Out of Ammo (addendum)

On an only slightly related note and while we're discussing arrows. I've also made the decision that if I return to compound for the indoor season (unlikely) I will not be using fat shafts. The large diameter shaft was created with reasonable logic; a larger projectile will have a greater chance of cutting a line and picking up the critical extra points, but fails to account for arrow spine. Yes, yes, I know all the top pros shoot large diameter shafts... but they're not normal mortals like you and me.

A large diameter shaft is spined ridiculously stiff. I was shooting Gold Tip Triple Xs and those spine out to 0.150 for instance. Now, if a shot is executed perfect and at short distance you will never have a problem with a stiff spine out of a compound bow. However, a stiff spine out of a compound bow is incredibly sensitive to minor errors in form or execution. Think of it like walking on grass versus concrete. Yes you can effectively walk across either surface, the solid surface of concrete in fact being slightly easier even due to it's firmness; but if you trip on something, a fall on to a concrete surface is far more catastrophic.

In contrast, a standard diameter shaft of appropriate spine will prove to be much more forgiving. Obviously it won't protect you from all errors and you do give up a lot of the line cutting advantages of a large diameter shaft but a bad shot won't (typically) ruin your 300, just your X count. My recent experimentation with arrow spine and a recurve have thoroughly proven this. Finger release is notoriously sensitive yet even with a bad release, I was able to maintain gold (9 or 10 ring) at 20 yards using a properly spined arrow.