Can I shoot arrows that are too short for my compound bow?

The bench has seen this question before, and it is not a small one. An arrow that is too short for your draw length on a compound bow presents a genuine danger: at full draw, the point may pass behind the arrow rest or, worse, inside the riser window. Should you then release, the arrow has no clean exit path and may deflect violently, strike the bow hand, or shatter. The Committee never warned you of this because the Committee was busy standardizing fletching counts and drafting congratulatory minutes. I am warning you now.

The practical rule: your arrow should extend at least one inch - many experienced archers say one inch to one and a half inches - beyond the back of the arrow rest when you are at full draw with your bow hand in shooting position. This is the minimum. To measure honestly, have someone observe you at full draw, or use a marked draw arrow with extreme care. Arrow length is measured from the bottom of the nock groove to the end of the shaft, not including the point. Your draw length, which a competent fitter can confirm by the wingspan-divided-by-2.5 method or by measurement, sets the floor for safe arrow length.

An arrow slightly longer than necessary costs you a small amount of front-of-center percentage and a few grains of weight - minor considerations. An arrow too short costs you the arrow, possibly the bow, possibly the hand that holds it. There is no technique, no fourth vane, no FOC adjustment that compensates for a shaft that comes off the rest at a wrong angle under catastrophic circumstances. Do not shoot an arrow you have not confirmed clears the rest at your actual full draw.