Taming a Shrew

[Greg Owen]

I just received a Shrew Samurai a few days ago and had a few questions/comments.

1.  I find that acquiring the Shrew was the number 1 problem I encountered with tuning my Bear Montana.

2. I love the grip, but it puts my bow hand so close to the arrow that the feathers blistered the bow hand and then drew blood. But the bow is so fun to shoot, how could I stop. Any ideas how to prevent this from happening?

3. The Shrew seems to be noisier than the Montana. Has anyone tried a 6 strand D97 string with the Shews?

4. I am a newbie but it definitely shoots where you look, its a great bow.

5. This might be related to number 2. My nocking point is at about 3/16ths inch and the brace is 7 inches to the deepest part of the grip. Does this sound good?

Thanks for all your help here. This is a great place to learn.

Greg

[vermonster13]

Nocking point needs to go up. Will get rid of the fletching contact with your hand.

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

I agree it needs to be about 5/8" above center.

[Izzy]

What David said.I just corrected that problem with a Griffin in the same manner.

[ISP 5353]

The other guys beat me to it.  Raise the nock point a little and that should help.  I shoot a 450+ 8 strand string.  I would call Ron, if I was looking to try a thinner string. I would also try raising the brace height a little to see if that makes it quieter.  Good luck!

[wtpops]

The shrew already has a 6 strand 450+, I know the 97 will be a bit thiner but not that much.

[tradtusker]

id stick with the 6 strand 450+ i found that to work best for me. (make sure the loops are padded)
i would up the brace height my shrews like 7 1/2" or a touch over. just work it up from 7" with a few twists at a time until you find the sweet spot.

[amar911]

What the others have said on the brace height (about 7 1/2"), nock point height (about 5/8" above center, and 450+ string. Also, check your arrow spine. Shrews sometimes need a somewhat stiffer spine than a comparable weight bow. I sure don't have the problem you are having, but I expect yours will go away too. The most critical factor is your nock point height.

Allan

[Gordon martiniuk]

Raise arrow shelf with a piece of wood arrow 1/4" is lots then cover with velcroe then reset nocking point higher no more contact ,, just make sure when installing wood riser piece that it is right above where pressure point on riser is  

[Tim]

Shrews don't like Dyna 97, they tend to have a pop or crack sound upon release...just not very quiet.  Shoot the string Ron recommends and they are as quiet as any bow.  On my 58 SSD (referred to as the ShippShrew) I keep the brace at 7" and the nock point at 5/8.

We've had 3 Shrews and two Griffins in the house over the past 10 years and all required some tinkering with the nock point.  I ended up with a 5/8 nock point on all of them.  I also found that the bows like a lower brace height.  I always had nock high bare shafts until I hit the 7" brace.  At that point the bow go quieter and the nock high went away. Fantastic little bows.

[Chad R]

If the feather still hits your finger after raising the nock....  try turning your arrow 180 degrees and shooting cock feather in.  That solved the feather cutting my finger issue for me.

[Recurve50 LBS]

All of this advise sounds very very helpful but if you STILL have trouble with your Shrew just send it my way so I can try taming a shrew.

My friend had one for a very short time and got rid of it. I sure wish I bought from him cause those bows are sweet shooters.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Not far saying "Taming the Shrew" Because the Shrew is Taming You...


I would move the brace to get it quite Then work on nock hight. I had a older Shrew 54" that was very quite 7.75" brace and 5/8" nock.

[Greg Owen]

Thanks for all the advice.  I am increasing the brace height and it seems to be a bit quieter. I also raised the nock point a bit. I am using 2016s cut to about 28 3/4" and 270 grains up front. I draw to 27 1/4".  I already am shooting better groups with this than any other bow I have tried. At 15 yards, 2 fletched and 2 bare shafts group in about a 2 inch diameter group, unless I do something wrong form wise.  Now if only this bow was a take-down.... Oh well, I have already started saving for that bow.

[Greg Owen]

Ok, here is a newbie dumb question.  5/8" nock height is measured how? I think this is a mistake I am making. I am measuring from the top of my Saunders bow square to the bottom of the nock. I should be measuring from the point level with the shelf to the bottom of the nock point. Correct?

[vermonster13]

Yes

[Tim]

Greg,

The bottom of your arrows nock should be around 3/8.  That should put your actual metal or tied on nock point on the top line of your bow square which will be right around 5/8.

Tim

[Greg Owen]

Thanks again for all the info. If these hurricane force winds die down I will get it all tuned in.

[Java Man]

Greg,

Another thing that was not mentioned.  Make sure the lifeline of your bow hand is right down down the middle of the handle.  If you try to grip the bow other than how it was designed, you will torque it and get more noise, among other undesireable arrow behavior.  

The grip is very easy to use and repeat.  But not if you force the wrong way of holding this grip design.  Let the grip tell you how to hold it.

Gregg

[Greg Owen]

Thanks Gregg,

It is an awesome bow. I will be ordering another as soon as I can figure out which to order. I have heard rumors about improvements. The only complaint I have about this bow is I didn't buy one in a takedown. Keep up the great work!\\


Greg