There are several weapons for hunting such as rifles and modern equipment. Nonetheless, nothing beats a good-old bow. In today’s time, compound bows have become a great hit for hunter due to its versatility. It is easy to utilize and requires minimal maintenance.
How can you best match your arrow to your bow?
When shooting with compound bows, you must look into the characteristics of your arrows. After a few uses, you can also observe the bow features like cables, strings and center front. This will allow you to ensure that the flight of your arrows shall remain in an outstanding manner.
Choosing the Right Arrow for Your Compound Bow
Selecting the appropriate arrow for your compound bow may be a daunting task especially for beginners. With this, it is pertinent to gain knowledge on how the characteristics of an arrow may affect its flight.
We recommend looking into the following arrow characteristics to identify the correct arrow for you.
Draw Length
To determine your draw length, it is preferable to have access to your compound bow. Should you do not have access to your bow, you can still compute it using a calculation method. There are several online resources that allow you to accurately arrive at a draw length value.
If you are looking for the best crossbows, make sure you check out our recommended picks.
You can ensure that you get an accurate value, you can pay a visit to your local archery shop.
They can do the actual measuring process for you.
Arrow Length
Old compound bows present difficulty when selecting the appropriate arrow length. With the advancement in technology, the selection process becomes easier.
You can easily determine the arrow length by adding 0.5 to 1 inch to your draw length. If you have a draw length of 28 inches, your arrows should have a length of 28.5 to 29 inches.
With the proper length, your arrow shall be long enough in order to fit well in the bow. We recommend making sure that the arrow length is measured coming from the nock grove’s deepest part. It must not incorporate the length of the broadheads and field points.
Arrow Weight
The arrow weight shall depend on your preferred objective – for target practice or for hunting. For target practice, the arrow weight should be up to six (6) grains for each pound of your draw weight. If you have 60 pounds of draw weight, you want to utilize arrows that weigh 360 grains.
For hunting purposes, the arrow weight shall be up to eight (8) grains for each pound of your draw weight. With this, if you have 60 pounds of draw, you need arrows that weigh 480 grains.
Despite these values considered as recommended weights, the values should still depend on you. You should be comfortable with the weight. Nevertheless, it must not weight less than five (5) grains per pound.
Getting below this may damage your bow and void the manufacturer’s warranty.
How do you tune a bow?
It is essential to know how to tune a bow. When you feel like your bow does not shoot well, you can tune or tweak it for better flight. You can bring it to your local archery shop or make the adjustments yourself.
Provided below are some easy steps on how to adjust a compound bow to get an excellent arrow flight.
Evaluate Cables and Strings
As you whip out your choice of bow this hunting season, you can have the cables and strings checked. When utilizing them over some time, it can be stretched or start to deteriorate.
These may result in shifted points of nocking and rotated cams. Moreover, it can be dangerous to shoot due to de-flexed limbs.
Twisting and Pressing
The cables and strings with age of at most two years old do not need replacement. Nevertheless, you must ensure that it was not stretched too much that the cams slightly rotate. This may cause timing issues as well as shift your point of nocking when setting arrows on the bowstring.
Finding Your Center Shot
When the cables and string all set, you can start to align the arrow rest and nocking point. You can complete this activity by using a bow square or center-shot laser tool.
Using any of the two tools, you can get your rest and nocking point aligned. You may proceed with creating fine adjustments as you conduct paper-tuning.
Align the Peep and Finding the Arrow Spine
You can set your new peep on a higher point but it may feel different. Nevertheless, this can allow you to shoot better. You can also try to move it upwards or downwards depending on your preference.
The spine defines the stiffness of the arrows. The lower your number, the arrow becomes stiffer. With this, we recommend getting arrows with the flexible spine as it shoots better.
Selecting a Fletching
Short and stiff vanes provide better arrow guidance. They are rigid which makes it withstand repetitive shooting. We recommend getting this type of fletching as it is considered standard for most arrows.
Finding the Center Front
The flight of an arrow becomes more stable when the mass is located in the center front. Experts recommend at least seven (7) percent of the front center. Nevertheless, you can go as high as 11 percent.
Spin Test and Weight the Arrows
The last steps before shooting them are to spin-test and weigh your arrows. You want your arrows to all weight equally. A few grains would not affect them too much though. If you notice a bit more, you can eliminate this from your stack as it may create issues with the flight.
Spin testing provides you a good check on the straightness of the arrow. You may easily see the issue by rolling the arrow on a flat area. If you notice a wobbling movement, it is not a good sign.
Conclusion
In general, the best way to get the appropriate arrow type for you is to visit your local archery shop. You can show them your bow and ask them for the length and weight measurements.
They can easily select the appropriate arrows fit for your bow and you.
Your arrow must also be tuned in order to have an excellent flight. We recommend checking them before the actual shooting activities. With this, you are assured of great shots and safety.
You would not want to injure you or your companions when shooting, right?
