"Cold" Weather Bow Issue(s)

[BloodAndRust]

I picked up my first bow, a Mathews Switchback XT, last month, and have since put around 600 arrows through at in a variety of different temperatures. Yesterday it was 77F outside, and I was shooting in a t shirt and shorts and having pretty good success. Today, it's 39F with intermittent cutting wind, which to me is a great excuse to see how some of the new cold weather gear I've acquired performs with the weather and the bow.

In cold weather, when I draw the bow back the peep sight gets canted around 10-20deg, enough that it throws my shots off noticeably if I try to work through it. This has happened both times I've shot my bow in sub 45F weather, a few weeks apart, though I couldn't nail down a specific temperature at which the issue is guaranteed to manifest itself. The best guess I have is that the d-loop grabs the string in cold weather, because when I fiddle with its orientation on the serving I can sometimes get the peep sight to pull back normally for a single shot or two. Even when the peep sight was true, my shots still seemed to be off by a good margin, but I can't say for sure if that's due to the bow reacting to the weather, or my compromised focus from thinking about the peep sight.

Have any of you had a similar issue that you were able to diagnose and resolve?

 

[doverpack12]

Sounds like a poorly built string that is being affected by the cold and probably shortening. See if you can figure out if your peep is rotating like the string is getting tighter or looser. How old is the string? Strings from the switchback days are a long way behind the stability offered by today’s materials. Could be you just need a half a twist in the string and it will hold across the temp range. Single caM bows have a very long string so temp can affect them easier.

 

[BloodAndRust]

FWIW, it was re-strung the day I bought it by the most experienced guy in a pretty reputable shop. I hate to admit that I haven't yet been back to have the post-break-in adjustments made, so it's possible that some stretch has been introduced and the cam is a bit out of timing, if you think that could be a factor. The previous cold snap, in which the issue first became apparent, was about 200-250 shots into the new string. For reference, it's a 29" draw length hovering somewhere between 60-70lbs draw weight.

 

[Sodbuster]

You may have just gotten the string broken in (stretched it is going to do it)
Take it back to the shop for a final tune.
Excellent choice a first bow. Switchbacks still have a cult following.

 

[*zap*]

For now give the peep a bit of a twist before you draw and see what happens in the few next weeks.

 

[Gumbo]

I have Vapor Trails on my bow and the peep moves to the left when I go out in the cold like clockwork. When it warms back up it moves back to the original location. Crappy strings is my guess in your case too. My advice is shoot those until they are toast or a couple months before hunting season, whichever comes first. Then buy some new threads from a reputable builder.