KTB Bamboo Arrow 5ea (Page 1 of 2)

The price suggests these arrows actually have "gold tips" ...

I think I heard of that, too.
But still having a hard time to understand the pricing. There seem to be many people with unlimited financial ressources ...

BTW, a club fellow of mine recently showed me photos of replicas of Japanese ceremonial arrows he made. I had organized the bamboo shafts for him. The arrowheads where very elaborate, and in the same pricing ball park.
Perhaps I can get some photos from him...

Used these with my tong-ah before:

http://www.koreanbow.com/shop/index.php … ;id_lang=1

Didn't think it was too much of a learning curve to shoot with them and the tong-ah but was very disappointed when I hit a harder surface part of the target I was shooting at with one of the three I had causing it to break.

Wasn't disappointed that way.  More of a public notice plus review of what to expect when using bamboo arrows at that length.  Even in Kyudo, the bamboo arrows break all the time.  So I fully expect that.  However, you can actually send them back to Japan and have the fletcher repair the arrow.  Not so much in Gungdo.

Arrows break all the time.  Regardless of type or make.  Period.  'Historical replicas' or probably better terminology in this case, traditionally made things, are never cheap and are hardly 'everyday products' in any sense. 

The mantra repeated at most archery ranges I've ever been to: don't fall in love with your ammo.

Anyway if you have other questions or concerns relating to the products I suggest you contact someone over at the site.

You can always set up 'soft targets' at a range which I'd sometimes do unless your range/club is strict or limited here.  However I usually prefer to shoot all my bows on private property at targets that are appropriate.  Regardless, arrows break.

Anyway....

These are intriguing but never felt like investing:

http://www.koreanbow.com/shop/index.php … ;id_lang=1

And if you don't want to shell out 235 dollars for one whistling arrow here is a cheap alternative:

https://ottomanbows.blogspot.com/2012/0 … orant.html

The Hyoshi / Whistling Arrow.  Check the link a few above I posted.

Right. I have seen it, but didn't notice the price ...
I would have expected a platinum-plated gold head for that money  .

Which kept me from stocking up on such arrow heads. I would rather use a field tip for a tenth of the price, and use a ping pong ball or Kinder egg.
But OTOH, compare it to typical bow hunter equipment. Mechanical arrowheads (unfolding on impact) for 10..20$ each, on carbon shafts for typically 10..15$ each, and shot from a 1k$ (compound) bow.

That's a good start at least  & I salute your bravery 

I will definitely do this. Even the picture from Freddy's shop page helped me a lot.

When about trying to shoot my tong-ah, I thought a while about it, and come up with some further questions and comments.

The first issue - what arrowheads were used for pyeonjeons in a historical context, i.e. for military use ?
The rail practically limits the size and diameter, a proper war-type broadhead would IMHO be impractical or very dangerous to shoot.
I can imagine pyeonjeons for military use had bodkin-like tips, or similar to contemporary field tips.

Second, the "Pyeonjeon" Wikipedia entry contains some gross errors.
It states for instance:
"Their higher speed and aerodynamic efficiency means they penetrate armour better at range."
"Aerodynamic efficiency" basically refers to drag, which is not much different from a longer, normal-sized arrow.
The drag coefficient is determined by cross sectional area and fletching size, not by length along the flight axis.
"...they penetrate armour better at range" The opposite is true. Penetration is related to kinetic momentum (mass x velocity), see below.

"Further more, the short bolts had longer range and flatter trajectory with a faster velocity and penetrating power."
The first part is true, initial velocity is higher, resulting in a flatter trajectory.
However, I have an issue with both grammar and proposition of the last part.
Filling the implicit ellipsis, it would say "... with a faster penetrating power.", which is an abstruse wording.
But even worse, it is untrue, physically incorrect.
Assuming normal sized and short arrows (pyeonjeon) are shot from the same bow, the initial kinetic energy depends on the bow only.
And assuming ideal or very high efficiency of the bow, the same kinetic energy is transferred initially into both arrow.
Therefore, the shorter and lighter pyeonjeon will start out significantly faster.
But since drag depends on cross sectional area, drag coefficient and velocity (actually velocity squared), the velocity of a pyeonjeon will drop much faster then those of a normal arrow.
Penetration OTOH is proportional to kinetic momentum (mass x velocity), not kinetic energy - see Ed Ashby's work on arrow lethality.
Combined with the significant drop in velocity, a pyeonjeon's penetration beyond the range of a normal arrow (say, 200m) is much less.
I suppose it might not even have penetrated thick armour (of elite warriors like samurai) at all.
In tactical terms, it extends the effective range of archers significantly, and was useful against unarmoured or lightly armoured enemies.
Historical texts about Ottoman archery describe this explicitly. They used the majra (tong-ah) to harass enemy troops beyond the range of enemy archers, to disrupt their formation and attacks.
The Manchus and Englishmen had good reasons to use 1500 .. 2000gn arrows against heavily armoured opponents.

The post got a bit long, hope you don't mind ...

The name "Wackopedia" is  not by chance. Don't get me started on Wackopedia and history & politics ...

I will do. Usually, I trust my instincts.
In a "guide rail" styled weapon like the tong-ah, a projectile needs to have at least two stable support points on each side of the COG.
And in case of the tong-ah, it should be the tip and the nock. This was not the case, so I better refrained from shooting ...
The improved arrows are in the works, I removed the windings on the front of the fletching, and thicken the diameter near the nock.