Is it me or the arrows....

[CO_Redneck]

Hey guys -
I've been shootin my recurve (Bear Grizzly 58" 50#) nearly every day. I shoot 28.5" PO Ceder arrows, 4.5 feathers, with 125 gr. points. At 10 yards, I'm dead on. I started shootin 20 yesterday in order to get ready for my August hunt, and when I shot, my arrows were about 2 - 3 FEET low. Is that my brain not compensating for the distance or is something screwy with my setup? I shoot 3 under and instinctive.

I eventually got an arrow or two in the target, but it felt like I was aiming at the moon.

Thanks Trad Gurus..

[wtpops]

Have you shot a bear shaft? Only using the info you have given it sounds likt nock point to high. Shoot a bear shaft if it flies nock high, slowly, 1/16" at a time, move your nock point down.

Just a note: If your nock point is extreemly low the back of your arrow can hit the shelf and kick it up showing a false nock high reading.

[CO_Redneck]

My arrows are hitting straight on, but it seemed like one set of nocks (my practice arrows) were loose on the string while my broadhead huntin arrows were tight.

I havn't shot a bare shaft, but I haven't had any problems till I started shootin at 20 yards...

[mcgroundstalker]

Let's see now..... Dead on at ten yards then two or three feet low at twenty.

You might be dropin' your bow arm before the arrow clears the rest. May not notice it much at ten yards but at twenty  :rolleyes: . Keep your bow arm up even after the arrow hits. Try that first before changing stuff around.

... mike ...

[dragon rider]

Put your hunting arrows on the string, hold the bow horizontally, so the arrow is pointed toward the ground, and lightly tap the string. If the arrow falls off you're OK with that.  If not, your nocks are too tight and that will make arrows go almost everyplace but where you want them to go.  Try that before you do anything any more radical - for one things it's an easy fix if that's the problem.

[Deadbolt]

how often do you shoot that far?  if all you do is shoot at 10 yards and instinctive id say you need to develop a sight picture for your brain and practice.

start small and only move back 2-3 feet at a time.

[ChuckC]

Sure you are shooting instinctively ?   "felt I was aiming at the moon"   How you shoot doesn't matter, but,  I guess you need to decide if you are aiming (using a sight point) or not.

At twenty yards,  things can affect the arrow flight that much , yes.  Little things such as where you are anchoring, how straight upright you are  / were standing, are you coming to full draw,  is you bow hand exactly the same as it was earlier,  with three under, are you applying equal pressure to all fingers or most on the top finger,  etc etc.  Sometimes little things change the whole game.

ChuckC

[BRITTMAN]

Deadbolt and ChuckC hit it on the head . You will need to pratice and several diffrent yardages to get the "site picture " ingrained in your mind . 15 yards is where I do alot of pratice from which gives me a good medium between 10 and 20 so for example when I shoot at 10 I tend to be a little high and at 20 a little low but still very close to the mark I want to hit . Back up to about 30 and I bet you will need your arrow point to be covering the spot you want to hit . That will be your " point on " distance . Dont worrie about all this though it will all become "instintive" the more you shoot from diffrent distances .

Mike

[CO_Redneck]

I do shoot instinctively, so maybe the "sight picture" thing is the issue. While looking at my bow, I noticed that my string is starting to fray or compact right where I nock my arrows. Because of that, my practice arrows will flop right off the string while my huntin arrows fall off with a slight tap. It seems that the practice arrow nocks are too big for the string. Could that cause the problem?

Guess I'll just get out and shoot some more....

[reddogge]

No, you are not compensating for the doubled distance.

[rollin]

I went through the same thing. I just had to get
  used to the longer distances. One thing that
  seems to help with me at least is shooting
  3 arrows one from 10 the next from 15 last at
  20 then I change it up on the next set.

[CO_Redneck]

Thanks guys.
It seems that my nocks have started to wear my serving down on my string. Any thoughts as to why? Also, is there a way to fix it without getting a new string?

[macbow]

It sounds like you shoot a lot of arrows so serving wear would be expected. Your current string can be reserved. If you don't know how maybe there is someone near that can help.
I'd suggest serving with a fastflight style serving It will take forever to wear out.

I think the change in distance from 10 to 20 yards was the biggest part of your problem. Once you get 20 down keep going back and forth. It's more difficult to aim small from longer distance and dropping the bow arm is amplified.
Ron

[Killdeer]

Do you have two nock sets on your string? If you don't have a nock set above the arrow, could you be pushing the arrow's nock up the string with your three-under draw?

Oh, and get the same kind of nock on both sets of arrows.  
 
Killdeer  

[Killdeer]

Replacing the serving is a fairly simple operation.

Killdeer  

[vtmtnman]

Everyone's gave you great advice.You can't jump back to 20 if you've only been shooting 10 up till now.Try 12-15-18-20 in steps till you learn the trajectory of your arrows.And remember to keep the bow up and on target till the arrows hits.I always seem to drop before it get there.

[PeteA]

How to you losen nocks if they are too tight? I shoot xx75 500's Black shafts.

[stickhorse]

CO Redneck-- going though springs in the morning, can meet and will loan you my server. let me know

[CO_Redneck]

Thanks guys.
I got my string reserved yesterday. Stickhorse - Thanks for the great offer!

Turns out my bow arm and the serving were to blame. I wasn't keeping my bow arm up or locking it in and my nocks were too loose on the string. Thanks guys!

[Michael Arnette]

Yep, a loose nock will do it for sure. I take fast flight serving and dress up the skinny serving on small daimeter strings. Be careful though as too tight of a nock can be just as awful. Your arrow should be able to hang upside down from your bowstring and stay there with minor movement.