How far can you shoot an arrow?

In 2010 Zak Crawford, only 14 years old at the time, set a world record in the "under 35 lbs recurve" category of flight archery.

The previous record was approx. 350 meters, but Zak smashed that record when he shot a little over 500 meters with his bow in 2010.

However that was with a 35 lb bow - which he likely overpulled to approx 37 - 40 lbs in order to give it some extra umph during the release.

Overpulling a bow to give it extra distance capacity is pretty standard when doing flight archery. That extra couple of lbs of force behind the arrow can make a huge difference when you are trying to smash a world record.

However Zak's feat is minor when you consider that 500 years ago British longbow archers were reputed to be able to shoot over 1500 yards away (over 1370 meters). And still hit a large target, like an enemy ship. Shooting burning arrows at enemy ships from long distances was the height of British naval warfare before cannons became popular and eventually erased the need for archers.

British longbowmen at the time were pulling bows with 150 lbs or more - so approx. 4.3 times the power of the bow Zak Crawford used in 2010.

And their arrows were heavier. Therefore it makes sense that a modern archer with great physical strength - pulling a 200 lb bow and using super lightweight arrows - could shoot arrows significantly further.

Arrow fletching also makes a difference. For flight arrows you want the fletching to be very small.

Wind conditions also make a big difference when doing flight archery. A headwind (coming towards you) will slow your arrow down. A tail wind could help or hinder it.

Another factor is elevation. Shooting on a high plateau gives you an advantage because of the thinner air. Shooting at sea level however, the air is thicker and slows your arrows down more.

But what is weird is how modern flight archery competitions all have weight categories for the bows. Limitations effectively on how far people can shoot using a much weaker bow.

For example Dennis Riley in 1981 shot a 72.8 lb conventional flight bow 975.36 meters.

Why was his bow 72.8 lbs??? Because that was the weight limitation for the category he was shooting in.

In contrast Don Brown in 1987 shot a conventional flight bow in an "unlimited category" and shot it 1222.01 meters. But how many lbs was his bow? I cannot tell you. I cannot find a record of the poundage.

In 1979 Harry Drake shot a foot bow (another category that is unlimited) 1410.87 meters. Again, no record for the poundage of his bow.

See http://www.worldarchery.org/RESULTS/Records/Flight-Records/Men for other weight categories for men's flight archery.

So how far can YOU shoot?

Depends on the poundage of your bow, the weight of your arrows, the length of your draw (overpulling), the wind conditions and how close to sea level you are.

How to Draw Bows and Arrows

There is an error on the images below, a visual guide on How to Draw Bows and Arrows - The mistake is the "compound bow", which is not a compound bow. It looks to be a Turkish/Scythian/Mandarin style composite bow. Sadly so many people confuse compound and composite.

Compound bows have wheels and pulleys. Composite bows are made of different materials (wood laminates, antler, sinew, etc) to give them extra strength.

You will see another error above, where the hand is drawing back an arrow with only two fingers. Three is the normal number.

Arrow through Wine Glass

Arrow Vs Water Balloons

Calculating Arrow Speed Formulas

There are a number of arrow speed formulas out there for people who want to try and calculate mathematically how fast their arrows are going in fps (Feet Per Second).

Sadly they are all inaccurate.

My advice? Calculate your arrow speed using multiple different formulas and then get a range of numbers or average number. Then you will know roughly how fast your arrows are going.

In which case you are also going to need to know the meanings of some words and acronyms...

IBO (International Bowhunters Organization number used as a measurement for calculating arrow speed, based on a 70 lb bow. The arrow will have a grain weight of 540 [9 grains of arrow weight per pound of bow weight]. The draw length will be set at 30 inches. The chronograph used for measuring the speed will be placed at point blank range for testing.)

AMO (Archery Manufacturing Organization number used as a measurement for calculating arrow speed, based on a 60 lb bow. The arrow will have a grain weight of 350 [5 grains of arrow weight per pound of bow weight]. The draw length will be set at 30 inches. The chronograph used for measuring the speed will be placed at point blank range for testing.)

DRAW (The distance you pull back the arrow from the arrow rest.)

GRAINS (A weight measurement for arrows and arrowheads. 7000 grains is 1 pound.)

STRING WEIGHT (Any added weight on the bowstring will slow your arrow down. Dampeners and similar devices will weigh down your bowstring.)

Once you know most of these numbers you can try and calculate FPS (Feet Per Second) using the different formulas. Try using the IBO formula and then the AMO formula and see the different results. Neither will be truly accurate to your actual arrow speed, but the average should be reasonably close.

There is also the ATA (Archery Trade Association) formula, which has gained some popularity despite being more restrictive in its calculations.

NOTE

If you really want to know the specific number then you will need to buy a gadget and then use it several times to try and get an average number based on the readings.

eg. 3 consecutive readings might be 139 fps, 138 fps and 140 fps = averaging 139 fps.

2nd NOTE

For those of you who are into hunting please note that arrow speed doesn't matter so much when it comes to hunting. Yes, light arrows are faster. But HEAVY arrows do more damage because they have more momentum and impact.

Balancing Point of Arrow

Learn more about the Balancing Point of Arrow by reading "What the eff is FOC weight?"

Exploding Arrows

Right, an example of an exploding arrowhead from one of the Rambo movies.

Below are several different videos about exploding arrows.

Honestly, based on the videos, most homemade exploding arrows do diddly squat for damage. The guy who claims his arrows could be sold to people looking to shoot elephants is off his rocker if he thinks his tiny little explosion is going to do anything more than annoy and scare the elephant.

If anything what you want is some kind of professional military grade exploding arrow - like in the one Rambo movie. Or the over-the-top "blue explosive" arrows that Hawkeye has in The Avengers film.

Explosive arrows are largely fantasy. You'd need some really high tech explosives in order to do serious damage to a target.

Archery Equipment

The majority of archery equipment consists of:

1. Bows

2. Arrows

 

Optional 

3. Release aids

4. Protective equipment

5. Stabilizers

6. Sighting Equipment

Bows

 

A bow is a flexible arc that shoots arrows by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord. As this string is drawn, energy is stored in the flexible limbs of the bow; the energy is transferred to the arrow when the string is released, projecting it much farther than a weapon could be thrown.

There are many types of bows available in archery:

1. Recurve bow

2. Olympic Recurve bow

3. Compound bow

4. Longbow

5. Reflex bow

6. Shortbow

7. Japanese Kyudo bow

 

Recurve bow

A recurve bow has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is strung. A recurve bow stores more energy that a straight-limbed bow, because more is stored and delivered more efficiently, giving a greater amount of energy and hence speed, to the arrow. It is the bow mostly used by archers in the Olympics, as well in many competitive events.

The bow is usually made from multiple layers of fibreglass, carbon or wood.

The Olympic recurve bow

Compound bow

A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs. The limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than a recurve bow. This stiffness makes the bow more cost effective to build than other bows because it takes less time and materials to make.

 

The compound bow is little-affected by changes in temperature and humidity and it gives superior accuracy, velocity, and distance in comparison to other bows that cost the same amount of money. You can still get a high quality bow of a different type that will produce the same amount of power and accuracy, but it will be much more expensive.

 

Compount bows are typically used for hunting and bowfishing.

The hunting compound bow

Arrows

The most common form of arrow consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end with fletching and a nock attached to the other end. Shafts are typically composed of solid wood, fibreglass, aluminum alloy, carbon fiber or composite materials.  

 

Wooden arrows are prone to warping, while fibreglass arrows are brittle but can perform well. Aluminum and carbon fiber shafts are very popular currently due to their lighter weight creates greater speed and accuracy.

Today, arrows made of composite materials are the most popular tournament arrows at Olympic Events.

Different kinds of arrows

Release Aids

When such a device was first invented, it was known as a clutch. The trigger may be an actual trigger lever which is depressed by a finger or thumb. Archers using compound bows usually use a release aid to hold the string and release it precisely. This attaches to the bowstring just below the nocking point or at the D loop and permits the archer to release the string by the use of some form of trigger. 

An example of a release aid

Stabilisers

A general term for various types of weights, usually on rods, mounted on the bow to increase stability. It is the inconsistencies of the archer that stabilizers can help to reduce. The various types of stabilizers are each designed to minimize a particular direction of movement. The successful addition of stabilizers can only be achieved by actual testing and accuracy grouping. 

A stabilizer to minimize a faulty shot

Protective Equipment

Bracer - Also known as a arm-guard, to protect the inside of the bow arm from being hit by the string and prevent clothing from catching the bow string. 

Bracer made out of plastic

Chest guards – Protection for their chests, where mostly female archers wear them.

Chest guard where mostly women wear

Thumb ring – To protect the drawing digits.

Thumb ring made from leather