Recommended Grain Difference for Arrows

[ET]

I personally enjoy assembling my own arrows and wonder what is considered the maximum weight difference between completed arrows for best overall performance.


Your experience would be appreciated.

Ed

[Harley]

Good morning, Ed. When you say "best overall performance" I'd answer that you want no more than one grain difference among all your arrows.

The truth is, though, that only Olympic-quality archers will benefit from such close tolerances. The rest of us will be satisfied with maybe up to 3-5 grains extreme spread. I admit that's off the top of my head.

I buy my arrows, and the Redhead (BassPro) Carbon Maxx that I use are within one grain to the dozen. I, or you, could buy the raw shafts to save money in acquiring that standard. However, I once bought the Redhead Carbon Fury, the bottom of the line; and, I shot it just as well. When I shot Gold Tip arrows, I compared the top-rated Pro Hunter with the low-rated Expedition Hunter; again, my comparative results didn't come close to justifying the higher priced arrows.

I should qualify that last paragraph by saying I was shooting at 20-30 yards; I'd guess a quality arrow would begin to show its merits at longer ranges.

Harley

[ET]

Harley

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my query. Your reply is always appreciated because I feel it is always honestly expressed as seen again.

Recently I started putting some arrows together with 2” blazer vanes and screw in 100gr field points. In the past I’ve never really weighed them but for some reason I decided to number identify them and record their weight. I was surprised at the difference that in one case was almost 6grns.
Okay I pulled every field point and started over weighing each arrow and field point separately. Then with the swap method I got my extreme spread down to 1.5grs.
Never having weighed arrows before I didn’t have a clue as to what was considered an allowable weight difference hence my question.

For now I’ll hold that 1.5gr difference and see what happens when I start extending my range eventually.

In the mean time that 1 field point that was to be 100grs and actually weighed almost 105grns is going to be introduced to my mini-lathe to see if it can feasibly be reduced to 100grs.

Again thanks for your response that has added some comfort to my starting point.



Ed

[russkull]

I'll add my 2 cents. I do not have the yrs. of experience that others here have. Pre-made arrows and bare shafts are classed by straightness and weight spread per dozen. I have used both expensive and cheap arrows. I have seen no change in groupings based on weight spread. I think an arrow properly matched to your bow and a properly tuned bow should be the goal. Total weight, FOC and spine strength should be the focus. That being said, were I fletching my own arrows, I would strive to get a close tolerance. Consistency is the key. Doing and having everything the same at practice will pay off in the field.

[Harley]

You're welcome, Ed. Needless to say, at 1.5 gns spread you're doing great. I also weigh my field points and found one that was two grains heavier than it should be. I buffed it with a wire wheel and it came back to the group.

Russell, you're right, of course, when you stress "consistency". Without it, nothing else means anything. You'll find, I think, that you become more critical about your arrow quality as you concentrate on longer ranges. I've seen you shoot successfully at 60 yards and know you won't be satisfied until you do the same at 70 or even 80 yards.

Harley

[ET]

Russkull

Thanks for responding and encouraging comments.

My thinking is also along the lines of your comment. The only thing I didn’t see you mention was the rating of grs/inch of a specific arrow. I believe this was also a factor why I might have opted for weighing my arrows.

I don’t know if this is a common practice among archers but it will be a part of my routine from now on. That should help ensure the close tolerance recommendation you made.

Well time to catch up on the news as we did experience an earthquake here about an hour ago. Just 5.5 on the Richter Scale was mentioned. No real damage but got a good shaky feeling sitting on the couch.
They claim the epicenter was near Quebec-Ontario border. Hey that’s close to the Parliament Buildings. It's about time something got the butts of government officials stirring while they are attending there. ;D



Ed

[russkull]

Harley, consistency is my current focus. In that I include weight spread, straightness, and form. Form is what I am working at. I am thinking my bow is so finely tuned, that every mistake I have gotten away with, is now exaggerated. My shooting range has been mowed(less chiggers), so I will be spending more time shooting. As of now I have nothing but time. Practice, practice and more practice!!!

ET, I did not mention grs/in. I sort of take that for granted. I consider it in factoring a correct total weight for my given draw length and also FOC. Once I determine the the grs/in needed to get the total weight for my draw length, I begin to shop for the variety of arrows that meet my grs/in criteria. There may be many arrows in a variety of price and tolerance to chose from. I enjoy buying the best and having nice toys but I am not sure it is needed, by most of us. I think weighing your arrows and points is a great idea! swapping them around to get the closest tolerance can only improve your game.

[deadeye]

one thing i recommend also is spinning some on your thumbnail to cull or even before purchasing. you will be surprised how many even expensive arrows are not completely straight throughout the distance of the shaft,it shows up here & with a little practice not hard to achieve,im rh so i hold arrow on lh thumbnail starting at where you will approx attach the fletching approx 45 degress while spinning as fast as controllably possible at where the insert is,spin & shove in a balanced manner at 45 degrees the entire length while riding the thumbnail. you will feel entirely smooth ride or some little intolerance's,usually shows up on paper also due to my findings. years ago i found the expensive eastons were not as good as the gametrackers,gold-tips have also been very good in this test

[dougedwards]

Deadeye........would you happen to have any pictures on how you spin test your shafts?

Ed......I actually can detect no deviation at 70 yards from arrows of the same manufacturer, spine, length and FOC even when there is a spread of 5 grains between the arrows. I am thinking that the weight distribution of the arrow is also a critical element in shooting accuracy.

Doug

[ET]

Gentlemen

Believe me when I say your responses are greatly appreciated. They allow me to broaden my thinking and add to what I should learn or comprehend IMO.

Russkull

At this point in time I agree top priced arrows should not be a primary concern for me. Consistency and practice would allow me to better evaluate my equipment such as arrows before advancing. It is nice to at least get the best setup for my arrows (mind-set) on hand for a good start or what I consider to get a decent baseline start to work from.

Deadeye

Your advice on checking arrows before buying is sound and noted. I also agree buying the highest priced equipment does not always produce best results as I have noticed in other areas. Determining what is better without getting into a high cost factor is the tricky part. Keeping my ears and mind open to advice from more experienced individuals is step-one.

Dougedwards

Point taken especially about the FOC and will note that to recheck all my arrows.
Also thanks for sharing your experience with 5grs difference out to 70-yds.
I find it amusing that at one time I was just interesting in putting equipment together and get it too work to my expectations if possible. Now that I have gotten a little older the learning of what affects or makes certain equipment tick seems to be as important as learning how to use certain equipment.
Obsessive, maybe?
I just got’s to know.

Ed

[deadeye]

books.google.com/books?id=_0CLP-NbOXgC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=arrow+shaft++thumbnail+spinning&source=bl&ots=KNSZKOrgUH&sig=8mYHX8ZLeNYFWTNbk8ryryozt8s&hl=en&ei=8rwjTJaZDJLhnAfftcQm&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false
sorry dont have photo's,still searchin but forwarding this as might of interest to some