feather problem

dkeener · 12-10-2005, 02:41 PM

I have been tearing my hen feather (the one that travels over the rest) near the center of the feather. It will split the shaft,and then fracture along the shaft towards the leading edge. Sometimes only several of the vanes in the mid portion of the shaft will get torn loose, and the shaft itself will not tear. This is happening after only a few shots with the arrow, sometimes the first shot. The arrows are xx75's, 5 inch right helical, 30 inch, 2216's. I don't have this problem when shooting 2219's. Bow is a 70 lb @28 inch Moosejaw Razorback, and the 2216's are 30 inch long (2219's are 29.5 inches) My draw length is 29 - 29.5 (I haven't cut all the2216's down yet). Cock feather is oriented perpendicular to the string. Shelf is cut about 1/8 inch off center. The arrows are hitting the target with a "wobble", so I was thinking this may be a spine issue. Any ideas?

Arthur P · 12-10-2005, 03:41 PM

I'm thinking it is most likely to be a spine issue, since it's not happening with the stiffer spined 2219's. Sounds like the fletched end of the arrow is getting slammed into the bow on the launch. You hear a pretty good CLANK when you shoot?

Other things that can cause it is having the brace height too low or having the nock height too low.

dkeener · 12-15-2005, 06:31 PM

Art-
The brace height istoo low right now, so that may be the problem. I will adjust it once I get a new string (the current string has a couple of broken strands, and I don't want to twist it to shorten it). Nock point is at 3/16 which is the recommended height. I haven't shot it since it started breaking feathers so I don't know if it is slamming the arrows. Thanks for the info!

Dick4bows · 12-16-2005, 07:04 AM

Don't take specs on nock or brace height dimensions as gospel. Even traditional bows need to be "tuned". I shoot 3 fingers under and my nock height is about 1/2 inch. To me it sounds like a nock height problem. Try raising the nock about a `1/16" at a time. Have someone watch your arrow flight from behind you. It's easier for that person to see problems with arrow flight than the shooter. Dick