# arrow travel distance



## skipro (Sep 11, 2015)

Conditions, no wind. Just an approximation.
How far will a standard target arrow go @32#, DL 29" shot level to ground by someone @ 5'8"?


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## Timevoid (Aug 19, 2018)

Not sure if applicable to your question ? 

http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/crossbow-arrow-ballistics-calculator
Calculations are largely based on the Exterior Ballistics of Bows and Arrows paper.* 
https://www.arcoefreccia.it/public/Forum/Data/brzvtr/2012618151810_CX.pdf


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

Determine the precise height you will loose the arrow from above the flat surface. Time the interval of a wt dropped from that height in seconds. Determine the fps of your bow using a chronograph with your arrow set up and multiple that number by the seconds of the wt drop. Gravity is gravity. Ok there will be a drag factor and short of a wind tunnel test you have to just ignore it. That should give you a good approx of how far away the arrow will strike the ground from its launch site. I am going to take a wild guess (shot from about 5 feet above the surface) of somewhere 45-60 yds. Subject to lots of error factors!!


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## theminoritydude (Feb 11, 2013)

If you are planning to do what I think you're gonna do, please don't. That can wait until things go back to normal. But If you're not, then it's highly dependent on several factors that you have excluded from your question.


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## Bender (Dec 6, 2006)




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## cerelestecerele (Aug 5, 2019)

Depending on the arrow and bow (ACE light point and vanes to xx75 heavy point and vanes same spine) the speed with those parameters could be anywhere from 160-195fps at the extremes. 
Keeping things simple with minimal loss in accuracy, it'll take 0.6 seconds to hit the ground with zero initial vertical speed. In that time it'll travel between 31-39 yards with no loss in speed. In practice it might might lose 5-10% of its speed depending on the arrow, so the maximum speed distance would only be 37-38 yards. But in practice arrows can slide nearly that distance again with the right ground cover, and even at 10m you need to aim above the target so the angle isn't 0 except with a low target. I wouldn't make any range safety assumptions from this about how far an arrow goes if you miss to the side as they can ping at odd angles off the side of the target and be unpredictable.


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## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

Simple H.S. physics skipro - Lets say you are shooting at six feet above the ground, 1.8 meters, arrow perfectly level to the ground. An object 1.8 meters above the ground will take 0.1837 seconds to hit the ground (lets add air resistance of a falling arrow, so we get 0.19 seconds -which is very optimistic). Can't change gravity. Lets say your arrow is a steady 180 fps (round up to 55 m/s). Do the math - 10.45 meters or 34 feet, just over eleven yards. This is just a High school physics exercise, meaningless, unless you're shooting at a target 34 feet away at ground level. BTW any consideration of point weight, fletching, FOC, total arrow weight, etc, is pretty much meaningless in this calculation. Just gravity, height and speed.


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## dchan (Jun 29, 2004)

None of the parameters make any difference except and arrow speed as Brian posted.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

Oops I think we are forgetting the arch in archery..arrows do not leave the bow perfectly level. At 15 yds on level ground I have to point the the arrow down below the BE to get anywhere close, even at 20 yd the arrow tip is below the BE-- I have a high cheek anchor not under the chin. To the OP someday take a nonCOVID friend to a open field and a measuring stick- get everything as leveled off as possible shoot 6 arrows and measure the distance and let us know. Won't be perfect but it will be interesting.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

skipro said:


> Conditions, no wind. Just an approximation.
> How far will a standard target arrow go @32#, DL 29" shot level to ground by someone @ 5'8"?


Drop a penny from the height that you would be launching the arrow. Have someone measure how long it takes to hit the ground. That is how long the arrow will take to hit the ground when shot, ignoring drag and wind.

Take that time and multiply it by arrow speed and you get your answer. You can also calculate the time it takes for the penny to hit the ground but it is more fun to measure it.

This also assumes that the arrow is not generating lift.


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## Speedly (Jan 23, 2019)

dchan said:


> None of the parameters make any difference except and arrow speed as Brian posted.


This is a little incorrect. The ballistic coefficient of the arrow factors into how much of its momentum it loses over time. Higher BC = higher speed retention = goes further with the same starting speed (which isn't the same as the same starting force). Granted, it's not a big difference, but it is a difference. Remember, the question in the OP is how far it goes and not how long it takes to hit the ground.

Think of it this way - imagine firing a plastic drinking straw out of a bow, and then a rod of rebar, at the same initial speed. The straw will decelerate really quickly due to air resistance and not go as far, while the rebar will not flutter out like the straw did, and go a lot farther. The rebar has a much higher BC than the straw.

In a vacuum, this doesn't matter, but in the real world that has air, it very much does.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

I guess the answer is up to interpretation. What does no wind, just an approximation mean?

It's time to get the potato cannon out and have some fun doing some experiments. How does the aerodynamic drag of a potato compare to an arrow, or for that matter, a plastic drinking straw or rod of rebar?


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## cerelestecerele (Aug 5, 2019)

Brian N said:


> Simple H.S. physics skipro - Lets say you are shooting at six feet above the ground, 1.8 meters, arrow perfectly level to the ground. An object 1.8 meters above the ground will take 0.1837 seconds to hit the ground (lets add air resistance of a falling arrow, so we get 0.19 seconds -which is very optimistic). Can't change gravity. Lets say your arrow is a steady 180 fps (round up to 55 m/s). Do the math - 10.45 meters or 34 feet, just over eleven yards. This is just a High school physics exercise, meaningless, unless you're shooting at a target 34 feet away at ground level. BTW any consideration of point weight, fletching, FOC, total arrow weight, etc, is pretty much meaningless in this calculation. Just gravity, height and speed.


You used a height of 0.18m in your calculation, not 1.8m. An object falling from 1.8m would take 0.61 seconds to hit the ground, which revises your calculated distance to 37 yards.


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## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

Cerelestecerele - 
Thanks for finding my error. Not sure what happened when I punched in the numbers. The free fall time should have been about 0.6 seconds. Multiply by the arrow speed and we get 33 meters, 36 yards (3X my error!)


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## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

Maybe just use a arrow ballistics calculator...

http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/crossbow-arrow-ballistics-calculator

This was based on the following:

Arrow speed: 200fps
Arrow weight: 300grain
Arrow length: 28 inches
Fletching length: 3 inches
Fletching height: .45 inches

So a 77 inch person would make 40 yards.


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## dchan (Jun 29, 2004)

Yup. but the OP did clarify as "approx" or Ballpark. And the OP did say if shot level... 

He wanted to know how about how far an arrow would go if shot flat. No trajectory or how we aim has anything to do with the formula. Height, and average arrow speed will give you the approximate distance.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

32# limbs.
29-inch draw length, so 34# OTF.
Assumed a 68-inch bow, with 9-inches of brace height.
Easton Carbon One 810s, with 100 grain points, and FlexFletch 187s.
Total arrow weight 292.50 grains.
158.92 fps arrow launch speed.
Arrow assumed to be fired dead horizontal.

Time for an object to fall from a height of 59-inches = 0.553 seconds in a vacuum.
68-inches to top of head, so assumed 59-inches for height of nock above the ground.
Time of flight = 0.553 seconds in a vacuum. Since we have an atmosphere and we have vanes (some amount of lift), time of flight might be several micro seconds longer or shorter.

Distance the arrow would travel in a vacuum, is 87.8 feet or 29.28 yards. Since we are shooting a fletched arrow, might make it to 30 yards.


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## b-a-maniak (Apr 19, 2014)

Beer bet!


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## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

I think woof156 pointed it out - Does anyone have their recurve or longbow set up to shoot "horizontal" to the ground? The rest/ shelf, nock point, and tiller send the arrow in an arc. It would be an interesting experiment to slow-motion film the arrow's flight with the arrow appearing horizontal before it is loose. I bet there is a visible arc in the flight. Just the nature of a bow. OK- this quarantine has my mind numb.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

I think for a shot test you would need an observer to tell the archer when his/her arrow was level to the ground and with the anchor point-- and to measure the distance to the ground. Also to help find the arrows which will gladly bury themselves in the deep grass- mine like to dig in under any leaves or dead grass. I have been itching to go to a field and give it a try but will have to wait for a month or so... I wonder if it is safe to shoot a bow with a mask on if you use a face anchor???? Hmm another experiment in archery......


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## Alik (Apr 3, 2019)

A 20g arrow, shot from 1.6m height at 55m/s will fly about 31.4m if you neglect air resistance. If you account for drag, it will only travel about 29.3m.
(that is if I guessed a couple of constants ,such as cross-section of arrow in direction of flight, right)


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## equilibrium (Oct 31, 2006)

*180+ yards.*


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

Here is the ballistics calculator I use: http://peteward.com/ballistic.calc.htm

Making lots of assumptions and approximations, the distance would be about 30 yards for an arrow shot dead level.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

Can't wait for the outdoor range to open up and go test this in real life- wish I had a bow machine but will try to get by human induced randomness with avg distance from groups of arrows.


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## dchan (Jun 29, 2004)

https://youtu.be/tF_zv3TCT1U


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## txarcher5 (Jan 8, 2018)

dchan said:


> https://youtu.be/tF_zv3TCT1U


I need that monocycle to retrieve the arrows


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

txarcher5 said:


> I need that monocycle to retrieve the arrows


.....and a metal detector......or lots of arrow finding minions.


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## Josh5588 (Dec 17, 2020)

skipro said:


> Conditions, no wind. Just an approximation.
> How far will a standard target arrow go @32#, DL 29" shot level to ground by someone @ 5'8"?


This can depend on various factors, the best thing to do is to use a ballistics calculator to get an idea about range the arrow will go to.


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