Do arrows have an end of life date?

Newalpost

New member
Greetings.....

I recently posted about a problem I was having with groups - or rather poor groups. I thought at the time it was down to my release and there is some truth in that since I can usually tell when a shot goes somewhere that I didn't intend. Just a few days ago I started to investigate further and found that the arm on my arrow rest was sticking out too far as the adjustment mechanism had fallen off. When I fixed this things got better but I could only try one round because it came on to rain.

Yesterday at the club things were just as variable. I was getting groups the size of a large dinner plate. Somebody the other week suggested it might be my arrows but I couldn't pin it down to anyone or more in particular. So I tried a new set of arrows and immediately the groups improved. First round 3 in the X ring and the other three slightly further out. Then it rained and we had to pack up so I couldn't continue with the test.

The question is - do arrows 'go off'? These are inexpensive Easton Inspire Carbon and I've used the same 6 or 8 for about a year.
 

bimble

Well-known member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
AIUK Saviour
they can be worn, especially shooting into straw targets. Likewise, if you shoot some of them more often than others you will be changing how similar they all are to each other, which in turn will increase your group size

Arrows are consumables, they can last years (my x10s are several seasons old), but there is a reason why the pros will have a practice set, and a competition set.
 

bimble

Well-known member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
AIUK Saviour
they can be worn, especially shooting into straw targets. Likewise, if you shoot some of them more often than others you will be changing how similar they all are to each other, which in turn will increase your group size

Arrows are consumables, they can last years (my x10s are several seasons old), but there is a reason why the pros will have a practice set, and a competition set.
 

backinblack

Active member
Double post - see below. Edited that one but didn't think that the first one would remain as initially written.
 

backinblack

Active member
A random thing to try: are you shooting with a chest guard? If not, could the string be catching on clothing?. If so, how does it fit and are there any seams that could catch the string if it moves around during your shot set up?

I've had some similar issues with my shooting - some random left errors at the most extreme but mostly groups slightly too large and some decent groups that seemed to wander around the edge of the nine ring leading me to correct my sight repeatedly chasing these groups.

I swapped out my chest guard and shot with the new one for the first time yesterday and the it made a significant difference to my consistency and pretty much eliminated the above as far as I could tell shooting outdoors on a windy day. All errors were attributable to me or fell within my normal margin of error.

It may not be the answer, but I'd give it a look and maybe borrow someone else's chestguard to see if it makes a difference.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
...The question is - do arrows 'go off'? These are inexpensive Easton Inspire Carbon and I've used the same 6 or 8 for about a year.
They do, after some prolonged wear, but I would say, unless you are shooting 3x a week or more or shooting 150+ arrows a week then probably not. I would expect a least a couple of seasons out of them. As to trying new arrows, it often happens that when you try something new, your shooting temporarily improves. The reason is you just try a bit harder with the new kit. So my guess is that, although not impossible, it is unlikely to be your arrows.
It is more likely to be form, but it may also be your arrows/bow tune is off giving unpredictable results from day to day.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
I can sell you some "Arrow Anti-ageing Cream" to rub on them.
There is no truth in the rumour that it's the same as the "Anti Target Panic" cream but simply re-packaged.
Del
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
A good way to find out if the arrows are at fault is to number them and plot where each one lands every time you shoot them. Don't rush the process, use the results of several weeks' shooting. It is a good idea to put the number where you won't see it when you fit it to the string. If you can see the numbers there is a tendency, after a couple of shots, to expect it to land in a certain place. That can lead to unknowingly helping it to get in that region next time.
If you are shooting better than the arrows show, the plots for each arrow will be fairly consistent. You might find one arrow tends to land high right of the gold; up in the blue, perhaps. If you are consistent, that arrow will be in that area a lot more often than not.
You might find some tend to land close to each other; while others are nearly always alone. The loners are the ones that will spoil your scores more.
As to trying new arrows, it often happens that when you try something new, your shooting temporarily improves.
That is so true. I have had lots of new sets of arrows. Only one set showed up worse than the ones I already had. All the other sets showed up better than my current arrows at that time.... but only on the first session or two!
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
A good way to find out if the arrows are at fault is to number them and plot where each one lands every time you shoot them. Don't rush the process, use the results of several weeks' shooting. It is a good idea to put the number where you won't see it when you fit it to the string. If you can see the numbers there is a tendency, after a couple of shots, to expect it to land in a certain place. That can lead to unknowingly helping it to get in that region next time.
If you are shooting better than the arrows show, the plots for each arrow will be fairly consistent. You might find one arrow tends to land high right of the gold; up in the blue, perhaps. If you are consistent, that arrow will be in that area a lot more often than not.
You might find some tend to land close to each other; while others are nearly always alone. The loners are the ones that will spoil your scores more.
As to trying new arrows, it often happens that when you try something new, your shooting temporarily improves.
That is so true. I have had lots of new sets of arrows. Only one set showed up worse than the ones I already had. All the other sets showed up better than my current arrows at that time.... but only on the first session or two!
 

Mistake

New member
Ironman
If you're shooting into straw then both full carbons and a/c arrows will wear from the straw. Also, A/C arrows the core can become damaged and even fail (and before someone says nuh-uh this doesn't happen, I have an X10 from last year that proves you wrong) from useage - not sure if this is the straw targets or not.

They'll also pick up dings in the carbon from time to time as well as damage to the rear that'll begin to degrade performance over time.
 

jerryRTD

Well-known member
I can sell you some "Arrow Anti-ageing Cream" to rub on them.
There is no truth in the rumour that it's the same as the "Anti Target Panic" cream but simply packaged.
Del
Trouble is it only works on wooden arrows, and the 'Anti Target Panic' only works on wooden heads.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
everything has a finite life but using a set of arrows for a year will be nowhere near that point. The material will have been fatigue tested in various ways bfore they were put into production for arrows and then occasioanl batches will be tested for quality control. the simplest test will be beding under load and this will replicate to a certain degree their flexing under use. They will be bent whilst rotating as well as in a fixed position and then examined when they fail. generally the material is then guaranteed not to fail under a certain number of cycles at a particular laod and the number of cycles will be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Also microstructural study of arrows that havent failed will be done after a number of cycles (say every 100 thousand) and aslo other tests to see if the elasticity has changed over time. Measurment of stress/strain realtionships both practical and theoreticla will be done on the material and compared to a standard.
What would this mean to you? Well, all that work your arrow has doen will ahve changed it very little unless you have damaged it in some way so the normal forces no longer apply in the way they are supposed to. Plenty of published research into aluminium alloys can be found going back decades but harder to find relevant info on carbon fibre that is specific to it use here but the manufacturers data on CF in general would suggest that you arent going to get fatigue causing your arrows to stiffen up like a metal would work harden and they are several times less likely to get damaged by errant flight into things they shouldnt be hitting so if they look OK then they most likely are.
I would think you would need to look at other changes over time like your draw.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
I agree with everyone else who says they must have a finite life dependant on handling, target material & volume of shooting but 12 months seems very low.

My ACC's are just finishing their third season of straw boss shooting and showing no signs of deterioration - the archer however........ ;)

Have you tried dropping a line to Easton to see if they have an official line on their product life?



Karl
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
12 months at normal volumes is maybe on the low side... 6 months at high volumes might be normal enough, though...
It's not the length of time, it's the amount of usage. Leave them in a case for a year or two and they probably won't go off...

Shooting a fair amount of arrows two or three times a week and I'd say 12 months is probably the limit for "good" use, though they could still be used for practice.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I quickly read a paper on fatigue testing of carbon laminates and witha standard notched sample they had no failures at 1 million cycles at 85% (ultimate strength) load which is quite remarkabe when you consider the tensile and compressive strength of the material. So let us assume that you shoot at 60 yds as an average distance and the nodes of your arrow flex are 18" apart then you will get 120 cycles per loose (OK half cycle) and these will be at a much lower than the 85% load of the machine but it equates to 80,000 releases for each arrow. Thast is doing your 6 dozen over 6000 times a year before you get to the test life and dont forget that gave no failures at all.
Now the microstructural images of a C laminate are quite interesting when notches, holes etc are put in it to focus the crack propagation on a certain point. The resin itself cracks but the fibres dont so you get delamination rather than fracture, which is handy for us as it means that a slightly damaged arrow will not suddenly go snap or bang and you will ahve a good while to examine for damage if you are worried about a wayward shot and the arrow is not visibly knackered.
So, in short, you get a good few years life out of the arrows before they start to give up the ghost and if you do damage them slightly then that still isnt automatically the end of them
 

Newalpost

New member
Thank you all for you replies even the stereo ones :)

I wasn't wearing a chest guard but was bundled up a bit because of the weather and it had occurred to me at the time that this might be a problem but there was no indication that the string was striking my jacket or arm guard. I think that even though I've used the same 6 or 8 arrows over the last year they've seen relatively light usage as we don't meet more than every other week and then I've missed a few session anyway.

I think that maybe it's time to go back to the beginning and reset my bow, following the Tune for Tens guide. Then take it from there.

The rainy season is here and I don't really anticipate doing much this side of Christmas.

Thanks for all the help and advice
Colin.

PS: Can you get the Arrow Anti Aging Cream from Amazon and does it help in pulling arrows out of the wood?
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
While swearing NOT to spend any more for a while after a dip in form, I do wonder if my Easton xx75 Genesis arrows with slightly knackered vanes thanks to a load of comedy outdoor shooting (and finding out they do NOT go to 80 yards!) might need changing. I'd only need four.

Any recommendations? I have ACGs for outdoors which are great. Even in my daft hands.
 
Hi Kernowlad

It would depend on why you think they need replacing - if its just that the vanes are a bit tatty then just get some new vanes (or feathers) and they will be right as rain...

If they are the wrong spine as a result of poundage changes or all bent etc, then the XX75 platinum plus would be an ideal indoor arrow without breaking the bank.

Hope that helps

Dan
 
Top