Arrow Shelf Contact Alignment With Riser

[dcolavito]

Folks

Any thoughts, welcome.

Just reading about this in the 'Arrow Tuning' section of the "Alaska Bowhunting" site, and while I've not considered it before (maybe I need to), I'm having a hard time seeing how it makes much difference. Maybe I just need to give it a try, but hate to fuddle with my setup unless it's likely to improve things.

"......Either way, the point your arrow contacts the bow should be directly above the pressure point/low point in the grip......If the contact point is in front of or behind the low point in the grip, it makes the bow less forgiving to torque. It creates an underdraw or overdraw condition. They can be shot well that way with good form but they can be shot better if the contact point is in the proper place."

In my instance (recurve), I build out the riser slot th4ereby reducing it's depth (becomes more like a longbow grip).  This helps me  maintain the desired lower palm pressure resulting from my intended low wrist grip.  Otherwise, my tendancy - particularly in cold weather - is to have my hand slip deeper into the slot upon release, which really results in undesireable torque.  In this config, my arrow contact point with the shelf is well forward of my grip.

Dave

[Soilarch]

You could "play" with the idea by building up the back of the shelf with something removable.  May have to raise your nockset however much you raise the overall shelf height.

It may be worth it for the curiosity factor.  In the compound world the reeeaaaal long overdraws used to be common.  I had a short one on my first bow...when I got rid of it (the overdraw and the bow) my shooting improved.  My form was still pretty bad back then so it may have been the doing away with the overdraw or the new bow. Don't really know.

The "physics" behind the idea are solid...but how much noticeable difference 1/2" really makes is beyond me.

Something else to consider is your individual shooting style.  If you let the bow tip forward at release you probably won't see much difference...because depending on how fast you let roll forward you may be creating a kind of "drop-away" rest.

[dcolavito]

Thanks Soilarch:

I'd be interested in the "Physics" that supports this.

I'm challenged to see much of it, largely b/c it seems contradictory to the string nock adjustment process during tuning - we adjust the nock position to address high/low target placement, but the very act of changing the nock position changes the point of contact to the rest!

Dave