ARROW SELECTION
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ARROW
By Rob Patton, Archery Lead and Avid Shooter
at North 40 Outfitters
W
hether you are hunting game animals, or at the shoot-off in the
World Archery Festival in Las Vegas, you need to be sure you’ve
got the right tools for the job. Today, we are talking about arrows. The
quality and selection of arrows on the market today is far better than
it has ever been. There is an arrow available for every application and,
thankfully, an arrow for every pocket book. So, what should your next
arrow be? The biggest question that I have for you is “what are you
going to be using it for?”
Before we dive into the practical uses of arrows, let’s find out
exactly what separates all the arrows that your local (North 40)
archery shop has on the wall - other than their label. First, we need
to cover some terminology. The most important specifications that
should determine what arrow is going to be best for you are Arrow
Spine, Straightness Tolerance, Grains per Inch (mass weight), and
Front of Center.
Arrow Spine Fittings
Arrow Spine is the most widely used measurement for fitting an arrow
to a bow, based on the draw length and draw weight. What most people
don’t realize is that an arrow has two different spine measurements;
Static Spine and Dynamic Spine. Static Spine is the stiffness of an
arrow and is the number that every arrow company references on
the arrow itself. You might have seen it listed as the number after
the model of arrow - 200, 250, 300, 340, 350, 400, 5575, and 7595 are
some of the more common designations.
What does that all mean though? Static spine is measured by
suspending an 880-gram (1.94 pound) weight from the center of an
arrow. The arrow must be 29 inches long and supported by two points
of contact that are 28 inches apart. The deflection of the arrow, in
inches, is the Static Spine. Therefore, if the arrow’s deflection is .340
inches we call it a 340 Spine arrow. Where things really get messy is
that not every arrow manufacturer uses the same designation for the
same spine weight of arrow. Here is a quick list of the arrows we carry
here in our shop, and their spine listings.
What’s the Dynamic Spine?
Dynamic Spine is how stiff an arrow acts as it is being shot off of
a bow. Determining the Dynamic Spine of an arrow is more art than
science. There are several factors that will change how stiff an arrow
acts. To make an arrow act stiffer you can: shorten the length of the
arrow, decrease the poundage of the bow, or decrease the field point /
broad head weight.
If your arrow is too stiff, you can make your arrow ‘weaker’ by
shooting longer arrows (of the same make / model / spine), increasing
the poundage of the bow, or increasing the tip weight. Arrows that are
under-spined will appear to be tail-right in the target, and over-spined
arrows will be tail-left. (For more explanation of tail-left or tail-right,
please read my blog on DIY TUNING.) Making sure that your arrows
have the correct spine for your bow setup means that you’ll have more
consistent arrow flight, which in turn means that your accuracy should
improve as well.
Practical Use of the Arrow you’ll be Shooting
Now that we have narrowed your search down to a spine selection, I
want to know what type of game you are planning to hunt. If you’re a
dedicated spot-and-stalk antelope hunter looking for flatter trajectory
at longer range, I would recommend a lighter weight arrow with a
higher FOC. The HEXX arrow from Easton or Blue Streaks from Carbon
Express would be great for this application as their 340 spine arrows
weigh in at under 375 grains for a 29” arrow. If you’re an elk hunter
who’s looking for a hard-hitting arrow, I would steer you towards the
Pile Driver Pass-Thru Extreme from Carbon Express.
This arrow has a very thick wall and is on the heavier side - a
whopping 10.3 GPI in a 350 and 9.36 in their 250. The Pile Driver also
delivers great FOC by utilizing a 40 grain half-outsert which allows you
to use 100 grain broad heads instead of changing over to 125s. If you
are a multi-species hunter that wants an all-around good arrow that
has some speed but still delivers momentum, I would recommend
either an Easton Axis, Gold Tip Hunter, or Easton Bloodline. All three of
these options give you a mid-weight arrow that maintains momentum
to ensure good penetration at any hunting range.
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