Feather damage with elevated rest

[Ridge Ghost]

Have any of you experienced feather fletching damage when shooting off an elevated rest? I'm shooting cock feather pointed out, and the bottom feather is getting frayed from contact with the rest. How do I correct this? My current setup is a Cartel stick-on rest, nock point 1/2" high, 3-fingers under with a 1" fixed crawl. Thanks.

 

[will16_]

Hows your tune? Typically, feather wear is from an improper tune (Ususally stiff) however, I have had bows that have that same problem and can't get rid of it. I could always be a result of the downward pressure from the fixed crawl. If you got a decent bareshaft, you might try raising your nocking point up to 5/8 or 3/4".

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Hows your tune? Typically, feather wear is from an improper tune (Ususally stiff) however, I have had bows that have that same problem and can't get rid of it. I could always be a result of the downward pressure from the fixed crawl. If you got a decent bareshaft, you might try raising your nocking point up to 5/8 or 3/4".

Rookie mistake. I haven't checked my tune by bareshafting yet. I ordered six fletched arrows based on 3 Rivers' dynamic spine calculator when I bought my bow, and that's all I have at this point. So I currently don't have an un-fletched arrow to test. Maybe I'll strip the feathers off the arrow with the most damage and use it to bare shaft.

 

[galamb]

Yes, too stiff will slam the feathers against the rest but once done if your spine looks reasonable you can try turning the nock just a hair so the cock feather is no longer at a 90 degree to the string (just a little high or low) - normally a trick used for bows set up to center shot just to tweak the clearance a bit.

 

[will16_]

Maybe add some point weight, but there’s not much use trying to tune until you can group well (say averaging a large grapefruit at 20) tell us your setup and we can get you close (maybe). Also, you can take slomo from behind with your phone and get things somewhat dialed that way


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[Ridge Ghost]

Maybe add some point weight, but there’s not much use trying to tune until you can group well (say averaging a large grapefruit at 20) tell us your setup and we can get you close (maybe). Also, you can take slomo from behind with your phone and get things somewhat dialed that way


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Good call on the grouping. I'm getting better but still not quite the grapefruit at 20 yards.

My setup is a lefty Samick Discovery ILF, 55# at 28". My draw length is 26", so I should be pulling around 50#. Gold Tip Traditional Classic 500's cut to 28" with 5" feathers. 74gr insert with 125gr head.

 

[sneaky]

Right handed? Left or right helical on your feathers? I've shot off of elevated rests a ton. RH shooting left wing feathers. An arrow spine test kit would have been a better start. Which elevated rest are you shooting off of? A hunting style or one with an adjustable plate?

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[Ridge Ghost]

Right handed? Left or right helical on your feathers? I've shot off of elevated rests a ton. RH shooting left wing feathers. An arrow spine test kit would have been a better start. Which elevated rest are you shooting off of? A hunting style or one with an adjustable plate?

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I shoot left-handed, and it looks like the feathers are left helical. Does that make a difference?

The rest is a Cartel stick-on. Now that I'm looking at it, the plastic on the side of the rest is getting worn down by the arrow as well. Is that another sign of the spine being too stiff?

 

[will16_]

Although feathers do wear, and it looks somewhat normal wear wise, those black marks on your arrow and wear on your rest are signs that you need a weaker arrow to bend around the riser. You can get a weaker arrow by a longer arrow, or by adding point weight. I would play with point weight, as it’s cheaper than buying new arrows and a test kit can be found pretty cheap. You probably need another 50-100 grains up front at least, Especially with a fixed crawl (the 3 rivers spine calculator doesn’t take that into account). Another thing you can do, is tune at a shorter distance, say 10 yards, or whatever distance you can get a decent group. Being as you are new though, what I would do is buy a test kit, throw a couple 200 grain points up front, and just go have fun and shoot. Once you start shooting a pie plate at 20, strip a bare shaft, and add/ subtract point weight until your BS hits (close to) fletched. Also, make sure your brace height is set in spec, although it’s not your problem, it will help things in the long run.


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[sneaky]

I shoot left-handed, and it looks like the feathers are left helical. Does that make a difference?

The rest is a Cartel stick-on. Now that I'm looking at it, the plastic on the side of the rest is getting worn down by the arrow as well. Is that another sign of the spine being too stiff?

View attachment 405201
View attachment 405202

What poundage are you pulling at your DL?What spine and point weight? Brass or aluminum inserts? Right helical would give you a little more feather clearance on your rest as the quill would be away from your riser. But, you have more issues than just that. Are you using a deep grip on the string? You could be torquing the string and putting a lot of side pressure with the shaft on the rest also. Lots of variables at play. Point weight is the easiest and quickest thing to try. Until you develop solid form bare shaft testing won't show you much until you have a consistent, repeatable release.

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[Ridge Ghost]

What poundage are you pulling at your DL?What spine and point weight? Brass or aluminum inserts? Right helical would give you a little more feather clearance on your rest as the quill would be away from your riser. But, you have more issues than just that. Are you using a deep grip on the string? You could be torquing the string and putting a lot of side pressure with the shaft on the rest also. Lots of variables at play. Point weight is the easiest and quickest thing to try. Until you develop solid form bare shaft testing won't show you much until you have a consistent, repeatable release.

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I'm likely pulling 50# at my draw length. 500 spine arrows, 125gr heads and 74 grain accutough steel inserts.

I'm not sure how deep my grip is supposed to be on the string. I'm using a glove rather than a tab, if that makes a different with my grip. I'm still learning and getting comfortable with my form, so at this point it's hard for me to assess my grip and if I'm torquing the string.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Although feathers do wear, and it looks somewhat normal wear wise, those black marks on your arrow and wear on your rest are signs that you need a weaker arrow to bend around the riser. You can get a weaker arrow by a longer arrow, or by adding point weight. I would play with point weight, as it’s cheaper than buying new arrows and a test kit can be found pretty cheap. You probably need another 50-100 grains up front at least, Especially with a fixed crawl (the 3 rivers spine calculator doesn’t take that into account). Another thing you can do, is tune at a shorter distance, say 10 yards, or whatever distance you can get a decent group. Being as you are new though, what I would do is buy a test kit, throw a couple 200 grain points up front, and just go have fun and shoot. Once you start shooting a pie plate at 20, strip a bare shaft, and add/ subtract point weight until your BS hits (close to) fletched. Also, make sure your brace height is set in spec, although it’s not your problem, it will help things in the long run.


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Sounds good, thanks for the advice.

Well that's frustrating that the 3 Rivers calculator doesn't account for a fixed crawl. I was shooting for a 10 grains per pound finished arrow (500gr) that would tune right with my setup, and was hoping I would be one-and done with what I ordered.

Man, I bought a recurve expecting that setup and tuning would be more simpler than compound and I'm finding that's not exactly the case.

 

[will16_]

Heavier never hurt nobody when shooting trad gear, you may barely notice a difference in cast with 50 grains. I wouldn’t worry about adding weight, especially to the front of the arrow. Tuning with a recurve might be more important than it is with a compound, being it has less energy!


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[bobinmi]

Sounds good, thanks for the advice.

Well that's frustrating that the 3 Rivers calculator doesn't account for a fixed crawl. I was shooting for a 10 grains per pound finished arrow (500gr) that would tune right with my setup, and was hoping I would be one-and done with what I ordered.

Man, I bought a recurve expecting that setup and tuning would be more simpler than compound and I'm finding that's not exactly the case.

The best thing you can do with their calculator is to get an arrow perfectly tuned that is on their list. Once you have one tuned as a control you can adjust the form factor and get really close with the other shafts.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

You have an arrow that's too stiff. My take on trad tuning though is that you just need arrows flying pretty straight with feathers, until you can repeat your shot consistently. Once you're good enough to understand why that one arrow flew left or right (or above or below) the group by 5-6" (why precisely it was your fault, not the bow or arrow or wind) then you're ready to tune for hunting. Till then, only mess with tune enough to get it so your arrows look pretty straight in flight. Quite frankly, if you're using a hard aiming system, the arrows don't necessarily need to hit the right spot, so long as they all hit the same spot.

In your case you could probably add some point weight, and you might find the arrows fly straighter.

P.s. if you haven't yet, go check out Solid Archery Mechanics by Tom Clum on the PUSH website.

 

[sneaky]

Whatever you spend on proper coaching will save you time and money down the line. Look into attending some in person instruction and it will shorten your learning curve and answer most of your questions. Best money I ever spent. Once you get a solid baseline for form and tuning it will make the process easier and quicker to repeat in the future.

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