Lately I have really been nothing but archery.  When you get your head wrapped around something like this it is hard to get away from it.  But, trapping is coming up soon.  It will be a rough start however.  The calendar is filling up with events that need taking care of and it just happens to coincide with trapping.  Add to that the archery stuff and days are filled and probably nights as well.

Tonight is lesson number 5 at the Brigham Bowmens Club.  And with it, I have been asked to help with the lessons.  I don’t know Jack about shooting a bow yet, but I can take money and maybe even blow the whistle.  Lynn will have to do the rest.  For you bowmen who have ventured South to play with the Las Vegas shooting event, rest assured, the place will still be here when you get back.

I’m really looking forward to tonights events and to be asked to help out is really an honor as well.  Lynn says there is nothing better to quicken the learning curve than to get involved!  I’ll do my best.

OK.  I ordered some more arrows yesterday and after I did, I was asking myself, “Why on earth can’t I just go to a place like Smith and Edwards or Sportsmens Wearhouse and buy some arrows”?  I was able to find some on line that are ready to shoot out of the box and why don’t these places carry them?  Oh, well, I guess the more I learn the more I’ll know.  I’ve said before the way these companies label their arrows is almost insane to try and figure out if they will work properly with my bow.  How hard can it be?

HARD!  Trust me with this one, I’ll explain by sharing with you a web site I have discovered that explains why an arrow does what it does.  Let’s learn this together.

The website is:http://www.meta-synthesis.com/archery/archery.html

So, last time I told you I have a bad habit of moving my bow to my right when I shoot and I said there must be some force that is causing this to occur.  I am not doing it just because, you know.  And now I think I have part of the answer.  Remember this?

An arrow has a centre of mass (centre of gravity or balance point) and a centre of drag:

The centre of drag MUST be behind the centre of mass, and the further behind the better, otherwise the arrow will be inherently unstable in flight. Indeed, if the centre of drag is in front of the centre of mass the arrow will have a tendency to turn round and fly “backwards”.

Ya, the flying backwards part.

Now add this to our learning:

During the shot, the arrow is pushed by the draw force of the bow applied to the nock end of the arrow. The high mass part of the arrow is at the front, and separated from the nock by the bendable shaft of the arrow. As a result, the arrow dynamically bends:

The term “dynamic bend” or “dynamic spine” is used because the degree of bending is difficult – if not impossible – to determine without high speed photography.

So, the arrow starts out bending around the handle of the bow.  I can see a problem with an arrow that is too weak for the bow and it might just break in half.  So, why not have an arrow with a shaft that can’t bend?  I makes perfect sense to me to have the arrow begin going straight and continuing to go straight, right off the get-go.  Why have one that bends at all, is my question.

There is a scientific thing called “Archers Paradox” which was observed by some quick eyed dude back in the early to mid 1920-30’s.  That theory (which is probably more of a law than a theory by now) said, the arrow will bend like you see above, fly around the handle of the bow and then bend back the other way after leaving the bow completely.  It will continue to “wiggle” as it flys down range, each wiggle becoming less movement each time until at some point it will either hit the ground or in the case of an archer desiring a certain result, will hit the target where desired.  You can see that in my picture at the beginning of this story.  A smiling faced archer is a very happy archer indeed.

Here is the explanation of Archers Paradox from the website:

Simplified Arrow Dynamics: The “One Bend” Archer’s Paradox

The term Archer’s Paradox was coined in the mid 1930s by Dr. Robert P. Elmer to ‘explain’ why an arrow would hit a target when, from all appearances, it should strike to the left.

The archer’s paradox is most clearly observed with traditional longbows that do not have a cut away in the riser for the arrow rest.

When shooting a traditional longbow, the arrow must point significantly to the left (for a right handed archer), yet a well shot arrow will shoot straight with respect to the centre shot line of the bow.

The “archer’s paradox” is that the arrow shoots straight, even though it starts off pointing outwards.

The diagram below shows a simplified “one bend” explanation of the archer’s paradox, and this is the explanation I give to beginners.

I say, “the string pushes the arrow which bends around the bow”:

TOP DOWN VIEW OF ARROW, STRING & BOW

The crucial point is that the arrow must be of the correct spine so that it dynamically bends around the bow, the fletchings/vanes do not touch the riser or arrow rest and the arrow flies cleanly to the target.

If an arrow of the wrong spine is shot, the fletchings, nock or arrow shaft will hit the bow. Indeed, consistently damaged fletchings/vanes are always an indication of poor arrow clearance.  Thus, the archer, bow and arrows must be matched with each other.

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AHHHH!  To be finally matched with my arrows and my bow….that day will come, but in the meantime, I must learn to be patient and to get my form in proper order.  I’ve been threatened with “electric shock” to stop my bow movement to the right.  But, look at the diagram above, it is the arrow that is kicking my bow, like the tail of a large fish!  I can show you my fletchings and how they are torn up!  They are hitting the bow in a very hard manner and to shock me will be causing nothing but pain to me, the bow will continue to move. (This is sounding a lot like when I was working and the boss would come up to us in a staff meeting and say, “THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES”!!!)

So, some of us are a bit hard headed with it comes to believing this “archers paradox” thing.  I did some more research on it and found a very short video in extremely slow motion and by dang there is something to it.  Watch the video.  There are no animals killed in the production of this video.

Alright then, we now believe in this Archers Paradox.  I still have a tough time thinking you wouldn’t want an arrow that was too stiff to bend, but what the heck.  For now I will trust that is has to bend and that I must choose the right arrow for the job.  Continuing with what the website says:

Arrow Selection

First decide upon a make and grade of arrow: Beman, Easton XX75, X7, ACE, etc. Choice will probably be influenced by price. My advice would be this:

If you are missing the target once a dozen, get cheaper arrows. If you are an 1100+ FITA archer, you will want the best, lightest, thinnest and fastest arrows possible. (For the indoor season a tournament archer will choose fat arrows.) If you are in between, then buy in between.

Think long and hard, then choose. You MUST have faith in your choice! Like any sport, archery is in large part about belief. You must know that you have the right arrows.

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Price is definitely a consideration here.  I don’t want to spend, say $10 for one arrow, and then take it out and plaster it against a cement wall at full speed.  But then, I don’t want to spend $1 for a dozen arrows and have them break apart at my wrist when I shoot them.  So, I have made two purchases of arrows, but have yet to shoot any of them (they haven’t gotten here yet).  So, from the above, decide on a make and grade….here is where the confusion “begins”, make is one thing, grade is another.  And don’t ask me what a 1100 + FITA archer is.  The biggest thing I have gotten from this whole statement is this, “You must have faith in your choice”!  I have faith in my choice of bows so far and I have my three trusty self fletched arrows that are teaching me well about form and archers paradox.  They have a flex all their own.

Well, perhaps this is enough information for this time.  Once I get my arrows I can begin to “tune” my bow.  A quick read on this website show me there are still a whole lot of things to come before I can even expect to hit the target.  However, I have been managing to hit the “paper” the target is printed on, and that is close enough for me at this point.  I have faith!

Bears Butt

February 4, 2015