Down in diameter; Up in performance!

[Owlmagnet]

I recently tried 5/16" ramin wood shafts in my 43#@ 27" Hill longbow.  With self-nocks and plenty of feather, they finish up about 475 grains and fly better than several different species of wood shafts I've tried in 11/32".  I bought a dozen from Twig Archery and I have to say that, out of the box, they were the straightest wood shafts I've seen in a long, long time.  If the spine weight is the same and the weight per inch is similar, why would these smaller diameter shafts prove consistantly more accurate in my non-centershot longbow than 11/32"?

[smilinicon]

They are closer to center than a larger diameter.

They may have a better dynamic spine than other arrows you have tried.

Static spine means almost nothing when comparing different types of wood arrows.

Enjoy your arrows. It is really great once you finally see how well the arrows can fly when tuned correctly.

[Owlmagnet]

Thank you, smilinicon.  I guess I need to get smarter regarding dynamic spine.  While I can't be certain, I've noticed that softwoods seem to recover from archer's paradox a little quicker than hardwoods.  Does that have to do with dynamic spine?

[Orion]

Owi:  The answer to your second question is yes.  Don't overlook the first point that Smilin made.  The smaller diameter means that the center of the shaft rides closer to the center of the bow, which has the effect of increasing dynamic spine. Everything else Smilin said is also right on.

[Owlmagnet]

Thank you, as well, Orion.  It amazes me that the center of a 5/16" (10/32") shaft is only 1/64" closer to the side of the riser than an 11/32" shaft, yet the difference appears to be profound.  I am probably way over my head, technically.  I only decided to try 5/16" shafts after rereading The Witchery of Archery and noting that Maurice Thompson said he had pretty good luck with them out of one of his lighter bows....