Is it possible to be too stiff?
Equipment
I shoot a compound bow. It,s a center shoot bow with a dropaway rest. I would like help understanding the problem with a arrow not flexing when it leaves the bow. In the past I hav heard that an over spined arrow is less forgiving but I don't understand how that works. Thanks in advance for any input.
Yes it’s possible… if you’re set on those arrows you can shoot a heavier head and or insert . This will weaken the spine to some degree… you can also turn your draw weight up possibly
From what I was taught with todays compounds, drop away rest and releases you can’t be over spined.
Never have tried it deliberately. However an arrow I built with a 250 spine for elk hunting had to be on the stiff side and it broad head tuned great. This was out of a 30” draw bow at 70 lbs and 180 grains up front.
Edit Carbon to carbon measurement of the arrow was 28”.
Thanks Shug for responding. Can you help me understand the problems with being over spined?
I’ve always heard no you can’t be too stiff with a compound and drop away rest. I shoot pretty stiff arrows and they shoot great
I also think a stiffer shaft is better in a hunting environment. Better penetration.
Harder than Chinese arithmetic.
I like my shaft to be good & stiff. Shoot 250 spine with 150 grain VPAs at 30.5 inches. Fly good, hit hard.
Not on todays compounds and drop away rests.
With proper form, a proper tune and a well engineered modern bow with a good release, I say no, can't be over spined. Rest doesn't really matter as long as it's set up correctly.
Think of it as a vertical crossbow. Those bolts don't flex at all either, and they don't need to.
I don’t understand the physics behind the statement ‘you can’t be overspined’ I am not disputing it, as there are many in here who know way more than I about bows and tuning. My experience is that by changing point weight, I can take my bow out of tune. I can make my bareshaft tear one way with a light point and the other way with a heavy one. That would suggest to me that I CAN be overspined (horizontal tear with light points) but maybe there’s an explanation for that as well. Anyone here wanna dumb this down to my level?
If changing your point weight changes the tear in paper, I would suggest that the bow was not tuned to start with
Assuming of course that the tear has a point on one end and a nock on the other. A weak and flexing shaft will show a tear also and it's important to know what that looks like.
This is great and I hope the information keeps coming. It has been difficult to get people to talk about this and appreciate everyone taking the time to give your thoughts. Thank you
I shoot and am friends with a World Champion, Vegas winner and so on. He says even with todays bows and drop away rests you can be over spined. I myself shoot 225 grains of point weight and a 400 spine with the bow set at 54#s and the arrow is 27"s. I draw 28"s. I am spined perfectly. If I shoot a .340-.350 spine set up the same way. I cannot get away from a slightly low left tear. I shoot a drop away rest too. I shoot the .350s out of 63# bow with 175 grain point weight and again it spines perfectly. Shawn
If there are any world champions on this thread … I’d like to be your friend.
I like X-man’s analogy. Take a look at a crossbow bolt in slow mo. It does not flex at all. It has no need to bend around the bow (paradox) like a non center shot bow needs. Also if an arrow is flopping back and forth flexing while it enters an animal A LOT of energy is wasted. Especially with expandable BHs. If your dead set on your arrow needing to flex then try to minimize how far away from the bow it is still flopping around. Unless you only shoot animals past 20 yards. Many arrows are still flexing past 20 yds. If the arrow is light, the bow weight is relatively light your getting less penetration than possible with that same rig. Just my opinion of course.
The 'quality' of your release affects spine requirement. Going from a soft glove to a slick tab makes a difference shooting traditional. Going from an inexpensive release to a top shelf one makes a difference, but probably not very much. Still, I'd bet not many top guns shoot cheap releases. Then again, are you a good enough archer to tell the difference?
If your bow is set to true center, and your release is whistle clean, spine probably doesn't matter much.
Don having never used a drop away rest I wasn’t aware that that spine isn’t a consideration. I use a flipper where spine ( high or low) is more critical than a drop away…
Only if it lasts for more than 4 hours. LOL.
But honestly, I've been shooting "overspined" arrows for the last 5 years when I reduced my draw weight into the 50# range. I kept my 340 spine arrows and they bare shaft just great. I've recently added some point weight so probably am closer to being in the more normal range.
I'm guessing here .... I think the main reason why archers would shoot a "tiny" light weight arrow would be for less drop at longer distances??????? Again, just guessing.
I would certainly think a heavier - stiffer spined (heavier?) arrow would create more kinetic energy for better penetration anyway.
Go stiff or go home. LOL
"I'm in the heavy arrow, close range is bowhunting" category.
Ive shot overspined arrows for years…they always tuned well with my BHs hitting with FPs out at 50-60yds
Its underspined that you have to worry about with BHs
“Take a look at a crossbow bolt in slow mo. It does not flex at all. It has no need to bend around the bow (paradox) like a non center shot bow needs. ”
It maybe doesn’t ”need” to, but it HAS TO flex to some degree. Because Physics.
Seems like the easy test would be to experiment with some lighter and heavier points; change the dynamic spine and see what you find. . That and confirm that the drop away rest is installed in precisely the same plane as the string. If you’re not quite Centershot, then maybe start there.
I’ve done it exactly once, but I did need to make a slight adjustment to get FP and BH (Stingers) hitting right on top of each other at 40… at which point I ran out of yard.
