Plastic vaned arrows and the longbow

       So recently, after a lifetime shooting compound bows of one type or another, I took a huge step backward and ordered an English style long bow.  I wanted to do something unique to it, so I ordered the basic bent stick; no handle option.  I did the handle myself.

       The reason I did my own handle is because the black with brown leather trim hides a secret.  I wrapped double around the left side of the bow, creating a very shallow riser.  This allowed me to experiment.  Risers on longbows are usually much wider than the shaft of the arrow.  But they really only need to be just over half the shaft's diameter wide.  Mine is slightly over that, but much more narrow than most.

       If you've ever watched a slow motion video of an arrow leaving a longbow, you'll see that the arrow flexes around the bow stave, and doesn't really touch it again, once it starts moving.  I had done a lot of thinking on this "Archer's Paradox" and thought: "If the arrow bends around the bow, and the videos show it never touches the bow again after initial contact, why can't I use a small riser, and use plastic vaned arrows?"

       I realize many traditional archers might be aghast at the idea, but some are on a budget, and good aluminum arrows are much cheaper than good wooden ones.  Also, I've never been one to assume that what I've been told is 100% true.  And my guess was that not too many people had ever attempted doing this.

       So after practicing a couple of times to make sure my form was good enough (20+ years with a compound bow can make one lazy) I set up my backstop and target, (which will be another post) got out an assortment of arrows, and shot way too many sets.  All of my arrows are spined for a 60 pound pull, and both my compound/recurve and my longbow are 60 pound.

       What I discovered was that Aluminum arrows are heavier than you'd think.  They dropped a lot more than the cedar arrows I normally use.  Could be a hundred different reasons, but even just holding them I could tell the cedar was lighter.  The heavy aluminum was a choice I made long ago, lighter ones exist.  I had just always assumed wood was heavier.  Live and learn.

       Speaking of lighter, next up were the carbon arrows.  Those, to my great dismay, kicked upward on loosing.  I knew the nock was right because the wooden and aluminum arrows few just fine.  This puzzled me for a bit, because the spine is right, but I think I've puzzled it out.  Even if the carbon arrows flexed the same amount, they would return to shape much faster, due to the same properties that make them preferred for faster-firing bows.  This put the vanes in contact with the riser, lofting the rear of the arrow.

       So the short story is, if using a riser no wider than the arrow, you can use plastic vanes, provided the arrow isn't carbon.  If using carbon, use feathers.  And yes, this would be much cooler and more informative if I had a high speed camera and did a video.  I don't have that kind of cash laying around, and if I did, I'd buy land or more arrows with it anyway.