Cast = Trajectory?

[Chromebuck]

Just becoming familiar with all the nomenclature used in this sport. When someone speaks to how a bow cast and arrow are they speaking of trajectory or how flat a bow shoots and arrow?

Thanks much,

~CB

[Looper]

Cast means how the bow shoots an arrow. That could be measured in feet per second or the distance it will shoot an arrow. The trajectory of the arrow will be the result of the cast of the bow. More cast equals a flatter trajectory, faster speed, longer total distance.

[oxnam]

Originally posted by Chromebuck:
 trajectory or how flat a bow shoots an arrow

Those are really the same thing.  Both are referring to the arc of an arrow.  We want the arc to be as flat as possible because it make it easier to hit the target.  But for hunting there are two main variables affecting arc that have to be kept in balance: arrow weight and bow weight.  Fortunately we have these factors or we might run out things to dicuss or debate.    

[McDave]

Cast means how far a bow will shoot an arrow.  It was commonly used before there were inexpensive devices that could easily measure velocity.

Initial arrow velocity and cast are different in several meaningful respects.  Let's say that we have bow A that will shoot a 400 grain arrow at 190 fps, and bow B that will shoot a 500 grain arrow at 180 fps.  Bow B might have a greater cast than bow A, because the increased momentum of the arrow shot by bow B will overcome air resistance better than the arrow shot by bow A, even though bow B has a lower initial arrow velocity than bow A.  Bow A might have a flatter trajectory than bow B out to 30 yards, but bow B might have a flatter trajectory than bow A at 80 yards.

[Chromebuck]

Appreciate the willingness of all you guys to share your knowledge.  A sincere thank you.  It's amazing to me that a simple stick and string in reality is far more complex to learn and master than the highly engineered wheelie models.

I have dozens of arrrows with a matching amount of accesories and I still am not confident that I have ascertained optimal performance.  I like wood, carbons, and aluminums.  However, with my current 64" Whip, 53@28 full length Gold Tips with a 100 grain brass insert and 125 heads at 520 grains total are shooting flat to a bit over 25yds.  Does that seem about right?

~CB

[Looper]

You'll need to figure out how you want to measure how good they are flying. There are different tuning methods. Bareshaft tuning, broadhead tuning, paper tuning, having someone stand over your shoulder and watching your arrow flight, etc.

One thing you do want to look for is that they don't wobble in flight. Putting a wide broadhead on them will make it pretty clear if they are tuned to your bow or not. With your fletched arrows, you might not be able to detect a slight wobble. A big wobble is pretty easy to see. A trained eye could see even the slightest wobble.

This link:  http://www.acsbows.com/bowtuning.html  will provide you with enough information to either educate you or make your head swim.