What Spine rating should the wooden arrows I buy have?

A common question from many new Archers when they first get started!

First of all, what is the Spine rating?

The Spine rating is an indication of stiffness of the shaft and how much power is required to shoot the arrow in straight line.If too much power is used to propel the arrow, it is said to be too whippy! The arrow will effectively collapse while moving through the air and will generally drift to the right (for a right handed archer).If too little power is used to propel the arrow, it is said to be too stiff. The arrow will not bend enough when clearing the bow and will generally drift to the left (again for a right handed archer). When buying wooden shafts, the spine rating is given in 5lb groupings. For example 40/45 lbs.

So what does 40/45 lbs actually mean?

The spining system is based on an American system, specifically for use with the American Flat Bow. So, in this case, 40/45 lbs means that these shafts are suitable to be shot from an American Flat Bow with a draw weight in the range of 40/45 lbs at a given arrow length.

Easy isn't it?..... Not so fast!

If you shoot a traditional English Longbow or a Recurve with wooden arrows (say at 30 inch length), then the 40/45 lbs rating isn't so helpful! Simply put if you shoot the 40/45 lb shafts from the Longbow then the arrow is going to be too stiff. Likewise if you shoot the same from the Recurve, the arrow is going to be too whippy.

So to end, I've included a table below which can be used as a reference to assist in choosing the right Spine Rating. Please note that this is only a guide and a starting point, at the end of the day there's nothing like trial and error to find the right rating for you!