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    • Stephen Graf
      Moderator
        July 8, 2014 at 11:00 am
        Post count: 2429
        #2752

        So when I practice, I usually just use one arrow. I shoot it, retrieve it, and shoot again. About half the time, I’ll also bring my bare shaft along and shoot 2 arrow groups just to see if things are staying in tune.

        And here’s the thing that needs ‘splainin. I would say that about 9 out of 10 times, my bare shaft ends up closer to the mark than the feathered shaft.

        I figured it must be the feathers hitting the shelf or something. I’ve tried putting the cock feather in every degree around the clock, and different length feathers, etc. There is no wear on the feathers indicating contact.

        I Don’t really think of it as a problem, just a curiosity that has persisted across the years and bows.

        Any ideas?

      • jpc
        Member
          July 8, 2014 at 11:54 am
          Post count: 170
          #12512

          Never heard bare shafts more accurate than arrows with feathers , never saw bare shafts for competition or bowhunting

          So, why not to look at this problem from the other side ?

          I mean have a close look at what can be wrong with the way you set feathers on your shafts

        • Jason Wesbrock
          Member
            July 8, 2014 at 3:22 pm
            Post count: 762
            #12693

            Which arrow do you shoot first, the fletched one or the bare shaft?

          • Stephen Graf
            Moderator
            Moderator
              July 9, 2014 at 10:46 am
              Post count: 2429
              #13594

              Normally I shoot the feathered shaft first. But I switch it up enough to rule out a pattern. Doesn’t seem to matter which arrow I shoot first.

            • David Petersen
              Member
                July 9, 2014 at 10:45 pm
                Post count: 2749
                #14103

                Do you shoot the same two arrows each time? Try it with half a dozen of each. Or strip the feathers from the feathered shaft and shoot it bare, and fletch the bare shaft. In other words, it could be something integral to the two shafts, feathers notwithstanding. It’s oddly gratifying that even a space engineer can have such a problem as this. 😛

              • Ralph
                Moderator
                  July 10, 2014 at 12:21 am
                  Post count: 2580
                  #14168

                  I wonder what’d happen if you bare shafted a rocket? Steve?:lol:

                • Stephen Graf
                  Moderator
                  Moderator
                    July 10, 2014 at 10:32 am
                    Post count: 2429
                    #14676

                    R2 wrote: I wonder what’d happen if you bare shafted a rocket? Steve?:lol:

                    I’d probably go to jail if I did it in public 😯

                  • Stephen Graf
                    Moderator
                    Moderator
                      July 10, 2014 at 10:39 am
                      Post count: 2429
                      #14683

                      David Petersen wrote: Do you shoot the same two arrows each time?…:P

                      Yes and no. I use the same bare shaft, but I switch up the feathered shafts. It has happened to me over the years with different bows and arrows.

                      David Petersen wrote: …It’s oddly gratifying that even a space engineer can have such a problem as this. 😛

                      I don’t really see it as a problem since the arrows are mostly together acceptably close to the mark. It’s just that the bare shaft is usually the closer arrow. See how I did that? Sign of a good engineer. When in doubt, change the specs 8)

                    • Ralph
                      Moderator
                        July 10, 2014 at 4:15 pm
                        Post count: 2580
                        #14965

                        I worked with lots of electrical engineers. They always blamed it on Vegas. Or R2:wink:

                        Just curious but if you increase distance does the difference of impact increase?

                        Might tell you something. Wouldn’t me tell anything though cause increasing distance spreads groups. Just an R2 thing :D…..

                        R2+D=>G.

                        I think probably R2 the variable in that formula.

                      • Bruce Smithhammer
                          July 10, 2014 at 6:30 pm
                          Post count: 2514
                          #15066

                          R2 wrote:

                          R2+D=>G.

                        • Stephen Graf
                          Moderator
                          Moderator
                            July 11, 2014 at 11:32 am
                            Post count: 2429
                            #15840

                            R2 wrote: … Just curious but if you increase distance does the difference of impact increase?…

                            That’s a good idea! Never thought to increase the distance past my effective range of 3 ft. I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes, if I can find my arrows after I shoot 😕

                            In truth, I’m not much good after 20 yds, and so don’t shoot long distances much. But I did shoot out to about 25 yds yesterday and the pattern didn’t hold up. Not sure what that means, other than I suck.

                          • Ralph
                            Moderator
                              July 11, 2014 at 1:14 pm
                              Post count: 2580
                              #15923

                              Steve, maybe it’s just a clue that one arrow groups are the tightest. 😀 No matter the distance.:roll: Feathers or not. 😉

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