compound break in period...

[M@B]

So I went ahead and bought myself my first compound bow this year.
After years of shooting trad, I kind of feel like the last cave man to discover the wheel(no pun intended).

The first day I got it home I went out to sight it in and get used to shooting it. after about three hours and probably over 100 shots I was punching 3"-4" groups at 20 yards and 5"-6" groups out to 40 yards.

Another day of practicing I tightened that up a little bit also.

So I hunted it and got myself a nice little spike buck(nothing exciting just a good freezer buck) Another day of practicing and another hunt and I dropped another small one.

So at this point the bow had at least 250 shots put through it.
So the other night I'm out, and a nice 3x2 walks out. I call him into about thirty yards, draw, fire, miss!! the buck spooks and bolts to the tree line.
So I give him a couple quick blasts on the call, and with in 15 minutes I have him moving back toward me.
He turned broadside at about 25 yards, fire another one and another arrow sails clear over his shoulder!!! F@CK!

So I take the bow out to the rang again the next day and shoot from 20 yards. first shot is about 8" high!! secound shot almost hits my first arrow way high....

So I sight the bow back in again 20, 30, &40 yards.
funny thing is now my pins are now mounted higher in the sight and they are alot closer together than they were befor?
This tells me that the bow has some increased its speed.....is this right?
do these bows break in after a couple hundered shots and some how speed up?

Any insight would be helpfull as I'm still new to wheelie bows!

Regards, M@B

[Bow Walker]

Your string/cables have stretched and 'settled in' a bit. You're pulling a tad more draw length, most likely, and getting a bit more zip on the arrows, accounting for your high hits/misses.

You can either live with the new alignment(s) or take you string off the cam and give it some twists to get it back into factory spec. Measure the tiller and see if it is the same as when you bought the bow. Measure the brace height and check it against what it was when you bought the bow.

If everything checks out and is OK, then you can re-sight your pins or try a gang adjustment - that is to move the whole sight aperture up a tad, instead of the individual pins.

[M@B]

I know the string has stretched a tad, as I had to re-adjust my peep site.
nothing crazy just a touch.

I did move the whole aperture up when I re-sighted it. but I still had to adjust my secound and third pins as they all moved closer together....

It still shoots well and is comfortable. and now the sights are on again I'm not too worried. I was just curious to know if this is something that I'm going to have to do every couple of weeks, or is it going to "settle in" to a point where I'm not going to have to worry about sailing an arrow over another buck, or even worse wounding one!

Thanx for your input BW! hows the long bow treating you?

[Bow Walker]

Factory strings can be notorious for a long settling in period - depending on who makes the strings for your bow company. Now that your string has stretched and settled in it should be good for quite a while. You shouldn't have to re-adjust for a year or so at least, unless your string/cable system is really cheap but then nobody uses really cheap strings or cables these days. It just doesn't pay.

My longbow? I haven't shot it near enough to be even considered to be half-way competent with it yet. But - I'm still having lots of fun with it.

[brad ferris]

You mentioned that you moved your peep sight to adjust for your string stretching. Did you resight after this adjustment? Moving your peep up I think will move your point of impact up as well.

[M@B]

Good thought but, I adjusted it after I found I was shooting high.
as for the string and cables. I bought a bowtech. from what I hear they make good strings but, I'd interested in some other opinions on them.

[Bow Walker]

I'm in the process of ordering from http://www.worldsbeststrings.com/. They come well recommended and my string/cables are a few years old. I'm also ordering a crossbow string for a customer.

[Bow Walker]

PM Bowzone_Mikey (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/member.php?u=2134) he shoots and knows Bowtech strings. I believe that they are one of the better factory strings, but they will stil creep a bit on a new bow.

[Bow Walker]

You mentioned that you moved your peep sight to adjust for your string stretching. Did you resight after this adjustment? Moving your peep up I think will move your point of impact up as well.

The above comment got me thinking.... http://www.forumsextreme.com/images/sCo_hmmthink.gif

When you come to your full draw position with your eyes closed, and are standing upright and straight, but relaxed - and you open your aiming eye - are you looking through your peep aperture without having to move your head? Do you see the sight housing inside the peep aperture - without moving your head?

If not - that's the time to play with the peep's up or down positioning.

[M@B]

When I come to full draw everything seems to just fall into place nicely. the guy at Misty River outfitters set me up well. spent a good three hours with me that day before and after the sale. finding the right bow then setting it up to fit me right. I was impressed!

[Bow Walker]

Now that's the way it should be done. That guy is a keeper for sure.

[M@B]

I dont know if I can promote a non-sponsor on this site(mods, delete if needed) but, Misty River Outfitters in Terrace BC are great to deal with.
I would recommend them to anyone.

[32-40win]

most strings are settled in after about 200 shots. some in less, you will know when your peep quits turning.That is the time to do your final setup. Most stick shooters have a high anchor point as they were taught to bring their fingers to the corner of the mouth, sounds like you have lowered your anchor point or you'd be at the bottom of the pinguard. Could be something got moved without you knowing it, make sure your peep & nock are tied in properly and everything on the bow is tight. Usually if the string moved you can see it with an arrow nocked up, it'll show a level change, up or down, and on the cam orientation. Check your serving and make sure it's not moving on you, sometimes it can become loose when a strings stretches.

[willyqbc]

a couple thoughts on this

while your string may stretch a bit it will not be anywhere near enough to create a speed increase that will account for an 8" high hit, there are a bunch of other possibilities here though.

1. peep is moving on you - this could cause a sudden drastic change of point of impact. Also if it is moving slightly while you are sighting in it would account for goofy or changing pin gaps

2. seeing as you are new to compound shooting with a release aid, a shifting anchor point could easily be a culprit here as well. As you shoot this style more you may well find that you settle into an anchor point and the problem never surfaces again.

3. What type of rest are you using? I have seen this problem arise on drop-away rests on new bows when the drop-away is set to drop too soon, or does not get all the way up. as the cables stretch the pull cord ends up with more travel and can actuall cause the rest to come up further than it did originally. Again, this would only apply if the rest was not set up properly originally.

4. inconsistant grip - if you have not settled into a consistant grip on this new bow it could have noticeable effect on consistant point of impact. For myself there is a signifigant difference in POI between using a high wrist grip and using a low wrist grip.

Over all I would check out a couple of the mechanical items mentioned above and mark your peep location to be sure it is not moving, but more likely just keep shooting and paying special attention to being consistant in anchor, grip etc.

Good luck!
Chris

[Bow Walker]

a couple thoughts on this

while your string may stretch a bit it will not be anywhere near enough to create a speed increase that will account for an 8" high hit, there are a bunch of other possibilities here though.

1. peep is moving on you - this could cause a sudden drastic change of point of impact. Also if it is moving slightly while you are sighting in it would account for goofy or changing pin gaps

2. seeing as you are new to compound shooting with a release aid, a shifting anchor point could easily be a culprit here as well. As you shoot this style more you may well find that you settle into an anchor point and the problem never surfaces again.

3. What type of rest are you using? I have seen this problem arise on drop-away rests on new bows when the drop-away is set to drop too soon, or does not get all the way up. as the cables stretch the pull cord ends up with more travel and can actuall cause the rest to come up further than it did originally. Again, this would only apply if the rest was not set up properly originally.

4. inconsistant grip - if you have not settled into a consistant grip on this new bow it could have noticeable effect on consistant point of impact. For myself there is a signifigant difference in POI between using a high wrist grip and using a low wrist grip.

Over all I would check out a couple of the mechanical items mentioned above and mark your peep location to be sure it is not moving, but more likely just keep shooting and paying special attention to being consistant in anchor, grip etc.

Good luck!
Chris
Excellent points raised here by Chris. If the peep isn't secure and it moves from shot to shot - even just a little bit - your point of impact will be altered, sometimes drastically. Once the peep is aligned properly, serve it in so that it can't travel up or down.

Point number two is the cause of a lot of archer's problems in accuracy. The reason that it is called an "anchor point" is that it is supposed to be rock solid.

Get that knuckle of the index finger (on your release-hand) tuck in tight to the "hole" behind you jaw bone and just under your ear. Then don't move it. Keep it "anchored" there.

Once you've established a proper anchor then you can establish where the peep should be on the string. Come to a comfortable and repeatable full draw position - close your eyes as you settle into the anchor of full draw. Your shoulders should be relaxed, your body should be straight up and down and your feet should be "shoulder-width" apart.

Now, open your aiming eye. You should be looking right through the peep aperture and you should be able to see the glo-ring on the housing of your sight. All the pins should be visible inside the sight housing.

If not - adjust your peep up or down so that you don't have to move your head to see through it to your sight. Once this is down, serve-in the peep so that it is stable and will not move, then sight-in your pins for your yardage.

I know that this stuff is pretty basic but it's the little things that add up to a missed shot or a drastically different point of aim.

[elkhunter1]

RE : a couple quick blasts on the call,???
What are You using for a Call,???
Thank,s.

[Mountain Man]

Scorpion is now building a very good string. I would highly recomend scorpion. I have 2,000 shots on my one set and very little movement. I do shoot a lot and keep a close eye on ata, brace height, peep movement, cam timing ect, i prefer the scorpion much more the world greatest strings.

Check your timing as well.

[tbear]

Have you checked your, rest, nock point.. Sometimes if something stretches it can change your nock point relative to your rest. Resulting in large changes in elevation.

[M@B]

It was indeed the peep moving just slightly. The serving holding it place wasn't very tight, so I re-tide it and everything has been solid ever since. Thanx alot guys you were all very helpfull giving me a check-list of sorts to go though till I fonud the problem!

Elkhunter1 my deer call is a "Deer stopper".

[Bow Walker]

Glad you were able to solve the mystery. It's the little things, ain't it?