Arrow flight indicated by commercial targets?

[Benny Nganabbarru]

G'day,

I'm wondering if commercially made targets like the Yellow Jacket or The Block are any good at honestly informing the archer about angle of impact of the arrow? Can you look at the arrow sticking out of the target, and if you're not seeing only the nock, say "I need to fix something"? With my Yellow Jacket tonight, it was somewhat discouraging, with some groups showing just nocks to me, and other arrows showing a bit of shaft.

Penny for your thoughts, cheers,

Ben

[Skinny Little Runt]

Ben I found the same with a rinehart field target. I would see the nock in the center and find the point will be left or right 2 or 3".Its not every shot. My guess is the field point hits a hole from another shot and deflects. If you watch you can see it happen. the arrow appears very straight until impact and then angles and vibrates. The same arrows shot thru paper fly straight.

[Skinny Little Runt]

Also I don't get it with a layered target.

[BLACK WOLF]

Ben,

Are you trying to bareshaft tune?

Targets can definitely change the angle of impact on arrows.

Do you have a hard time seeing the bareshaft in flight?

Have you tried shooting 3 fletched arrows and 3 bareshafts to compare their impact points?

Ray  

[Orion]

In short, no, they're not good for that.  They move.  Subsequent arrows turn in the block when they hit previous holes, etc.

[Scott J. Williams]

It has been my experience that target materials, and configuration will affect the nock left, right, up, or down.

I have also learned that more important than which way the nock leans in the target, is what the arrow is doing in flight.

I know this can be tough, so hanging a white sheet, or light colored sheet in front of the target butt is a good idea.  This will allow for greater visibility of the arrow in flight.

This is a must when bare shaft tuning, because you are tuning for the best arrow attitude while the arrow is in flight.  It makes it a little easier when you have a buddy, or two standing behind you.  They can focus on the arrow flight, and you can focus on the shot.

If you wait to look at the nock lean in the target butt, you can get bad information.