atlasman

OK.........so Len's comments in the bowhunting forum have me wondering just how the heck you can "test" the straightness of an arrow.

I am assuming this is done by spinning the arrow but want to make sure I am not missing something else.


Now, I want to ask something else while I am at it.

Does it REALLY matter or make a difference??

What I mean by that is honestly I don't check my arrows hardly at all and I shoot a ton. I spin them when I first put my heads on and that's it. I have never tossed an arrow for not passing the spin test so actually I am not even sure I do it all the time any more. I have shot cheap arrows all the way to top shelf stuff and never really noticed a straightness issue. I can shoot nice groups out to 40-50 yards and don't have a problem putting a nice shot on a deer.

So.......is this being over analytical.......or is it something that should be a normal part of everyone's routine?

newman1

I would spin them often.Last season i shot a doe with a perfectly straight arrow,and just for kicks i spun that arrow the next day and it was NOT straight.Fortunately it was just a misaligned insert but had i not spun it and pulled that arrow out of the quiver for another deer i might have missed a deer or worse yet made a bad hit..

DaveC

I've encountered inserts that weren't true and broadheads that were bent but never an "unstraight carbon". But I never measured the entire length with a micrometer either.
I'll watch the outcome of this thread with curious eyes.

Rick James

I put a LOT more effort into spinning them when they are hunting arrows than I do with anything else. My hunting arrows I will cull them for straightness, and this year I also plan to use the G5 arrow squaring device as well for my hunting arrows, for the $40 or so I get spend on that I should be able to salvage more arrows per dozen to pay for the tool fairly quickly. Last season I ended up with 7 acceptable arrows out of a dozen green label GT hunter shafts that were within 4 grains of each other finished, and straight.

For 3D arrows and indoor spots arrows 99% of the time I automatically cut 1" off the back of a new shaft, then the rest off the front and then a real quick spin on my pine ridge spin tester to make sure they aren't way out of wack, then thats it. I think I have only seen one arrow out of the last 4-5 dozen pro series that I have bought that I culled for straightness so I usually only spin them right after they come off the jig then thats it. My FITA/Field arrows are a different story though, I am messing around with some X10's right now that are awesome......their specs are unmatched by anything I have ever seen before.

Paul L Mohr

The correct way to do it would be to put them on an arrow straightener or some sort of jig with a good dial indicator and check them for run out in several different spots.

If you are using an arrow spinner and can see any wobble at all they are way off from what they should be.

Be sure when you are checking them with an arrow spinner that it is the arrow not a nock or insert that is off. However I have seen MANY carbons that were not straight, right out of the box.

Will you notice it? Depends on how well you shoot and what you are doing. For 20- 30 yards with field tips, maybe not unless you have excellent form. Now put a fixed blade head on it and it will be quite noticable if you try to tune or group them. Also the amount of fletch and FOC you have may make a difference as well.

The biggest thing is if the arrow is not straight, especially a carbon then chances are the spine is not correct either. One of the most important things in shooting accurately is having well matched arrows. I love it when I see someone spend 800 on a bow, then a hundred or so on sights and another 100 on a fancy drop a way rest. Then they buy 50-60 dollar El cheapo carbon arrows. None of those other things will actually effect how well you shoot, where your arrows will.

Paul

nodog

If they hit what their aimed at their ok. It's the only true test.

Len in Maryland

I think Paul's comments are worth repeating:

Quote:

I have seen MANY carbons that were not straight, right out of the box.

Will you notice it? Depends on how well you shoot and what you are doing. For 20- 30 yards with field tips, maybe not unless you have excellent form. Now put a fixed blade head on it and it will be quite noticable if you try to tune or group them. Also the amount of fletch and FOC you have may make a difference as well.

The biggest thing is if the arrow is not straight, especially a carbon then chances are the spine is not correct either.

Whether or not you will see the differential between a straight arrow and one that is not, is how you perform an analytical test, what standards you decide to set, and which end of the arrow your examining. The nock end is really the critical end since the thrust/pressure will be applied at this end. If the straightness iseven a degree or two off over a distanceof as much asan inch or two, you will see a difference of impact at 20 yards of inches with fixed BHs.

Just tonight I decided to check this issue to ascertain that some of my target arrows could make my hunting quiver. I found two out of five that just weren't even close to being good enough and the culprit was the nock end. One arrow had the nock end damaged slightly last year and I had placed a 'black' nock on it,as I usually do for recognizing a bad arrow. The other one was not as obvious but was just as bad. Both of these arrows had up to a 3-4" variation in POI at twenty yards with Muzzy practice blades. I tested all five arrows over and over using various methods and all the conclusions were consistent.

To confirm my test methods and results I grabbed two arrows from my hunting quiver and used the same BHs. The difference was absolute and conclusive. The straight arrows consistently outshot the ones with a VERY slight bend.

So, my conclusion is that straightness DOES matter. It can also adversely affect the spine of an arrow.

warbirdlover

Straight arrows DO make a difference. I shot target archery for 20 years (2 time Wisconsin state champ and 17th in the nation at the nationals). I'm not sure you can straighten the new carbon/alum arrows but MY guideline was they had to be .0005 or less or they would not group well. These are target arrows. Stick a broadhead on the end and the straightness (good or bad) will determine how much that arrow can plane off during the shot.

Easy way to tell is (for a right hander) open your left hand wide, palm up. Put the point of the arrow tip in the middle of the palm. On your right hand put your thumb against the first finger, fingernail up and rest the top of the arrow (below the fletching) on the "v" formed. Now blow on the fletching. If the arrow vibrates or jumps it's not going to shoot well. After awhile of doing this you'll become an expert at telling good arrows from bad. If you have an arrow straightener or v-blocks check the point of your broadhead. You'll find frequently this is where the problem (if any) lies. Hope this helps.