This is a question that has been bugging me for a long time--really not sure why I haven' t brought it up before. I' ve heard (or seen posted) " this or that bow isn' t very fast, but has great cast!" . I' m not knocking anyone' s choice in a bow, and I honestly can' t remember what bows this was said about, but what it the world does that mean? Also, is it possible that brand A shoots a light arrow faster, but brand B shoots a heavy arrow faster? As I see it, if a brand A is faster, then it' s faster, period--regardless of arrow weight. Makes no sense to me, but I have been wrong before.........

Chad

Cast is a British term used to describe the shooting properties of a bow in the days before there were chronographs or other means to measure the speed of an arrow. It refers to the distance a bow will shoot an arrow, which today translates to speed, i.e. fps.

I always thought it was what they put on you when you broke something[][>:]

The cast can be different from the speed with heavier arrows because the heavier arrows will absorb more energy from the bow limbs than lighter arrows and will also sometimes carry farther because they have more momentum, which ballistically is usually referred to as sectional density.

There is probably an arrow weight for each bow draw weight that provides the most cast based on absorbed energy and momentum.

I think the old time definition of cast was simply the distance a bow would shoot an arrow. That' s how I think of it.

I also think seymour is right. An arrow that' s too light will run out of energy/momentum at some point and drop like a stone. One that' s too heavy won' t have enough speed to fly very far. Match an arrow weight the bow likes and it' ll go.

The bit about how far a bow will cast an arrow is right on. I believe some states use it as a standard for equipment rather than poundage. I don' t remember which ones though.

Brandan

Alaska is one of them, and it might get worse. They are talking about implamenting a 900 grain minimum for our bigger critters and 650 grains for the smaller critters. Its under diliberation with fish an dgame right now. I' ll let you know what they come up with.

The only problem with arrow weight regulations is not all of us are shooting the same weight bow! Like Art said, pick the right arrow weight combination for your bow and it will fly right on, being we all are not shooting the same setup and some not even similiar, this is where the problem lies with it. As much as I hate saying it, a grains per pound reg for certain game animals may be better overall with a minimum bow weight involved. But in reality better education on the subject and some agreement between people doing the testing would be a good thing. I know of a fella right now doing a bunch of testing and is in the process of writing on it. Hearing bits and pieces of it here and there is tough as the ' story' is incomplete. I am hoping he' ll get it done soon!

LILHUNTER- CORRECTION - ALASKA USED TO BE A STATE WITH THE CAST LAW FOR BOW MIN. THAT CHANGED 2-3 YEARS AGO NOW MIN. 40 POUND PEAK DRAW WT FOR SOME ANIMALS AND 50 FOR OTHERS.

California is still using cast/distance an arrow travels to determine what' s legal and what isn' t. I don' t remember exactly, but believe the minimum is 130 or 150 yards with a legal hunting arrow.

CAST is an ole term for " SMOKIN BABY" !!!! A.P. is right,, the ole timers had cast, we now have F.P.S.!! Cast is how far a bow can sling a arrow,and f.p.s. is our updated version of CAST.