[Bender]

in reply to: Washer Weights? #48550

They do work, but yeah, 3 is the limit. Go with the hot melt on the threads to ensure no loosening.

Technically, no, adding 10 up front and 10 at the back is not the same as if you had made no changes to your state of tune. Weight at the front makes the arrow act weaker, weight at the rear makes the arrow act stiffer. However it just doesn’t work out to be a nice one to one ratio. As a rough rule of thumb, if you’re trying to make tuning changes with weight at the rear, it will take about twice as much weight difference as what it would it take to make the same change with weight up front.

So for example, if want a stiffer, and you make it so by losing 10 grains up front, to make the same change by using weight at the rear would require adding 20 grains at the rear.

So for all practical purposes, to add 10 up front and 10 at the rear, you have basically only made an effective change equivalent to adding 5 grains up front. So as far as state of tune is concerned, I doubt if anybody could truly, honestly shoot that difference.

[Bender]

in reply to: Cut carbon shafts with flat file #48529

Although a PITA, I would recommend to do rotate-cut-rotate-cut thing. If you’re accidentally cutting at any sort of angle, you may not know it. Rotating the shaft during the process solves that. You’ll be certain of getting a nice square cut. I even have a commercial arrow saw, but I rotate the shaft as it goes into the blade just to make sure. A crooked cut will lead to a crooked insert. A crooked insert will lead to a crooked point/broadhead that you will never be able to get straight. And that will really suck, ESPECIALLY with broadheads.

[Bender]

in reply to: Archery References in Language #8398

The term “point blank range” is actually archery related and predates firearms.

Comes from Medieval archery tournaments. It was considered legit to place things out on the ground to provide an aiming references. Often a scrap of white cloth was staked down. The term comes from French, “pointe blanc” and of course refers to the white scrap that was used as an aiming point.

[Bender]

in reply to: sloppy release…help me… #14099

A worn out glove with a serious deep groove worn into it can create mysterious release problems that creep up on you until one day it seems as if suddenly you can no longer shoot well and there is no reason or axplanation for it and nothing seems to fix it.

[Bender]

in reply to: Speed of FF vs Dacron #42501

Correct. I would reccomend against using FF type materials on non-reinforced tips. Some folks claim success doing it by padding the endloops with additional strands. But I have blows the tips off a bow using FF (BCY 450+) back before I knew any better.

The FF type materials can gain you speed by both allowing the use of fewer strands, thus a lighter string, plus they have considerably less stretch and creep than Dacron. More efficient transfer of energy to the arrow.

[Bender]

in reply to: Speed of FF vs Dacron #40537

Yeah, something just ain’t quite right there.

[Bender]

in reply to: Arrow spin #60260

Go here:

http://www.bowmaker.net/index2.htm

Read it, learn how to actually tune your gear.

To go from 10 yds right 100 yards and then wonder what is happening for the other missing 90 yards doesn’t really work.

With bare shaft tuning you can start at 10 yards, then obtain ever finer degrees of better tuning by moving back in increments and repeating the tuning. From 10 to 20 to 30 to 40 even. (Much past 40 and the difference in drag between bare and fletched arrows beigins to become too apparent.)

Anyway as you stretch your tuning to longer distances you will learn so much that you will be able to adress long distance flight problems.

And BTW I suspect that yes, th earrows are too stiff, and a weaker spine is called for.

[Bender]

in reply to: stiff, weak or bad form? #52731

Go here:

http://www.bowmaker.net/index2.htm

Read it and learn the basics of tuning. Bare shaft tuning will tell the tale.

Honestly I suspect it is either nock point too low, and/or arrow too stiff such that the nock end of the arrow is striking the riser, driving the rear of the arrow left. To get severe shelf wear the arrow is “grinding” into the shelf with significant force. The large fletch you use is working overtime to correct the condition while in flight, so you still hit where you’re looking.

[Bender]

in reply to: Wet Feathers #61236

There are a number of products that help make a feather fletch water resistant. Hair spray and silicone sprays work too. However I STRONGLY reccomend that when using sprays, if you’re using plastic nocks mask them off. The solvents in the spray will attack the plastic, weakening the nock. Wait until dry before removing masking. Also the sprays will screw up many of the products used for sealing/creating arrows. No real damage there, but no more purty arrah.

Note that I said that you can make your feather fletches water resistant. Nothing will make them truly water proof. They will become water logged after enough exposure. Should that happen, let them dry, then steam over over a tea kettle. That will help most of them recover their shape.

[Bender]

in reply to: Glove grooves #59290

Given time you’ll find for yourself. Persoanlly I can’t stand a grooved glove. Leads me to a ragged release, wants to try and become a pluck. The string just doesn’t want to leave my hand nice and smooth and clean. Started buying high dollar gloves, like $70 a whack, but still could only get about a year out of it. So that’s why I switched to a tab. I make them for myself for practically nothing.

So its not like your friend is misleading you. Rather just speaking from personal experience.

[Bender]

in reply to: Arrow Flight #25711

The tuning guide Steve mentioned is excellent. However it pretty much operates upon the assumption that you’ll be using an elevated rest and plunger. Here’s a link that has a tuning guide geared more for those of us who shoot off the shelf. Read it all the way through first. Then go back and follow it to get your arrows tuned.

http://www.bowmaker.net/index2.htm

[Bender]

in reply to: Apache or medatranian #25146

To reply to the basic question, yes state of tune can be affected by switching from split to 3 under or vice versa. It should reexamined. If a change is going to happen for you, switching from split to 3 under, its most likely that a different nock point will be called for. It is also suggested that if you aren’t using 2 nock sets. one over the arrow nock one under, then begin doing so. But beyond that, although less likely, depending upon how/where you anchor your effective draw length may change, which will change th eamount of energy delivered to the arrow. Which in turn can show up as a change in dynamic spine.

[Bender]

in reply to: Nugent, redux #25139

This has been a long time coming and is overdue. I liked his music as a kid. But I never liked him as a self proclaimed “representative” of the hunting community. Not one bit.

[Bender]

in reply to: Improving accuracy #47790

This may get me a few BOO’S but that is not my intenet. The suggestions concerning tuning and proper form are absolutely correct. But let’s be realistic here. If after 4 years you’re getting 18″ groups at 20 yards, obviously something isn’t working.

Given you’re current level after after 4 years I suspect that you are pursuing “instinctive” shooting. Concentrate on the target and over time your body is supposed to learn what to do in order to hit where you look. Instinctive can work. But afetr 8 years of shooting and meeting over a hundred instinctive shooters, I have run into only 3 people that can actually hit anything. Sure these 3 guys are absolutely deadly. But 3 out of 100? It shows me that although it can work, it just isn’t for everybody. It is an exceptional person that is able to be truly accurate with instinctive shooting.

Want to improve your accuracy like starting tomorrow? Tune your bow and learn a structured aiming system such as Gap Shooting or Split Vision. Byron Ferguson is an advocate of Split Vision. As for Gap shooting you can ask about it on other archery discussion forums.

[Bender]

in reply to: poor groups #34140

Its probably you. With two exceptions even mistuned arrows will group. As stated before, assuming RH shooter, weak to the right, stiff to the left, but they will none the less group in those orientations. The exceptions are 1) arrow sooooo stiff the nock end strikes the riser as it passes by. This will give a rough false weak indication, but grouping will be practically nonexistant. 2) Nock slide, on release the nock slides down the string a short ways, 1/8″ to 1/4″. It can be fixed by the addition of a second nock set below the arrow nock.
It may or may not be happening to you, but it REALLY can happen, check these videos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/116451859615119061133/AVIs?gsessionid=ScCvML4LRT38un6vxWqdmg#
If nock slide happens you will get a rough indication of a nock height problem, usually showing nock high because the nock end hits the shelf and bounces up. But again grouping will be nonexistant.

[Author]

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