I am posting this here because I am assuming that the problem I have is with my arrows. However, the problem could lie elsewhere. <br><br>My problem is this. I recently finished my first bow that actually shoots.(Third overall) I haven't shot a bow since I was young and am pretty rusty on a few things, especially arrow selection.<br><br>My bow is a 70" ntn red oak long bow, 40# @ 28". When I originally started shooting the bow, just days ago, the arrows were porpoising. Easy fix, move knock point up. And that worked. Now the arrow moves side to side instead of up and down. The arrows don't do anything crazy weird, I can shoot it into decent groupings. But they move side to side pretty badly and it gets worse from farther distances. <br><br>I know that I bought the wrong arrows now that its to late. When I bought them I knew almost nothing about arrow selection. They are intended for bows above 55lb. draw. Is this what is causing the arrow to move side to side? Is it possible that the design my arrow rest is causing this? Or could it be the tuning of the arrows? <br><br><br><br>
<P>dunno, could be the arrows. What are they?</P>
Usually when I post a question I get too impatient to wait for a reply, especially lately. I don't know if everyone is hunting or what; but the forum has slowed to a snail's pace. <br><br>Anyways, I found that the spine stiffness was to high and thats where the problem is coming from. I investigated it myself, like I should have before I asked, and found out some interesting stuff about arrows. Especially arrow flight, namely the initial arrow movement when leaving the full draw position upon release. It makes a lot more sense to me now. I found out about the "Archer's Paradox", something I had never even heard discussed on a forum before. Most likely because it is so fundamental to people that have been around archery a long time. I also learned about proper weight and other important subjects. Anyways, arrow selection makes a lot more sense to me than it did before. I just need to get the right ones! <br><br>
I think your on the right track, though there are several other things that can affect arrow flight. Spine is very important. I find that ifin I have arrows that are too stiff, spined for higher poundage bows, they seem to fly to the left on me, as they can't flex enough to get around my bow at release. Ifin they are spined too light, then they flex too much on me, and I get a Willy Nilly shot that hits randomally all over the place. <br> I firmly believe in my arrows bein the best as I can make em. And as matched to each other as I can make em. That way they fly pretty much the same. A poorly made bow will generally shoot pretty much the same each time, fiin ya don't make any changes, and you can learn to shoot it with some consistancy, once you understand how it shoots. Ifin ya have miss matched arrows, you most likely will never learn to shoot them all the same. It can be quite frustrating to try and be a accurate archer, ifin you are fightin miss matched arrows. You are handicapped before you even draw the bow.<br><br>TheWildCat<br>
Thanks for the reply. <br><br>I did a lot of investigating on arrows since my last post. Including more about spine weight, materials, knock positioning and matching to name a few. I proceeded to build my own arrows. I made shafts like the ones made in one of last years Bowyer's Journal magazines (poplar). I also have some engineering knowledge and access to a metal shop so I built myself a spine tester. I also bought a mid priced fletching jig at a local outdoor store. I bought flu-flu feathers and some field points and rubber small-game blunts. I used a new style of super glue for the fletching and a polyacyrlic lacquer for the finish. Finally I used a cheap taper tool that looks like a gigantic pencil sharpener and generic hot melt for the tips and nocks. I aligned the nocks up as I have learned, perpendicular to the strong-grained side of the spine. <br>The arrows turned out absolutely amazing! They all fly perfect with no porpoising or side-to-side motion. It made the bow cast significantly better. I hate to say it, but I think I like making arrows almost more than making bows. <br><br>I would like to add, to anyone that is considering making there own shafts from square stock like the ones done in the magazine, definitely do it! I did very little straightening and have had to do very little since I started shooting them. They are also very inexpensive to make.<br><br>