HH BUG GOT ME - Part Two!

[WarDancer]

Pat, do still have the Redman you got from me. Bill Ward

[centaur]

Originally posted by WarDancer:
Pat, do still have the Redman you got from me. Bill Ward

Yes, I do. It doesn't get shot quite as much, but it is the quietest bow I own.

[WarDancer]

let me know if you ever decide to part with it. Thanks Bill

[centaur]

Will do, Bill. But don't hold your breath waiting for me to get rid of it.

My yew is not for sale either.  I noticed on the previous page, JD said, "Don't worry about breaking nocks"?  I just spent three days in my dark dingy basement refletching and repairing a large box of crippled arrows, twice I was chased by a large centipede that was faster than I was, I burned myself with my torch heating up nocks that needed cutting off, I burned a hole in the cuff of my wool jacket, I got fletch tape stuck in my hair and I am NOT suppose to worry about breaking nocks?

[JDBerry]

Just pulled the iron off my bow a few hrs ago. Went with a Vixen, Pink Ivory handle, Wenge and blond Bamboo encasements, All Yew core with duo-weges. dark brown back-White belly. Will be 2"x1" slight dish, High Gloss finish. Geared to be 51#@27 1/2" 68"ntn.

 Hoping that I can break a arrow nock with it Pavan!  ..OE

Make it a lefty, no make it a righty, send it to me I will turkey tune it for you.  It sounds really nice.

[Josh Perdue]

I just traded a nice fly rod for my first hill style bow. It's a 66" Howard hill Wesley special. It's super quiet and smooth but it jars my arm pretty good upon the shot. Think I'm gonna have to experiment with the grip a little, but I'm looking forward to this new venture.

My wife pointed out that I do an odd thing when I shoot that is not odd at all. If your bow is feeling shocky, the norm is to let it settle deep, keep that bow arm bent have a smooth release and shoot a good hefty arrow.  When I grab a bow I squeeze it into my hand with my middle and ring finger, as I complete my draw my fingers lighten up on the grip a little. I used to shoot very heavy bows with cedar arrows, the catch 22 was that often those heavy bows liked lighter spine arrows, especially when I was using 125 grain points cut short enough that I could tag my finger as my draw check. At times I was probably down to about 6.5 grains per pound, a recipe for hand shock. I think the lightening of finger pressure during the draw may have been a response to hand shock.  Over time a persons reaction time can nullify the overall effect and feeling of hand shock.

[Josh Perdue]

Thanks pavan.

Originally posted by JDBerry:
Just pulled the iron off my bow a few hrs ago. Went with a Vixen, Pink Ivory handle, Wenge and blond Bamboo encasements, All Yew core ....

James, I think I have seen that one often lately...in my minds-eye.  Can't wait to see it come alive!

[Brianlocal3]

James,
That sounds AWSOME. Send me pics and I'll post them for ya

[jhk1]

TSchirm and Josh Perdue,

Along with the advice from Pavan and James on holding the bow, you may want to play with the brace height.  I use a 6.5" brace height on most of my Hill-style ASLs because at brace my 5" feathers clear the shelf by just a little bit.  Depending on the bow, I can get a little more bump in the hand if my brace height gets lower (as the string stretches/settles in).  Play around with your brace height a little and see if you can find a sweet-spot.

Different strings and string materials can also have an effect.  For most of my ASLs I shoot flemish-twist 12-strand or 14-strand 8125 or D97 strings with padded loops (4 add'l strands of B50 or B55 in the loops).  I notice a significant difference in handshock (less, that is) compared with B50/B55 Dacron strings.  Some guys like B50/B55 on their ASLs; they say it has a "softer shot feel".  Others like the slight performance gain and the shot feel of modern string materials.  Different strokes for different folks.  

The only ASL I still use a B55 Dacron string on is a Hill Big 5 by Craig Ekin that's probably at least 10 years old (maybe 15 or 20 yrs old).  It's made to handle modern low-stretch strings, but it shoots my long 2117 aluminum arrows more accurately with the B55 string (with the B55 string, this bow is apparently better tuned to match these arrows).  And this bow is nice and quiet in the hand with the Dacron string (very mild bump in the hand at the shot with B55 string.  With an 8125 string, it's the quietest-in-the-hand ASL I've ever shot-- no discernable hand shock at all).

Every bow is unique/different--even from the same maker.  I've got a couple other Craig-made Howard Hills, a Northern Mist Classic, a JET Leopard, a Dave Johnson red cedar ASL, and a 7 Lakes string-follow ASL.  I love shooting them all, but it's uncanny how quiet in the hand my old Big 5 is.

[jhk1]

Before I get branded as a heretic, I do shoot woodies from my ASLs as well  

In fact, I'm fletching up a half-dozen spruce arrows right now.  I've been shooting the aluminums a lot for the past year or so, because they're "easy"-- they're cheap, consistent shaft to shaft, and stay straight (unless you hit something you didn't intend to).  I like aluminums for the 3D course.  But there's something magical about shooting a nice wood arrow from an ASL-- the quietness is amazing.

[Overspined]

Well-matched arrows, don't choke the grip, and work on a good style will all help with vib, as will shooting a bow you can handle easily. Then again there are bows that just plain rattle you. I've shot straight and R/D bows both that have done it. Sometimes a change is necessary! Lol. There are plenty out there that don't cause vib and pain.

I should have either nailed that righty Morningstar as well or put in an order for a James yew. I guess I was not aware that he liked yew as well, it can be magical stuff when done right.  The problem with my lefty bows, I am the only one that can shoot them around here.

I have noticed that folks that are new to shooting Hill style bows and are still developing a Hill shooting style, if they are over bowed they tend to do things that will cause any hand shock to be more of a problem for them, things tend to look jammed up.  I fixed one that had some nock damage a while back. The owner said it kicked him pretty hard, but I noticed that he was all tensed up and struggling.  I took the opportunity to trim it down some. He declared that it shot faster and the hand shock was gone, he also looked more natural when he shot it. A few less pounds was what he needed.

Originally posted by pavan:
 A few less pounds was what he needed.

I was one that learned this lesson the hard way back in 1972....when "a real man" would shoot heavy as Howard did.  I believed it for about a year and suffered being overbowed by at least 30#.

Finally, I sold that stump and bought a nice bow at around 50#.  It was a lot of fun from then on...

Almost ditched the Hills permanently.  Now you will have to bury me with one...LOL

[Charlie Lamb]

Well guys, as if cabin fever isn't bad enough right now, rehabbing both knees, lots of snow, extreme cold, I called J.D Berry.

Don't get all carried away, I just called to chat and thank him personally for the Vixen he sent me last summer... Yeah, when it comes to the social graces I'm a total jerk.

Anyway as time ticked away the fever to shoot my longbow grew to fever pitch. Not much hope of that happening any time soon.

Of course I got a new bag target for my birthday and the wife would never hear me if I went in the bedroom  and cranked off a few every now and then.

If you don't hear from me anytime soon you'll know I got caught.

Thanks James! It was great.

[Stone Knife]

I hear you about cabin fever, I was fortunate enough to go to an indoor range last weekend with my Hill and do a video shoot. Had a great time and was able to stretch the range out to 20 yards instead of the 12 or so in my cellar.