pulled out straight. Also, if the elbow starts to slump or drop, then the archer can't really feel it, unless he has the additional holding weight. A lot of professional archers have special cams on their bows so that they are holding nearly 50% at full draw, equaling about 25 to 30 pounds. This gives a better, cleaner release; however, for most people that don't shoot a lot of arrows, this is excessive. Draw weight is also an individual preference. But if you have to “sky” the bow (point it at the sky to get it back), it’s too heavy. If you have to pull it across your chest, it’s too heavy. If you change the expression on your face, usually a grimace, it’s too heavy. You should be able to comfortably pull the bow without it being painful! Keep this in mind the next time one of your “friends” tells you that you “have” to hunt with 70 or 80 pounds; there is no animal on the North American continent that can’t be brought down with 60 pounds. It’s all in the arrow placement. Our ancestors hunted successfully with 30-50 pound “stick” bows! So, unless you are hunting elephant in Africa, crank your bow down to a comfortable weight and enjoy the sport! WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A STRING STOPPER? FIG 1.24
Without the string stopper, the string would come forward to the dotted line where the arrow would finally leave the string.
String stoppers simply allow the arrow to leave the string sooner. When the string hits the stopper, it launches the arrow, pretty much at brace height. If there is no string stopper, the string continues forward (past brace height, sometimes 3 inches) until it can’t go any farther and that is when the arrow is launched. The string stopper will make the bow more “forgiving” (less chance for the archer to influence the shot) and also makes the string quieter. DOES A BOW PERFORM BETTER WHEN IT IS MAXED OUT OR NOT? Engineers at the factory design bows to shoot its maximum when the limbs are cranked completely in. That doesn’t that the bow shoots better; it means it might be ½% or 1% more efficient with the limbs tight. So if you have a 50-60 pound bow and its on 60 pounds, it does not make it better; it will be more efficient and then, only a very, very small amount. Example: if you put an arrow in a 50 pound bow that weighs 5 grains per pound (250 grain
FIG 1.25A
FIG 1.25B
The bow might be ½% -1% more efficient with limbs cranked down tight.
arrow), then put an arrow in a 60 pound bow that weighs 5 grains per pound (300 grain arrow), you may get ½ foot or 1 foot per second faster on the 60 pound bow. This is because the bow is very, very slightly more efficient, as that was the way it was engineered. As you can see, it really doesn’t make enough difference to worry about. It’s more important that you have the bow set at poundage at which you are comfortable. WHY DOES NEW EQUIPMENT ONLY WORK WELL FOR A FEW DAYS? There’s an old saying in golf that “…all new clubs hit it straight and long for about three days.” It’s the same for bows. Everything new in archery works for about three days. The reason this seems to be true for a lot of accessories FIG 1.26 in archery is because the archer is looking for something to boost his score. He thinks he can buy it and screw it on or glue it on, like a new rest, a new set of arrows, a new release or a new bow sight. And, because he has no confidence in the old equipment – what he’s shooting badly with – anything new seems to give him a ray of hope, which is the reason he bought it in the first place. The advertising convinces him that this or that Pro archer won with it, so it must be great. What a crock! He thinks he had better get one, quick! Then, because that confidence level is so high when he gets the new equipment, he shoots “lights out” for two or three days (sometimes two or three hours). Finally, he misses one, then two, then three. He then discovers it’s no different than anything else. It wasn't about the rest, the arrows, the bow sight or the bow; it was about the archer. So, he gets back on the Internet or the magazine to see if he can find another “magic” bow, rest, arrows or bow sight. This is archery and the way it's been for decades. Stupidity in archery is defined as “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting better results.” It’s always the fiddler, never the fiddle that is to blame.
continued on page 48 scores, tournament info and more at www.nfaausa.com 47