Archery Merit Badge

[JoeBob]

DFOlson,

 

Thanks for the info on the printed version.

 

Who wants to contact the 'instantly apparent' official site webmaster and correct him?

[dfolson]

FYI - equipment could be a factor... Our council has supplied the camps with Genisis bows. They are good quality with durability (and they have a purchase program for Non-Profits like BSA). They also have the advantage of being able to accomodate draw lengths form 15" - 30" without adjustments.

 

YiS,

David

[JoeBob]

I'm starting to wonder if the heavy fiberglass arrows are the culprit.

At the Cub Scout distance of 5 yards you can drill the 9-10 ring all day with the same angle of entry. Not much flight time for the shaft to deviate from the trajectory off the bow or the plastic vanes to have much stabilizing effect.

At 10 yards the groups open up and the arrows hit the target at varied angles.

At 15 yards, the new distance, the observed arrow flight is all over the place, with some arrows wobbling almost sideways. Maybe one shot in five is a flat smooth trajectory.

 

Thanks for the equipment advice, David.

[shortridge]

JoeBob -

 

I was going for a formal legal-type statement that clearly indicated ownership, but try this if you want something more explicit. Load up the two sites side-by-side in separate browser windows.

 

Which one says "Boy Scouts of America" and which one says "U.S. Scouting Service Project"?

 

Which one uses a Scouting logo and registered trademark symbol beside it, and which one uses tiny generic clip-art images?

 

And more to the point, which one has a prominent link at the top of the page - "Go To BSA Site" - which clearly indicates the linking site is NOT sponsored by the BSA?

 

Dude, it's pretty obvious.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

[dfolson]

I would be very interested to hear the results if you do a side by side experement with different arrows!

 

YiS,

David

[JoeBob]

shortridge,

 

You're right. The site that is wrong is the official site.

 

BSA - I should have known...

 

 

David, I'll take some of my aluminum arrows next year. Thanks fer pitching in.

[CalicoPenn]

JoeBob,

 

With the new information, it sounds like the arrows are definitely part of the problem but I doubt the weight of the arrow is the key. Sounds more like an issue with the fletching if you're getting that kind of wobble at ten yards, let alone fifteen. Wonder what would happen if you used arrows that weren't as well loved (and for that matter, what would happen if you used bows that weren't as well loved - you never mention how old the bows are (is it folly to ask the last time the bow strings were changed? If your district/council is anything like mine, no one even thinks about changing bow strings). Over a period of time, even fiber glass bows will lose some oomph. I retired my handmade osage orange longbow a couple of years back because it just wasn't up to hunting anymore).

 

(And if you come back and say the fletching is the real cheap solid plastic kind, rather than the plastic that at least pretends to be a feather, you're in for a severe eyebrow raising, ala Spock).

(This message has been edited by calicopenn)

[JoeBob]

Hey Calico,

 

Here's a link:

http://www.learningoutlet.com/products/productdetail/part_number=022386/4883.0.1.1

 

The shafts don't break and stay straight, but they are heavy. At 5 yards, no problem.

The vanes are a soft plastic that gives when passing the arrow rest, but doesn't add much stability in flight.

[CalicoPenn]

Hmm - looks like (eyebrow raise) short, solid vanes.

 

If a Scout had qualified using these arrows, I would be most impressed indeed.

 

Sounds like you might be on the right track for next time - wood or aluminum shafts with proper fletching rather than solid vanes. Heck, they might actually get somewhere with the 'red bows of death" if they had a better arrow. Just as you've purchased larger bows for the Scouts and Adult Volunteers to use, it would probably be a nice treat to buy proper arrows for them to use too.

[Beavah]

Yah, I agree with lighter shafts for kids... and properly sized arrows.

 

The high initial wobble, though, strikes me as a technique issue with the release, or perhaps improper nocking. Younger fellows with low draw strength bows aren't goin' to get the kind of arrow speeds where any fletching can provide a strong correction. Yeh might try usin' mechanical releases to see how much they help, eh? That would give yeh a sense for how much workin' with the boys on release technique could improve things.

 

B

 

[WoundedFox]

Very interesting... our camp was asking for 3 targets, 10 arrows each, one score at the closest range, one at the midrange, and one at the longest range. The required scores went up slightly for compound bows.

 

I guess it was a version of one of the progressions that was described. I didn't measure the targets or the distance, but it was a challenging (but achievable) progression.