kids bow question?

[hook]

I am in the final stages of finishing a 48" hickory bow with "flipped" tips for my grandson. Its very light...maybe 10 lbs or so.
I bought wood arrows at  a sporting goods store that say they are good for up to 30# bows. I cut one down to get a 22" draw length and replaced the plastic fletching with turkey feathers. so I am sure it is way too stiff.
when I am shooting this bow I have to aim about 5" right of where I want it to hit from 5 yards away. Is that because the arrow is too stiff or do you think I have another problem?
the string alignment is center of the bow and the handle is about 5/8" wide. I was shooting off my hand but have since installed a small rest but haven't tried it yet. what diameter shafts should I use? I have a ten strand b-50 string on it.

[Del the cat]

1/4" dowel from the local hardware store will probably do you.
Also see if you can relieve the arrow pass a bit to give a nearer centre shot.
Low poundage bows are a pain.
Del

[lesken2011]

Del is right. You can get the 1/4 in dowels from HD or Lowes. They sometimes come in hardwood (oak) and poplar. The cost is not too bad for kids bows if you get the 36" or 48". Then you can get 2 arrows from each dowel. You may have to straighten them, though. When I used to make a lot of kids arrows when my 3 boys were shooting competitive 3-D traditional tournaments a lot, I usually got the 5/16 dowels due to the availability of points and nocks for that diameter shaft. Now it is much easier to get ones that fit the 1/4 in shafts since they make them for carbon arrows which are similar in diameter.

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes, too stiff. You can sand the middle of the arrow to lighten the spine. Wrap the sandpaper around it. Jawge

[doggonemess]

I was having A LOT of trouble with the 5 lb bow I made for my son, and when I finally got it tillered correctly, I found that it always shot way to the left. I let my son shoot it (he was 4 at the time!), and he put every arrow into an area three feet wide and five feet vertical. The deviation was due to inexperience, but they weren't all to the left. Then I really looked at how I was shooting the bow. It turned out that because my draw is almost twice his, I was holding the bow and string really weird. When I made a concerted effort to shoot it nice and straight, and carefully draw it, the shots started consistently going into a two foot circle, right in the middle.

This case may be different, but that's what I experienced. Good luck, post some pics when you're done!

[Diligence]

For my son's bow, I went down and bought 2foot bamboo stakes from the garden center. They are all very small diameter and his 8# bow shoots them like darts!

I just hand straightened them, fletched them and sanded off the rough parts.  Easy & cheap!

D

[hook]

Thanks Guys,

Dilegence, I am going to try the Bamboo shafts!!

[sadiejane]

if those target arrows you bought have yr basic target points on em, maybe remove and add 160 g target points.
adding weight to the front of arrow has similar effect as lighter spined shaft

[RDK]

"Low poundage bows are a pain."

Amen.......to that........

Just finished my first for a neighbor's son-who is a remarkable 5 year old--a very powerful little fellow.....  and I probably learned more than I wanted to....

Erratic arrows--aside from inexperience in shooting-they were scattering all over- a lot of frustration......So I removed the blunt points from the 11/32 diameter arrows I made.  They now  fly just fine and will "stick" in a loose straw bale-and are "accurate" enough. I'm thinking to  paint the tips black so they look like they have points. So he is thrilled, is getting the hang of archery, and his dad now wants to make a self bow.