Hand shock question? pictures added!

[lebhuntfish]

What to check/look for when trying to fine tune a bow that has some hand shock?

I have a bow that I traded for at mojam that is vine maple that was ruff finished that I tweaked the tiller on and retapered the tips. I have been shooting it some and I really like it but it has a decent kick on it. The limbs measures only 1/16th" difference when braced. The bottom one is slightly heavier of course. The tips taper the last ten inches to 1/2" at the tips.

I also traded the other day a stave for a hickory D bow from DavidV. It is a very nice bow and super quiet and very accurate to shoot. But when shooting it today I was noticing it had some hand shock. I measured the limbs at brace and they are almost exactly the same , maybe a 32nd difference.

Is it possibly something I'm doing wrong when shooting? Or is it maybe that I need a little tiller work? I will try to post some pictures tomorrow after I get home from work.
Also both of these bows tend to slap my arm pretty good. My Osage bow I just finished is very soft in the hand and doesn't hit my arm at all. Patrick

[huisme]

It depends on the design but I taper my tips closer to 1/4" or smaller at the nock- with overlays of course.

[Pat B]

Generally either massive tips or a too light arrow will cause hand shock. Half inch tips could be reduced in width. How thick are they? Will you post pics of the unbraced back and side profiles and a full draw. It could be in the tiller.

[bushboy]

Like pat noted, arrow weight is key!I have a sap bow that will rattle my world, but with a heavy arrow it shoots very well!

[blackhawk]

Yes..please post pics like pat said...otherwise were all just taking wild stabs n jabs in the dark

[George Tsoukalas]

All of the above including out of tiller and  poor limb timing can cause hand shock.
Limbs that are too wide or too long by a large margin may also cause it.
I have to admit my nocks are in the 1/2 inch range but I don't use overlays.
Jawge

[Badger]

  Heavy arrows will reduce handshock in a bow that has handshock but a bow does not have to have handshock. I shoot arrows as light as 150 grains out of bows and have no handshock. I don't think limb timming contributes to handshock as much as it is blamed. Obviously heavy tips will contribute.

   One thing I almost hate to report but the evidence is there is that when I started using a gizmo and tillering my bows nice and round I started getting handshock. I like the gizmo and feel like it is a useful tool to get things bending but if I use it to final tiller I always have some shock, not bad but I am aware of it. Smoothest tiller shape I have found is an elyptical tiller on a non pyramid bow. I also believe shorter working areas of the limb will smooth a bow out but are not always possible. If the tiller shape matches the front view hand shock doesn't seem to be an issue.

[dwardo]

Brace height for me has caused a little shock. Adjust it a little and see how it goes.

[DavidV]

Patrick, maybe if you pike it like we were talking about the other day you can thin the tips out some more. I always shot heavier arrows so I never noticed that much.

[bradsmith2010]

try using a very loose grip,,

[bubbles]

I've also noticed a big difference in handshock between a stretchy, heavy string and a very light, no stretch string.  I used to use a very large diameter B50 string for tillering, and every bow I made had handshock during shooting in.  Most of this shock went away when I made an actual string for the bow using Fastflight.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks for all of your replies guy's. I will post some pics as PatB requested in a little while. As soon as I can get them all taken. Patrick

[lebhuntfish]

Okay guy's,  here are some pics of my vine maple bow. While taking the pics I noticed that my string needs some alignment as well.

[lebhuntfish]

Here is the bendy I got from DavidV. I borrowed a heavier arrow this evening and it shot pretty good with a lot less hand shock. I think if I build up the handle I will be able to hold it better. Here are the pics, I really like this bow and I shoot better with it than most I have shot.

[lebhuntfish]

Well I done some more shooting tonight. I think I got the shock on the hickory D bow figured out. I changed my grip and my hand position a little and added in a heavier arrow. Man what a difference and it even shoots better too.

I'm still having trouble with the vine maple bow though. Patrick