How many of you.....

[Orion]

The differences you offer in your initial question are rather small, 20 grains in weight and 10 grains in spine.  I know that most folks aren't good enough to detect that difference, myself included, and I'm a pretty good shot, or at least used to be, and have been at this more than 45 years.

I won't argue that there is one spine/weight combination that is optimal for a given bow, but what many overlook is that most bows will shoot a fairly large range of spines and weights quite well.

Most of the bows I shoot will handle 20# plus difference in spine with little trouble.  I.e., my 55# bows will shoot my woodies of 55-75# equally well.  And most of them are not cut to center.  I also shoot arrows of different weights, but most are within 20 grains.  A 50 grain difference becomes noticeable beyond 20 yards, but again, most couldn't tell the difference on shots closer than that unless they were shooting very light bows.

An arrow that is truly mismatched in terms of weight, spine, straightness, etc. is fairly easy to detect, however.

[John3]

I go through my "flyers" three times.. One off shot could be my form; but not three or more times. I set the flyers aside and shot only those until I KNOW what is going on....  

JDS III

[Frank]

My arrows are all numbered at the nock.  They are numbered by their consitancy.

So, number 1 and 2 always fly the best.  3 through 5, they all fly good, but 1 and 2 just seem right.  

I do this for each 1/2 doz. I carry.  Also, 6 and sometimes 5, will have a diff broadhead on them for other reasons.

All my bows shoot the same spined arrows, 60/65 and I make them.

When I make up a new set of 6, I will take them outback and start shooting.  The one or ones that do not go where I think they should, I put to the side.  I then go back and shoot them again a couple times.  If after that they are grouping, I number them 5 and 6.  If they consistantly fly wrong, which some do because of a something, they get canned.

[madness522]

I had one arrow always flying high from every yardage.  I marked it after the second time (I cut off the tab on the nock) and it was the only flyer.  It wasn't straight.  I only shoot wood arrows that I make and while I'm not an all X-ring shooter it doesn't take more than a few shots to know if I have an arrow problem.  First time it could be me so I shoot again. next time it might or might not be me and the third time it is the arrow.

My comfort zone is 18 yards and under and I usually can't tell the difference between an arrow with a 125 tip and one with a 145 tip.  That difference can only be seen when I back up to 30-40 yards to check my form.  The heavier tip arrows shoot a little lower.

[Sticks2117]

I would be able to tell if one arrow was spined 2 steps to heavy it would really fly left much further than the rest of the arrows. I tried it a couple weeks back with some 2117 and 125 grain tips out of my 53#er. However I also tried some 145 grain heads mixed in with 125's and I could not tell the difference. So I guess the answer atleast for me is YES and NO!!

[Shawn Leonard]

I should also add that at 10 yards  shooting a 54# bow with any arrow weighing 350-650 grains with a sharp BH, I will notice tye diffence but still kill the deer. Shawn

[ses]

i number my arrows so when one flys off i can tell if me or the arrow

[gregg dudley]

I do not understand how you can be satisfied with arrows that do not group well.  You should be able to pull any arrow out of your quiver and expect it to perform like the others.  

They do not have to look the same, have the same points, or be made of the same material, but they should fly the same.  Somebody above referenced native populations and they are exactly right.  They had what looked like (key point) mismatched arrows, but they were chosen from hundreds as the best performers from their bows.  

Your goal should not be to put an arrow into the kill zone.  Your goal should be to put an arrow into the part of the kill zone that you are trying to hit.  Bare shafting arrows gets you closer to that objective from the equipment end of the equation.  The form and shooting is up to you.

[Pat B]

I make my arrows with sourwood shoots or cane and cut them to 29" for my 26" draw. My group of practice arrows are about half and half and their physical weights run between 550gr and 650gr. I check spine while making them but only to keep it in the ballpark. At my hunting range I can't tell the difference. I usually don't shoot for tight groups but shoot a single arrow at an invisible spots on the target butt or 3D deer. Generally speaking I can put any one of my arrows in the kill zone of a 3D target out to 15 yards either from an elevated stand or the ground, standing, kneeling or sitting on the ground. For me, that is good enough shooting.
   My hunting arrows this year are 6 hill cane (Arundianria appalachianna)arrows I collected along my driveway with 6 different stone points(made by 5 different friends) and 2 different styles of tied on turkey feather 2 feather fletching ...all between 551gr and 648gr. I feel quite confident that if the opportunity presents itself my set up(and I) will get the job done.
    There is a difference between having to drive tacks with a bow and arrow and being able to put a single arrow into the kill zone of an animal. For me the latter is good enough and more important.    Pat

[Curtis Haden]

Originally posted by woodchucker:
Consider yourselves a good enough shot that you can truely tell the differance between an equipment problem,and a shooting problem.

How consistant is your release????? REALLY????? can you honestly tell if it is the arrow.....Or is it YOU?????

I just think some times we make things more difficult than they need to be.....

I spend quite a bit of time tuning my bow and arrows, because I realize that I'm probably  not  a good enough shot to tell the difference.

I take the "arrow" part out of the equation. That way, when I make a bad shot, I know it's me.

Having confidence in your equipment set-up allows you to make aiming/shooting adjustments based on what happened with the shot, not with which arrow you just shot.

I shoot "loonyums" and occasionally carbon for just that reason.  Consistency in spine and weight allows me to shoot with confidence, once I know which particular arrow set-up works best for a certain bow.

As far as making it difficult, well, that's part of the fun...        ...and what's even more fun, is the end result of seeing a ball of feathers spinning downrange, hitting right where you wanted it to.

[Guru]

Some folks can't shoot consistent groups with the best matched arrows in the world....I've seen it!

Some folks can't make the "first arrow" count consistently, with the best matched arrows in the world....I've seen it!

They just don't have the shooting ability to tell the difference...period!


Knowingly shooting mis-matched arrows IMHO is ridiculous! How are your "instincts", or "your gap", gonna work if you're shooting arrows that will not shoot in the same place right off the bat!

Not bare shafting even though you know it'll help is ridiculous! Again,IMHO....

 "Make it more difficult"......if you're not hitting what you want,wouldn't some extra effort be worth it?  

It's all about what how much you want to dedicate yourself to what you're doing. Some guys are happy getting a shot and killing a spike buck every 10yrs. Some guys could kill 10 spikes a year if they chose too and didn't pass them up!

Some people are happy being mediocre at best, some strive to be the best they can be.....most fall someplace between.....

[Bjorn]

Those differences in weight and spine are not different enough to tell anything for me.

[larry]

I suppose if I were to limit my shots on deer size game to 10-15yrds it wouldn't make much difference in the weight of my arrows..although I still think spine would.

BUT, even if I did limit myself to that distance, I personally would still want all my arrows the same spine, very close in weight and tuned to the bow to the best of my ability. I mean after all, I'm out to kill something and I can only do so much with the human factor, but equipment is a different story. I want ALL my arrows flying to the same spot and as straight as can be.

My squirrel arrows are wood...even so, they are all within 5 lbs of spine and ten grains of weight of each other. and if I come across a couple that don't fly with the others...well they get pushed into the ground and used as targets, nothing like seeing an arrow that's sticking straight up out of the ground get busted in half by an ace hex head    try doing that with a bunch of mish matched arrows and tell me how many shots it takes to break that culled arrow

[Don Stokes]

I would not hunt without knowing that every arrow in my quiver will shoot where I aim it. It's a matter of personal pride and respect for the game.

At hunting range I know that I can get away with significant variation in spine and weight and still hit the target, but that doesn't mean I will hunt with arrows that are not capable of shooting perfectly if I do my part.