Wear & Tear
 

When I bought my longbow a few weeks ago at a Cabela'soutlet, I installed the shelf & strike plate leather patch as directed by the Cabelas archery guy. I started shooting the bow with a straight up and down hold when drawn (similar to shooting my compound) and noticed that the edge of the shelf the leather patch was getting worn away, as well as some finish on the lip of the shelf.I thought that the arrow was riding too much on the edgewith the straight up and down hold on the bow, causing the edge wear.I found that with a slighttilting angleof the bow when drawnkept the arrow in the "pocket" of the ledge, and lead to less wear on the edge.[/align][/align]Q1-- Is shooting with a slight angle on the bow normal for a longbow? It seems I have seen photos where most longbow archers shoot that way.[/align]Q2-- I'm looking to replace myshelf & strikeplate with sealskin or bear hair (depending on what is on the shelf and money in the pocket). Is there any need for that little piece of leather under the shelf hide as depicted inthe attached drawing? (The leather shelf & strikeplate plus leather stripcame in the box with the Martin bow)[/align][/align]I'm shooting a 55# @ 28"Martin Savanna with 2117 EastonLegacy arrows w/ 125gr field tips. I have a 30" draw.[/align]

RE: Wear & Tear
 

It sound to me like your arrows are making contact. Do you hear smacking? It could be as simple as a nock point problem. Try to experiment between about 3/8's to 3/4" above 90 degrees. Also read through OL Adcocks tuning tips on his website.

As far as your question about canting the bow, yes it is normal. Just make sure all other things also move with the cant such as head angle, draw hand angle, etc.

RE: Wear & Tear
 

Your arrowsare overspined. It could be caused by a problem with nock point but, most especially with alongbow,the odds are way more in favor of overspine.

About cant... Shooting a compound with all the sights and fooferaw demands a strict adherence to a straight, vertical, mechanicalshooting style. Traditional bows allow for a more loose, relaxed,natural and free flowing style. Again, that's especially true with a longbow. They CAN be shot in that ramrod straight, mechanical style, but why would you want to? ;)

Most folksflex their knees a little to help focus theirconcentration. They lean into the bow from the waist to get the eye aligned over the arrow a little better. And, to top it off, the cant gets the top half of the bow out of your line of vision so you can see the whole target.

Degree of cant varies a lot from one shooter to the next. Here's an old way of finding out how much to cant.

Stand flat footed while holding your bow down at your side, string up. Close your eyes and relax for10-15 seconds or so. Just let your arms and shoulders go limp. Open your eyes and look at the bow. It will usually be at an angle to your body. That angle is your natural cant. Once you've found that natural position, just keep that angle while raising the bow into shooting position, then add the knee flex and body lean.

The flexed knees and the slight bend at the waist makes itlook like the cant is more, but that's only because the body lean is ADDED to the natural cant. The actual arm angle from the shoulder does not change.

ThisUSUALLY works for most people. Not always though. Give it a try and see how it feels.

RE: Wear & Tear
 

Art, wouldn't a spine issue be more common with hitting the riser instead of the outside of the shelf?

RE: Wear & Tear
 

BobCo... actually a stiffer spine usually will show outter shelf wear fromt eh origional flex of the arrow. The reason for the for teh little bump of leather inder teh shelf is to give you a more radiused shelf, which causes less copntact with the arrow, causing less drag and higher performance.

RE: Wear & Tear
 

That's true, jgbennet. I'd bet a switch to 2018's, or maybe 2114's, will clear up trouthunter's problem. I wouldn't even count out 2016's at that poundage and draw length. A little cant will definitely help too.

RE: Wear & Tear
 

Just a bit of clarification: Since I went to shooting at a cant, the outer wear hasn't been significant. In fact, most of the wear I see now is in the pocket of the shelf. I didn't mean to direct everyones thought in the direction of consistant outer wear. My point was to more verify my idea about going to a cant in my form, as my shooting form is still "under construction". (The wear shown in the picture was wear before I went to shooting with a cant)
Tight knocks could definitly be attributing as well, It never accured to me that my knocks may be too tight. They go on with a "snap" when I knock an arrow, and I attributed that to a "secure arrow = a good thing". I'll have to file down that little button on the inside of the knock and see what a looser knock will give me.

Before I go out and spend another $80 in arrows, I hope these little changes, and maybe even a heavier feild point, will correct my problem on arrows supposidly spined correctly (they are stamped 60-65lb longbow on the arrow, and with my draw length the bowshop guy and myself figured that was the right arrow).

Quick question: is overspining that much of a detriment???

RE: Wear & Tear
 

Thanks...That makes more sense to me now. I'm replacing my shelf with sealskin, and may add a little peice of leather again.