Pennsylvania Game News - April 2018 - 60

A simple test to check alignment is to
spin the arrow and watch for detectable
wobble.
I prefer to use an inexpensive arrowspin tester, which shows even the slightest
wobble in a broadhead or nock.
If I detect wobble in the broadhead, and
the lack of a square cut isn't the problem,
I adjust the insert. Soften the hot glue that
holds the insert by dipping end of the shaft
in hot water, then give the insert a twist.
Then, screw in the broadhead and spin
test it again.

NOCKS & DRAW
Few casual shooters give the nocks
they use a second thought. They don't
recognize their importance.
But nock selection is one of the most
essential considerations in setting up a
bow for personal shooting.
An arrow nock is designed to absorb
the full force of every shot and consistently transmit it to the arrow shaft. That's
why I check every nock on the arrows I
shoot.
Each nock should snap on to the
bowstring. It shouldn't be too loose or
too tight.
A nock should be tight enough to
slightly grip the string, but still allow the
string to turn inside the nock.
If the fit is too tight, the string can't
rotate inside the nock when the bow is
drawn and accuracy will suffer. Checking
your setup for proper nock fit will tighten
your groups and increase performance at
little cost.
Shooting accuracy also can be influenced by draw weight.
In my younger days, I shot a bow
with 70-pound draw weight, but my
arrow groups shrunk dramatically when
I reduced my draw weight to 55 pounds.
Drawing too much weight can cause
60

fatigue, which can lead to inaccurate
shooting. And as temperatures drop and
muscles tighten, it can be more difficult
to pull back a bow.
While comfortable draw weight varies
from shooter to shooter, I advise resisting
the urge to draw the heaviest weight you
can.
If you pull back the bowstring and the
bow points skyward when drawing, you
likely are "overbowed."
Modern bows are incredibly fast,
even at lighter draw weights. You can do
wonders for shooting accuracy with little
sacrifice in performance.
Considering most whitetails are killed
within 25 yards, the slight loss of arrow
velocity is inconsequential.

STRINGS & THINGS
Practicing regularly can result in the
bowstring or cables stretching slightly,
causing accuracy to suffer.
As a bowstring starts to stretch, arrows
tend to hit lower because the nock position moves.
The problem can be fixed easily by
putting the bow in a press and adding a
few twists to the bowstring. If you don't
have a press, take it to a pro shop.
Perfectly tuned cams rotate in unison
and hit the cam stops at the same time. If
they don't, accuracy will suffer.
To fix problems with cam synchronization, the cables need to be shortened or
lengthened by adding or removing twists
using a bow press.
Modern bows are engineering marvels and are far more accurate than those
manufactured years ago.
But like all machines, bows need to
be fine-tuned to get the most out of them.
We owe it to the game we hunt to be
as accurate as possible when releasing
an arrow.
Pennsylvania Game News - April 2018

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