Long bow v. short(er) bow & dynamic spine

[GMMAT]

Let's say you had two identical bows.  

Bow no. 1 is 50# @ 28" and is a 58" recurve.

Bow no. 2 is 50# @ 28" and is a 60" recurve.

For the sake of this exercise, we'll go a step further and say they utilize the same riser.

Would they be able to shoot the same arrow?  

Why or why not?

I have a theory....and my setup is kicking my butt.....lol.

[Elksong]

I have always been able to shoot the same arrows out of my 60",58" and 52" bows at the same weight range.  Good form and a clean release......

[HATCHCHASER]

No.

[GMMAT]

Elaborate?....lol

[Orion]

Yes.  There's not enough difference in the example you present to affect the arrow noticeably.  I have bows that vary more than 5# that will shoot the same arrows well.  I also have bows that are the same weight and vary from a 56-inch recurve to a 64-inch TD longbow, and they will both shoot the same arrows well, though one might be a little faster than the other.

[Guru]

No reason why they shouldn't...you're only talking two inches.....

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

Originally posted by Guru:
No reason why they shouldn't...you're only talking two inches.....

Exactly. I think the bow being more or less centershot than the other one would make more of a diffrence, wouldn't you think?

(whoops, identical bows. Nevermind. I'll shut up now.)

[GMMAT]

I (my theory) think the shorter stroke of the longer bow requires a weaker spine.

I've got a 62" Schafer and a 60" schafer.  Same riser - 2 sets of limbs.  Longer bow is 56#.  Shorter bow is 50#.  Longer, higher poundage bow reuires a weaker spined arrow.  Longer configured bow has a bow mounted quiver (full of arrows).  Only difference.

I think the quiver adds to this scenario, too.  But that's another theory, entirely.

[HATCHCHASER]

I was just joking with my first post.    
I think that if the 60" bow was almost too short for you then you might have a sloppier release with the 58"er cause it would be too short.  

I also think that 2 identical made bows might differ slightly with the differences in woods and glass.  This could cause one bow to store more energy than the other.

Another thing could be that 2 bows marked the same weight may not be the same weight.

[George D. Stout]

I've shot all sizes of bows over the past five decades.  I can take 48" bows and 68" bows and shoot the same arrow from them; you tune the bow to the arrow.  If you have good form, there is no reason why you can't.   I shoot aluminums and they are incredibly consistent from shaft to shaft, I can't attest to carbons.

[GMMAT]

George:

How do you tune a bow to the arrow?

I think you have that backwards.

OK....My 56# limbs (ultilizing the same riser) shoots 10fps faster than the 50# limbs.  I also believe the bow, having a heavier mass weight (with quiver and arrows attached) makes the arrow react stiffer.  

Maybe I'm wrong.  But, this is weird.  Right now, I'm shooting the same arrow as from the 50# limbs.....only an inch longer.  STILL too stiff.

Again....weird.

[TNstickn]

You can tune your bow up or down some by string choice( Dacron vs. FF vs Skinny synthetic ), silencer choice. Depending on where your starting from. Also the padding or stiffening of your strike plate material has an effect. you can compensate a 10# spine range using these little adjustments. Dont forget adjusting your brace height also has an effect.

[Curveman]

I have a 60 " recurve, 61#@28 and a longbow, 64", [email protected]. (D" shape when strung, not one of those semi-recurve hybrids people are calling longbows).    :D   They shoot the exact same arrow and they both seem to have the noc at the same height. The only difference is the arrow sticks out farther past the riser on the longbow, obviously. I don't consider myself an expert in tuning by any means so I have people who are check my arrow flight by standing behind me when I shoot etc.) The 55/75 545gr GT's are flying like darts as they say!    

[GMMAT]

Have you bare shaft tuned each bow/arrow combo, curveman?

Not sure what to make of your situation, as your 'curve is likely cut past center and the longbow quite differently (if I had to guess).

[rnharris]

use a bareshaft as a meter for each bow they are all differint throw logic out the window when it comes to making sense about bow tuning differint bow length's,draw wt's!

some bows are more forgiving of arrow spine some are a pain enjoy the challenge,Ralph

[James Wrenn]

Like George says it should be no problem.I often tune totally different bows to shoot the same arrow when using one for backup during hunting season.Makes things easier about carring arrows for them.

Since you are using only one riser you will need two different point weights since any bow adjustment will impact the tune for the other limbs.Still should be no problem to shoot different broadheads or the same broadheads with different adapters and use the same shafts.jmo

[Curveman]

No GMMAT. I bought the first bow from Lost Nation when it was in NH. One of the great things about that shop is Ray would help you tune your bow. He had, I think, every combination all fletched up then he would carefully observe you shoot etc. Once he came out and said I had excellent form and I didn't even know that he was watching me (or that my form was good). I miss having him/that shop around. I used the arrows that I had for the recurve when the longbow came in as the weights were close so why not? With a little brace height and noc adjusting I was good to go. I had one of the best shooters in the area observe the arrow flight. I just got a complete passthrough on a nice bear in Quebec so I'd certainly be reluctant to change anything.    The longbow is not cut to center as it needs to meet the tournament standards for longbows in Europe (where most of the Borders are sold). A couple of people have commented that my noc is higher than usual but maybe it is just I put more pressure on one finger. Seems to work.

[Night Wing]

My Blacktail Elite TD recurve is 66", 42# @ 30" and my Belcher hybrid Longhorn longbow is 68", 41# @ 30" and they both shoot the same 32" long, 2018 aluminum arrow tipped with 150 grain points. The 2018 is fletched with three, 5" right wing parabolic feathers with eleven degrees of right twist and 120 degrees between each feather. The nock set on the string is set at 9/16" high from the shelf. Both bows will put the 2018 arrow at the same place on the target butt. I don't use an arm guard since the bowstring on both bows never hits my arm.

[George D. Stout]

GMMAT, you can indeed tune the bows to different arrows, as well as you tune arrows to others.  You start with a bare bow (sorry...couldn't resist).

There are as many things you can do to the bow, as you can do to an arrow....think about it.  Brace, nock, string type, arrow rest adjustment, etc.  If you struggle from bow length to bow length, you may need to look at the operator: holding, releasing, following-through....form things.

[GMMAT]

I never mentioned struggling (from a shooter's prospective).

  I asked about the science behind why one would require a weaker spine (when on the surface it doesn't make sense).

You cant tune a 45# recurve to shoot CX 250's....but you CAN likely tune the ARROW to be shot from the bow.

You can only do so much to a bow and shoot it within spec.

My bow likes to be shot at a particular BH.  I'd NEVER adjust my BH to accomodate an arrow.  Way too easy to manipulate the arrow than to shoot a noisy bow (due to BH issues).

Different strokes, George.