Tail wag tuning problem

[rnickl]

I recently picked up a cheep, lightweight Ragim Wolf longbow to get me back in shape after a minor hand injury and having problems with knock point.

I started with my knock point at 3/4" high and bare shafts were hitting WAY low, about 24" low at 20 yards .  I moved it down 1/8" and bare shafts started to hit a bit closer.  Problem is, if I move it any lower than 5/8" the arrows start hitting the shelf and my finger!  Even fletched arrows have a bad tail wag.

Fletched arrows are shooting alright and I'll never use the bow for hunting so it's not a huge issue but, I'd still like to get it closer and shooting better.  
I've never run into a problem like this.  Any ideas why I can't find that "sweet spot" for my knock point?  

Specs: 45# draw, 40/45 POC arrows cut to 29" and 125g points.  The shelf is cut about 1/4" from center, left to right looks good with bare shaft so I think spine is pretty close.

[lpcjon2]

Is the brace height good?Whats on the shelf as a rest?

[magnus]

You have feathers and not vanes correct? If so I'd check what lpcjon2 suggested.

[lpcjon2]

Also make sure the nock of the arrow is not to tight on the string.

[rnickl]

The brace height is 7", calf hair rest.  4" feathers and the nocks fall off if I flick the string lightly with my finger.

Thanks for the ideas so far.  I'm a bit puzzled by this one.

[AWPForester]

The brace has to be wrong if the shafts are correct.  Is it a D style bow?  If so go down with the brace more than likely.  If it is a R/D, go up.  If that dont work you had better check the bow for some integrity problems, then check the tiller.  Good Luck and God Bless

[D]

Might wanna try paper tuning it and figure out which way to go up or down and try changing point weight.  Try a little heavier and see what heppens.

[lpcjon2]

You got me on this one the only thing I can say is that the bow is 45@28 and the arrows are 40-45 at 29 with 125gr that may make them to weak in spine,can you try another arrow a little heavier?

[donw]

how long is the bow? if it's "Long"...over 60"...I'd increase the bracing height to at least 7 3/4" and lower the nock set height to 3/8"-1/2" above horizontal.

[Bjorn]

Generally side to side is brace, up and down is nock height, and a poor release can do it too. If I get side to side movement twisting the string will get rid of it.

[rnickl]

Thanks for all the ideas folks.  
According to the "spine calculator" and looking at the bare shafts my spine weight looks close.  Bare shafts hit slight right (2-3") at 20 yard so I'm a touch under spine.

I think I'll pop on some 100g points and then play a  bit with brace height this afternoon.  I initially just found the smoothest shooting and quietest brace height, I never did check how different heights affected bare shaft flight.

[rnickl]

I had a chance to make it out last weekend and I started tuning from the beginning but didn't have any luck figuring the problem out.  I'll list my process to see if you folks can see if I overlooked something or perhaps have any more ideas.

I put on some lighter 100g points, set brace height to the manufacturer recommended 7" and my nock point 1" high to start.  Left to right bare shafts looked good but were hitting very low so I started to move nock point down in 1/8" increments.  Bare shafts were getting closer but again I could not go lower than 5/8" before they started to bounce off the shelf.  I then ran the brace height from 6 1/2" to 8" but didn't see a bit of difference in the bare shafts.  I even lowered the nock point to where the arrows started to smack the shelf and ran through the brace height test but again, no difference.

Is it time to start blaming this on a bad shooting bow?
That would suck!  I don't think I could sneak a new bow past the old lady for quite some time  :(

[JamesKerr]

Try installing a tooth pick under your rest and then play with your brace height and nocking point. You want to make sure that the arrow is coming in very little contact with the shelf and plate.

[cedar]

Arrow is too weak, try a 50-55 spine.

[rnickl]

Just wanted to tank everyone for the input and help.  I spent most of today making VERY small adjustments and finally have it worked out!

For some reason brace height is extremely sensitive on this bow and my initial adjustments were just to large to figure out what was going on.  I ended up with a brace height at 7 1/8", if I go up or down by only 1/16" I get really bad arrow flight.  It seems strange that such a small adjustment made such a huge difference, bare shafts hit a good 24" low at 20 yards if I move my brace height 1/16" in either direction.  

It's still not a great shooter but I at least have a bow that shoots good enough to get me back into shape now.  In a few months I should be able to figure out what weight I'll be able to pull with my broken fingers/tendons and maybe buy a nicer bow, if the wife lets me    

Cheers!