Same arrows - different bow

[Wilderlife]

Hi all,

I'm starting to go down the trad route. It's a lot of fun.

I have a 60 inch BW that draws at 65# - I can hardly pull the thing, so I don't try! I've got some used limbs on the way from the states for it that will pull at about 52#.

In the meantime, I have bought 2 cheaper recurves. Both pull at about 50# and they're also 60 inch bows. My draw is 27 inches at the most as well.

I live in a small town where nobody has any idea about archery so I don't really have arrows and tuning advice available to me unless I buy online, or I go for a drive. I'm heading to Sydney next weekend for a party and I was thinking I might go into a big shop, take one of my cheaper 50# bows, shoot some arrows and have the shop help me tune them. If I do this, would it be reasonable to assume that the new arrows I buy will suit my new limbs for my BW when they get here?

I know this probably sounds like a dumb question but I don't mind sounding dumb. I'd rather ask and then know rather than assume and stuff something up big time.

Main quarry over here for the recurve would be fallow deer, pigs, and goats. I'll likely go with 130gn broadheads as all of this game is fairly lightly built. If I wanted to chase something bigger I'd step up to a 200gn broadhead most likely.

 

[oldgoat]

No you absolutely can not assume that but they might with some different tips or the same ones. I would assume the BW limbs to be much more efficient and thus accelerate the arrow quicker and then you have to take into account how deep the shelf is cut. Now if the cheaper bows are something like a Sammick Sage, then the shelf might be cut deeper than the BW. Deeper a shelf is cut, the stiffer the arrow you need and vice versa. You might get lucky and you might not.

 

[Wilderlife]

Cheers, mate. I thought that may be the case. Truth be told, I called the big shop and asked the same question and they told me I'd be fine, which prompted me to ask the question on here.

 

[Rodéo]

Cheers, mate. I thought that may be the case. Truth be told, I called the big shop and asked the same question and they told me I'd be fine, which prompted me to ask the question on here.

I've learned that roksliders are generally a lot more knowledgable than even long-time shop owners. Sorry I can't help with the trad question since I'm just getting into compound archery myself. Love your content over the past few weeks on here! Keep at it 'mate'

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

I've learned that roksliders are generally a lot more knowledgable than even long-time shop owners. Sorry I can't help with the trad question since I'm just getting into compound archery myself. Love your content over the past few weeks on here! Keep at it 'mate'

Wilderlife,
For refrence i shoot full length beman ics hunter carbons. They are 340 spine and my 53 lb recurves and 48 lb longbow shoots them equally well. All i have to do is change point weight, recurve is 175gr and longbow is 200gr. Full length 400 spine arrows will be better for lighter point weights like you are talking about. Hope that helps

 

[Ratbeetle]

There are many things to consider here: efficiency of the limbs, type and strand count of the string, how far the risers are cut to (or past) center, strike plate thickness, even the grip which can have different effects on the way you torque the bow and release. All of these can impact the dynamic spine of the arrow.

If the bows are cut to center (or past) they will be much more forgiving of spine. There is a chance all three bows will shoot the same arrow, but with so many variables in play, I would tune to the widow.

FWIW, I've had decent luck using Stu Millers dynamic spine calculator to get me close. You can try it here: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dynamic-spine-arrow-calculator-from-3rivers-archery.html

Good luck. Trad gear is a blast.

 

[Wilderlife]

I've learned that roksliders are generally a lot more knowledgable than even long-time shop owners. Sorry I can't help with the trad question since I'm just getting into compound archery myself. Love your content over the past few weeks on here! Keep at it 'mate'

Thanks for the kind words, mate. I'm glad people enjoy what I post. There are stacks of great people who make great contributions on this forum.
Even the biggest archery shops here in Australia are probably small compared to what is over in the USA and I have also found that I can get more nuanced advice from people on forums than those in a shop. I'll have more of a think about it all and I'm keen to get the arrows sorted so I can practice more and start hunting.

Wilderlife,
For refrence i shoot full length beman ics hunter carbons. They are 340 spine and my 53 lb recurves and 48 lb longbow shoots them equally well. All i have to do is change point weight, recurve is 175gr and longbow is 200gr. Full length 400 spine arrows will be better for lighter point weights like you are talking about. Hope that helps

Thanks, mate. I figured I'd go down that road. I have shot some 350 spine arrows out of the 65# BW. They seem to fly OK, and they are fairly stiff at only 27.5 inches. The plastic Blazer fletches make the shots inconsistent but I was just interested to see how they went. I will no doubt shoot something similar once I get my new limbs but I also need to learn how to fletch so I can put new feathers on myself instead of having to buy arrows all the time.

There are many things to consider here: efficiency of the limbs, type and strand count of the string, how far the risers are cut to (or past) center, strike plate thickness, even the grip which can have different effects on the way you torque the bow and release. All of these can impact the dynamic spine of the arrow.

If the bows are cut to center (or past) they will be much more forgiving of spine. There is a chance all three bows will shoot the same arrow, but with so many variables in play, I would tune to the widow.

FWIW, I've had decent luck using Stu Millers dynamic spine calculator to get me close. You can try it here: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dynamic-spine-arrow-calculator-from-3rivers-archery.html

Good luck. Trad gear is a blast.

Thanks for that link and advice, mate. I'll have a read.

 

[ScottinPA]

I'll second the Stu Miller calculator. Read the instructions thoroughly. There are things you can do to get them close.

While changing tip weight is easiest, changing insert weight isn't too bad if you use hot melt glue. You may be able to get shafts that can be left long for the light limbs and shorten for the heavier.

IMO, focus on just the light limbs for now. Work on form and consistency. Once you are on your way there, start just drawing the heavy limbs to full draw without an arrow, let down then do it again. Build up the muscles for the heavy bow while shooting the lighter.

A word of caution, if it were me I'd go with a set of 40lb limbs and shoot the heck out of them. Then go to the 50lb, Then work up more if you want. I started with 40lb after shooting 80+lb compounds for years. I'd shoot 100-200 arrow a day working on form and learning the trajectory for instinctive shooting. Eventually, over 3 years, I worked up to 76lb and shot that for years accurately.

 

[willfrye027]

I'll throw this out there. Yes, those calculators are an excellent tool. But if your form is not yet excellent, you will not be able to see the difference in arrow tuning. My advice is to get comfortable shooting whatever setup is close to the correct spine and not worry too much about it for now. After a few months of shooting you can revisit some of the tuning stuff. Just get it close and learn to shoot well.

 

[bhylton]

I would think a 400 spine arrow would get you close. especially with your shorter draw and intended lighter point weight. just make sure your finished arrow weight is heavy enough it does not damage the bow. 8gr per pound of bow weight would be a good start.

 

[oldgoat]

Good advice here

I'll throw this out there. Yes, those calculators are an excellent tool. But if your form is not yet excellent, you will not be able to see the difference in arrow tuning. My advice is to get comfortable shooting whatever setup is close to the correct spine and not worry too much about it for now. After a few months of shooting you can revisit some of the tuning stuff. Just get it close and learn to shoot well.

 

[Beendare]

Some good advice above.

Shooting a bare shaft in your setup will tell you more than someone at a shop can tell you.

The multiple weight Field point kit 3 rivers sells makes things a lot easier when it comes to tuning.

 

[willfrye027]

^^this

3 rivers test point kit plus bare shaft kit. But just use the calculator to get a ballpark spine to start out with so you can shoot. Your draw length will probably change significantly after you shoot awhile.

 

[DenverBulls]

I am able to do it between my longbow and recurve (both are within 2 lbs at my draw length), BUT- a bare shaft from the longbow reveals the feathers are the only thing allowing it. Once you get far enough into this, you’ll want/demand that perfect flight from each bow, which likely means a different tune. I personally want to keep my arrow length very similar on all bows for sight picture reasons. And for the record, I’m only six months in and I’m already that picky haha.