From: shawn@ut-emx.uucp (Shawn Boyd)
Newsgroups: alt.archery
Subject: Re: A compound problem
Date: 2 Sep 92 19:00:27 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin; Austin, Texas

In article <VADER.92Sep1012018@meryl.csd.uu.se> vader@meryl.csd.uu.se 
(Ake Eldberg) writes:
>Greetings, fellow archers!
>
>I have a problem and would appreciate any hints!
>
>I recently bought a Hoyt SuperSlam Supreme, 60# with
>fast glass limbs. I shoot this with an overdraw of 2 inches
>and I use the Barner ST1-11 arrow rest and a 24 inch Easton
>stabilizer, 3 weights. I use a release (Fletchhunter). The
>bow is set to 55# and my arrows are Easton ACC 3-04 with
>80 grain points, the length from string to point is 26.7
>inches (my draw length is 29").
>
>Problem: when shooting through paper, the arrows strike
>with a vicious snap to the right. The tear is 3 inches!

 First question; do you draw with your right hand or with your left hand?
 Until I know your eye dominance, I'll just be making assumptions about 
 the problem, and probably be giving you terrible advice as well.

> 
>Easton, in their broschure, claim that this indicates a
>too stiff arrow; but the 3-04 is right according to the
>tables. They suggest moving the arrow rest closer to the
>bow. I have tried that to the clearance limit, but no
>effect. I have increased the bow weight up to 60#, but
>the same tear to the right remains. I have moved the
>arrow rest out from the bow, so that the arrow points
>about 10 degrees to the left of the stabiliser; this
>reduces the tear but looks crazy! I mean, common sense
>says it cannot be right.

 This indicates to me that you are right eye dominant, and that you draw
 from the right hand side, so disregard the previous question.  You shoot 
 with a release, so let's dismiss any problems you might be having with 
 plucking.  Even more to the point, you say that experienced archers have 
 the same problem with your rig.  If what you say is true, then you are having
 some kind of mechanical problem.  Nothing else can explain a right side tear 
 that is that bad.

 You are correct when you say that moving the rest out of center shot position 
 looks crazy.  I can't say I blame you for trying anything at all that helps 
 (I've done some pretty nutty things to try to correct this kind of problem too)
 but launching from the bow arm side off center is not a good solution... unless
 of course, you're Robin Hood or Chuck Adams, in which case I'll just nod my 
 head, and say, "Do whatever you like."

 The classic answer to this one is to say that you need to weaken the side 
 tension and/or add some draw weight to the bow, but you say that you've 
 increased the draw weight with no appreciable improvement, so it's clear that 
 you've eliminated that possibility.  I'm not familiar with the rest you shoot,
 so I can only guess at how you can increase tension.  Shooting off an overdraw,
 I think it's safe to say that you use a shoot-through rest.  That elimintates 
 the possibility of increasing side tension.  

 If you are shooting off a fork or other kind of shoot-through rest (and with 
 an overdraw, I suspect that you are) then you might very well be under spined.
 Shoot-through rests generally require a heavily spined arrow.  Experiment with
 a heavier spine.  For a right hand tear problem I know this sounds fuckin' 
 crazy, but hey, you've tried everything else.  Get thee to thy bowshop and 
 beg steal or borrow a big, stiff, fat aluminum arrow and fire it off your 
 bow.  If the problem persists, then "no harm done," but if it begins to fade, 
 then at least you have a clue.  If you have to go with a heavier arrow, then 
 do so.  It doesn't matter how fast, light and flat an arrow flies if it 
 doesn't hit the target.

 Also, give a good, hard critical look at your fletching.  The problem you are 
 describing usually comes from brush-by kinds of situations.  If you shoot a 
 high profile fletch with lots of helical, then you might very well be 
 brushing the rest, or the cables or riser at launch time.  Get some spray type
 (foot) powder and squirt it all over the launch area of your bow (this means 
 the handle riser as well as the rest AND THE CABLES TOO) and then go shoot.  
 Look for brush marks where the arrow passes through when it's shot.  If you 
 are having brush by problems (and I think you are) this will show you where 
 you're arrows are hitting the bow.

 One more thing... I actually knew a guy that tried shooting arrows off a bow 
 with a shoot-through rest without rotating his nocks so that the cock vane 
 pointed down.  It resulted in exactly the same problem you describe.  Like I
 say, I don't know what kind of rest you shoot from, so I can't assume that 
 this is the problem, but I will say this... if you're shooting off of a fork 
 style rest, change those nocks.  The cock vane MUST POINT DOWN through the 
 tines on the fork.  By the way, that guy I knew that made that mistake of 
 not rotating his nocks was me.  You can't shoot off a fork any other way and
 expect consistent results.

 One more hint... if you think you're having problems with your fletching, try
 the following -- take a bare shaft (no fletching) that is in every other way 
 the same as the the ones you shoot, and paper tune with that at 10, 15 and 20 
 yards.  See if you have the same right hand tear.  If you don't, then you 
 know darn well that your problem is with the fletching.

>The fault is not due to sloppy shooting; others with
>more experience have shot the bow with the same results.
>

>I am at my wit's end; has anyone got an idea?
>

 Compadre, I think you're having problems with the fletching scraping on 
 something.  Try that foot powder idea.  By all means, please let us hear
 how this works out.  I hate paper tuning, so I try to listen closely when
 people describe their problems with it.  That way I can shorten the amount
 of time I have to spend doing it.

 Good luck.  Hope this helps.

>Ake Eldberg
>Uppsala, Sweden

 Shawn Boyd
 Austin, Texas