Stickbow Target Archery Forums

Hi all. I thought this board would be best to post about his so I joined up here.

I am having problems with wind drift. At a recent shoot I had 2 arrows drift 3 inches left in a slight wind at 25 yards.

My arrows are 370 gr 5/16 tapered 9/32 with 3, 4 inch shield cut feathers and 100 grain points.

Is there anything I can do to help cut down on effect of wind other than using heavier arrows? I thought about cutting the tops off of the feathers to make them lower profile but I am not sure if this would take away from stability.

Increase the FOC a *lot* with a much heavier point - this alone will make a noticeable difference - use lower profile 4" banana or trad parabolic feathers. You didn't mention yer bow's draw weight at yer draw length, but I'd go no lower than 9gpp for total arrow weight.
With woodies, this can take a whole lotta trial and error to find the right high FOC arra that'll bare shaft well - and finding light/stiff shafts, and points that weigh more than 125gr, can be a difficult chore, particularly for light draw weight bows.

For longbow distance shooting outta 50-55# longbows I'm using 350gr 5/16" parallel 29" 45/49# spine hex pines, 125gr field points, 4" trad parabollic low profile feathers (these are closer to banana shape, 1/2" high point, and are custom chopped on a Vario or cut with a Young feather burner). All up finished arrow weight averages 500gr +/- 10 grains. They fly real fast and low out to 80 yards.

I'm putting together some parallel 11/32" hex pines with 160gr points for testing distance shooting - should be interesting as the FOC increases, yet the overall arrow weight remains the about the same ..

Good luck.

Rob my draw length is the killer
My draw is 26" and my arrows are cut 26" to bopn
My bow is 46# at 26" shooting 172 fps with those 370gr total weight shafts. Thats about 8gr per pound but I figure I can get away with a little less than 9gpp because my short draw is not putting a bow through as much stress as people with longer draws.

I will try some lower profile feathers and maybe if I can find even lighter shafts I can stick a 125 gr tip on them for more FOC. I dont want to loose any more speed. Its already hard to compete against guys shooting 50-60# bows with 29" draws and heavy arrows and bow speeds around 190fps or more.

If you would like to level the competition without increasing your draw weight, convince your competitors to shoot field archery. I've shot with guys shooting heavy-weight bows that shot great for the first half of a field round with those low flat-flying arrows, but who started spraying arrows all over the course during the second half. They were used to 3D, and had not competed in an event where they shot so many arrows.

longbowdude,n
Are you shooting primarily IFAA events? If not, I trust yer shooting an aggressive r/d hybrid with limbs designed for a short draw length. This will prove to be as important as arrow selection.
IMO, assuming you have a good bow for both the events you'll shoot and yer draw length, I'd look to test out tapered 5/16" hex pines (full 31-5/8" weight of 300-325gr, 45/49# spine if yer bow is +1/8" centershot, more spine if not), 125gr field points, and 4" low profile parabolic feathers ... and I'd shoot for a total arrow weight of 400gr.

<soapbox> ...

I love wooden arrows. However, the more I shoot woodies for score, the more I realize how inaccurate they are, and how much arrow craftsmanship and maintenance becomes a great criteria for shooting good scores.
The question becomes, are archery tournaments primarily about an archer's shooting skill(s) AND arrow crafting/care skills?
IMO, I don't think so.
Therefore, I advocate the use of any arrow shaft material for any and all longbow tournaments.
We have glass and carbon allowed for longbows in IFAA events, and since arrows are THE most important part of an archer's shooting tackle, so should modern arrow shaft materials be allowed for longbow tournaments. This maximizes the emphasis on pure longbow shooting skills.

I agree 100% Rob regarding arrows in longbow competition - I bought some Carbon Express Heritage 150s to use as practice arrows on our field course so I could save my precious woodies. My scores immediately got better but more importantly I could work on my form a lot more with the added confidence of anything out of the group was purely down to me and not a wayward shaft. I have definitely spent way more money trying to find the perfect set of woodies than I ever spent on my bows - in fact serious cash when I really think about it as my bows were not cheap. My carbons cost$70 for a dozen, are almost indestructible, look the business with their imitation wood finish (as you say I have carbon, glass and high-tec glues in my "trad" longbow) and shoot consistently every time - I'll take those "soulless tubes" as someone on the 'wall called them over the romance of living wood and the smell of cedar shavings anyday. I'd rather spend more time on the range than the endless cycle of building, straightening & repairing arrows. But that's just me.

Rob. No I am not shooting IFAA. Just local and national IBO 3D shoots. My bow while not the fastest on the market is not very slow either. Its 1 pound heavier and 10 fps faster than my 21st century(saturn i think). So its no slouch.
I really hesitate to try the hex shafts after listening to one of my friends rant on the phone about how his were crooked as a horseshoe after he sealed them and shot them into a target a couple times. He may of got a bad batch or got them from the wrong source. Possibly he used the wrong sealer or something too.

The low profile parabolics sounds like a great idea. Where would be a good source for them? Most parabolics I have seen are about the same profile as my 4 inch shields.