From: shawn@ut-emx.uucp (Shawn Boyd)
Newsgroups: alt.archery
Subject: Re: Questions
Date: 20 Aug 92 16:55:41 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin; Austin, Texas

In article <1992Aug18.170105.6136@clpd.kodak.com> banister@serum.kodak.com writes:
>
> The guy that runs a shop that I go told me that "someone" has found
>that the ideal location for a rest is directly above your wrist.  When
>I say ideal, I mean in terms of promoting accuracy. Have any of you
>run across this idea? 
 
 Yes.  It is horse shit.  

>Can you site references?  

 Tuning Your Compound Bow.  Larry Wise.

 It doesn't deal with this issue directly.  It also doesn't deal with how long
 your nose hairs are.  Instead, it deals with the truly important factors in 
 tuning your bow.

>but before I spend the money gearing up with a short overdraw, I'd like some 
>verification.

 Overdraws help with speed and trajectory.  That is all.  Anything else you 
 hear is unproven hype.

 If you decide to go with an overdraw, that's fine; but don't do it because
 you believe that shooting with the rest above your bow arm wrist will make 
 you a better shot.  It might, it might not.  What you can be sure of is that
 it will change the speed at which your arrows fly, and it will change how 
 flat they fly.  That simplifies things a lot, a takes the superstiscioun out
 of the discussion.  Given that...

 Remember this simple, [although seemingly tautalogical] rule.  "The arrow 
 that shoots best off your bow is, quite simply, the arrow that shoots best 
 off your bow."  Period.  Trial and error is the key to solving this problem.
 Practice and preparation (especially paper tuning) will help make your arrows
 group better on the target.  An overdraw is just a sideshow to the event of 
 getting your bow to shoot with you and for you.

 Don't let someone sell you an expensive overdraw on false premises.  Make 
 them demonstrate to you that your shots group better off your bow when you
 shoot shorter (lighter, faster) arrows.  If they refuse to do this, you'll 
 know they were just goofing around with you.  On the other hand, if they do 
 demonstrate to you that you shoot better with an overdraw, congratulations!  
 You've found a truly good shooting aid.  Spend some money and buy it.

>
> Many of the shoot around rests allow you to adjust the spring tension
>of the launcher. It's pretty well documented what plunger tension
>does, but I have never read or heard what launcher tension does. 

 Nothing that we know of really, but don't quit thinking about it.  After 
 all, you might discover something no one else has... but concentrate mostly
 on getting your shots to group.  Without that, no one's gonna listen anyway.

>Does anyone know [about plunger tension on a rest -- SB] ? From some 
>experimentation it seems to me to have some impact on nocking point.

 What?  I guess that the phrase "impact on nocking point" means that somehow
 your arrows are hitting the rest you're using as the arrow leaves the bow.   
 Without that assumption the following statements are at best meaningless, or 
 more probably, innaccurate.  If so, they should be disregarded.

 You'll have to be much more specific about which launch rest you are talking
 about.  You are correct when you say that there is an effect (nullified by 
 paradox, hopefully) on the arrow from anything rubbing on the shaft from the 
 draw arm side.  If I can second guess the question without causing you too 
 much consternation, let me just say that the spring tension on the front rest 
 should be kept as light as possible.

 Your use of the term "launcher" indicates to me that you are shooting a fork 
 style rest.  If you are a finger shooter, abandon this style of rest.  I would
 recommend a flipper type rest instead.  On the other hand, if you shoot with 
 a release, stop worrying about front rest tension.  Worry instead about how 
 the rest lines up with your nock point.  That's a very simple adjustment you 
 can make with your bow square.

 If you do keep shooting with a fork style rest, worry also about whether you 
 have your arrow nocks rotated correctly so that the cock vane points straight 
 and truly down through the forks (again, this only applies for release 
 shooting).  After that, you can also worry about whether or not there's too 
 much helical on the vanes, causing them (especially the cock vane) to brush 
 on stuff (especially the rest) that's in the release path of the arrow.

> On a related point; rests like the TM Hunter (two prongs) could be
>setup so the arrow is not centered on the plunger hole. Is this yet
>another bow tuning variable... 

 Nah.  Concentrate on getting the nock ring in the right place on the string.

>...or should the arrow *always* be centered on the plunger hole?
 
 Gee.  I dunno.  Does it make a difference in where your arrows group on the
 target?

 I like the TM Hunter.  It isn't necessarily a two prong rest unless, like me,
 you shoot with a release.  If you shoot fingers, you can set it up as plunger 
 style rest (as per the instructions packaged with the rest) but why would you 
 want to?  Cavalier makes a very good flipper style, shoot around rest that 
 does a very good job of holding your arrow on the bow, and then at letting it 
 go when the time comes.  There's also the Flipper II, but it's no good when 
 it comes to center shot adjustment.  The Cavalier is.

 If you shoot fingers on a compound bow, buy the Cavalier.

 Shawn Boyd
Newsgroups: alt.archery