AFB.....Advice please

[the badger]

Having joined a field archery club, completed my training, rushed out and bought a great new recurve (32#) and was doing ok.....I had a hankering for an AFB...........So I bought a Internature Viper DL (35#)...and very nice it is too.
My questions are to do with trajectory (I think).........I have altered my anchor to middle finger in corner of the mouth, (you may remember I am right handed with a left eye dominance)

I did OK 1st time out at short to medium targets, say up to about 30-35 yards, but after that got progressively worse, on the longer targets, even aiming about 6' above the target, sent the shaft thudding into the ground 6' short.

Now I know longbows are supposed to have a higher trajectory, but I was scared of the arrow flying off into the wilderness never to be seen again.

[robtattoo]

That's field archery for you! If you're gonna shoot 'em, you're gonna lose 'em!

Shooting instinctively takes an awful lot of dedicated practice. I don't think there's anyone in the world who's got it perfected yet. All I can suggest is that you practice, practice & then practice some more. Don't be afraid of sacrificing a few arrows in the process (you will), building them's half the fun! They shouldn't go too far from a 35#er anyway. Try not to be too ambitious to start with. Keep shooting at shorter distances (say 20yds max) until you can consistently put 6 arrows in a row in a 6" ring. Then move back 5 yds & start again until you're just as accurate, then 30yds, 35, 40, 45 ad infinitum. It's easy to get dispondent if you try to outpace yourself. It's a very long road to gain proficiency, you may as well enjoy some scenery on the way!

[the badger]

Thanks for that Robtattoo

I forgot to mention that at the same time, I bought 12 arrows (cos I wanted to use the bow next day) unlike the recurve, I was offered no tryout, or measured (or even asked) drawlength, just given 35-40 spines 32" long. and told these are what you want.

I currently use 28" on my recurve as I only have a 25.5" draw length.

Should I look to shortening the shafts, or generally lightening the arrows in some way?

[robtattoo]

If they fly OK I'd be tempted to leave them alone. However,if you're only drawing 25-1/2" you're only going to be pulling around 27-28# of weight. You may find that they're too stiff. I'd be tempted to try some 1/4" dowels cut to 26" with 60gn piles & 1.75" fletches to get the best from the bow. Even 5/16" arrows will be very heavy for your draw-weight (I'd guess around 350gn at 28") Quicks sell Boyton Pine shafts in both 1/4" & 9/32 for light weight bows. You may want to give them a whirl.

[the badger]

Thanks, I had suspected that the short draw would affect the draw weight of the bow, can AFB's be "wound up" as you can with Recurve.
Or are there other things you can do as well as reduce the arrow weight?

[robtattoo]

There's nothing you can do to affect the draweight. You could go for a thinner, fastflight string, say 10 strand rather than the standard 18. This will make your string lighter, thinner & quicker although you may experience some very mild handshock (nothing to worry about) As I said in my previous post, you woul be well served trying some 9/32 or 1/4" arrows too. They'll come out at around half the weight of your 5/16" shafts with very short feathers. I know they're available in 1-3/4" That combination of string and arrow should make a significant difference.

[the badger]

Thanks again,

getting a bit despondant as I really like the AFB and I was sure that @ 35# it would see me ok for quite a while.

I've just experimented and as I have moved my anchor to middle finger in the corner of the mouth, I think my draw length is more like 27" now.

I was hoping to stay with 5/16 spines as there is far more choice for points etc. but I could reduce the length and the fletches somewhat and experiment.

[the badger]

I am now, really confused.......Having just emailed the shop that I bought the aforsaid bow from, to see if they would very kindly change it for a higher poundage. I decided to put on my glasses and examine mor closely, the arrows that I was sold, (the assistant wrote down the mesure as 5/16 so I would be able to get the same size bare shafts.) both the nock and the fieldpoint have stamped on them, 11/32.............as a beginer, please tell me that this would indicate that the arrows I have are 11/32 and NOT 5/16 as I was told................and would this account for the fact that I can't easily reach the longer targets.

Yours in desperation

Badger

[Macbow]

It does sound like you have 11/32 arrows so they would be a bit heavier than 5/16 but not by a lot. Rob's advice is usually spot on but in trad field archery you will soon realise there is usually more than one way to do something and you'll discover what works best for you. 35lbs is enough for a field course with superlight arrows but 45lbs is about average. Higher draw weight = faster arrow = flatter trajectory = easier sight marks if you are a gap aimer. I personally like my arrows cut so that when I reach full draw the point touches the shelf pad which keeps my draw consistent. It is also easier for me when i do shoot instinctively as I am still using my bow hand as part of my sight picture. By cutting my arrows to the exact size i need there is no extra weight but they become stiffer so i need to use heavier points or shafts of lower spine or a combination of both. And for my set up I get a point on range of 50 yards with my AFBs so for shorter ranges i gap below the spot and longer ranges above the spot. However my archery buddy has a different shaped face than me and my set up gives him a point on range of 35 yards. He prefers to leave his arrows longer so using his arrows his point on drops to 30 yards which is why he is so damn good on the mid range 20-40 yard shots.
If you stick with 35lbs my advice would be to go as lightweight as possible - 70 grain points, 3" feathers and 5/16 shafts 30-35 spine possibly even 25-30 depending on arrow length. Cut them a couple of inches longer than your draw as over time your draw length may increase plus when they snap just behind the point you can re-taper and re-use.
If you can up your draw weight then so much the better as it will give you a lot more options.
Hope this helps but you'll find your own way soon enough. By the way I had the same bow as you and squeezed some useful extra performance from it by shaving a few mm from the limb width up near the tips, rasping off a couple of mm from the huge limb tips themselves and using a 12 strand endless loop FF string. Totally negates your warranty but the handshock was lessened and i gained some fps.

[the badger]

Well following on from this discussion, I have since bought 5/16 shafts, 80g brass piles and 3" para feathers. Put them all together and the result is..............................better!!.......... but not quite there, I will however persevere untill such time as I warrant another new bow!!

Thanks for all your help