Do arrows whistle when shot?

[longstevo]

Hey guys. 

I don't shoot arrows or archery hunt, but I was watching The Walking Dead on AMC, and there's a character who shoots a crossbow.  He just killed a zombie and the arrow whistled through the air before hitting the target.  That got me to thinking about other movies, and there always seems to be a high pitched whistle when the arrow takes flight.  Some notable movies are the Lord of the Rings series, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood.

So I was just wondering if the arrows really whistle.

[JimmyHoffa]

If there is something wrong with the arrow it can make noise.  I have had them make a buzzing noise--usually when the fletching starts to get worn.  If the arrows keep getting hit by other arrows and it tears the fletching it can make really loud buzz noises.  I haven't heard the whistle with modern arrows, though.

[BLKBEARKLR]

Hey guys. 

I don't shoot arrows or archery hunt, but I was watching The Walking Dead on AMC, and there's a character who shoots a crossbow.  He just killed a zombie and the arrow whistled through the air before hitting the target.  That got me to thinking about other movies, and there always seems to be a high pitched whistle when the arrow takes flight.  Some notable movies are the Lord of the Rings series, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood.

So I was just wondering if the arrows really whistle.

LMFAO ------ No wonder the deer keep jumping the string / that is why we have to be so close to get the arrow to them faster than the speed of sound!!!!!
 
Brother it is special effects.

If your arrow whistles there is a serious issue going on.

Joe

[Ray]

You can buy field tips that whistle. Not zombie approved or tested.

[NWBREW]

You can buy field tips that whistle. Not zombie approved or tested.

Not zombie approved....... Well what good would those do? 

[Michelle_Nelson]

Well I hope they get around to testing them pretty quick.  I'd like to build up a stock pile incase Obama is re-elected.     They will probably be illegal to sell or have taxes raised on them.   

[rasbo]

happy arrows whistle

[Shootmoore]

Special affect for the movies.  Kinda like the 100 round pistols and never empty mg's.  However back in the day the Japanese and I believe the Mongols used a whistling arrow for a psychological weapon and for a signal device.





Shootmoore

[ICEMAN]

I thought you bow guys used whistling arrows only when you are lost... Shoot three in the air and wait for rescue? 

[BLKBEARKLR]

I thought you bow guys used whistling arrows only when you are lost... Shoot three in the air and wait for rescue? 

Heck no Ice, I have been there and done taht, it is playing russian roulette, shoot the arrow into the air and stand real still and hope you don't get whacked   

Joe

[sisu]

Flu-flu arrows make noise but no whistle. Maybe the whistle was there to get the zombie to freeze.  Hahaha

[Hunterman]

Ok guys flame me for this,,but yes arrows do make a noise when in flight.. Its more like a woosh, than a wistle..As far as the arrows used for Zombies,, they need the wistle in them to get thier attention..

Hunterman(Tony)

[halflife65]

I've been watching the Walking Dead, by the way, and the whole crossbow thing is pretty unrealistic (I mean, it's a show about zombies so I'm not too critical - you just shouldn't take anything on that show to be gospel.  Why use that giant .44?  Why not a 9mm with a huge capacity magazine?  Why can they get zombie blood all over themselves and not get sick?)

Anyway, the guy shooting the crossbow shot that deer in an earlier episode and there were arrow sticking out of it like a porcupine.  Except the ones that hit it in the hip (I didn't see any in the front shoulder) they should have gone right through.  He had a bunch sticking out of the gut sack.

Also, I wasn't able to determine if they had broadheads on them but when he shoots one of zombies in the head he just goes and pulls the arrow out like there's no issue.  Good luck with that...

I wouldn't get ANY information from a show like that, just enjoy it for what it is - it's really entertaining.  I saw the commercials for it and thought, WTF?  How do you make a television show about zombies?  Well, if you ignore the little irrelevant details like the use of the crossbow, the fact that they never miss and the insistence of the deputy guy to use a gargantuan pistol, it's pretty good.   Kind of thought that horse would have a bigger role, though...

[Hunterman]

I always thought that fire was the only way to take out a Zombie?? You know like the " Silver Bullet " on a Warewolf, or a "Steak" into the heart of a Vampire, as long as its in its coffin..

Hunterman(Tony)

[D-Rock425]

I've been told that some old broadheads use to whistle sometimes.  I've never heard any of my arrows do it.

[halflife65]

I've been told that some old broadheads use to whistle sometimes.  I've never heard any of my arrows do it.

The original G5 Montecs whistled.  They quickly fixed that problem, though.

[longstevo]

I've been watching the Walking Dead, by the way, and the whole crossbow thing is pretty unrealistic (I mean, it's a show about zombies so I'm not too critical - you just shouldn't take anything on that show to be gospel.  Why use that giant .44?  Why not a 9mm with a huge capacity magazine?  Why can they get zombie blood all over themselves and not get sick?)

Also, I wasn't able to determine if they had broadheads on them but when he shoots one of zombies in the head he just goes and pulls the arrow out like there's no issue.  Good luck with that...

Hahaha.  I'm going to 'geek' myself out pretty badly here, but to address your concerns about the show... 
The giant .44 was the standard issue service pistol for the sheriff's department.  Realistic?  Not sure, but that's why he carries it.  In the first episode he aquired a 9mm Beretta, but ran out of rounds quickly. 
And as for the zombie blood, it has long been established in sci fi lore that the only way for the zombie pandemic to pass itself on is to be bitten by an 'infected.' 

And EVERYONE knows that the only way to kill a zombie is to destroy its head in some way!  Duh! 
 

Oh yeah.  Everytime he pulls an arrow from a zombie I think about the broadhead concern too.  Kinda like pulling a barbed hook out.  Maybe they're specieal anti zombie arrows... 

[halflife65]

Whew, thanks for clearing that up, longstevo!  I can enjoy the show a little more now, especially knowing there are counties in the south where the standard issue sidearm is a .44 mag.   

I think he got that Beretta when he was trapped in the tank and then had to make his escape so he used a lot of bullets getting away on that one.

One other thing - if you were going into a town, wouldn't you sneek into a sporting goods store and just grab whatever you needed?  Also, there are dead National Guard/Army guys all over the place.  Where are their weapons and ammo?  Seems like you could have a virtually unlimited supply of M16s/M4s and ammo for them.  An M4 would seem really practical (especially if you could find one with a supressor and and ACOG reflex sight) when you were being chased by zombies, actually.  I'm going to address my lack of a good zombie gun before the upcoming zombie apocolypse...

One other question - Why wouldn't you just find a good place to defend for a month or two until the zombies decomposed enough that they would no longer be able to walk around?  It seems like you could do that and then be relatively safe.  Get your suppressed M4 and hole up in a mini-mart.  Plenty of beer and twinkies to get by for quite a while, it seems.

But NO, they have to go wandering around in a POS Winnebago...

[longstevo]

I also questioned the lack of use of the military grade weaponry.  You're right.  The soldiers might be zombie-fied, but they wouldn't carry their weapons around.  There is that.  And then you're right too about raiding the local sporting goods store.  There's surely some gun stores down there in the south. 

As for a good zombie gun, a shotgun is always a 'no fail.'  The only problem you'd run into there is if you were getting swamped with zombies you'd fast run out of ammo.  An AR would be good, but you'd have to aim for the head. 

And finding a place to hole up would be smart.  You'd have to make raiding parties to the grocery stores and the such, but one thing that has never really been explained by a lot of zombie movies is how long the infection lasts.  Most movies focus on the beginning of the pandemic and how the hero survives.  They never really deal too much with causes and durations.  It'll be really interesting how The Walking Dead explains this, because as of now, they have told us nothing. 

Good stuff!  Gotta be prepared for the zombie apocalypse!

[MIKEXRAY]

My blazers make a whistling noise with field tips, apparently it is pretty common. My buddy told me about it & I thought he was BSing me. He stood to my right with his cell phone & recorded the noise. You can hear it plain as day. My blazers are accurate but a little noisy. Mike

[bow4elk]

Better question - Does the Taliban whistle when shot?

Feather fletching is noisy compared to plastic vanes but remember that any noise caused by the arrow in flight is turbulent airflow.  I four-feather fletched arrow is quite noisy but also quite accurate.  It's all about balancing your set up for optimal results.

I've never know arrow noise to be a considerable factor in big game shooting.  Bow noise will cause more animals to duck than arrow noise becasue the bow sound reaches their ears first. 

[longknife]

I have had Deadly Teddly, magnus broadheads with the 4 blade wistle. The bleeder blades removed, and it will scream a bit.

[bow4elk]

My blazers make a whistling noise with field tips, apparently it is pretty common. My buddy told me about it & I thought he was BSing me. He stood to my right with his cell phone & recorded the noise. You can hear it plain as day. My blazers are accurate but a little noisy. Mike

that would be because of the surface change "edge" of the shrink tube.  That small change in surface cause the airflow to be disrupted, thus causing noise.  I just shoot noisy arrows through animals and don't worry too much about it 

[Cylvertip]

I bought some turbo nocks a couple of years ago - they sounded like one of those whistling nerf footballs going through the air.

[Jason]

Fobs have a pretty good whistle to them