[Ansteorra-missile] Length of arrows

[Eadric Anstapa]

Greetings All,

Recently a few folks have had their combat arrows fail inspection because
their shafts were too long.  This has prompted several people to ask the
question of "How exactly are the length of combat arrows measured?"

When we look to the SCA Missile Combat Rules for the answer we find:

"Maximum allowable draw length (bottom of the nock slot to just behind 
the blunt) is 28 inches."

Most people can understand "28 inches" and the "bottom of the nock slot" is pretty clear but the point that people seem to have trouble finding is "just behind the blunt".  Where does the blunt end and the shaft begin?  

For manufactured blunts like Thistle Missiles or Baldar Blunts this isn't a problem but for modified Markland styles of arrows like the Ansteorran War Quarrels or UHMW cored blunts it isn't quite so simple.  Does the blunt end at the rigid stop inside the blunt or can we allow for the sloping tape or cone behind the rigid stop? 

When the Society Archery Marshal, Sir Jon Fitz Rauf, introduced and approved UHMW cored blunts on Fiberglass shafts he wrote:

"The maximum draw length of the arrow is twenty eight inches from the bottom
of the nock slot to the bottom of the blunt. But your shaft will be longer
than that, by the length of the shaft that is inside the blunt and whatever
extra taping may be at the base of it, as well as the length of shaft in the
nock."

The text makes it pretty clear that we are allowed to account for the sloping tape or cones behind the blunt when accounting for shaft length.  Be reasonable.  Don't run some alternate colored tape 10 inches up the shaft and try to count that as the "extra tape behind the blunt".  Once the acute angle of the tape behind the blunt has ended and/or the overall diameter of the shaft+tape is a half-inch or less start measuring. 
 




As Sir Jon's text mentioned your actual shaft is likely going to be a little longer than 28 inches.  A Classic Baldar Blunt has about 1.25" of shaft inside the blunt.  For UHMW cored blunts you are going to have at least 0.5" of shaft inside the UHMW core and probably another 0.5" or 0.75" of sloping tape behind the blunt.  However, when you glue on a nock or an Asgard APD you are going to add about 0.25" to the length even if they are fully seated.

When constructing your arrows make sure your double-check the length to assure that they will pass inspection.

In Service,

HL Eadric Anstapa
Kingdom Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
archery_marshal at ansteorra.org




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