From the moment that an arrow clears the bow it's falling at an accelerating rate equal to the time (in seconds)squared times 32 feet. An arrow traveling at an average speed of 180 ft/second for a distance of 60 yards will drop 16 feet. But remember that gravity pulls the arrow downward, but it's wind resistance that slows it down.
As for shooting an arrow straight into the air, that's a different story. Air resistance and gravity combine to slow and stop the arrow at it's highest point. Then it slowly turns and excelerates back to earth with the power of gravity and held back slightly by air resistance. I would estimate that the speed of the arrow when it returns to earth is almost the same as when it left the bow.
When I was an 11-12 year kid. I had a 35# bow out in a field on a wintery day. I was shooting arrows high into the air and watching them return in a group about 20 yards away. It was beautiful watching them climb to the apex, stop for a moment, and then watch the arrow change ends and excelerate back to the ground. This went fine until my younger brother (9-10 yrs.) came out to watch. After he promised to stay close to me I resumed my shooting as before. On the second shot he lost sight of the arrow, paniced, and ran straignt ahead toward the grouping of arrows. He was bent over and with his arms covering his head. The target arrow hit him square in the back just to the left of his spine. Because it was winter and he had a thick wool felt coat on, there was no penetration, but it knocked him flat to the ground, and out of breath. Later that day he had a nasty bruise about the size of a grapefruit. I shudder to think what a heavy hunting arrow would have done. Again, an arrow shot near straight in the air will return to earth at near the speed of when it left the bow.
Warning!!! Please don't get careless with those arrows. Even target arrows can be lethal.
Topic: Is a falling arrow a deadly arrow? (Read 801 times)
