Archery Hunting

Is it possible to use 36 inch arrows on a archery/hunting bow that normally uses 26″?

I want to buy a bow for target practice and maybe a little hunting, but I want to buy a $100 one, instead of spending $350-400 in a bow. However, the arrows made for that bow are bout 26″ and I want to use bows that you can put steel arrowheads on, instead of just dulled out heads, and those bows are about 36″. Can i still use the 36″ arrows on that bow instead of the 26″ ones???

Short answer: Yes, it is possible. Whether it is advisable is another question.

Long(er) answer: If the bow is designed to launch a real arrow, it is designed to launch an arrow with a “steel arrowhead”, as you put it. But here’s the problem with getting a short-draw bow and expecting to launch long-draw arrows from it:

When a bow is designed for a short draw — say, about 26 inches — it is really, really a bad idea to draw the string farther than 26 inches. Actually, it’s a bad idea to exceed the designed draw-length limit of any bow. Exceed the draw-length limits of the bow and you set yourself for a) a catastrophically broken bow, and b) a very good chance of having the privilege of paying a $800 (or more) medical bill. Yeah, when a bow blows up due to it being severely over-drawn, it BLOWS UP.

But if you’re actually referring to the bow’s nock-to-nock length, well…. Then all you need worry about is a little thing called “string pinch”. The shorter the bow, the more severe the string angle at full draw — and the worse the “string pinch”.

Best thing for you to do: Just get a bow made for your draw-length.

Arizona Archery Elk Hunting with Jeanne Scott