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Bowhunting Trophy Whitetails
Part 1 Accurate Archery I froze in fear, for I knew I had been caught. I could feel it in the right side of my face. I felt as if the teacher had just caught me with my arm cocked, about to launch a wadded-up piece of paper. On that Nov. 2, I had indeed been
caught by a teacher — one of a different sort, but a teacher nonetheless. And
the punishment for my lapse of alertness could be much worse than a missed
recess. I was bowhunting a funnel in a northern pine grove surrounded by 15 to
20 huge rubs I have never before or since seen the likes of. As I watched him, I knew better and tried to keep abreast of the area around my stand. However, about the time I realized I had been watching him too long, that feeling hit me. As I slowly turned my head to the right, there she was: a huge old doe only eight yards away, looking straight at me. She had slipped in on the quiet pine needles. I knew it was a little early for a doe to be in heat. However, I also knew if any does were coming in, this old gal would be one of them. I intently scanned the woods . . . and there, not 10 yards behind her, was a big, gray face sticking out from behind a pine. Looking closer, I saw a massive main beam coming around far past the buck’s nose. About that time, the doe ran under my stand and stopped about five yards on the opposite side of the pine in which I was desperately trying to hide. The big boy could not stand that much real estate between himself and his maiden and came running straight toward my tree. I will never forget that sight. Every time the 330-pound animal’s front feet hit the ground, his massive neck and shoulders rolled forward. His body looked more fitting for a giant, topped-out, fattening hog than a whitetail. His headgear was also huge, with mass ranging from 6 to nearly 8 inches and tines up to 13 inches long. As he closed the distance, it crossed my mind that he looked like a big mule deer. Luckily for me, the huge buck stopped five yards from my tree and looked over his massive shoulder at the now-stationary 2 1/2-year-old. The giant then began stomping the ground with a front foot. I could almost feel my tree stand move each time he hit the ground. Having given a warning to his younger rival, he then returned his attention to the object of his affection. As the brute stood there, staring at the doe, I watched intently for any sign that he would start moving. There were low limbs between us, and I knew there was no way to get an arrow to him. I also knew I would need to draw as soon as he started to move; when he cleared the limbs, I would be in the wide open. I had to shoot before he saw me. Then came the signal I had been looking for: The big deer swished his tail. As soon as he did, I drew. As he began to stroll toward the friendly doe, I placed my sight picture on his shoulder and released the string from my fingers. Only 30 seconds and 150 yards later, my heart-shot non-typical trophy fell dead. How was I able to arrow such a fine buck? It is because I was successful in the two vastly different parts of bowhunting trophy whitetails. I obviously succeeded in the archery part, because I was able to kill the buck with bow and arrow. And, just as importantly, I succeeded in the hunting part, setting up in a spot the mature deer passed within bow range of in daylight. We will look at the hunting part of the trophy bowhunting equation later in this book. In Part 1, we will examine the archery side, which is just as important; after all, if we cannot hit our target, we will not be successful in this great sport. There will be few opportunities in a lifetime to shoot a truly mature buck, so when we finally get the chance, we must be able to get the job done. The archery section of this book is written to help you do just that. In Chapter 1, we will touch on some points of the equipment or mechanical part of archery, so you can set up a bow for the best results. Then, in Chapter 2, we will look at the human side of archery, exploring both the physical and mental aspects of shooting a bow. My goal in this chapter is to reveal some points that will help you to become a better archery shot, so that you can achieve the ultimate goal of putting a broadhead through the lungs of a mature buck when the opportunity presents itself.
Setting Up Your Bow Understanding the mechanical side of
archery is the first step toward more consistent results. In preparing your bow setup for hunting, there are two main areas to consider. One is bow tuning; the other is matching the bow to the shooter. In order to shoot consistently well, both of these areas must be addressed. Let’s examine them here. My goal in this section is to cut through a lot of the technical stuff and simplify things so that the average bowhunter can tune his bow quickly and correctly. The No. 1 accuracy problem I see is the shooter’s inability to put to rest the demon of his bow and the way it is tuned. Hopefully, the information in this chapter will help you to understand tuning better, so you can fine-tune your bow to its full potential. Then, once you have the bow tuned, forget it. It only makes things worse if you move things around every time you miss. We will first look at the basic adjustments of the tiller, the timing of two-cam bows, center shot and the position of the nocking point locator. I am going to mention a few things about each one of these basic adjustments and discuss how to initially set them. Because the vast majority of bowhunters today shoot compound bows, this part of the book is written primarily with them in mind. However, I feel all archers can pick up some helpful points in this section. Before we get into the “how to” of basic bow tuning, let me say that you should not second-guess the inherent accuracy of whichever bow you shoot. Almost any bow sold today can shoot more accurately than can the archer shooting it. However, you should invest in the bow you feel is right for you. If you are continually wondering about the accuracy of your bow, you will not be able to shoot it to your full ability. With that point out of the way, let’s look at the steps involved in basic bow tuning. First, let’s look at the tiller. Two-cam bows are closed-circuit units, because of the cables that connect the two wheels together. Turning the weight bolt in on one limb will not make that limb work any more than the other. The tiller adjustment does not have an effect on accuracy per se if it is at all close to being correct; most archers will never know it if their tiller measurement is off by 1/4 inch or less. In fact, we have found we can change the tiller five pounds on either limb and still shoot 2-inch groups at 50 yards, using a shooting machine. I am not saying that the two limbs should not be close to the same poundage. What I am saying is to get them close, forget about the tiller and move on. A slight amount of difference here will not adversely affect accuracy. To check your bow’s tiller, measure from the string at a 90-degree angle to the point where the limb and riser meet. Most archers set the top and bottom tiller to measure the same. Tiller adjustments, if needed, are made by turning a limb’s weight-adjustment bolt. For example, if you have too much tiller on the bottom limb, decrease the weight on the top limb or increase the weight on the bottom limb. If you have too much tiller on the top limb, of course, you would adjust in the opposite direction. Once you have the tiller set, if you change the bow’s draw weight, do so by turning each limb’s weight-adjustments bolt the same amount and in the same direction. Again, though, you do not need to be overly concerned about this adjustment, as it has little real effect on accuracy. Now let’s look at the timing (cam rollover) on two-cam or eccentric-wheel bows. Of course, the timing should be close on both cams. However, as long as it is the same on each shot, the arrow will hit in the same place; therefore, do not be overly obsessed with the timing. If the two bus cables are not of the same length, the timing will be off. You can determine if this is the case by looking at the position of the two cams in relation to the limbs. The top cam should be in the same relation to the top limb as is the bottom cam to the bottom limb. Many bow manufacturers today inscribe timing marks on the cams. This gives you a quick, easy way to check the timing. If your cams do not have these marks, check the timing by finding a hole or other reference point that is the same on both cams. If these reference points are not in the same place, relative to each limb, the timing is off. To adjust the timing, you need a bow press or other means of relieving pressure on the bus cables. After you have the cables relaxed, twist can be added to or taken out of them to get the timing correct. The final way to check the timing is to draw the bow. There should be a solid stop against the force-curve wall. If you instead feel a double-bump stop, your timing is still off and you need to do some more adjusting.
Once you get the timing correct, it is a good idea to mark reference points, so that you will be able to tell if one cable stretches and throws the timing off again. A good place to mark reference points is at the exact location where the bowstring leaves the cam grooves on the top and lower cams.
As far as accuracy is concerned, center shot will not have an adverse effect if it is off only slightly. However, if the center shot is off, the group you shoot at 20 yards will be to the right or left of the group you shoot at a longer distance, say 50 yards. This is the reason to have the arrow lined up behind the bow’s power stroke, not because it will tighten your groups. If you notice that the farther you move from the target the more your groups move to the right or left, your center shot is off. Fortunately, this is simple to correct. The center-shot adjustment is made by moving the arrow rest to the right or left as needed. To check and adjust your center shot, move up to 20 yards from the target and shoot until you have the windage of your sights set dead on. Now move back to 50 yards and shoot another group. If this group is to the right of the group you shot at 20 yards, you need to move your arrow rest to the left (for a right-handed shooter). If the 50-yard group is to the left of your 20-yard group, adjust it in the opposite direction. Moves back and forth from 20 to 50 yards while adjusting your center shot until you have the windage of the two groups the same. I believe string nocking point is more crucial to accuracy than the other adjustments. I have many times moved an archer’s nocking point up the bow string 1/8 inch and improved his accuracy considerably. After that I might move it another 1/2 inch without any further effect. If the nocking point is too low, it can cause the back of the arrow shaft to contact the arrow rest as it moves on its path. This will affect the arrow’s oscillation and change its course, which can have an adverse affect on accuracy. For the initial nock locator adjustment, start out by setting your locator so the bottom of your arrow nock is 1/8 inch above 90 degrees to the string while the arrow is on the arrow rest. Of course, you can find this location by using a bow square. We will discuss how to fine-tune the exact location for the nocking point in the next section. Fine-Tuning With the exception of a string nocking point that might be set too low, bow tuning does not affect accuracy as much as most archers believe. The reason I am going into some detail on tuning here is so you will understand more about the subject, thereby enabling you to adjust your bow to your satisfaction. Hopefully you then will be able to put the issue to rest, so you can move on and learn how to shoot more effectively. As we consider what we hope to accomplish in fine-tuning, there is only one noteworthy area to work for on the equipment side of archery: We must tune the bow/arrow setup so the arrow consistently comes from the bow with its axis straight to the direction in which it is traveling. That, of course, is the direction in which the bow is pointing. I realize that some arrows could oscillate (flex) slightly when they leave the bow. However, the arrow should be flexing on a straight path in the direction in which the bow is pointing. When the flexing has ended, the arrow’s shaft should be pointing straight toward the direction of travel. If the arrow leaves the bow crooked, relative to the direction of travel, it will cost you accuracy; after the fletching moves the shaft back and forth to correct it, the shaft might no longer be headed exactly toward the point at which it was shot. Also, a shaft that leaves the bow crooked to any degree will wobble as the fletching corrects it. The fact that the correction and overcompensation (wobble) are not significant enough for you to see them occur downrange does not mean they are not taking place. An arrow that wobbles even slightly loses velocity and energy in flight. On the other hand, an arrow that leaves the bow perfectly straight will have all of its kinetic energy pushing right behind its point. The fletching should not have to move the arrow around to straighten it. Its only job should be to keep the shaft straight after it starts out that way. Accuracy, speed and penetration are not the only benefits to be gained by tuning for your arrows to leave the bow straight. Have you ever wondered why some hunter’s broadheads do not impact the target at the same place as their field points? It is because their arrows are not coming from the bow straight. A fixed-blade broadhead, having a larger surface than a field point, will fight the fletching more if the arrow leaves the bow crooked. The broadhead will win more of the fight than will a smaller-surfaced field point; as a result, it will move the arrow more in the direction it started out before the fletching straightened it. You will find that once you have tuned your arrows to exit the bow straight, you will no longer need to reset your sights when you switch to broadheads before deer season (provided of course, that the broadheads are aligned with the shafts). Your broadheads and field points will now impact at the same place on the target. I do not need to tell you what a great advantage this is. With this kind of bow or that kind, with all your efforts and trials in tuning for accuracy, all you can and should hope for is to have your arrows come out of the bow straight. That is it — unless you want to tune for the alternative, which would be to tune for the arrows to leave your bow crooked and let the fletching work the shafts back and forth to correct them. I do not believe this would be anyone’s goal in tuning. Before you can tune to straighten the arrow’s flight, you must be able to tell if the arrows are leaving the bow crooked — and if so, to what degree. Also, you must know when their flight has been straightened out. Most archers use the paper test for this reason. However, I do not believe this method always gives a true reading. As a matter of fact, I know it does not, because at different distances we sometimes get different readings from paper tuning, despite using the same setup in each test. Let me explain why different readings can occur. Let’s assume the string nock locator is set too high. This will cause the arrow to leave the bow with its tail end higher than the point. If the arrow leaves the bow quite a bit “tail high” — say, two to three inches — what will happen? The fletching will meet a lot of resistance from the air. This sudden resistance will force the fletched end of the arrow down — not just to the point of perfectly straight, but past it. The tail end of the shaft will then for a short time be lower than the front of the shaft. This over-compensation and correcting (arrow wobble) will continue to diminish as the arrow moves forward, until the fletching has straightened the shaft. Understanding this concept, you should be able to see how this could give us the wrong reading while paper tuning. If the rear end of the arrows hits the paper on its rebound from being whipped downward by air resistance, it will make a low tear. This low tear would give the shooter a false reading that the shaft left the bow nock low, when the opposite is true. The same could be true if the arrow leaves the bow tail left or right. So, what is the answer? How can you tell if your arrows are leaving the bow pointing straight toward the direction of travel? The best way I have found is to shoot an arrow without any fletching, to see how it hits the target. With no fletching to straighten the arrow, the farther it travels, the more it will turn in the direction in which it started out. In essence, bare-shaft shooting is the way to find out how your arrows are leaving the bow.
If you can tune your bow-arrow setup so that a bare shaft will fly straight into the target, it is leaving the bow straight in line with the direction of travel. Your fletched arrows will also be coming off the bow straight, provided there is no fletching contact to bump them off course. (More on this later.) When you have the bow tuned so the arrows leave the bow straight, the fletching will not have to affect their flight; all it will have to do then is keep the shafts on the course they started out on. Once you have the bow tuned so your arrows leave it straight you can put the issue of tuning to rest, because there is nothing else you can do with the bow/arrow setup to make it more accurate. Bare-shaft tuning might sound intimidating at first; however, it is not that difficult. I have for many years shot the 20-yard indoor round with four fletched arrows and one bare shaft, with the bare shaft not adversely affecting my groups. I have done this with both recurve and compound bows. Also, my bows are tuned so I can shoot bare shafts straight into the target at 50 yards, with the bare shafts grouping within a few inches of each other and my fletched arrows. If I can tune my bows to do this, anyone can learn to bare-shaft tune to a degree that will improve their arrow speed, accuracy and penetration. Next let’s look at the process of how to tune the bow/arrow system to shoot a bare shaft straight into the target, which is another way of saying tune the bow/arrow system to shoot an arrow where it exits the bow pointing straight in the direction it is traveling. Before beginning to shoot bare shafts or do any other fine-tuning, complete the basic bow-tuning adjustments discussed earlier. But as mentioned, you need not go overboard trying to get them perfect. I am sure the bows of most readers are already set up well enough to start bare-shaft tuning. With that said, let’s move on to this process. Prior to starting any tuning process that involves shooting, make sure all of your arrows are straight and weigh the same. If you do not own devices to spin and weigh arrows, purchase them. I believe most bowhunters would be shocked with the results if they spun and weighed their arrows.
Next, put field points onto the arrows and spin them again. If the insert is not aligned straight with the shaft, the arrow point will not spin true. It is a simple matter (if your inserts are glued in with heat-melt glue, as most are) to take a cigarette lighter and heat the insert glue, then turn the point until it spins straight. Do this by heating the last inch or so of the shaft’s point end. (Use caution not to overheat the shaft. Only heat it enough to loosen the insert. Some composite shaft materials cannot be heated at all. Check with the manufacturer before heating any shaft.) When you put your broadheads on in preparation for hunting season, do not forget to spin your arrows again, to make sure the broadheads are aligned straight with the shafts. This is essential if you expect to have good broadhead groups. Also, when you spin arrows, do not forget to watch their nocks. They are as crucial to accuracy as is the point end, if not more so. Do not overlook this initial step if you hope to accomplish anything in the fine-tuning process. While the weight of the arrows is not as critical as is shaft straightness, it can make a difference in your groups at longer distances. In fact, a 2-grain weight difference between arrows will make a 3-inch difference on impact at 50 yards. Numbering your arrows is a big help in determining when there is a problem with one or more of them. Now that we are sure we are using straight arrows that are close to the same weight, let’s get into the process of bare-shaft tuning. Of course, before you begin bare-shaft tuning you will need to remove the fletching from a couple of arrows. Do not put broadheads onto your bare shafts; instead, use field points of the same weight as your broadheads. As you start shooting, it does not matter whether you tune the shafts to enter straight into the backstop or to group with the fletched arrows; when you have one accomplished, you will notice you also have the other. However, I will describe how to tune to get the arrows entering straight into the backstop, because I believe that is the quickest, easiest way to bare-shaft tune and also because it is what we want to achieve. When you begin shooting, start out no farther away from the backstop than five or six yards. A shaft coming from the bow very crooked will catch so much air that it will dart off, possibly even missing the backstop, if you start shooting from too far away. After you have the basic tuning completed and your bow is set up for hunting, move to about five yards from the backstop and shoot the bare shafts into the target. Then, without moving from your stance, notice how the shafts are sticking into the backstop. If they are not sticking straight in, they did not leave the bow straight. You will need to do some adjusting. Start by tuning for low or high arrow nocks. Looking at the shafts from where you shot, if the shafts’ nock ends are lower than the point at which they entered the backstop, your shafts are leaving the bow rear end low. To correct this, move the string nock locator up the string or lower the arrow rest. Either adjustment will have the same effect. If the shaft’s nock ends are too high in the backstop, adjust in the opposite direction. Adjust the string nock locator up or down the string until the shafts leave the bow with the rear end neither high nor low but straight. (Note: If your string nock locator is far too low, the nock end of your shaft might kick up off the rest, causing the nock end to be high in the target butt. This will give a false indication that your string nock locator is too high. Be aware of this possibility, so it will not confuse you.) If the shafts’ nock ends are to the right or left of the entry hole, you need to adjust the bow cast to arrow spine difference. Changing your arrows’ point weight or cutting a small amount off the shafts might correct the problem, as this in effect changes arrow spine. However, if these steps are not sufficient, it might be necessary to change your bow’s draw weight or change to a different spine of arrow. Most of the time, if you have a problem with your arrow leaving the bow tail right or left, you will find that your arrow is under-spined. Whether an under-spined arrow leaves the bow tail left or right depends on your bow’s brace height; therefore, you will need to do some experimenting to decide how to correct tail-right or tail-left arrows. The quickest way to figure this out is to adjust the draw weight of your bow. First decrease the draw weight. If that does not correct the problem or makes it worse, then try increasing the draw weight. By experimenting in this manner, you can quickly find out if your arrows are under- or over-spined for your bow’s cast. After you have your shafts entering straight into the backstop at five or six yards, move back and shoot from 20 yards. You might now see that you need to do some fine-tuning. If your shafts were a little off up close, the problem will be more noticeable at 20 yards. With no fletching to correct your shafts, the farther they travel, the more they turn in the direction they started off in.
Note that at 20 yards, you should not tune for the height of the arrow nock to be exactly the same height as the arrow’s entry hole. Because the field point is heavy and there is no fletching to raise it, the point will gradually pull the front end of the shaft down. The entry hole will be lower than the shaft’s nock by two inches or so at around 20 yards if your string nock locator is set correctly. While you are tuning with bare shafts, you might notice that the problem of a high or low nock is easier to correct than is the right/left nock — especially if you shoot a bow with a low brace height. Fortunately, the high/low arrow nock is also more critical. The reason is that if the shaft leaves the bow tail low, it might affect the arrow’s oscillation, by contacting the rest as it passes. If the arrow is leaving the bow tail high, the fletching will be fighting air resistance on the shaft, as well as the weight of the point, to raise it. This will cause your arrows to drop faster than they otherwise would, just as too heavy a point would. This is the reason you should be more concerned with high or low nocks than with left or right nocks. (Do not misunderstand; you should get the left or right nocks straightened out as much as possible. However, if the shafts are slightly left or right of the entry hole at 20 yards after you have exhausted your initial remedies, I would not recommend you go out and purchase a dozen new arrows.) Can everyone get their arrows to leave their bows straight? Some cannot with the bow setups they now use, unless they make some changes. For instance, if you hunt with a super-fast, unforgiving setup with arrows that have too weak a spine for the bow’s poundage, you might have problems. Also, if you shoot a bow with a short brace height, you might find it difficult to get the arrows to come out of your bow straight unless you make some changes in your equipment. However, I believe most shooters can, with a little work, adjust their setups so their arrows will leave their bows straight. There are four means available to greatly simplify anyone’s attempt to tune so arrows exit the bow straight. These devices also improve arrow flight, which will in turn improve accuracy, speed and penetration. The first item to mention is carbon or carbon-composite arrows. They are not as critical to the cast of the bow and will fly straighter from a greater variety of setups than will arrows made from aluminum. The next thing, for release shooters, is a quality release aid. If you shoot a single-post release, make sure it is of top quality and breaks super clean, like the Short-N-Sweet by Truball. Another good choice is a caliper-type release. With two movable jaws that meet around the string, there is no sideways pull of the string upon release. The third device to help you get arrows to leave the bow straight is a nocking or “D” loop. This wonderful, inexpensive device will, among other things, allow you to release the arrow from directly behind it. When a nocking loop is used, there is no twisting the string or pre-loading the arrow to cause arrow flight problems. The last item I want to mention is a fall-away arrow rest. It does not help if the arrow starts from the bow straight, only to get sidetracked by the rest itself. The fall-away rest is designed to hold the arrow in position for the first few inches of travel, then drop out of the path before the back of the arrow and its fletching reach it. This type of rest usually uses the forward movement of the cable guard slide or the downward movement of the bus cable to move it away from the path of the arrow. If you have never tried one of these rests, I believe you will be impressed. They especially show their worth if you shoot 5-inch helical fletching, as I do.
Even if you have your bare shafts flying straight, your fletched arrows will not leave your bow straight if they make fletching contact with the arrow rest. So, whether you use a fall-away rest or not, test to guarantee fletching clearance. A lot of archers spray white powder onto the rest and riser to test for clearance. This is a good method — however, I have found that it is better to use lipstick to test for clearance. By rubbing some of it onto the outer edge of the fletching and shooting the arrow, you will be able to see a red mark on anything the fletching touches. If you have fletching contact, use arrow-nock rotation and rest adjustment to achieve total clearance. This is crucial — especially if you use plastic vanes. You simply must not have fletching contact with the arrow rest or sight window. Whenever I discuss tuning, someone always asks, “How can I set the bow up to be forgiving?” That is exactly what we do when we tune for arrows to leave the bow straight. Let’s assume a shooter’s arrows are leaving the bow tail left. Now let’s assume the archer torques the bow in a way that will throw the arrow tail left. With the arrow already leaving the bow in that direction and the archer adding to the problem, we could have an arrow with its tail so far left that it wobbles in flight as the fletching attempts to straighten it. This will reduce accuracy, speed and penetration. The most forgiving setup will always be the one in which the arrow leaves the bow pointing straight toward the direction in which it is traveling. In tuning for accuracy, this is all we can hope to accomplish. Matching Bow to Shooter Next, let’s look at the second aspect of the equipment part of archery: matching the bow to the shooter. In this area, there are four note-worthy points to entertain: draw length, draw weight, bow mass weight and grip. It is my strong belief that if most archers would shorten their draw length by one to two inches, they would have better form, their sight picture would be steadier and consequently, their accuracy would improve. Of the great number of archers I have worked with over the years, I do not believe I have ever seen one with a setup that had too short a draw length for the shooter. The vast majority with draw-length problems are over-drawing their form. If a shooter’s draw length is too long, he will have to use poor form to draw the bow far enough to get it into the draw-curve valley. He will nearly always overextend his bow arm’s elbow and also push his shoulder out toward the target. If that does not get him into the valley, he will also anchor too far back, sometimes to the point his hand is floating and not even touching his face. Most of the time, an archer with too long a draw length will also lean his body back away from the target. With form like this, how in the name of reason can he hope to shoot well? Analyze your draw length, and if it needs adjusting, do so before you shoot another arrow. I also see a big problem with the draw weight most archers use. Too heavy a draw weight has a bad effect on form. The shooter with too heavy a draw weight will usually start by spreading his feet too far apart. Then he will point his bow toward the heavens, lock his elbow and roll his bow shoulder in to get enough leverage to break the bow over the peak. By the time he has muscled the thing back, he has bad form. He also has his muscles so tense there is no way he can relax and hope his sight will be steady. If you cannot sit flat on the floor, hold your bow straight out and draw it without over-straining, your draw weight is too heavy. If most archers would take five to seven pounds off their draw weight, they would be surprised at how steady their sights would be. It was for years a guarded secret among a few top tournament archers that greater bow mass weight will result in a steadier sight picture and, as a result, tighter groups. If your bow is light, it will feel good carrying it around in the woods; however, it will also float around more while you are trying to aim. Most top shooters’ bows weigh between five and nine pounds. Of course, if you shoot a bow that weighs three pounds, you will have to work your way up to a heavier bow. However, when you get there, I believe you will be amazed at the results. I start out with a light mass-weight bow, then add weight where I want it. Do not add the weight onto the end of your stabilizer — instead, add it around the bow’s riser. The reason for this is if the end of your stabilizer is heavy, you will have to use muscle tension to keep the front of the bow from being pulled downward. This muscle tension will in turn cause sight movement, which will scatter your groups. I like to “heavy up” my bow by using a piece of flat stock steel. I start with a flat piece 5 to 6 inches long, 3/16 inch or so thick and 3/4 to 1 inch wide. First I bore a 3/8-inch hole in each end of the steel; then I attach a short stabilizer to one end, by running the threaded stabilizer bolt through one of the holes bored. I next tighten a lock nut onto the end of the stabilizer bolt. Through the other hole I place the bolt of my main stabilizer and thread it into the bow riser. When placing this on your bow, make sure the steel and short stabilizer are on the opposite side of the bow from your quiver and sight base. There are several benefits to increasing bow weight in this way. Not only is it a convenient way to add weight back around the riser, you can also use it to add weight on the side you need it on to counterbalance the weight of a quiver full of arrows and the sight’s base. This will help you to get the shot off faster. If you do not have weight to counterbalance your quiver of arrows and sight, when you draw your bow its upper limb will be tilted to the right (for a right-handed shooter), due to the additional weight on that side of the bow. You will then have to apply muscle to bring the bow’s sight level to plumb. A lot of the time you will overcompensate and have to move the bow back and forth to get it level. This can take between two and four seconds — time that can be critical when trying to arrow a trophy buck. On the other hand, if you have a counterbalance on your bow, when you draw it back it will be very close to level.
The author likes to add weight to his hunting bow by attaching a piece of flat stock steel with a second stabilizer on it. This also helps to counterbalance the weight of the quiver and sight on the opposite side, quickly settling the bow into its proper vertical position.
You should experiment with the amount of counterbalance you need. Start out by placing the counterbalance well out to the left, with the steel at a 45-degree angle from your bow. If you find that this is too much counterbalance, loosen the main stabilizer and then lower the counterbalance more toward the bottom of the bow. This will lessen the amount of counterbalancing effect. If you need more counterbalance, go to a heavier, short stabilizer or use a weight-modular design to be threaded onto the back of the stabilizer bolt. With this system, you not only can add weight and balance the bow as needed but also have the benefit of two stabilizers working for you instead of one. Do you use the proper grip on your bow? I believe most archers today realize the benefit of a low wrist grip — but what about the grip’s design? When an archer picks up a new bow, he will sometimes make the statement, “This grip does not fit my hand.” But do we really want a grip to fit our hand? If we had a grip molded to fit our hand perfectly, it would feel good; however, would it be good for accuracy? I have for many years held the conviction that if we could use a round grip the size of a pencil, we would shoot better groups. If the grip fits the hand perfectly, every little movement in the shooter’s bow side at the moment the string is released is transferred to the bow. However, with a pencil-sized grip, when the shooter’s bow side moved, the grip would not be able to transfer that movement to the bow. The bow hand would instead simply move around the grip. I cut my own bow grips down as thin as possible. Many top shooters shoot with the entire grip removed from the riser. Manufacturers often offer more than one grip for a given bow. When trying to decide which grip to purchase, consider one of the thinner models. If you shoot one for a while, I believe you will be pleased with the results. Conclusion Again, the variables discussed in this section are not as critical to accuracy as some would have you believe. The reason I have gone into bow setup in some detail is because a lot of information out there is confusing and misleading. Hopefully, you now understand more about what is important and what is not in bow tuning. Next, the human side of archery. To order Bowhunting Trophy Whitetails:
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