Artemisia Missile Combat

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Shafted Arrows

Shafted arrows are built using a 1/4" diameter solid pultruded fiberglass rod.  Shafted arrows have a maximum length (bottom of nock to just behind the blunt) of 28 inches.   They can be used only with light bows.

You will remove any metal points before mounting the blunts. The front end of the shaft must be flat, not pointed. A slight rounding of the edges is allowed for ease of construction. The shaft of the arrow needs to be spirally or longitudinally wrapped with good quality plastic tape, such as electrical tape, Mylar, or strapping (with fibers) tape, totally covering the surface from the front of the fletching to the tip of the shaft. The tape should be strong enough so that if the shaft should break, it will still be held together.

All shafted arrows must be inspected before every use by a marshal. Archers are responsible for re-checking the safety of all arrows at the time of use.

All shafted arrows are required to have an SCA- and kingdom-approved Anti-bounceback Protective Device (APD) mounted on the rear of the shaft, and an approved blunt on the front of the shaft.  Arrows may optionally have fletching along the shaft.

For shafted arrows,  the blunt is covered in a solid contrasting color.  Any color bands for identification should be place directly behind the blunt.  

You are also required to have your SCA name, kingdom, and year/month of construction written on your arrows.  Computer-printed return address labels work well for this, but be sure to cover the label with a wrap of clear packing tape to keep it readable.

Click here for a shafted arrow construction page that uses UHMW blunts and routed-channel siloflex APDs.

The below figure illustrates the APD and blunts that are currently allowed by the Kingdom of Artemisia.  Each component is explained in greater detail below.  

Possible Shafted Arrow Variations Allowed in Artemisia

componant	name	description
	fletching	Fletching is optional.  Fletches must be of feathers or of a soft, flexible material such as plastic vanes, foam, leather or duct tape, and rounded so as not to have sharp corners. They can stick out a maximum of 1/2" from the shaft.
	heavy-modified UHMW blunt	Heavy-modified UHMW blunt cores (1.25 inch diameter, 2 inch long, optionally with the back 1" tapered down to the shaft; drilled 1 inch deep, 1 inch solid material in front of the shaft).  No, they don't need to be purple. The blunt should be taped and padded just like for Fellwalker bolts.
	UHMW blunt	The UHMW must be at least 1 inch length, 1 ¼ inch in diameter. Half of an inch (minimum) thickness in front of the shaft. The edge must be taken off, so the blunt doesn't cause cuts or deep bruising on impact, especially on angle shots. No, they don't need to be orange. Blunts should be taped to the shaft with a minimum of 2 strips of 3/4" strapping tape that form a cross on the front of the blunt, and extend down onto the shaft for at least 1". A collar of strapping tape should them be wound around shaft just behind the blunt.  They should be padded with at least 1" of resilient foam padding in the front, affixed with strapping tape and covered with duct tape or high-quality electrician's tape.  The best place I've found for instructions can be found on Lu-shan's website.
	siloflex APD	Good sites for instructions on how to make and install siloflex APDs can be found at http://www.combat-archery.com/7580psi.htm   and http://www.combat-archery.com/100160apd.htm
	Asgard APD	A good site for instructions on how to install Asgard APDs can be found in this document by  our own  Lord Ryryd ap Gwerstan , and also at http://www.combat-archery.com/baldarapd.htm