How dead is "dead in the hand"?

[slowbowjoe]

So I've been shooting some very sweet one piece hybrids the last several years. They've been quiet, no shock, excellent arrow flight. No matter how I tune them, I am aware of some vibration at the shot. A very firm grip does make it nearly undetectable.

Wondering if this is typical. It isn't a problem, but I'm wondering if I might be missing something. Arrows are doug fir, around 10.5 app. Hush Puppy silencers at 1/4 and 1/3. Split.
Thoughts?

[LBR]

A firm grip greatly increases the chance of torque.  What string material are you using?

My elbow tells me whether a bow has much shock or not.

[slowbowjoe]

Strings have been D-10, D-97, Rhino, Ultracam - maybe one or two others. I'm finding the firmer grip reduces torque for me, as the vibration seems to encourage it.

[Sam McMichael]

How heavy is the arrow you are using? The vibration indicates that considerable energy is not being transferred to the arrow. If you can shoot an arrow with greater mass, you should have less vibration. Question is, though, how does a heavier arrow perform?

[slowbowjoe]

Sam, the arrows have been 10.5 - 11 GPP.

[M60gunner]

"Dead in the hand" to me is no vibration at all. My hands are becoming more arthritic as time goes on. I "feel" vibration from bows I own I never noticed before. So far I have only given up my Hill style LB. My Wes Wallace with proper arrows is still fine. Back to OP.  I have a riser made from cast aluminum. Even with 60# limbs and light arrows that bow does not do anything when the shot goes off.  I have also shot a few A&H LB's. I have had the same results, dead in the hand, no movement, no vibration. Beats me why I do not have one!

[katman]

Agree with Sam, vibration is energy left in the bow system and not transferred to arrow. Sounds like you have a heavy enough arrow for most bows so poor release, pressure point on grip, improper brace height, bow design, riser material or craftsmanship (poor limb timing) could be the issue.

You could also add some limb savers to the fade-outs to decrease the felt vibration.

Brace height change can make a big difference in how fast the limbs stabilize.

[slowbowjoe]

Out of the possibilities, I'm thinking it's leaning toward either my release (prone to plucking a bit), or brace height.
Have the bow nice and quiet, arrow flight where I want it... but may try a twist or two up or down yet again.
I'm doubting it's the bow itself, and settled into the grip that the bow likes.

[Yewbender]

Sounds like your release. When i shoot my ASL's i feel nothing in the hands but when i have a bad release i can feel it.

[The Whittler]

I think every bow has some vib. or something. I have arthritis in my hands and can feel it even if it's only a little. I don't think I have ever shoot a bow that didn't have a little.

If it's just a little vib. I am OK with that, it's when it jars your fillings loose and the bow try's to jump out of your hand that's where I draw the line.

[Bowwild]

I won't bring up other bow types here but I've never felt dead in the hand with any recurve like I have with the better of those "other" bows. I'll never forget the time I first shot one of the "other" bows that had "dampening" devices imbedded in the aluminum riser. I had not realized how much vibration there had been in the bows I had been shooting.

However, I've shot some recurves (and one longbow) that hurt my elbow. Those weren't dead in the hand....at least not the way I had them set up.  I suppose I could have adjusted brace height or gone to heavier arrows to dampen them some.

[ron w]

For every action there is a reaction, no bow will be completely void of some sort of vibration or thump or what ever you want to call it. Some are just better than others.

[Red Beastmaster]

Originally posted by ron w:
For every action there is a reaction, no bow will be completely void of some sort of vibration or thump or what ever you want to call it. Some are just better than others.

Exactly!

When someone claims their bow has no recoil it is usually for sale.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Originally posted by ron w:
For every action there is a reaction, no bow will be completely void of some sort of vibration or thump or what ever you want to call it. Some are just better than others.

X3, your never going to find it and why is it so important? Just curious.

Tracy

[David Mitchell]

Originally posted by K.S.TRAPPER:
 

Originally posted by ron w:
For every action there is a reaction, no bow will be completely void of some sort of vibration or thump or what ever you want to call it. Some are just better than others.

X3, your never going to find it and why is it so important? Just curious.

Tracy [/b]

X4.  There is no way that something is not going to be felt.  An arrow being propelled forward will cause a bow to be propelled backward. As Ron W. points out, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Some bows just balance it out more so it is felt less.  The day someone comes up with a bow that you cannot tell you shot the arrow at all, that will be a bow I am interested in! Especially my arthritic hands will be.  

[slowbowjoe]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

As to "why is it so important?"... it isn't. As I mentioned in the OP, I don't consider it a problem, just trying to get a broader view of what folks experience has been with it, and maybe tweak my bow a bit.