Tuning help for my Hoyt Buffalo

[Kentucky Jeff]

Couple of weeks ago I got a Hoyt Buffalo off ****.  its a 62" bow 50# @28".  I set the bow up with a brace height of 8 3/8 as per the DVD they included with the bow.  I'm shooting Trad Only 300's with 125 gr points and 100 gr inserts fletched with 5" shield cut feathers.  My draw is 30" and the arrows are cut to 31".

All was well for a couple of days then the bow started to rattle a little.  I looked it over and found the string had stretched and the brace height was now about 7 3/4"   So I twisted it a couple of turns and got the brace ht back to factory spec.  I even tried it with three twists more and three twist less than the factory recommendation and found it shot best and was quietest with the manufacturers recommended brace ht.

So today I string the bow up and go outside and start pounding some arrows and dang if it doesn't rattle a little.  So I check brace ht again and sure enough the string appears to have stretched again!  WTH?  I thought fastflight was supposed to eliminate this?  

I ordered a SBD string because I suspect the factory string isn't that great.  

Can someone maybe give me some advice about messing with the tiller?  

I get good groups with the bow and the arrows bareshafted exactly where they where I wanted them to go.  At 20 yards I'm getting tennis ball size three shot groups.  At 10 yards I can make the shafts slap each other.   At 30 yards things open up and the flaws in my release become evident.

I think I would like the bow to be more quiet.  

Thanks for your ideas in advance...

[Shawn Leonard]

I believe you are wll overspined for one, the string thing not sure. I am shooting .500 spine cut to 30"s with 175-190 grains up front out of my Belcher ILF drawn to 28.5"s and 54#s at that draw. Try shooting it thru paper at 12-15 ft. and see what tear ya get. I am not a great believer in bareshafting because a bad realease does not help but if you are way off in spine it will show up. I would crank the limbs all the way in and back top one out 2 full turns and the bottom one 1 turn. Bottom limb you want stronger than top. You may have to go 3 on top and 1.5 on bottom, keep playimg. Shawn

[Orion]

If your arrows are bare shafting well, why do you want to mess with the tiller?  Seems like all you need is a new string. Don't know what the bolt turns that Shawn suggested yield, but you generally want the top limb about 1/4-inch positive tiller for split finger, about even if you shoot three under.

[Shawn Leonard]

Just trying get the bow to postive tiller and reduce the weight a bit and start over with a different spine. Sorry but they are too stiff out of any 50# bow even a compound. I used to shoot 300s cut to 30"s out of 68# compound with 225 up front. Shawn

[Kentucky Jeff]

Shawn,
   Thanks for the reply.  At my draw length the bow draws around 56#.  If you look at the Easton chart and use the 200 grain point column it calls for 300's.  I'm shooting 225 grains up front and that should use a stiffer spine.  I tried some 400's in the bow that I use in my longbow and it was noisier and didn't group as well.  I have not paper tuned the bow but will do so.

   I do use a three under release so I will check the tiller and make sure its close to even.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[JimB]

The Easton chart is notoriously overspined.