ASK THE EXPERTS
Our expert panel answers your questions. Send yours to john.stanley@futurenet.com
“FIRST, GET THE CAMS SET SO THEY ARE PERFECTLY IN LINE WITH THE STRING”
Q
I fitted a new string to my compound bow then laser aligned my set-up. However, since then I’ve found I need to adjust my sight so far to the right to centre my arrow that my peep no longer aligns with my scope. I shoot right-handed but I’m left-eye dominant, so I always shoot with my left eye closed. I don’t want to move my rest because that will change my centre-shot, so what can I do?
A
Whenever you do any major work on your bow, like changing the strings, it’s always a good idea to take measurements of everything before you start. Things like brace height, axle length, peep height and nock position are vital to the tune of your bow and having these measurements to hand will make it easy to return your bow settings to where they were before. It’s also important to note your draw length and weight and to mark the cam positions, as this will help you to get your bow back to spec after the work has been done.
It sounds as if the problem is with your centre-shot position. If the bow was tuned before you changed the strings then the centreshot position of the rest should not need to change. The most likely cause of the issue is cam lean; it is easy to alter the cam lean when changing the strings and any change in position will affect your centre-shot measurement. The first thing to do is to get the cams set so they are perfectly in line with the string. Start by checking the cam lean at brace height – you can do this by inspecting the cams visually or by running a straight edge along the face of each cam to see how it lines up with the string. You then need to check them at full draw: draw the bow and have someone stand behind you to see if the cams are in line with the string. You can also check this yourself by looking up and down the string while the bow is drawn. If the cams are leaning significantly then you will need to correct them. The exact method will depend on the cam system you have on your bow, so check the bow’s manual or the manufacturer’s website for information on how to do this. Once you have the cams set straight, recheck the centreshot position and adjust accordingly. You should now run through your usual tuning methods in order to fine tune the cam lean for your individual set-up.
It’s worth mentioning that a laser isn’t always the most accurate way to check your centreshot position; unless the laser fits perfectly on a flat part of the riser it will not give an accurate reading. It’s often easier to set your rest in the position advised by the bow manufacturer or to simply nock an arrow and look down the string to make sure that the arrow is sitting perfectly behind the string. Once you have aligned your rest a walk back or French tune will allow you to check its position and help you fine tune the centre shot, if needed.
Eye dominance is an issue for some archers and in certain circumstances can make it difficult to align the peep with the front sight correctly. If this hasn’t been an issue in the past then it’s unlikely to be the cause now, but it could be worth having a look at a blinker to block the vision of your dominant eye. These are a simple bit of plastic that clip to the peak of your hat; they can be positioned so that the vision of your dominant eye is covered when shooting. This should help with any visual disturbances you may be getting and will allow you to make a more relaxed shot as you will no longer need to close your eye while shooting.
DUNCAN BUSBY
“AN OUTDOOR ARROW HAS A STOPPING SPEED OF LESS THAN HALF THAT OF AN INDOOR ONE”
Q
I’ve been shooting compound for about a year. Is it worth investing in a set of both indoor and outdoor arrows? Shouldn’t they ‘work’ and fly correctly at any distance? Seems like a scam to sell more arrows…
A
There are a lot of good reasons why archers have different sets of arrows for indoor and outdoor shooting. To understand what’s needed for a particular discipline, we need to look at the specific set of difficulties the environment imposes. When shooting outdoors, weather and atmospheric conditions are a major concern. As the distances shot are long, arrows have to be light, fast and aerodynamically slinky to resist crosswinds, and so on. To achieve this, they have a slim diameter and often a pre-determined flex pattern to assist clean launching.
Indoor shooting poses a different set of problems to solve. The main issue for indoor arrows is the lack of time between the release and the arrow hitting the target. Arrows need to perform a lot of complex flexing across the front and rear nodes and quickly settle down onto the centre line of the target. The lack of time becomes a real factor here. This is exacerbated by the fact that outdoor arrows are skittish and sensitive, making it difficult to get the arrow stabilised in time.
Indoor compound arrows are the polar opposites of their outdoor counterparts. They tend to have a wide diameter, large profile vanes and heavy points. The much increased diameter will always nail a few more points with its extra line-cutting capabilities. As the score margins of indoor shooting are so fine a few more points can make a world of difference. A lot of indoor compound arrows will utilise a point weight of 200-205 grains compared to the 120-130 grains of the outdoor arrows. This point weight helps to slow the arrow down and offers great frontend stability.
Rear-end stability comes from the drag imparted by the large vanes. These are normally fletched with a helical or offset format for quicker stabilisation. The normal size for an outdoor compound vane is around 2in while the indoor variants are around 4in long and a lot taller. Essentially, this heavy, stable, indoor configuration slows the arrow down buying it a little more time to settle before it hits the target.
It’s also worth mentioning the early onset of fatigue in arrows. Manufacturers go to great lengths to provide us with optimum equipment for our endeavours. Arrows are precision instruments engineered to do a specific job. Using products outside of the usual operational scenarios can lead to early failure. An arrow shot from a modern compound bow has an exit speed of around 225mph. The forces the shaft endures travelling from 0-225mph and back to zero again in a fraction of a second are enormous. An outdoor arrow will have a stopping speed of less than half of the indoor speed when landing in a 70m target. Using outdoor arrows indoors will certainly shorten their lifespan and hybrid arrows will get weaker in the spine as the metal cores fatigue.
At the end of the day, shooting one set of arrows in all scenarios is convenient. You don’t have to change any settings and you know how the bow and arrows operate as one system. That said, you could be missing out and putting yourself at a disadvantage compared to your fellow archers and competitors. The good news is that a good set of indoor compound arrows is less than half the price of a good outdoor set.
I think it’s well worth the investment to have a comprehensive and dedicated indoor set-up to maximise your chances of success.
ADRIAN TIPPINS