off my favorite bow and I have a 27 3/4"-28" DL pending whatever stance and/or string blur position that works best with each arrow configuration...

Arrow #1: 31" .500's w/ 100gr points (3" over-hang)

Arrow #2: 30" .400's w/ 125gr points (2" over-hang)

Arrow #3: 29" .350's w/ 315gr points (1" over-hang)

and beyond a shadow of a doubt?...Arrow #1 is the least forgiving of glitches in my execution while Arrow #3 is the most forgiving and seems to hold the line with all but the most egregious errors in my shot execution and holds tighter groups at distances of 25yds and less than the other two.

You are correct in your assertion that CF shafting is very sensitive to changes in length as my arrow recipes above bear testament in that while I can get away with only a 25gr jump in point weight going from 31" .500's too 30" .400's?...my point weight needs to climb a whopping 190grs to accomodate 1" shorter (29" long) .350 spine shafting.

It is my belief that despite the huge difference in FOC between Arrows #1 and #3?...the whopping 3"s of over-hang gives the far less FOC of Arrow #1 quite a bit more leverage over the far more limber spine of a 31" long .500 spine shaft than the whopping 315gr points ability to influence the much stiffer .350 spine shafting that only has 1" worth of over-hang or what I'll now refer too as...

"F.O.C. OVER-HANG/LEVERAGE"

Jinks, just curious, what's the total weight of those three arrows? And what's your draw weight?

Bow: 64"/38# Hex7.5 Covert Hunter

Arrow #1: 365gr/9.6gpp/*190-197fps (*pending BH & Form/Execution)

Arrow #2: 405gr/10.65gpp/*184-189fps

Arrow #3: 645gr/16.97gpp/*156-159fps

Maybe the reason the arrows are more sensitive in Jinsters post is because the 500 spined arrows are faster.... As you drop arrow weight, you gain arrow speed. Arrow speed magnifies issues in bow tuning and form. That's why I say a lot of guys can't shoot fast arrows cause of release of form issues. FOC adds tip weight, which adds arrow weight. It's not the length that makes them sensitive, it's the arrow speed.

I really don't know the answer either. Re Jinx example, the more stable arrow flight might be due primarily to the increased FOC of the shorter arrow, not the fact that it's shorter per se.

Too, as Buglmin suggests, the faster arrow might be more sensitive to shooter error, but that may be more related to arrow weight than length.

I cut my arrows (carbons and woodies) one inch longer than my draw length. They're different weights and FOCs, but all are matched to the bows I shoot them from and i get excellent arrow flight, unless I pluck, of course. :>)

A heavier arrow is inherently a more stable arrow. That's just basic physics.

I'm curious about the FOC of your arrows as well .

FOC values of my arrows listed above...

Arrow #1: 31"/.500/365gr/100gr screw-in ='s 13.709677419354838% FOC

Arrow #2: 30"/.400/405gr/125gr screw-in ='s 16.666666666666664% FOC

Arrow #3: 29"/.350/645gr/315gr screw-in ='s 25.86206896551724% FOC

JMO.....

There are far too many variables in play here to be able to set up any kind of a test regarding length per se.....

I’m going to guess, though, that “all else being equal”, a shorter arrow will cone out of oscillation more quickly than a longer arrow, but even that is going to depend on your definition of “equal”. Because the dynamic spine rating and the actual net deflection are 2 different (and entirely consequential) considerations.

So for the moment, I am going to decide for my own purposes that the most important thing is getting the tune as close as I can get it, and I will be tuning at my preferred links because that’s what I like to shoot. I just won’t be a slave to a specific length if that gets me into performance compromises I don’t want to make.

I think something is missing in this discussion. I tune my arrows to the same dynamic spine via Stu's calculator and so have never detected a grouping difference between shorter vs longer results. I suppose a longer arrow might have a slightly longer time to stabilize on release, but that recovery time evens out well before target distance.

Ergo my 31" or sometimes longer shafts (assuming the same weight as the shorter 29" ones) hit in the same place.

Since it is virtually impossible to get a single shaft type/flex rating to have the same total arrow weight, FOC and actual flex, but be different lengths, IF an archer were to actually detect an accuracy difference between short vs. long arrows, there are other reasons than length.

Or, to answer the OP's question, if actual apples to apples weight/flex, short vs. long NO DIFFERENCE.

RickR

SCI FI

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