Taking a Saw to your Arrows

If you are a newer archer, you may have heard the term "clicker" used around some of our more ... experienced archers. Lets call them experienced as insane or obsessive doesn't read well. In recurve archery, a clicker is effectively a draw length indicator that tells you when you have put the same amount of oof into the arrow each time. This helps significantly with your vertical dispersion especially at longer distances. We have an article on clickers here.

arrow a touch long for this clicker but better to err on side of too long - it can easily be further shortened .. lengthened is a tad harder!

However, have you wondered how the arrows get to be the right length to let the clicker do its job? Well, there does need to be a little bit of work done to your arrows to make them clicker compatible and it involves a saw. Now there's no need to stress about this although depending on who the arrow owner is, you may hear banter about the use of a hacksaw or a breadknife ... neither of which are actually advisable!**

When you order your arrows, we advise getting them full length. This means the shafts are not trimmed in any way by the store and this gives us the flexibility to get the arrows to the right length when later the recurver progresses onto the clicker. Get a coach or extremely experienced archer to work out exactly how long the arrows need to be. The clicker has a variable range of about an inch (that's what the clicker plate is for) but we don't like being sloppy with measurements so as to give you the maximum flexibility in your draw.

This can be done with a special draw length shaft which has no fletches or point but does have a measurement scale down the side. At GA, its the very long Easton arrow with an orange nock in the grey arrow tubes. Alternatively, we can use your existing arrows. Once warmed up, we watch you draw up a few times to make sure you are consistent in your draw length, mark the arrow with a white marker or note the overall reduction required and that becomes the template for setting up the saw.

Finally, hand all your arrows to the lovely Glasgow Archers arrow technician who will professionally trim your arrows to the desired size. If a member of GA, you know who this is likely to be. He's cut hundreds of arrows mostly to the right length ... That's a joke. He's as obsessive about cutting arrows as he is about locking the club containers. Once cut you will have no excuse for not fitting that clicker to your bow and experiencing the joy, confusion, frustration and terror that only a clicker can bring to your archery.

So, don't worry about a masked psychopath taking a chainsaw to your arrows ... He doesn't have a mask! ;o)

*          *          *

** Hacksaws and dremels can be used to trim wooden shafts before tapering, but NOT aluminium or carbon shafts. Carbon and Ali shafts are best cut with a special arrow saw to ensure accuracy and cleanness of cut.