Cutting them long

[Bear Heart]

Is there any downside in cutting my arrows longer if the flight is good?  I have always cut my arrows at 29" and never really thought about going longer but this last week I was trying to find the right arrow length for my brother and tried one of the arrows I had cut to 31.5".  It flew great and seemed very stable.

[Bjorn]

I don't worry about the length too much-it only matters how well they fly. Longer arrows have always flown better for me.

[Orion]

Only down side I can think of is that they're more likely to catch on stuff, including the ground when you prop the bow vertically on it, in a bow quiver.  Also a little extra movement involved in getting the arrows out of a quiver, back, bow or whatever.  Some folks also like to use the back of the broadhead as another indicator that they've come to full draw.  I don't do that, but I do cut my arrows (woodies)so I have about 3/4 inch of shaft, plus point beyond the back of the bow at full draw.  I've been doing that for so long, anything else would just feel awkward.  Lots of folks go with longer arrows though, and it works.  Good luck.

[frassettor]

I thought that changes the spine  :confused:

[longstick]

Originally posted by frassettor:
I thought that changes the spine   :confused:  

It will change it to a degree but I dont believe all that much, can be compensated by changing the braceheight or points weight

[philil]

Had to shoot 30" arrows out of my Lb to get good flight (500 easton Gamegetters) although I have a 27,5" draw.
No real downside to it, but when using a bowquiver the nocks tend to get dirty when you lean the bow on a tree.

I can also imagine that a longer arrow stabilizes faster cause there's more surface for the wind to grab.

Could pass this along to Doc. Ashby...seems like he's bored  

[JRY309]

I don't woory about the finished length of my carbons.With carbons they do not come in as many different spines as wood or aluminum.So I pick a carbon spine and tune from there.I trim or add weight until I achieve the dynamic spine I'm looking for and the length they end up at is where I leave them.I find to with carbons on bows not cut to center or off center carbons seem to work better when they are alittle longer to come around the riser.I had some that were short and were stiff and I tried putting more weight up front to weaken the spine and that got worse the more weight I added.The shorter arrows seemed to be deflecting off the riser then going through the paradox.My carbons are anywhere from 2" to 3" longer then my draw,thats just where they ended up after tuning and trying to get the weight up using a stiffer carbon spine.

[BobW]

your supposed to cut them?  Not with my 32+" draw......  

[Dave2old]

Bear -- I shoot woodies and roll my own. Shafts generally come at 32" and that's where I start. If I have to cut some off to get the right spine, I do, but leave them as long as possible. (I draw 28-29" depending on bow.) This gives you slightly more overall weight and a bit more FoC. If I were shooting targets I think I'd cut 'em down to reduce weight and maybe gain a tad of speed. But for hunting, if they fly well, I leave 'em long. Also, woodies tend to break just behind the head, and some extra length often allows you to recycle a shaft. Dave

[Bear Heart]

Well then, long it is!

[sagebrush]

I think everyone should just leave them full length so that when they get tired of them and want to sell them they will fit me. I go to the arrow forum and hardly ever find them long enough. Gary

[SOS]

Tim,

Leave them the length that shoots well.  If the longer arrows are the same spine and point weight, then your shorter arrows might have been on the stiff side.  Leaving long, especially with carbons, gives you room to tune by whacking of a quarter or half inch at a time, as well.

Hope all is well, Steve

[Mark Hedges]

Bobw I know what you mean. I have a long draw too and cannot find carbon shafts that are really long enough. I get by with beman 500's but at only  31 1/2" full length I wish they were an inch longer.

Mark

[LEOPARD]

There isn't an advantage to having shorter arrows apart from the tuning of the arrows.
I have a 27" draw and I don't like too much of my arrows sticking out the front of my bow, so I cut my shafts down to 28" provided I can still tune them at that length.

[Bear Heart]

Took the longer arrows to the range today.  Perfect arrow flight but my elevation is completly screwed up now.  Point on went from 33yards to about 20yards.  Fine for deer hunting but hard for 3D and open country hunting.  Gonna split the difference and see what happens.

[Gordon martiniuk]

allway leave them long I draw 26.5 and leave my arrows 30 to 31" long they seem to fly better and give me a little more weight

[Bear Heart]

Found the magic length today. 30 3/8" 2117 with 145 grain points.  Shot out of a 55 @ 28" recurve drawn to 28.5". Dacron.