spine vs grain

[tgr]

I have been making some shoot and red osier arrows for a while.  I understand that spine should match the bow as the lighter the spine the more right it will travel. If you're a righty. What about grain?  Is there a minimum grain to use for ethical deer penetration, and is the grain the key to better penetration?

Part B:  What about left vs right wing feathers.  I assume that these will spin the arrow one way or another.  Does it make a difference in accuracy as long as you use all left or right when making the arrow?


Thanks again.
Tom R

[Boofus]

10 grains per pound of arrow weight is the running standard but heavier is better IMHO, some states place laws on minimum allowable arrow weight make sure you're in compliance with state hunting laws... As far as right and left wing fletching, many will tell you that if you're right handed you will need to shoot LW fletching, bull! it doesn't matter one bit as long as you have all the feathers from the same wing.

[tgr]

Thanks.   That makes sense

TR

[FAW]

I shoot 44 lb and 48 lb longbows as a rule and always try to keep the weight at 500 grains - seems to work well for me. I'm left handed and use right wing fletching, usually helical. If I do shoot left wing helical, there does not seem to be any difference. I think that rule of thumb you have alluded to is to allow for the position of the arrow fletching as it clears the bow from the left side or the right side. Once the arrow is in the air it should not matter which way it is spinning - definitely important not to mix right and left wing on the same arrow.

[tgr]

Along those lines then; An arrow that is the right grain say 500 for a 50lb bow may still be spined to heavy and go left.  THen the arrow should be left longer or some wood taken off the middle to get some flex.  A stiff arrow  could still be too light also and not penetrate well.

I'm asking because I don't have any way of measuring grains.  I don't want to continue to put time in to some shoots if they are too light as far a grain and will not penetrate even with a well place shot.

TR

[FAW]

tgr, a grain scale or some way of weighing your arrows to get exact or close matches is important to allow for consistency. Even a food scale in ounces will show you how well the arrows are matched as to weight. If your spine is right, length is right, weight up front is right, you should be able to "tweak" a good consistent shooting pattern.

[Lee Slikkers]

Even those cheap food scales often measure in grams...then simply google up a conversion site and convert grams to grains and once you know what you have and what you need it can be fairly simple to get the correct weight consistently.  Good Luck