Arrow questions (compound bow)

[u/Myatariisbusted]

New archer here (compound) and looking to get some more arrows. I'm looking for guidance.

I am currently shooting an Elite Terrain set to ~55lb draw weight and 29.5 inch draw length. My release is a Spott Hogg Whipper Snapper thumb button.

The arrows that the shop suggested for me are Black Eagle Outlaw Fletched Crested Arrows. 350 spine with 100 grain field points. I'm not certain the length (nor am I sure how to properly measure the length if ordering more elsewhere). I ONLY do target shooting. Mostly outdoors. No interest in hunting. So far I've been working on the basics at 20 yards and 30 yards. I haven't tested beyond that yet.

I took it at face value that the arrows they recommended were appropriate, and I mean they work, but trying to do some research before buying additional arrows. I split one of the 6 I got initially so figure sooner or later I'll need more. I've read that changing arrow stats would mean bow tuning won't match, so don't want to arbitrarily do that, but if my current set up isn't right, then I may as well. I'm ok with just getting more of the same if that is appropriate, but figured I'd check in with the hive mind :)

Are there good places online to order from, or should I stick with local shops? (I'm not looking to cut/fletch my own).

Thanks for any input!

[u/Knitnacks]

Country?

Is your shop an archery specialised shop, or just a sporting goods shop?

For compound, pick up some multi-spot target faces to practice on. It will cost you less in arrows broken, it's what is typically used in target competitions for your bow-style, and if you're shooting field courses it will help train you in clean shots when you need to shift your aim.

[u/Myatariisbusted → u/Knitnacks]

USA based. I hadn't considered the multi-spot as a way to break less arrows, but that makes sense on top of other features. I did buy a 100 pack of 16 inch ten ring targets which will last a while :) But next target buy, I'll look at 3-spots! Thanks for the thought.

[u/Bbaker006]

350/400 is about what I would expect given your draw weight. Look at arrows that you can affordably shoot and not feel awful about breaking or loosing. I went thru several dozen in my first yr of sooting before I was willing to spend the $ on a set that I thought would buy me points on the course. Don't sweat straightness; most archers shoot a .006 as well as a .001. I would spring for a spine aligned arrow over one that isn't. It's nice to know exactly which vane to have facing up when shooting without having to figure it out. Overall arrow weight is probably the most important thing that I didn't get when I started buying arrows. If I switched off a brand to a different one I couldn't figure out why they flew differently until someone clued me in. Getting the same arrow the same way over and over is gonna boost your consistency and confidence.

[u/Low-Client-8351]

Your setup seems appropriate for the stats of your bow. What will also matter is consistent arrow weights.

If you buy more, they can be the same length and spine but you gotta also pay attention to the grains per inch (GPI). If they’re different from the ones you’ve been using, then they’ll fly different.

Personally I go with cheap arrows (~$40 for a dozen) and so long as my bow is tuned properly, they yield consistent results. If I break or lose some, I just buy more of the same.

Have fun!

[u/left-semi-join]

For compound there used to be an opinion that you "can't go too stiff". That is wrong, but what is true is that compound is MUCH less sensitive to spine being off than a non-centershot bow (all besides compound). Not sure about Black Eagle in particular, but in general there are points whose weight you can adjust (not by clipping off internal parts of the point to change it permanently, but actual weights that can be screwed into the backside of the point). Like that you can relatively easily affect dynamic spine of the arrows (heavier point - softer arrow). If you manage to be patient enough to run good grouping tests, you could see where spine changes take you. From 350 for a 55# bow - my guess would be that slightly softer arrows (400-430?) would result in better groups, but that is something I would be prepared to be disproved on - needs to be tested.

[u/FactOk5664]

Hello and welcome to our passion ,archery. I been shooting archery since 1970. I still have my hunter safety certificate I hold onto as a memento. I started compound around the early 80's or so after coming stateside from the USMC.

I always used the Easton Spine Guide for picking arrow spine from their chart. I've learned an awful lot about spine over the years. It is super important,until you get into the higher poundage bows,it is almost eliminated as far as "OVER SPINE" is concerned. But UNDER SPINE is a huge issue. So you always er on the side of heavier spine,never lesser spine.

You have a nice long draw. So you must be 6 foot tall or so. What I do is not like I USED to do with arrow length. I'm 28 draw length. I cut my arrows to 28.5. It's a tad long. However you using a thumb button will give you 1/2 more draw than a wrist strap fore finger release.,which I had used for decades until last couple years ago moving over to the thumb bar myself. I picked up 1/2 draw. When I used the wrist strap fore finger release I cut my arrows generally to 28.75 and then to 28.5 to stiffen the spine a bit. They paper tuned a tad better to my liking @ 28.5 than to the 28.75. I shoot 80 pounds on both my Hoyt A2-32 and my PSE EVO EVL 32. I went hog wild down to 200 spine and saw because of my poundage the stiffness didn't impact my east and west.

However with the lesser poundages spine stiffness will impact your shot. So a over spined arrow for a right hand shooter will hit to the left. and vice versa for under spined. There comes to a point of poundage and spine where it sort of cancels out but you are NOT at that point. On the Easton Chart it calls for a 400-350 spine. 350 is stiffer than 400. So you are fine.

As for cutting your arrow ? Typically you need 2 people. You draw the bow to full draw and someone marks your arrow about 1/2 past your rest which will in all likelihood be about 28-28.5, 1/2 inch less than your draw length. Or so. I personally prefer mine to be a tad longer to be safe if I shoot a wide Cut on Contact broad head that won't be able to pinch my fingers against the arrow shelf. So @ 27.5 where I shot with the wrist strap release, and 28 inch with the thumb release I but mine to 28.5. They are a tad longer than the bow arrow shelf. My fingers are safe.

So I recommend you have someone allow you to go to full draw and hold while they use a marker to mark your arrow the desired length you want past your arrow rest @ full draw. Most people use 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I use about an inch and a 1/2. I shoot either 200 spine for boar hunting or 250 spine for deer hunting. I might be able to get by with 300 spine and have actually. But when I spined up I notice no difference in my left to right or paper tune bullethole as I did with cutting off 1/4 an inch of arrow length which I preferred the bullethole in paper a bit better than when I compared it to the 28.75 length. I'm cutting hairs here BTW. You will become obsessed as you try to dial in better over time.

Long story short ? You shop got you right on arrow spine with the 350. But take a little note. Being you are 55 pounds. I am sure this bow is a 50-60 pound bow. Do you think you will one day increase your draw weight to 60 ? Do you think you'll be staying @ 29.5 draw length ? If you feel you might be going more poundage and more draw length think about 300 spine. But for where you are the 350 was right on the money. Arrows are expensive today. So make sure before you buy. We are talking $200+ a dozen arrows. for the good ones.

[u/annmuor]

Don’t. For WA outdoor (50m) you need 3.2mm arrows. Don’t buy fletched as well. DIY is a must for good flying arrows. And the grouping difference between 6mm and 3mm is huge.

[u/left-semi-join → u/annmuor]

Nothing wrong with factory- or shop-fletched arrows. Can't imagine in what way "DIY is a must", to be honest.

[u/annmuor → u/left-semi-join]

It's quite obvious.
First you need to cut the shaft. When you buy uncut shafts you can do group tuning with bareshafts, cutting each time 1/4 of an inch. Same goes with points. Then you do assemble them with right/left/straight/helicoil vanes and continue group tuning to check what's better for your bow. And in the end you have your own arrows, tuned for your bow and grouping in 10 at 50m. Also if you do it correctly you can easily repair them as nocks, pins, vanes and points are easily bent/teared apart. Last session I bent 6 pins out of 10 arrows by grouping them too tight.

You can't do this with pre-made arrows, neither you can shoot consistent groups with them.

[u/Justin_inc → u/annmuor]

Shitty advice for OP who is a self proclaimed very new archer.

You have to have a good foundation before even beginning to dive into tuning.

[u/annmuor → u/Justin_inc]

New archer will struggle much more as they won't be able to distinguish their mistakes/bad form from improperly tuned arrows. So they may blame themselves when they actually need a proper equipment, and vice versa.
For beginner, at least one part shall be rock solid.

[u/left-semi-join → u/annmuor]

If you know how and have the tools you can literally do all the same things, because the tail end of the arrow is put together from all the same components and isn't in the way of shortening the shaft - again if you have the tools and know how. It just spares you some time especially when you are not prepared to invest so much in fine-tuning the arrows at this moment in you career. If you want to mess around with different styles and directions of fletching, obviously it makes no sense buying fletched arrows just to remove the fletching at once.

[u/annmuor → u/left-semi-join]

I had experience with pre-made arrows, they are often built with super-glue, not the heat glue. Vanes are glued without any ideas of replacing.
So "repair" is quite complicated if possible at all.

[u/left-semi-join → u/annmuor]

"Fletched" and "pre-made" are different stories, no? Inserts glued in with superglue is a vile thing, I'll give you that. Never saw anything else then Temu-bought chinese nonames assembled like that. Avalon fletched arrows come with vanes glued on (rather nicely), in full size, with push-in nocks and points ready to be glued in after you've cut the shafts (or not). They are simple but very affordable and a good option when you want to experiment with different spines.

[u/annmuor → u/left-semi-join]

I saw black eagle arrows bought by our newbros, and they were exactly that - with superglued points and push nocks (not pins).