Help! Constantly hitting left.

[Bear]

Hey PA gang. Been a while since I posted here. Cranked out four bows real fast earlier in the year and think I needed a little break. Been having some real accuracy problems so I'm shooting more than building.

Anyway, my snake bow (Vodoo Child) required a bit more tweeking to get it closer to center. I have the string lined up real nice on the shelf now, but I'm still shooting way left. The good news is I can keep them all in deer heart group at 15 yds, but that group is 9" to the left and high of where it was supposed to be.

Vodoo Child has honestly turned out to be the most stabel and sweetest shooting bow I own, including glass bows. I put a 8 strand D97 string on it (padded in the loops of course), and man that thing smokes! And absolutely silent and dead in the hand.

It's about 52# at 29". My arrows are 50-55 with 125 up front. Could a much heavier point help? Weaker spine? Or is this just part of getting trained over to selfbows instead of glass bows? I remember Pappy once told me he could take his Widow out any time and shoot a tight group at 20 yds... a foot to the right, because of the difference in the way a selfbow lines up.

Any help would be appreciated.

[El Destructo]

Does the Bow have a cut in Shelf?? If not 55 pound spine is way too high for a Selfbow shooting off your hand....try 45 pounds on the Spine....all of my Bows are 68 inches long and around 50-60 pounds and I shoot all of my Arrows at 45 pound Spine....JMO

[GregB]

Hi Alex,
There is a definite difference typically between shooting a center-shot recurve and a selfbow. Your arrows may be spline a little heavy for the bow and a heavier point could help as you mentioned. Mainly as long as you're getting good arrow flight, I'd suggest only shooting your selfbow and getting used to the sight picture versus switching back and forth some if that might be the case. Pappy gets away with shooting multiple bows during the season, but they're all selfbows and shoot very similarly. I'm hoping to use three different selfbows myself this year if it works out that I'm successful with each.  

[Hillbilly]

 I used to have the same problem when I started shooting selfbows. Canting the bow will help if you're shooting straight up. Probably just too stiff arrows. You can try a lower spine or leave them a couple-three inches longer.

[FlintWalker]

If you're shooting high left it's very likely a stiff spine problem, especially if you're canting your bow.
 A stiff arrow will shoot left for a right handed shooter if you hold your bow perfectly vertical.  As you cant the top limb of the bow to the right (like most of us do), that left flying arrow becomes high left.
 If you do cant, try this.  Hold it straight and see if they still hits as high.  If it don't, I guarantee it's a spine thang.
  I also agree with Micheal. About 45lbs spine would be what I'd use.

[PeteC]

Bear,the best thing you can do is get a hold of some cane,and build some arrows.Nothin' shoots better from selfbows than naturally tapered cane.I have some "shoot" arrows ,that shoot well from some bows,but the cane arrows  shoot well from every bow I build.JMO  God Bless

[terence pinder]

aim right

[recurve shooter]

id say weaker spine, or heavyer points.

a couple-three inches longer.

i thought my family were the only ones that said that. 

[Justin Snyder]

I'd say, what length are the arrows? 

[nocams]

Bear,
quit wondering and cut the feathers off one of the purty arrows you made and you will know in about three shots, if the arrow survives the first shot when it hits the target sideways !!! Bet you are way stiff. Seriously, shoot your first bareshaft with a judo into a tennis ball on the ground about 20yds in some high soft grass to keep from breaking your shaft. Shoot it a few more times to confirm you had a good release, bet it is stiff everytime. That will be nock tailing way right for you. 

You will need to buy some 45-50 shafts probably, I know how long them gorilla arms of yours are, haha ! You will not be able to get the shaft any longer and going from 125 tip to even 160 is not going to help you enough. Good news..... You get to make another dozen woodies and yours are purty ! I buy my shafts from Rose City and if I remember right they give you a baker's dozen so the 13th shaft is your barshaft when you make up a dozen. Just don't fletch it. I use it to confirm bow tune, and more importantly, my tune ! I always shoot my bareshaft mixed in with my regular arrows when practicing. On a good day I can hit what I am looking at with my bareshaft just as if it was a fletched arrow even though it is ever so slightly weak. I tune for a ever so slightly weak bareshaft cause you are going to add 35-40 grains with feathers and glue to the rear of the shaft, and stiffen it in the process. Also when under the diress of buck fever most people tend to short draw so a ever so slight weak shaft is in your best interest.

Start with them long and the 125 tip if that is what you want. As you shoot they should tail nock left, which is weak for a righty. Trim them 1/2" at a time and as you do they should start tailing closer to straight. Stop when you are almost tailing straight, but still slightly tail left. Make sure you do not cant the Voodo Child and do not change brace height or anything else. I crest a stripe at 7.25" from the nock groove on my arrows for an instant brace height checker in the field, never have to have a tape measure again. For Mason's osage we will crest a 6" stripe for it. Hope this helps Alex.

[Justin Snyder]

No need to strip the fletchings. Hang a piece of paper about 10 feet in front of you. Put your target far enough behind it that the arrow will pass all the way through the paper before hitting the target. You will be able to look at the paper and see if the arrow is going straight through or if the nock end is left or right.

I am not saying the shafts aren't too stiff, but I shoot 55-60# spine out of my 60# bow. I always leave my arrows at 31". When you subtract 5# of spine for every inch over 28" my arrows shoot just fine.  We really need to know what length the arrows are before we can make an educated guess.

If the arrows are too stiff you don't have to scrap them. You can lock the tips in a drill, grip the shaft in your hand with some 220 grit sandpaper and sand from the middle of the arrow back to the fletchings as the drill spins the arrow. You will have to refinish the arrows, but you can reuse them.