Have you ever been afraid to change?

[8up]

I know its long so if your short on time just read the bold.  If It seems like babble I'm sorry just trying to explain everything.

Ok I've been shooting less them a month and am enjoying it each day. I have a Bear Super Grizzly thats 58" and have found its impossible to find the suggested brace height. It was at 9 1/2" with the used string that came with it, the string was 2 inches shorter than AMO. I bought cheap 54" string and adjusted the brace to 8 1/2" and the bow shot better or I just improved. I then received a good flemish string from Champion and put it on the bow. Brace height was 7 1/2", without adjusting it I shot the bow and my groups are as good or better. Mind you the basement only allows an 11yd shot and I keep 9 out of in the 6" circle. So I am not sure my skills will be accurate enough to fine tune it. I'm kind of afraid to change it because its working, but the nagging question "could I shoot better if?" plagues me.

 When adjusting brace height for quietness how do you tell which shot is quietest? the last shot or the one you shot a few minutes ago?  


Next I am getting arrow contact with my riser. My bottom hen feather is showing quite a bit of wear after a 200-300 shots, its also wearing on the velcro on the shelf. I shoot 3 under and my nocking point is 5/8" above my shelf. Bare shafts and fletched are grouping together but again this is only at 11yds.  How will I know if I get the nocking point to high?

My brain says to move the nock up but then I tell myself "hey their grouping leave it alone". So again I'm kind of afraid to change it because its working, but the nagging question "could I shoot better if?" plagues me.

Ideally I need to shoot with someone who is experienced at tuning bows and shooting but so far I've only shot alone with the help of this great forum.  So give me your advice please. .

[John57]

Quietness ?,who really knows,I get it close to or a little higher than manufactures recommendations,an leave it at that.
Nocking point hight,to low an they wave back at ya',to high an they wave back at ya'.
Set just right an they fly straight.
I shoot split an set my nocking point level to slightly high, by eye.
Never measure it,because that gets you stuck in a preconseaved rut.
By eye and they fly,works for me an has done for over 30 years.
cheers.

[SteveMcD]

I am not afraid to experiment or change within the parameters and recommendations about a certain bow. However, 1) I never change anything once it gets to 3 months before hunting season. 2) for a 58 inch Grizzly 7 to 7 1/2 is the recommended brace height, if you're looking for the bow to be quieter than that, take a look at Fred Asbell's recent article in TBM on quieting bows. 3) if your nock point is too high your arrows will be flying tail high (paper test).  
 
Also check out -  http://www.arrowsbykelly.com/Tuning.html

[TSP]

"Ideally I need to shoot with someone who is experienced at tuning bows and shooting...."

Your statement here says it all...some hands-on (= in person) help from an experienced/teaching-oriented trad archer would likely do wonders for addressing your questions.  Shooting or simply just attending/watching organized trad events and watching/asking questions of the better shooters may be the next best way.  And there are always books and videos that can help some.  The best general advice I can offer is not to be afraid of making a change IF the change has been logically thought out and makes sense based on what you think the problem/solution is.  And, work on only ONE thing at a time...wholesale changes will only confuse the issue.  You can always reverse one change if it doesn't work out for you...no harm done.  Last thing...once you are comfortable and confident in your style and form you may want to try shooting at 15 to 20 yards for practice.  Through arrow behavior those slightly longer distances can show whether your gear matches up and whether form components are basically sound (right arrow spine, right bow and string grip, release and follow-through good, etc.) that aren't evident at 10 yards.  Good luck.

[8up]

Thanks for the advice everyone. TSP I plan on going to local shoots, the first one is next month. I will also try longer distances as soon as it starts warming up.

[katman]

brace height, start low and and twist string 2-4 turns and shoot listen repeat, you should hear the bow getting quietier then louder, back down to the quieter setting.

Raise the knock point and see if it helps clearance, you can always move it back. Also check bareshaft here.

Arrow contact can also be a spine issue, you will need to bareshaft tune at longer ranges to fine tune. Also adding fletching the the shaft will stiffen the dynamic spine. Add 50 grains to the point and see what happens. Or you could try just rotaing the knock a little.