Erratic arrow flight
 

Hi folks, I'm new here so forgive me if I don't understand some of the terms or systems with tuning bows but I am a fast learner.

I picked up a used Barnett Sidewinder compound box last year. I have no manual or info on the bow except for the barely readable sticker on it. Its not a crossbow, I guess Barnett only makes crossbows now.

As far as the bow specs go, its a 29inch draw, 50lb and I am shooting easton st arrows at 29 or 30 inches, and a 100 grain cheapo walmart broadhead.

Last year I shot this setup all year and had no problems with the setup. I started sighting it in this year for bow season and I have developed a side to side wobble on the arrow at 20 yds and worse at30yds.

I've checked for cable contact and can't tell if it is or not. I'm running a whisker biscuit with the black brissles down and the odd fletching on the arrows to the left as the bow is held.

I tried lighter arrows, same thing happened, then I tried a heavier aluminum arrow, same thing happened. I've put heavier broadheads on and that doesn't change anything.

The only thing I can think of is the wisker biscuit is not lined up properly or the fletching is hitting the cable on its way thru but it sure looks like theres plenty of clearance throughout the draw.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, the arrows hit exactly where I want them to, but it wobbles side to side on the way to the target.

Also, if any can direct me to a manual for this thing I would be in your debt!

With a WB, the odd feather should be vertical or nearly so, so the two like-colored feathers are on each side of the black bristles.

If you put some lipstick on the feathers, you will see if your feathers are hitting your cables.

lc - norby is correct the odd color (****) feather/vane should be pointing up. The black bristles on the WB are stiffer to support the arrow. Also, if your fletching is not touching your cables while you are drawing the bow, they are not touching on release of the arrow.
It is a known fact that you can shoot a 'cheaper' bow if it is tuned up properly and shooting the right spined arrows better than the most expensive bow out there that is not tuned or not using correctly spined arrows.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. the guys in here are all too eager to help out a newbie. Download the Easton Bow Tuning Guide. It will tell you what to do - step by step.

Thanks for the response, are you serious about the lipstick? LOL So on the WB, make sure the fletches do not go thru the black part of the WB, right? So does it matter what color vein is up as long as none of them go thru the black area?

Tried to locate the bow tuning guide but only found an arrow tuning guide in the easton website

That's the one.

have you paper tuned your bow yet?

Haven't paper tuned yet, I'll have to figure out how to do it.

If youre getting a fishtailing wobble in your arrow flight something is out of wack. You may want to check Eastons Arrow Chart. If you have no fletch contact, then check to make sure your rest is square with your nocking point. If thats all good then you may want to check your broadheads. You may be shooting too light or too heavy of a head for your setup. For example, switching to a heavier head to improve FOC can make a shaft too soft and change your tune. Note that the above steps apply to shooting mechanical heads too. While they're generally easier to tune than fixed-blade heads, they're still not field points. I hate to say it, but if you're not willing to work a little to get fixed-blade heads to fly like they should and are still going bowhunting, then you're probably better off using a mechanical head. They may not penetrate as well as conventional heads in all situations, but they're more likely to hit where you're aiming if you're not set up properly.

Thats the thing, I hitting exactly where I want them, and nice groups for my experience level. I'm gonna go with lighter broadheads and see what happens then I'll go with the entire eastone tuning guide to figure it out.