[rb61]

I want to use a 16 lb draw weight bow to focus on form, hook, release, etc.
In addition, I hope this practice will help build strength after a long period of inactivity.
What arrows should I use? The bow is a 66" takedown recurve and it can easily handle my 27.5" draw as it increases.

Material, spine, etc?

Questions?

Thanks

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

I use my regular arrows when using my 18 pound limbs for form work. It is a good test of form to group stiff arrows on the centerline. I would never consider buying and tuning arrows for my light weight form practice.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

 

[Brad Bare Bow]

Hi RB
I use a 30# long bow with a standard $10 screw in rest to practice form and my draw is 29.5". For that set up i use Black eagle outlaw arrows with a .500 spine or Eadton powerflight .500 all cut at 30". If i use those arrows on my 45# takedown, they fly off the target quite a bit but with the long bow, theyre spot on. The outlaws have offset feather fletches and are the preferred ones in my book.

In my opinion, which isnt professional at all, I'd use carbon arrows 1.5 inches longer than your draw with .550 or .600 spine. You could even try .500? Easton have a really nice aluminium range too, the heritage i think? You could always use wooden ones at that poundage but even for my 30#, wooden ones break after less than a dozen shots. It'll be good to hear from others.

Btw what is your rest set up? Got it tuned in?

Brad

 

[jjasilli]

A benefit to using heavy arrows for the draw weight could be having Point On @ 20 yards. Sometimes this can work with heavier points on your regular shafts. This increase weight & weakens dynamic spine.

However, I think that arrow spine should match draw weight. Otherwise the arrows are prone to fishtail, and poor arrow flight is not fun to shoot.

After a shoulder injury, I could barely pull 16 lbs, and take only 3 shots.

Anyway, if price is an issue wooden youth arrows @ 28" length should work. Or, I'm guessing 1000 - 1400 spine should work. You can phone the staff @ Lancaster Archery for good advice. They also sell individual shafts, so you can test bareshafts & point weight before making a final arrow choice.

 

[rb61]

Hi RB
I use a 30# long bow with a standard $10 screw in rest to practice form and my draw is 29.5". For that set up i use Black eagle outlaw arrows with a .500 spine or Eadton powerflight .500 all cut at 30". If i use those arrows on my 45# takedown, they fly off the target quite a bit but with the long bow, theyre spot on. The outlaws have offset feather fletches and are the preferred ones in my book.

In my opinion, which isnt professional at all, I'd use carbon arrows 1.5 inches longer than your draw with .550 or .600 spine. You could even try .500? Easton have a really nice aluminium range too, the heritage i think? You could always use wooden ones at that poundage but even for my 30#, wooden ones break after less than a dozen shots. It'll be good to hear from others.

Btw what is your rest set up? Got it tuned in?

Brad

The used bow just arrived this afternoon. It came from an archery school and had an all plastic raised rest attached. Looks like one sold by 3 Rivers for $3.50. I have never used one of these. I assume it is to be used with plastic vanes?

So, just getting started.

 

[longbowguy]

Plastic vanes are the heaviest kind so I would not use them in a light bow. Any fletching will work with that kind of simple rest World records have been set with them. Stiff arrows might work OK but the correct spine for that draw weight would be much more flexible, may be 1200- 1400 spine. - lbg

 

[rb61]

I use my regular arrows when using my 18 pound limbs for form work. It is a good test of form to group stiff arrows on the centerline. I would never consider buying and tuning arrows for my light weight form practice.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

So, stiff arrows are ok and a tight group anywhere on the target is the goal?

That make sense since it is the goal I was given by a coach many years ago when I first attempted to learn archery.

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

So, stiff arrows are ok and a tight group anywhere on the target is the goal?

That make sense since it is the goal I was given by a coach many years ago when I first attempted to learn archery.

Let me go into a bit more detail. I was on my phone when I first responded and I am not very good with the small keyboard.

I make my form changes with light limbs, usually 18 pounds that give me about 24.5 at my 32 inch draw length. I would go lower but that is difficult to do with my long draw length. I follow the approach taught to me by Sandy McCain:

Work on form at low weight
Move up 1/2 pound at a time (This occurs over a long time period. It can take months to get to full weight. Half pound is the change that the body does not notice.)
Go back if form changes after a move up in weight
Stop when you can't go higher without breaking form

I spend a lot of time shooting light bows. One thing I don't worry about is tuning them. I am not competing, though I have competed with a light bow in the past when I was mid process. The goal is to work form, not to shoot 10's. Also, it is safe to shoot a stiff arrow. Weak is where is it becomes a hazard. You can put a stiff arrow in the middle of the target. It just takes better execution, as such, it is a good indicator of improvement. Mistakes are amplified with stiff arrows so you get really good feedback. I often start a training session with a fairly large group but tighten it up as I go. That is the result of improvement made during practice. The key for form practice is whether the shot felt right, and to a slightly lesser extent, where did it end up. If I was shooting a tuned light weight bow at short distance, I may not be able to see a difference in group. Shooting stiff arrows increases the variance.

The message is if you are practicing form then focus on that, and not tuning a practice bow (other than basic setup). Shoot the arrows you have. That reduces the expense of buying some 1000 or higher spine arrows for 16 pound limbs (if you can find that spine long enough for your draw length). This way you also don't have to reset your bow up when you go back to your regular limbs. High spine limbs will require a rest and center shot change since they will be very thin. Also, if you sight with your arrow, your site picture will stay the same. I really don't see any upside to trying to tune a bow to my form limbs, and have never done so.

The only downside is that you may wear out your fletching, but reflecting is much cheaper than new arrows. I would not worry about reflecting any over worn arrows until you get back up to weight. Also, I'll shoot anything, vanes, feathers, spin wings, it does not make a difference when doing light weight form practice.

This is my opinion from using this method of learning over many years. Others may have different opinions. It has worked for me shooting 430 spine arrows from 18 pound limbs with a 24.5 pound holding weight.

 

[rb61]

Let me go into a bit more detail. I was on my phone when I first responded and I am not very good with the small keyboard.

I make my form changes with light limbs, usually 18 pounds that give me about 24.5 at my 32 inch draw length. I would go lower but that is difficult to do with my long draw length. I follow the approach taught to me by Sandy McCain:

Work on form at low weight
Move up 1/2 pound at a time (This occurs over a long time period. It can take months to get to full weight. Half pound is the change that the body does not notice.)
Go back if form changes after a move up in weight
Stop when you can't go higher without breaking form

I spend a lot of time shooting light bows. One thing I don't worry about is tuning them. I am not competing, though I have competed with a light bow in the past when I was mid process. The goal is to work form, not to shoot 10's. Also, it is safe to shoot a stiff arrow. Weak is where is it becomes a hazard. You can put a stiff arrow in the middle of the target. It just takes better execution, as such, it is a good indicator of improvement. Mistakes are amplified with stiff arrows so you get really good feedback. I often start a training session with a fairly large group but tighten it up as I go. That is the result of improvement made during practice. The key for form practice is whether the shot felt right, and to a slightly lesser extent, where did it end up. If I was shooting a tuned light weight bow at short distance, I may not be able to see a difference in group. Shooting stiff arrows increases the variance.

The message is if you are practicing form then focus on that, and not tuning a practice bow (other than basic setup). Shoot the arrows you have. That reduces the expense of buying some 1000 or higher spine arrows for 16 pound limbs (if you can find that spine long enough for your draw length). This way you also don't have to reset your bow up when you go back to your regular limbs. High spine limbs will require a rest and center shot change since they will be very thin. Also, if you sight with your arrow, your site picture will stay the same. I really don't see any upside to trying to tune a bow to my form limbs, and have never done so.

The only downside is that you may wear out your fletching, but reflecting is much cheaper than new arrows. I would not worry about reflecting any over worn arrows until you get back up to weight. Also, I'll shoot anything, vanes, feathers, spin wings, it does not make a difference when doing light weight form practice.

This is my opinion from using this method of learning over many years. Others may have different opinions. It has worked for me shooting 430 spine arrows from 18 pound limbs with a 24.5 pound holding weight.

Thanks for the information in such detail. I have 3 sets of arrows that are probably nowhere equal. Just for kicks it will be interesting to see where they hit compared to each other. But form practicing will be done with one type only.

Easton 1716 30.5"
Easton Inspire 1000 28.5"
32.5" wood-rated at 50-55 from Raptor

Thanks again,

Ray

 

[rodgesmith22]

I want to use a 16 lb draw weight bow to focus on form, hook, release, etc.
In addition, I hope this practice will help build strength after a long period of inactivity.
What arrows should I use? The bow is a 66" takedown recurve and it can easily handle my 27.5" draw as it increases.

Material, spine, etc?

Questions?

Thanks

sorry @ rb61
i cant help you cuz I am newbie but I will give you the link you can read it and access your idea.
Best Crossbow Bolts 2020

 

[azklmsr]

I do some similar work. My wife and I keep a very light bow for form work. My normal bow is a 50 lb Samick Discovery. For the light bows, we use Black Eagle Intrepid arrows from Lancaster. They come in spines as soft as 1400 and are really low cost at around $6 each. They will sell you any quantity you want. For your draw length and bow weight, start with the 1400's left full length. I like this approach better than using heavier arrows for a lot of reason, not the least of which is I'm shooting a system that is in tune. That helps me focus on my form and not on what is going wrong, like an arrow taking off to the right or taping the riser. To each his own, but with really low cost and descent quality arrows, its tough not to try to tune the systems a little.

Good luck

Kurt