What causes arrow fishtailing?

[rml127]

It doesn't matter what kind of arrows I shoot. Sometimes I do something to cause the arrow to fishtail from left to right. I am not sure what I am doing wrong though. I can shoot 5 shots into a 3 inch circle and then shoot 5 more into a 12 " circle. I think I might be torqueing the bow, could this cause this? What is the best way to hold the bow? I use an open, light grip.

Tonight I tried 75 grain points on my carbon arrows. I usually use 100's. At 40 yards I shot a 3 shot group about 3" across. Then I shot 2 with 100 grain points and they were a foot apart. It seems like the 75's are more accurate but the arrows were fishtailing when the 100's weren't. What would too light of a point do to arrow flight? How about too heavy of a point? I just love to tinker with this stuff.

[jetblast]

Becareful you aren't playing peeky-boo. Meaning, paying more attention to the arrow then form. Don't think about the arrow flight. Just aim and shoot. If the groups are good, great. If not, look for interference (vanes or string hitting clothes), spine.

[jetblast]

Becareful you aren't playing peeky-boo. Meaning, paying more attention to the arrow then form. Don't think about the arrow flight. Just aim and shoot. If the groups are good, great. If not, look for interference (vanes or string hitting clothes), spine.

[Derbytown]

I agree, fletching contact with the rest is usually the cause of this problem, but the contact can be caused by torquing the bow. I suggest you powder test your rest, and arrow, setup to determine whether you are getting contact or not. Easton has a very good tuning guide on their web site that will explain arrow flight, and bow setup, far better than I could explain it here. I suggest you download it. Hope this helps. Be safe.
Shoot Straight
Derbytown