Brace height question….

[Mitch H]

After tuning literally a couple thousand wheel bows since switching to them in 1976, when I returned to traditional archery I figured that getting the most out of a trad bow would take a few minutes at most.      

Anyway, after getting an old Grizzly from the classifieds here I have been having a heck of a time getting it to shoot right.

When I got the bow, it shot pretty good, but not like I thought it should. I tried nock height and brace height changes often. It became clear to me where the nock height needed to be, but the brace height was a different story. Drastic changes in brace height would yield small differences, but nothing I was even close to happy with. Each day I would have to run back in the house and grab a bow I could shoot well(a 1974 Grizzly) just to confirm that it was not entirely me who was stinking up the shooting range. Today I moved up to 8 1/8" brace height……still no good. Bumped it up to 8 1/2" brace height……maybe a little worse. I was beginning to think that this beautiful bow was just too old and maybe worn out. After shooting two other bows for a bit I decided to make one last change before giving up on the bow that feels so good but does not shoot so good. I took a few twists out of the string and it settled in at 8 1/4". Since 8 1/8" did nothing for the bow, I almost did not even shoot it @ 8 1/4", but I sure am glad I did! It is a completely different bow now?????

I do not always hit exactly where I want to, but my groups are way better than before, and the best part is, even when I miss, just like a wheel bow, I know where the arrow is going as soon as it leaves the string.

To my question……..are all/most recurves & longbows like this, and how could something as simple as these critters are be so darn finicky? I mean just a 1/8" brace height change turned this bow from a dud to a stud.

Happy but confused…….    :D

When I start shooting funky, brace height is one of the first things I check. Even with a "shot in" string, I occasionally get a bit of creep or stretch and anything over 1/8" makes a big difference. That is why they call it the "Sweet Spot".

Bisch

[bowslinger]

I have found that 1/8 inch doesn't always make much difference if you are not close to the sweet spot.  But if you are close, it can make all the difference in the world.

I personally think tuning a compound is easier.  When I switched to traditional, I thought it was just a stick and a string; simpler and easier to tune. HA!

I do think that once you learn how to tune a traditional bow, assuming you have good form, it is a straight forward process and does become easier.

[Mitch H]

Originally posted by bowslinger:
I have found that 1/8 inch doesn't always make much difference if you are not close to the sweet spot.  But if you are close, it can make all the difference in the world.

I personally think tuning a compound is easier.  When I switched to traditional, I thought it was just a stick and a string; simpler and easier to tune. HA!

I do think that once you learn how to tune a traditional bow, assuming you have good form, it is a straight forward process and does become easier.

Tuning wheel bows probably just seem easier when you have pretty much mastered the process. Some portions of the process truly are easier though. Mechanical releases make arrow building a no brainer, not so with traditional gear.

Went to a 3-D this morning…..7 tens on the first eight targets, then things went south. Like a dummy, I sprayed 5`s and sloppy 8`s for several targets before it dawned on me to check the brace height. It was back down to 8 1/8". Put it back to 8 1/4" and the world was a fun place again.

While I bet my new Wallace Mentor will not shoot better than what I have now, it will have reinforced limb tips, and hopefully I will be able to move up from the B50 and eliminate that headache after initial break-in on the string end of things.

On another note, how hard is it to learn to build Flemish strings? I have been spinning endless loop strings for well over 20 years, but I like the looks of the Flemish strings on my trad bows.

[McDave]

For building Flemmish strings, I recommend the DVD "How to Build a Great Bowstring," by Rod Jenkins and Chad Weaver.  If you decide to use the most modern string material and build skinny Flemmish strings, you have to be very careful to get the length right, as the skinny strings don't change in length very much as you twist them.  Other than that, once you make a few you should be able to go from start to a served string in about a half-hour to an hour.

Now a question for you: you guys have convinced me that I've been missing something all these years by just taking the mid-point of the bowyer's recommended brace height range.  How do I find that exact sweet spot that is within 1/8"?.

[Mitch H]

Dave, I am certainly as much a rookie as it gets where tuning trad bows is concerned. That said, I just used the search engine on this site for brace height on the bow I wanted to work on, in this case a 1960 Bear Grizzly.

Once I learned what other folks were doing with their bows, I started adjusting brace height until I hit a spot that made a world of difference in accuracy and shootability.

On the bow I mentioned, a brace height of 8 1/8" makes the bow shoot poorly for me. 8 1/4" shoots fantastic. 8 1/2" shoots lousy. I have not tried 8 3/8" yet.

I wish the bow worked well @ 7 1/2" because it would give me more power stroke when launching my 594 grain Beman Classic .340`s, but alas, the bow wants what it wants.

[Mitch H]

Oh yea, thanks for the tip on that DVD…..      

I will order it today.