Fishtailing....Help

pyral · 05-01-2003, 02:02 PM

Just bought a few 2117' s(wanting to try aluminum over wood), left them 31in long and put a 125gr head on them and am getting a noticeable fishtail flight. What can I do to correct. I followed the chart posted on bowjackson.com and it recommended 2117 or 2020 shafts. Would the 2020 shaft be better suited (47#@28" but I am 6' 4" and pull a few inches more, so I need the 31in shaft.)? Could it be possible that I am actually pulling a few more pounds and need a stiffer shaft? Do I need to increase/decrease my point weight? Am I just overthinking this? Help!

Bodkin · 05-01-2003, 02:51 PM

With my #47 recurve I use 2018@30" +125gr pile or 2114 at 29" The reason? They just fly better than any other combo I have tried. What kind of fletching are you using? I have 5" shields and adjust the nock to get good clearance. Fishtailing usuallt occurs when the fletch clearance is off. Or the nock is leaving the string to one side. ( torqueing the string.) Also try a matchstick on the arrow rest thereby giving minimal arrow contact with the rest.

Arthur P · 05-01-2003, 03:40 PM

Try twisting up your string and raise your brace height a little at a time until the fishtail goes away. The stiffer arrows needed for longer than average draw lengths tend to need a higher than average brace height. It lets the arrow off the string sooner so the arrow can paradox properly.

pyral · 05-01-2003, 04:14 PM

Bodkin, I am using 5" parabolic feathers with 5 degrees of helical. Plus it already has a matchstick under the bear hair on the shelf. It had one when I bought it and I followed suit when I replaced the hair. Arthur P, I will try the brace height adjustments and see what that does. Thanks guys.

pyral · 05-01-2003, 09:53 PM

Arthur, I took to looking at my recurve' s b. height of 5.5" and thought that to be quite low. So I looked up Martin' s website and saw that their Hatfield (closest thing I can find to what my bow is without the name on it) had a brace height of 7 1/4-8" . I immediately went to twisting and got to 7 1/2" and took to the outdoors. What a difference! Not just in arrow flight but everything about the bow. Almost as if it was reborn! Its more accurate and unbelievably more quiet! Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

Bodkin · 05-01-2003, 11:55 PM

Sorry for the conflicting advice. I assumed you had the bow set up. Low brace height will definatly mess you up[

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Arthur P · 05-02-2003, 07:27 AM

Yep. Never overlook the basics. Glad it worked for you, Pyral.

Just as a rule of thumb for brace height on recurves, I ingore the bowyers recommendation and follow G. Fred Asbell' s tuning technique. Lower the brace height until you' re getting bad flight and noise, then start twisting up the string a little at a time until arrow flight lines out and the noise goes away. I generally wind up with 1/2-3/4" of the bottom end of the string groove on the belly side of the limb tips showing under the string.

Doing this, brace usually comes in very close to the bowyer' s recommended range, but I don' t worry if I' m within a half inch either side of it. It' s always better to have the bow tuned specifically to your arrow and your release than dwelling on an artificial number.