I need to purchase a new dozen of arrows, but am unsure of the length.
My draw length is set at 29, but will reduce it to 28-28 1/2 when I have time to get it to the shop. Does the arrow length matter that much?, and if so what length should I get the arrows cut to?
Thanks in advance for your assistance.


Mike

Well, when you get your draw length adjusted, are sure it's right for you, and have your arrow rest in place, draw a long arrow back and have somebody mark it about an inch in front of the rest, or an inch in front of the riser if you have any doubt that your broadheads will clear the riser's sight window. Easton's tuning guide shows good diagrams of this method, even if their spine selection chart leaves some things to be desired.

I cut mine long enough to clear the riser even though they will clear just to insure that the blades can never touch my hand no matter what goes wrong. Am I trading weight/speed for safety? Yup, absolutely. I've met Mr. Murphy in the woods, and found that he not onlyhas a strange sense of humor and timing, but that he also has no mercy.

Also, please understand that 'your draw length', 'your bow's draw length', and 'your arrow length' are 3 different things, and are related bystuff like choice of and position of your rest, and your shooting grip style. Follow the above method for best results.

Here's another thought (I'm bored at work [8D]), if you have a certain weight broadhead you want to use, and do not wish to go heavier for speed reasons, you may want to consider starting with longer arrows. When tuning, you can always shorten them to make them act stiffer, if you have a way to remove and reinstall the inserts yourself. If you find that the shaft is initially too stiff for your setup, then you'll have to do things like increase draw weight or point weight to make it act weaker. If your draw weight is already where you want it, then you're stuck with adding 25 grains in point weight instead of living with 8 to 10 grains of extra shaft weight. Just a thought.

i cut mine as short as my rest will allow me...this adds to the speed but can be dangerous with broadheads

I like to keep my arrows about 1/2 inch past my knuckles at full draw. This is for safety reasons when using a fixed broadhead.

I draw 27"--arrows are cut to 28".

I cut my arrows longer than they'd have to be. Just remember the spine changes with the arrow length. Longer arrow = lighter spine, shorter arrow = stiffer spine.