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Who's shooting? Tuning? Tinkering?

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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My compound and Mason’s are dialed in and forgotten about. They will hit where aimed. However, I can’t quit tinkering with different arrow set ups for these single string bows. It’s gotten out of hand, really. I think I’ve made around six dozen arrows of varying weights and lengths throughout summer and even now. I whipped these up last night. They fly great with an aluminum insert and 200 grain head for a total arrow weight of 456 grains. Haven’t figured FOC yet. Doesn’t matter. I like the trajectory and flight. These will probably get the most work this fall... but maybe not. 😁
513F8BC8-DF16-464D-88B8-2F5B7BD551C0.jpeg
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
Okay, that makes sense on cam lean as I was reading .001" 1000th of an inch shims and I'm absolutely certain I couldn't eyeball that... trying to take a common sense approach.

Thx for the gouge on the press...
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Okay, that makes sense on cam lean as I was reading .001" 1000th of an inch shims and I'm absolutely certain I couldn't eyeball that... trying to take a common sense approach.

Thx for the gouge on the press...
Before you get hung up on .001", ask yourself if the Indian is good enough to highlight a .001" issue with the bow.
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
20221004_110349.jpg

- checked weight stops it was right on at 3.5 turns, reset to 3 full turns out 68#(where I was last year)
- 1/2 twist of the left idler yoke
- adjusted the rest back to specs off burger hole from where I had it to get get bareshaft and flech to hit together
- adjusted the cable guard for proper clearance of my vanes, now cock flech up, was shooting cock flech left
- I adjusted my grip after shooting w the pro, I had left tear, his was almost true bareshaft
- set the poundage back down to 64#

The two shots above are bareshaft and fletched at 64#

Probably the biggest change to performance was my grip. Always had the loose grip but had too much meat on the handle.

I'm actually personally in the body shop. Went to stow my offshore fishing kayak yesterday evening and T5-6 went 'snap'.. uh-oh.... been on ranger candy, Voltaren and muscle relaxers and saw the chiropractor at 0930 prior to the bow shop.

I can draw without much wincing and pain even with a fresh injury, should be good to go once sighted in. Gotta lot of practice to make up for but the system seems dialed in for now.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Not picking on @Stressless, just using his current experience to highlight a critical lesson. This is something I learned after I'd beat my head against the wall a handful of times. Simply put, you can only tune as good as the Indian. If you can't hold consistent groups of 3 arrows that convey a similar tendency, you can't expect to dial in a pin. The same thing is true when paper tuning. If your form is imposing its will on the bow, it will show on paper. If you can't replicate an identical shot over and over, it will show on paper. If the Indian is inconsistent or has bad form, you'll be chasing things mechanically that may, or may not, matter. In all honesty, the mechanical side of the sport is the easy part. The mental and physical mechanics of the bow operator is where you need to channel your inner Ishi.

I remember working with my cousin to sight in his bow a few years ago and he was struggling mightily. I was helping him via text and finally had him come to the house to check specs and watch him in action. His bow was fine; his form was crap. He was moving pins up/down, left/right chasing things that were originating in his bow hand and anchor point. It was a good reminder to both of us that moving the sight should be the last thing you do, not the first.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Cam lean will have depend a lot on grip and bow fit to get it to shoot. The objective is to get the center of mass of the string and the center of mass of the arrow to travel on the same 3D plane at release. Cam lean will change on the shooter. When you load the limbs, the cams will get much more lean as the cable guard pulls them off to the right for the right handed shooter. Your string path isn’t taking a straight back a forth path. It will travel closer towards the cable guard as you pull it back and then travels from inside or riser towards the outside of the shelf.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
for all the shooters out there struggling with a grip, I always tell people to ride a motorcycle and that should be your grip angle….. because it’s natural and quite honestly comfortable… the fatty piece of flesh between your thumb and finger should be a hammock… you can’t sit on one side of a hammock or you fall to the middle… get your heal of you hand off the grip and let the throat rest in the hammock by slightly pressing your hand downward and out once you Get the bow drawn…
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
Yep, I think my form changed, hence my grip substantially, with my back condition flairup, dropping the weight so I could even draw.

@Milo and @bowhunter1023 as well as others on here are spot on and I appreciate it. As I brought up, Jesse started this smart thread with a discussion on form.

LoL, my wife said about my first boss in the military, "Everybody is good for something, even if its a bad example."

Was chasing a mechanical issue but it was standard form. Never had issue with it until I had to change and didn't start at the foundation and work up -or- have a mentor watch.

Which is all it took.
 
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Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
Okay, got her sighted in after working on the grip, yesterday.

Top four field points are at 30yds about a 1" white square, bottom was the first broadhead shot, 20yds(yes aimed at the bottom square lol w the braodhead in case it worked), since I posted the issue and was right 6" at 20yds from field point impact with the same setup.

20221006_162836.jpg


-Corrected form/grip
-New strings
-Adjusted rest
-Adjusted cable guard

I've got 3 weeks to practice on my 8 target walking path. If I don't hurt myself I'll be ready.
 
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"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
Been waiting too get the xbow out and blow the dust off of it. Yesterday I washed my hunting clothes (I also washed it before putting it away) got all my gear together. Made sure everything was in working order. Packed everything back up. Pulled the bow out this afternoon and shot the field tips. Did the normal, 10, 20, 30, 40 yard shots. All hitting the bullseye and happy with them. Ordered some Slick Trick magnums, been wanting too give them a try. .125’s should be here next week.
I‘m procrastinating so I don’t make it up too Ohio for hunting until the first week of November. Cameras haven’t shown anything worth changing the plans….. Yet….
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Not exactly the normal information filled post in here. But I decided today to make both bows do the same thing. With a kid that is wanting to hunt behind the house after school, I felt the need to have everything the same. Now it doesn't make a difference if he grabs either quiver or bow. They are both the same. We are dialed in more than ever on multiple units!
20221007_140201.jpg
20221007_145528.jpg
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
Shooting yesterday and saw my BH was dead on horizontal to my FP groups but 4" high at 30yrds from my FP group. A quick check to Easton's tuning guide:
Screenshot_20221008-111748_Dropbox.jpg

Raised my nock point about 1/16".

BH is now right in the middle of the FP group at my max shot distance of 30yrds.

Hunting setup is 29.75" draw at 64#.
Quad Exodus 125gr BH
+Mayhem 350 arrow
+Nocturnal Nock
=478gr.

FOC is 9.5% kinda low but shooting good so I'm done with twiddles for the season.
 
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Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
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How did you get a 29.75 inch draw? If your a 30 With those specs you might be under spined. Try to get your hands on a 300 set of arrows. If your arrow is square at brace you have a cam timing issue likely.
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,127
85
Keene, OH
Milo, I've always done the Wingspan Measure, I'm shrinking as I age but the arms are still those of an orangutan.

74.375÷2.5=29.75

After the last Nock Point Up adjustment, the FP and BH are hitting the same group center, 20 and 30yds, what would be an indication of under spine?

The Browning Verado is a single cam(bottom) - does that still apply?
 
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Stressless

Active Member
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Keene, OH
FWIW, and only for clarity, this is the chart I used in selecting the spine for the Cabon Express Hunter Mayhem. I'm not real sure if there's been discussion if their chart has issues? I ask as head weight isn't part of their matrix.

I was at 68# dropped to 64# to remain in that same draw weight window for their arrow - 64-69#.

In any case gonna look for some 300's, my arrow cutter is in OH so it'll be Nov - see how they fly.


1665368466452.png
 
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Milo

Tatonka guide.
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So is your bow set up level at brace? Or is it Nock high? I’ve only had one bow only that had to be set Nock high but that seemed to be a design error in cams based on my observations.. up and down errors can be attributed to spine especially with fall away rest
 
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Milo

Tatonka guide.
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We can do this all day .. 64, 125, 30 inch and 24 grain standard insert …
 

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