Arrow Making : Of Spine, Materials, Piles and Fletchings

Following a few questions on my previous blog entry "Making Longbow Arrows" I have decided to put together a quick table covering my experience in choosing Arrow material, spine, pile and fletchings. It is based on the Longbow and Warbow I shoot / have shot and my sons bows. Therefore you can consider this as a rough guide but in reality the only sure way of getting your arrow correct is to suck it and see. Ultimately every individual will have the ideal Arrow for their bow but we all need a starting point; so here goes.

Bow Weight	<=30 yards	30/40/50 yards	60/70 yards	80/100 yards	180 yards	Field
20 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20 lb	5/16 POC 40 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20>	-	-	-	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20>
40 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 4" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 3" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	-	-	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 4" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb
65 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 60 lb --------------- 3/8 Ash 125 grain Piles 7" Fletchings	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 3" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	-	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 60 lb
95 lb	3/8 Ash 125 grain Piles 7" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 3" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	95lb is too Heavy for 3D targets