How much can an arrow paradox ?

[Fox]

How much can an arrow paradox before it starts negatively effecting things? And I’m assuming when you see an arrow “kick out” of the bow  the arrow isn’t correctly spined to the bow? Or is that a normal thing to see on non centershot bows?


-Fox

[Pat B]

Whether center shot or not a properly spined arrow should fly well off of the intended bow. The arrow only needs enough paradox to get around the bow, no more, no less.

[Selfbowman]

Like Pat said, enough to get around the bow. The more it has to paradox the less it will perform.

Arvin

[Fox]

So more specifically... say could it paradox an inch around the bow? 2?

[Pat B]

To me that doesn't matter. All I care about is good arrow flight.

[ssrhythm]

Im going to state what I think I understand...someone correct me if I’m not understanding this correctly.  Archers paradox is a term that describes the fact that an arrow pointing left of the target actually flies true to the target when loosed.  Proper arrow flex is why the archers paradox happens.  Paradox is not the same thing as flex of arrow...flex of arrow allows the paradox to be.  The arrow will first flex away from the bow hand when the string is dropped.  I don’t think numbers matter.  If you have a too stiff arrow, the flex will be too small related to the forward momentum which will overcome the inertia of the point sending the point of the arrow moving and  flying left of target resulting in nock right flight off the bow.  Too much flex and the back end of the arrow won’t clear the bow and that will kick the back end left causing nock left flight off the bow. It seems to me that it does not matter the weight of bow or the degree of center shot...what matters is that the arrow is spined such that it flexes just enough to not overcome the inertia of the arrow point and not so much that the arrow can’t recover and clear the riser as the fletchings clear the rest/riser.  A bow of 47# with a well matched and tuned arrow and a 100# bow with a well matched and tuned arrow that are identical in design should produce almost identical arrow behavior....same degree of flex.  The less center shot a bow is, the more flexible the arrow spine will need to be to achieve, as stated in a previous post, just enough flex, but not too much...which will achieve the archers paradox.

[Fox]

Sounds right to me ssrhythm... I was just more wondering if there is a limit of how wide a bow can be at the arrow pass...

[bownarra]

[-----------------------------------------------]
This much

[bownarra]

If you don't see just a nock disappearing your spine is wrong

[Del the cat]

In the explanation by ssrhythm, the vital words missed out were "at brace". The arrow points left at brace compared to the direction it is pointing at full draw... it doesn't go left because of the flexibility of the arrow.
So... it doesn't matter if the bow is 2" wide or even more, if the brace height is high enough and the arrow flexible enough.
The limiting factor is (IMO) more the size of the human hand which I'd say would have trouble holding a bow of more than 2.5" ... may 3" absolute max (which is about what bownarra indicated according to my screen ). I'm sure an arrow could be made to cope with that... if necessary, by adding large fletching, like they have on 1/2" war arrows.
Del

[bassman]

I like this much >---------------> unless I am making a replica bow, or a bow for some one else who wants no shelf. I guess I make shelf  bows for my own reasons, but to each their own.

[Pat B]

The arrow pointing at full draw is where the arrow will go, not at brace. Once the arrow is loosed it shouldn't touch the bow at all if properly spined. Archer's paradox is the flexing of the arrow so it goes around the bow as it heads for the target. My draw is 26" at best. I cut my arrows at 29" to 30" for a couple of reasons. I think the extra length allows the arrow to get around the bow better plus I like the extra physical weight(for hunting reasons). Even though I don't hunt much anymore I keep my set up the same because with instinctive shooting consistency is one of the necessities.

[Fox]

Okay guys thanks, those  are some great answers.

[Pat B]

There is a lot more to arrows than folks give credit to. Most folks think the bow is the most important part of the combo but the bow is only the means of propulsion. The arrow does most of the work so it should be where most of the attention is directed. I think that a lot of peoples accuracy problems is not understanding arrows and arrow flight.

[DC]

What controls the way the arrow bends? Why does it bend away from the bow? I have a follow-up question