Stiff arrows fly good... poor form?

[BroMark]

I was previously shooting a 55-56lb Bob Lee longbow.  The arrows I found that flew/grouped better than others for me was a 29.5" 2117 w/ a 150-grain tip.  

A buddy of mine just convinced me to trade a few days ago.  I now own a Rick Welch Dakota recurve.  The bow has two sets of limbs - one set is 48# @ 28" and the other set is 60# @ 28".  The bow currently has the 48-lb limbs on it.  I started playing around with it today and tried a 2213 w/ 125-grain tip... no good.  The only other shaft that I had ready to shoot was the 2117 mentioned above.  I shot it about a dozen times and it flew like a dart and from 20 yards and in was shooting a 2" group (I can live with that).

That arrows seems a bit stiff to me for that poundage.  What would that say to you about my form/release if it "likes" a stiffer arrow?

[Tilzbow]

Recurve risers are generally cut past center and as a result recurve bows of equal draw weight compared to longbows sometimes require heavier spined arrows. With a longbow the arrow has to "wrap" around the riser (archer's paradox) to shoot well so the arrow has to be lighter in spine to allow for this. With a recurve riser cut past center the arrow doesn't have to flex as much to get around the riser. Many modern longbow risers are cut past center so this may or may not apply in your case.

All that said, the fact the lighter draw recurve shoots the 2117 well may have nothing to do with your form and everything to do with the different bow design.

[Tilzbow]

Mark,

Check out the thread on this forum titled "Paradox Question". I just placed a link to some videos that show paradox in slow motion. This should help explain what I wrote above.

[BroMark]

Yep, I've seen the paradox before... pretty neat... and I understand the "wrap" around the riser.  I'm not certain, but right now it seems these arrows are flying better out of this recurve than they were the longbow.  

Thanks for the thoughts... makes sense.

[jrchambers]

if it was a take down bob lee the riser cut is past center.   i think if you striped of the feathers and shot both bows  you would find one is not really a good match.

[O.L. Adcock]

Add 3# of mass weight to your longbow and see what happens to your groups!    Most of us our "form" problems move from bow to bow.   ....O.L.