nebuckhunter,

Welcome to the word of traditional archery. You are starting out asking the right question. I build and sell longbows all over the US and Europe, and I know from experience that 85% of the people shooting a traditional bow are clueless about tuning the proper arrow to their bow.

What happens is that people get into traditional archery and then ask the question as to what arrow they should be shooting. They normally get answers like, this is what works for me, so it should work for you. I shoot with a lot of top competitors who are also clueless about parodox and what it means to arrow selection for traditional equipment.

I can not tell you how many of my customers either come by the shop or call and want me to tell them the proper arrow to shoot. Normally what I tell someone is that I will be glad to teach them how to select and tune the proper shaft, but I normally do not just tell them what shaft to choose. I apply the old addage of giving someone a fish versus teaching them to fish. If you give someone a fish they eat that day, but if you teach them to fish they eat for a lifetime.

The thing that you need to understand from the start is that spine is spine regardless of arrow material. When I say spine, I am talking about how much an arrow deflects or bends with a 2 lb weight attached to it. A 2 lb weight is the standard that is used.

For example an easton 2016 will deflect .380", which means it has a 69# spine (26/.380). A Gold Tip 3555 also has a 69# spine. If a Easton 2016, bare shafts true out of your bow at a length of 29" then a Gold Tip 3555 also at 29" will give you identical flight.

At this point you should have some questions, but this post is getting long.

If you want me to help, you can give me a call at my shop 903-586-0715 or maybe we need to start another thread. I can be a little like a watch maker in that if you ask him what time it is he will tell you how the watch is made. In explaining arrow to bow relationship I am prone to tell you the laws of physics not to impress or anything like that, but let you know that I am not giving information based on myth or opinion.

Milton Callaway
21st Century Longbow