I have been shooting consistently left with my long bow. I know you can change your strike plate materal and change the point of impact. So what material do I need to use? Leather or martin?
Im shooting full length axis 500 spine arrows with 175 grain heads. Im currently using velcro as my rest material and strike plate.
Thanks
Jeff W
I use thin leather. Sometimes I'll thin the leather even further by using my belt sander on the rough side of the leather.
Just to see how much the Velcro was affecting things, after you remove the Velcro you could stick on a piece of masking tape and take some shots. The masking tape is thin enough that it's pretty much like having no strike plate.
I use calf hair and holds up quite well and no issues with performance.
Check out Super Pad. 3R carries it.
Thanks guys. I think i found the answer on the shooter forum. Looks like using a softer materal like a rug rest will move my poi back to the right.
Jeff W
It probably will, unless it's thicker, in which case it could move the POI even farther to the left. It costs practically nothing to find out. If that doesn't do it, the brace height may need raising a hair. That will release the arrow while it pointing a bit closer to center. Or a combination of both?
Hi Jeff. I had posted on shooters form forum about Velcro a few weeks ago. It sure has me dialed in! Hope it works for you!
Thanks rifleman. Thats the thread I was reading. I have already changed out my strikeplate with a martin rug rest. Now waiting on an opportunity to try it out.
Jeff
Welcome. Let me know how it works. Generally going with a thicker side plate will make the arrow act stiffer. This was not my experience, however with the soft Velcro.
You can also fiddle with your brace height,,
Even a 1/4" adjustment in brace height can be the difference between slight stiff and shooting straight. I'd just bump the brace height up slightly.
My arrows are flying great just wanting to move the point of impack to the right. I tend to shoot a couple inches to the left
Jeff
I once saw a guy with a piece of double-layered duct tape as a strike plate (Velcro shelf). When I asked about it he said he had to go to the super thin tape to get his POI back in line. Maybe worth a try?
Jeff, I just don't think it will make much difference. Let us know if it does.
Two factors come into play with the strike plate.
First how thick it is, how far it moves the arrow to the left.
Second, how "hard" it is, a softer plate doesn't provide the kick that a hard one does.
I had an opportunity to shoot my bow this evening. After I relaced my velcro strike plate with a martin rug strike plate. It changed POI to the right. it also weakend my arrow slightly but I got the results I was looking for.
Thanks.
Jeff
Bare with be on this, I could and probably am all wrong but if you are aiming off the arrow and use a thinner strike plate to move the arrow to the right(right hand shooter) wouldn't you move your bow over to the left to get your arrow back on target and you're back to hitting to the left again?
Is the rug strike plate thinner than the replaced velcro?
Your arrow shooting left to begin with is a result of a too stiff shaft. Moving the strike plate in, if the rug is thinner, accommodates some of that extra spine by moving the center of the arrow closer to the center of the bow. Thus, you shoot closer to where you're looking.
Its a little thicker but its a softer material. When I bare shafted before the arrow was slightly stiff but not enough to change. After fletching the arrows they flew perfectly.
I shoot instinctive so I dont sight down my arrow. According to the guys that have attended Rick Welch's class. Velcro is neutral, leather will move the POI to the left, and martin rug will move it to the right. I really dont know exactly how it works. "I'm still learning". He use's different material to move the arrow so it impact where your looking. Here is a link to a thread in the shooter form forum.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=008077
Jeff
Jeff, I'm glad it worked for you! The softer side plate material gives you a different reaction with the arrow--- being thicker and softer it positioned the arrow point further to the left of the riser which made you naturally move it to the right as you aimed bringing your shots onto the target. I have found this adjustment to be a great way to get your bow to shoot where you look.
Hmmm. Guess this old dog just learned a new trick. Though I've been shooting sticks for more than 50 years, I really haven't experimented too much with side plate materials; thickness, yes, materials, no. I've used mostly leather over the years, and switched to mostly velcro the past 10-15 years or so.
If your arrow is shooting stiff and you move the side plate out, it should shoot stiffer yet, but what you're saying is that a softer material will make it shoot weaker even if it's thicker.
I can envision the action that would have to occur to make that happen. The arrow tip/tip area, when it's released, does momentarily press into the bow side plate as it begins its first bend. Of course, the shaft quickly bends the other way as it moves forward such that the entire shaft clears the bow if it's spined correctly.
If the side plate material is so soft that it compresses more (than the compared material) at the initial moment of the release, the point of the arrow/arrow would be closer to the center of the bow at the side plate at release, which would require a bit more spine. Or, said another way, it would make the stiff spine shoot a little weaker, which is what happened in your case.
So, theoretically, it's possible. I find it hard to believe though that the difference in softness between velcro and a rug rest is great enough to cause that effect.
I think rifleman's explanation might be more plausible, or maybe it's the combination of the two. Regardless, glad it works for you.
Yes rifleman, I could see how that would work with a thick soft plate material.
I went to Rick's school and he showed me how to adjust the side plate to cause the arrow to hit where you are looking. Softer material (like Martin) moves the arrow to the right even though it is a little thicker -- The softer material provides more cushion.
It works for the rest as well.....i.e. if you put softer rug rest on, it will move arrow impact down.
Some people suggest that this is a shortcut to proper tuning but I can get bare shafts to fly almost perfectly so long as I have a shaft that is spined pretty close
It is kind of counterintuitive but it works (for me at least)
Texas trad. What type of rest do you need to raise your point of impact?
Thanks Jeff
Deerhunter -- I have never tried to raise my point of impact (always trying to lower it) but I believe the harder the material the higher the arrow impact. If I was trying to raise, I would try Velcro or some type of thin leather with not much cushion.
As a side note, I think the easiest way to raise or lower the arrow impact is to raise or lower the nocking points (I used one above and below the nock). That is what Welch teaches. He gets left/right correct by adjusting sideplate material and then adjusts nocking points up for lower arrow impact or down for higher arrow impact.
Just curious. You was talking about lowering it. Thought it may come in handy sometime down the road.
Thanks. Jeff