# Long or Short Arrows



## cole9174 (Jul 19, 2010)

I am fairly new to bowhunting, so i got a question to ask.  Why would somebody shoot a longer arrow rather than a shorter one?  You buy these arrows and then you hear of people cuttning them down, why not leave them the way they are?  What are the pros-cons of both in your minds?


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## dannybuck (Jul 19, 2010)

Different people have different opinions on this. It depends what you want out of the arrow. Speed, kinetic energy, or a balance of both. Some people think its dangerous to have an arrow too short because of the possibility of it falling off the rest at full draw. Others say "its gotta get there fast or he's gonna jump the string." Speed doesn't really matter because the fastest bow isn't as fast as the slowest white tail. On the other hand, a longer arrow is heavier which could increase kinetic energy or decrease kinetic energy if it's too slow. With today's bows, you can get away with a shorter arrow and get great kinetic energy. I shoot a Mathews Reezen set at 72 lbs. My broadhead is the only part of my arrow that sits in front of the rest at full draw. My total arrow weight including the broadhead is 400 grns. My consistent speed is 312 fps. and kinetic energy is 84 foot pounds per square inch. The biggest thing is to get the arrow to pass through the deer. Kinetic energy is what is pushing the arrow through. You don't need 84 pounds to kill a deer, but its all personal preference as long as keep in mind that kinetic energy plays a huge role in it.


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## lungbuster123 (Jul 19, 2010)

Im about like Dannybuck the only thing past my rest at full draw is the broadhead.


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## Rare Breed (Jul 19, 2010)

Shorter arrow more speed! Shoot the shortest arrow out of your bow that you can. Change your spine(heaver or lighter arrow) or tip weight if you have to.


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## pasinthrough (Jul 19, 2010)

Once upon a time, the riser of the bows were not cut out as much as they are today.  The arrow had to be longer than the actual draw length to keep the broadhead in front of the riser at full draw.  Otherwise, the broadhead would hit the riser.  Traditional shooters still have to deal with this, which introduces us to the Archers Paradox.  Google that and do some reading.  

The Carbon arrows of today come full length at about 31 inches.  I have always liked to keep the arrow length at 1 inch or less sticking out beyond the rest when at full draw.  This usually puts the broadhead in the center of the grip of the riser when at full draw.  When you cut down an arrow, you increase the spine of it (deflection under stress).  All of the arrow charts show which arrow spine to shoot as the need to shorten them to the proper draw length to fit various shooters.  

Just as an example, I shoot full-length arrows for turkeys with a Magnus Bullhead that will not clear my sights or riser.  I had to go from the normal 400 spine that I shoot, two spine sizes stiffer to a 300 due to the longer arrow length.  This kept me in tune with the longer arrow.


I think it is all about matching your equipment, making it look right and removing unnecessary arrow weight.  Besides, you have enough sticking out before you draw, I don't want any sticking out while I am drawn. JMO

Besides it's only a tiny bit you are cutting anyway.  I shoot 27 inch arrows.  That means I cut off 4 inches of the full shaft.  At 8.4 grains per inch you are only looking at 33.6 grains removed from the full length shaft.  My arrows still weigh 420 grains and I am plenty happy with that and the way they fly.


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## cole9174 (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks for all the help guys...


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## Nitro1970 (Jul 20, 2010)

Cut 'em where they spine right for your setup.  Work on getting the best possible arrow flight you can!!  If it works out your arrows are longer or shorter than someone elses, so be it.


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## dusty80 (Jul 20, 2010)

For a "normal" hunting set up  you want your arrow to stick past you rest about 1" at fulldraw. The only time I would recommend having a longer arrow is when shooting a large turkey type head that won't clear the shelf. If you are wanting to maintain the weight of a full length shaft buy a heavier GPI shaft.


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