Answer:
In the first place you are measuring it incorrectly. Arrow length is from the bottom of the nock groove to the end of arrow, not to the tip of the broadhead. This makes it tough to completely evaluate your shaft. Ideally, you want a hunting arrow to have an FOC of 7 to 10 % with 9 % being the standard most experts recommend. Here is the proper procedure for measuring FOC: (this is reprinted from a tip that was online in January)

Install your broadhead. Find the arrow’s balance point by sliding it back and forth along a fairly sharp edge. You’ll find the spot where the arrow just balances. Mark it carefully. Now measure from the bottom of the nock groove to the balance point and write this number down for later.

There are different conventions for measuring overall arrow length depending upon the type of point you are using.

Arrows that include inserts: Measure from the bottom of the nock groove to the end of the arrow not including the insert. This is often referred to as the arrow’s cut length.

Shafts with swaged tips: The overall length is measured from the bottom of the nock groove to the most forward extension of the full diameter of the shaft, just behind the swage.

Shafts that include outserts: Measure from the nock groove to a point ¾ inch forward of the rearward end of the outsert.

Shafts with glue-on heads: Measure from the nock groove to the most rearward portion of the glue-on point.

Determine FOC: To find the FOC (which is always expressed as a percentage) divide the overall length by two. Now subtract this number from the balance point and divide by the overall length. Multiply by 100.

Building arrows is easy and fun, not to mention the satisfaction you’ll gain from taking game with arrows you’ve crafted yourself. Anyone can do it – and do it well. Armed with only a few basic tools and the information offered here, you’ll have no problem turning raw shafts into top-quality hunting arrows.

Nock Installation
Year’s ago nocks were all glued on, now most arrows offer pressure-fit nocks that fit snugly but are turnable. Tunable nocks are definitely the way to go. These systems will make tuning a lot easier, and they hold up to more hard shooting than will glue-on nocks.

Assuming you aren’t going to paint (crest) your arrows, nock installation is the first step in the arrow building process. Use hot melt glue or epoxy when installing bushings into aluminum. When installing them in (or over) carbon shafts, use a rubber-based epoxy such as that available from Beman or Arizona Archery Enterprises (AAE).

Regular glue-on nocks should be pressed firmly into place (without glue) until after the fletching has been attached. When the arrow is finished you can rotate the nocks to the proper orientation so the fletching clears your rest and then glue them in place. Bohning Fletch- Tite works fine for this.

Apply The Fletching
You need a fletching jig, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. I’ve had good luck with the $20 plastic Martin jig I bought more than 10 years ago. Other good ones are made by Bohning, Bitzenburger and Grayling. You have three clamp options: left helical, right helical and straight (no helical). For hunting and 3-D shooting, right helical is the most popular choice. If you’ll be using feathers, make sure to order feathers from the same wing as the clamp (right helical takes right wing). Vanes are manufactured straight and can be used with any clamp, so you don’t have to specify left or right when ordering.

One of the best fletching adhesive I’ve used for vanes is Fast-Set Gel made by AAE. This is a super-glue product that sets up in only 10 seconds allowing you to use a single-clamp jig and still fletch a dozen arrows in mere minutes. Fast-Set Gel will work on all shaft styles except AFC’s film-dipped carbon arrows, which require a traditional cement such as Bohning’s Fletch-Tite. Of course, Fletch-Tite will also work on aluminum arrows but takes about 10 minutes per fletching to set-up before you can remove the clamp. Fletch-Tite is still the best choice for feather fletching, however.

Place your fletching in the clamp so that its back edge will be about 3/4 inch ahead of the nock taper or nock bushing on your arrow. Adjust the back of the magnet on your jig (the magnet holds the clamp in place while the glue dries) inward or outward until the tail of the fletching sits squarely on top of the arrow. Next, adjust the forward end of the magnet to achieve the desired amount of helical. Easton’s technical representatives recommend four to five degrees of helical. I use a bit more myself – probably closer to seven degrees – but this is only on large diameter aluminum arrows. On smaller diameter carbon arrows I stay closer to Easton’s standard.

When using a straight clamp, (as opposed to a helical clamp) you don’t have as much lee-way and must either install your fletching perfectly straight or with a very slight off-set.

After your fletching is installed, apply a small dab of adhesive to both ends of each for a little added insurance against tearing loose.

You have more freedom to experiment with your fletching style and degree of helical than with any other aspect of arrow building, but it’s still best to observe a few general ground-rules. When making aluminum arrows for hunting, stick with four to five inch fletching. Five inch is a bit better because (in theory at least) it offers a small amount of added stability which can make a difference when shooting broadheads.

Carbon arrows, because of their smaller diameter, work best with shorter fletching (four inch is a good starting point) or you can run into a contact problem when trying to pass long helical fletching through the narrow gap in your rest. You can also experiment with various fletching orientations, such as 70/110 degree four-fletch, (you make this change by inserting a different indexing template into your fletching jig). But the basic 120 degree, three-fletch will do just fine under almost every shooting situation.

Cutting Arrows To Length
Draw an arrow and have someone mark it about a half to 3/4 inch in front of the rest. Cutting arrows is easy with the right equipment, but with the wrong equipment it can be a real headache. For limited quantities of aluminum arrows you can get by with a small rotating pipe cutter. I’ve done it a few times, but I’ve also made some pretty rough cuts, and basically ruined some arrows, in the process. You’re far better off pooling your money with a couple of buddies and getting an electric cut-off tool. You can also take your arrows to a pro shop (that’s equipped with an electric cut-off tool) to have them sized – usually for a price.

Installing Inserts and Outserts
Inserts and outserts (outserts are used with some types of carbon arrows) shouldn’t be taken for granted. Consistent accuracy with broadheads can be difficult to achieve when these components fit loosely. Inserts and outserts should install without any free-play. Usually you don’t have too many options with outserts – you get what the arrow maker offers – but you do have options with inserts. I’ve had good luck with aluminum inserts from Easton and Saunders and composite inserts from AAE. Inserts should have a light press-fit with the inside of the shaft so that each broadhead you screw in will line up perfectly with the shaft.

Aluminum inserts used in aluminum or ACC carbon arrows should be installed with hot-melt glue. Composite inserts in aluminum work best with a rubber-based epoxy, and the same applies for aluminum into carbon (Beman ICS or Gold Tip Graphite XT arrows) or when installing metal outserts on conventional all-carbon shafts. When you’re finished you can install a broadhead and spin test your arrows to make sure the inserts are properly aligned.

Equipment List for Making Your Own Arrows
1. Fletching jig with clamp (right helical to start)
2. Arrow Shafts
3. Nocks (rotating nock systems are recommended- usually come with shafts.)
4. Fletching either feathers or vanes (four or five inch for hunting – though later you might try some of the cool new shorter vanes like the blazers.)
5. Adhesives: Hot melt glue (alum. inserts and bushings into alum. shafts)
Rubber-based epoxy (carbon inserts into alum. or metal inserts or outserts with carbon shafts)
Fletching cement (Fletch-Tite or AAE Fast-Set Gel for vanes and Fletch-Tite for feathers)
6. Inserts
7. Small propane torch (for use with hot melt glue or when removing components installed with epoxy)
8. Arrow cut-off tool

The center serving on a bowstring serves as a launching pad for an arrow. It secures the nocking position, snugs the nock and protects the strands of the string from harmful wear created by finger tabs or release aids. If it unravels or loosens, shooting becomes hopeless or even dangerous. For safety sake and consistent shooting, learn to replace the serving on your bowstring. Given the low cost of serving jigs offered by Bohning, Bjorn and Cavalier and serving material by BCY and Brownell, there’s no reason not to.

Although monofilament or nylon serving material will work, we prefer braided Fast Flight for the extra flexibility and strength it provides. A tight serving of Braided Fast Flight will outlast any other serving type. Although a 100-yard spool costs about three times as much as monofilament or nylon, a spool will serve enough strings to last for years.

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

Follow the steps shown here to learn this important task.

Step One

To start, remove the bow's cable guard and position cables so they are out of the way. Next, split the bowstring about two inches above center or two inches above old nocking point using a rounded nail and insert serving material leaving about four inches of thread along the string.

Step Two:

Using the serving jig, wrap the serving down and around bowstring 10 to 20 times.

Step Three:

After wrapping the serving about twenty times, pull the extra thread tight and cut.

Step Four:

After cutting the extra thread, continue to wrap the serving tool down and around the string until you are about 4 to 5 inches below the arrow rest. Be sure to adjust the tension on the tool so wrappings are tight together. You adjust the tension on the serving jig by tightening or loosening the wing nut.

Step Five:

After serving about four or five inches below the rest, pull out a large loop of thread, insert the tool back within the loop.

Step Six:

After pulling jig through loop, begin serving from bottom of loop up toward the serving you just wrapped. Be sure to wrap serving in opposite direction from the above serving. Go around ten to twenty times.

Step Seven:

Once there is 10 to 20 wraps inside the loop, position tool along top serving.

Step Eight:

With the serving jig now hanging over the top of the loop, use your hands to serve the thread down and around the bowstring. As you wrap the serving thread around the string the lower part of the serving thread that you just made at the bottom of the loop will unravel. When the serving on the bottom is completely unraveled there will be just a small loop of thread left.

Step Nine:

After the bottom of the loop is unraveled there will be a small loop of thread left at the bottom of the serving.

Step Ten:

Hold the loop and pull the serving tool string to pull the loop through. Pull tight and trim off.

Step Eleven:

After cutting the extra thread you are ready to install nock set. Using a T-shaped nocking square place a nocking point about 1/8 inch above the top of the rest. You

Step Twelve:

Release shooters may want to add an extra-tight layer of serving below the nock set for extra protection from caliper releases. Perform the aforementioned, except lay two or three inches of serving and fold serving against string when beginning, rather than placing it through the serving.

Editor’s Recommended Products: If you want to serve your bowstring, you absolutely need two things, A serving jig and serving thread. I suggest you check out the BCY 26 Server. It allows you to adjust tension nicely and is the tool we used to put this article together. As far as thread goes, Brownell Diamondback Braided Fast Flight is the way to go. If you need to get a T-square and nocking pliers, the Allen Compact Bow Tuning Kit is a hard price to beat. Last but not least, Saunders’ Nocking Points complete the project. Have fun and don’t be intimidated. Once you get the hang of serving the bowstring, its easy and it feels good to be able to do it.

Get all the products you need to redo your center-serving at eders.com:

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

If your field tips have been consistently wobble-free and your bow is well tuned, you may simply have a bad case of the jitters. Apprehension about THE first day can do funny things to people, especially bowhunters after they attach a razor sharp broadhead to their hunting shafts. Torquing the bow, lack of back tension, not picking a spot, target panic, plucking the string and poor follow through are just some of the problems brought about by anxiety.

Fortunately, the solution is simple. Relax! Take it easy! Concentrate on the basics, and your form will return in minutes. If your arrows are still flying off into the wild blue yonder, then you are experiencing more than an anxiety attack-you’ve got one or more of those dreaded tuning problems.

First check to see if ALL your shafts are going hay wire. One or two could be dinged or bent from your summer practice sessions. Even pulling an arrow from a target butt, if not done with care, can cause curvature to an aft. Look too at the nocks. You may have replaced one improperly by cutting or not cleaning the nock swage, or by not rotating the nock correctly for proper fletch clearance.

A simple spin test will show you if your other arrows are wobble-free. Sometimes machining tolerances between broadheads and bushings are too great which can lead to your broadheads wobbling all the way to the target. A plastic washer might eliminate the problem, but more often than not you’ll need to switch broadheads from one shaft to another in trial and error fashion until you find a combination that spins true.

Of course, if you have been practicing extensively with your broadheads, you might have damaged the blades or bent the ferrule. Examine each head closely, and if that’s the case replace the damaged head with a new one.

A gob of glue on one side of the insert can also cause your arrow to wobble near the broadhead. Simply reheat the glue around the insert, and then twist the insert with a pair of pliers to redistribute the glue. Be careful, those aluminum shafts can be hot.

Broadheads suddenly veering off course? A new bow quiver full of arrows can change your point of impact.

Broadheads still veering off target? Think back. A common mistake archers make is adding something to the bow that wasn’t there during their summer practice sessions. Swatches of muff glued to your arrow rest or plunger button to silence an aluminum hunting shaft can have a deleterious effect on arrow flight. And a quiver full of arrows or a new stabilizer can sometimes change your broadhead’s point of impact leading you to erroneously believe your arrows have suddenly gone awry.

Did you make any changes to your equipment, like increasing the poundage of your bow, after you attached your broadheads? If so, did you turn the upper and lower limb bolts evenly? A change in bow poundage can adversely impact the spine of your arrow, and uneven stress on the limbs can stop the wheels or cams from rolling over simultaneously. This can interfere with the bow’s timing and cause your broadheads to porpoise up and down.

The most common explanation for poor broadhead flight however is lack of fletch clearance, often indicated by black on your arrow’s fletching. Indeed, the slightest interference between any part of the bow and the arrow’s fletching will ruin broadhead accuracy.

First check your bow for loose or damaged components. Start by tightening everything down with a set of Allen wrenches. A loose arrow rest, a cable guard that has turned into the bow or a bow sight that has slipped down into the arrow’s path can all cause your broadheads to fly haphazardly. Then give your bow a good look-see. Defective limbs are rare these days, but cracked launchers are not. A bent cable guard had me screaming for mercy one day until a friend noticed the unusual curvature. I must have stepped on the thing!
  
Next, eyeball your finished arrow to see if the fletching clears your cables, overdraw unit, center shot window and the forks on your arrow rest. You may need to rotate your nocks, adjust your cable guard, change your cable slide, remove part of your overdraw unit or try a different design arrow rest to get the clearance you need. And check out those arrow-rest support arms. They are notorious fletching grabbers!

If you can’t pinpoint the source of the interference, take the powder test. Spray your arrow rest, over draw unit sight window, cables, cable guard and the last eight inches of the fletched end of an arrow shaft with dry foot powder, and then shoot the shaft into a foam target. You don’t want the arrow to penetrate to the fletching. If the fletching comes in contact with any part of your bow, the foot powder will scuff or smear showing you the point(s) of contact and the position of the fletching as it leaves the bow. That should tell you if you need to rotate your nocks, readjust your cable guard, switch over to a lower profile fletching or change your style of arrow rest.

Arrows still wobbling? Your bow may not be as well tuned as you thought. According to Wayne Meritt, general manager of the Genesee Valley Taxidermy and Shooting Supplies complex in Caledonia, you may need to have your hunting set-up paper tuned at a qualified pro shop to achieve perfect arrow flight.

Tighten down all components. A loose arrow rest or cable guard can raise havoc with broadhead flight.

“A broadhead-tipped hunting shaft has the capacity to magnify any tuning error in the bow,” says Meritt, “causing the arrow to porpoise and/or fish-tail. Properly tuned however, your hunting shaft will look like a round dot all the way to the target.”

Generally, a tail-low tear indicates a low nocking point which can be easily corrected by raising you nocking point a 1/16″ at a time. A tail-high tear indicates a high nocking point. Lower the nocking point a 1/ 16″ at a time until you get the arrow point and fletching appear to enter the same hole. Once corrected, you arrows will stop porpoising. A tail-left tear usually indicates a weak arrow for right-handed shooters-lefties will expenience the opposite pattern. You can decrease your bow weight, use a lighter broadhead, switch to a stiffer shaft or increase the plunger button tension. Release shooters may have to move the arrow rest slightly to the left.

A tail-right tear usually indicates an arrow that is too stiff. Lefties again will see the opposite pattern. You can increase the bow weight, choose a weaker arrow, decrease the tension on the plunger button, or use a heavier broadhead. Release shooters may have to move the arrow rest slightly to the right.

There are however other variables including your shooting forn and the bow’s timing that can adversely affect the arrow’s flight through paper. That’s why visiting your local pro shop is most always in your best interest. Indeed, the paper test may verify what a good bow mechanic already suspects: an under spined arrow shaft is the second leading cause of poor broadhead flight.

“Many bowhunters, erroneously believe a lightly spined shaft will give them a speed advantage,” says Meritt. “After all, a flatter trajectory makes yardage estimation that much less of a problem. However, as a general rule of thumb, a lightly spined arrow does not mean more speed. In fact just the opposite may be true.

“When you set your hunting bow up with the correctly spined arrow, and you must include the shooter and shooting style in this equation, it will give you the flatest trajectory, the most speed, the most penetration, the most accuracy, and be the most forgiving in execution. Everything is gained by having a correctly spined arrow.

“For example, a 2114, 2213, and 2312 all weigh virtually the same, plus or a few grains. There is however a significant spine difference between these arrows. Why then would you want to shoot an arrow that borders on being under spined when you can shoot a properly spined shaft at the same weight?”

What about the fletching itself? Keep in mind that most finger shooters do best with standard five inch fletchings set with a slight helical. A release shooter may get away a shorter fletch or a fletch with less profile if the bow is well tuned.

One final note. Should you line up the broadhead blades with your arrow’s fletching? I hear different opinions from knowledgeable mechanics across the country. It doesn’t seem to be a requirement, but on the other hand many believe this set-up does seem to be more forgiving. One thing everybody seems to agree on, and that is it can’t hurt. Good hunting!

Paper Tuning
Generally, a tail-low tear indicates a low nocking point which can be easily corrected by raising you nocking point a 1/16″ at a time.

A tail-high tear indicates a high nocking point. Lower the nocking point a 1/ 16″ at a time until you get the arrow point and fletching appear to enter the same hole. Once corrected, you arrows will stop porpoising.

A tail-left tear usually indicates a weak arrow for right-handed shooters-lefties will expenience the opposite pattern. You can decrease your bow weight, use a lighter broadhead, switch to a stiffer shaft or increase the plunger button tension. Release shooters may have to move the arrow rest slightly to the left.

A tail-right tear usually indicates an arrow that is too stiff. Lefties again will see the opposite pattern. You can increase the bow weight, choose a weaker arrow, decrease the tension on the plunger button, or use a heavier broadhead. Release shooters may have to move the arrow rest slightly to the right.

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It is a reality that despite our best intentions and efforts, not every animal we shoot at will be double-lunged and fall within sight. Blood trailing is a part of bowhunting, and with plenty of blood sign to follow, the odds of finding the animal quickly are much improved.
The vast majority of bowhunters pursue whitetails from tree stands. Many of the shots taken this fall will be at ranges of 10 yards, or less from stands 15 feet or more above the ground. Such shots create a sharply downward angle for which an exit hole is critical to the blood trailing process. It takes a hunting outfit set up with penetration in mind to do the job under these conditions.

On a marginal hit the most important thing is penetration. There’s no such thing as too much penetration. I hit a nice eight- pointer a few years back right through the lower part of his shoulder. I wasn’t planning to hit him there, but I did. My arrow not only cut deep enough to punch both lungs, it actually passed all the way through the buck and was laying on the ground on the other side. That’s one trophy that may have gotten away (the trailing process would have been much tougher with a single-lung hit) if I hadn’t been thinking penetration when I put my hunting rig together. I was shooting a heavy draw weight bow and conventional fixed-blade broadheads.

Increase Your Draw Weight

For every pound you increase your draw weight your penetration energy increases by approximately 1 ¾%. You can see that a couple of pounds may not make a big difference, but five pounds, or more, starts to have a significant effect.

Sharply downward shot angles make it more difficult to achieve full penetration unless you select your hunting rig with care. An exit hole under such conditions is important to the quality of your blood trail and the ease of recovery.

Shoot the heaviest draw weight you can handle accurately under all hunting conditions. There are many different standards floating around to help bowhunters determine their maximum accurate draw weight. One says to shoot the highest weight you can draw without having to raise your bow arm above parallel when you yank the string back. Another recommends the maximum you can draw sitting down flat on the floor with your legs out in front of you. I personally believe you shouldn’t shoot a bow that you can’t hold at full draw for at least a minute without shaking. Regardless of how you achieve your maximum draw weight; make sure to get in plenty of practice before and during the season to keep your shooting muscles strong.

Increase Your Arrow Weight

With all the unfounded hype surrounding arrow speed vs. penetration, it’s no surprise that many bowhunters believe dropping their arrow weight by 50 grains to pick up 10 extra feet per second is killing their penetration energy. In truth, a heavy arrow does absorb more of the bow’s energy when you release the string, giving it more in-flight (kinetic) energy, but the differences are much less significant than you may have been led to believe.

Based on efficiency studies performed on various bow styles shooting mid-weight arrows, (450 to 600 grains) a 50 grain reduction or increase in arrow weight results in a corresponding change of roughly 1 to 1 ½% in penetration energy. To pick up any real advantage by increasing arrow weight you would need to bump it up dramatically – to the tune of several hundred grains!

Even though the goal of this article is to look for ways to increase penetration, we shouldn’t overlook the important fact of knowing where not to look for it. Unless you’re already shooting light arrows, (under 450 grains) to give up 10 fps for only a one percent increase in penetration is a mistake.
Tune Your Bow Perfectly

In addition to being more accurate, arrows that fly perfectly penetrate better than those that slash their way to the target. When the arrow hits an animal with all its momentum directed right down the shaft, as it does when flying straight, penetration is maximized. Plus, straight flying arrows carry their speed better down-range, which also improves penetration.

For a quick reference on how to tune your bow, refer to edersbow archives and search under the key word “tuning”. For a comprehensive study on the subject of tuning, request Easton’s Arrow Tuning and Maintenance Guide. (There is a $2.50 charge for this 32 page brochure.)
Experiment With Different Shafts

Several years ago I witnessed testing conducted by AFC Carbon Arrows (before the product line was sold to Game Tracker) in which a couple of interesting outcomes were noted. Carbon arrows and aluminum arrows of exactly the same weight were both tuned and shot from a shooting machine at various distances into a wide variety of materials including sand, ethafoam and even beef livers. In all cases the carbon arrow penetrated more deeply (as much as 25% more) than an aluminum 2312 of the same weight.

How this correlates to performance on live animals is still inconclusive. No one has been able to perfectly duplicate the conditions of actual penetration on game in a controlled test environment. It is logical, however, that smaller diameter shafts would penetrate better than larger diameter shafts in many different mediums due solely to their reduced surface area. I’ll leave it you to arrive at your own conclusions as to whether carbon out-penetrates aluminum in real live game.

For what it’s worth, the test also showed that 40 yards down-range the smaller diameter carbon arrows retained about 1 ½% more of their initial velocity than did larger diameter aluminum arrows of the same weight.
Use The Best Penetrating Broadheads

We can shoot all we want into foam bales and measure how far the broadheads bury, but foam isn’t the same as an animal’s shoulder. Unfortunately, tests using foam and other inanimate materials are all we have to work with, so we have to make the best assumptions we can based on the information available.

All else being equal, broadheads with small cutting diameters penetrate more deeply than heads with large cutting diameters. It is purely a matter of the amount of tissue contacted. Heads having blades with a low angle have the potential to penetrate better than heads with a high blade angle and the same cutting diameter. In most cases, two- bladed heads will penetrate better than three-blade (or more) heads of the same cutting diameter. Under the majority of conditions, mechanical heads don’t penetrate as well as fixed-blade heads. And cut- to-point broadheads have been shown in testing I’ve seen to out- penetrate all other styles.

In other words, if you want a broadhead that promotes better penetration try any combination of the following styles: fixed- blades, fewer blades, cut-to-the-point designs and/or a smaller cutting diameter.

Penetration is an important part of equipment selection, even if all you hunt are whitetails. By doing all the things listed here you’ll greatly increase your penetration on game. An exit hole will be more likely on downward shots from tree stands and your chances for making a clean kill should you hit your buck of a lifetime in the shoulder could not be better.

Answer:
Bare shaft tuning requires you to first shoot a group of arrows with fletching into a backstop at 20 yards, followed by a group without fletching. Make adjustments to bring the two groups together, and as soon as the unfletched arrows strike the same spot as the fletched, your bow is tuned. If the unfletched arrows impact above or below, first examine your wheel timing before moving your nock point up or down respectively. If they impact to the left (and you are shooting fingers) your shafts are probably too stiff. If they impact to the right your shafts may be too weak (finger shooter) or you may have contact between the fletching and your rest.

You may choose to shoot a bare shaft through paper to determine whether or not you have a fletching contact problem. If you can get your bare shafts to punch a perfect hole, but not your fletched shafts, you know your adjustments are fine. You must only rotate your nocks to find the position that will permit perfect arrow flight.

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To see just how much an arrow flexes and how much contact there maybe with your rest and bow, watch the video below.

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Archery industry estimates put the number of shooters who use some sort of mechanical release aid at somewhere between 80-90 percent of the total number. While a release will help virtually every archer shoot better, they do create some problems of their own. The two most common are added noise at the shot, and excessive wear on the bowstring’s serving. Also, a release that affixes to a single point on the bowstring — which is usually below the arrow nock — will exert an upward pressure on the shaft at the release, which tends to hamper the shaft from traveling in a perfectly straight and true direction from the get-go.
Tournament shooters — whose success and failure can be measured in fractions of an inch — discovered that adding a “string loop” in place of a standard nock set not only solved these problems, but also helped them shoot a more consistently-accurate arrow.

The String Loop

Pete Shepley, President of PSE and an ardent string loop shooter, prepares raw cord for use as a string loop. Shepley likes to roll the ends of his raw loop cord in epoxy, then let it dry, before tying the loop. The hard glue knot makes working with the loop easier and prevents fraying.

A string loop, which is sometimes referred to as a “release rope,” is nothing more than a small loop of heavy-duty nylon string or rope permanently attached to the bowstring. Basically, instead of using a standard nock set, you tie the loop above and below the arrow nock, leaving just enough room once the arrow has been nocked to clip on the jaws of the release aid. In a nutshell, the string loop acts as both the nock set and the connector between the release aid and bow string.

One of the first to promote the use of a string loop for bowhunters was Pete Shepley, president of PSE, a highly-accomplished bowhunter and heckuva bow shot who uses one himself. “The string loop relieves the unbalanced pressures on the arrow nock/string contact point,” Shepley told me during a break in a Texas deer hunt a few years ago. “It makes the shot quieter, prevents unnecessary bow string serving wear, and if you use a release aid that does not attach itself to your wrist with a strap, you can attach the release aid to the string loop and leave it there while sitting in your tree stand.”

 Tying The Loop
While commercial string loop sets are available for four or five bucks at archery pro shops or through catalogs, you can make a satisfactory loop using an inexpensive piece of 1/8-inch braided nylon cord sold in backpacking shops and hardware stores for pennies a foot.

Step one is to cut about six inches of cord off . The string loop is tied by using a pair of reversed half-hitch knots. The reversed half-hitches actually pull against themselves when the pressure of the release aid being drawn back is applied, keeping the knots snug and tight on the string. It can be tricky to figure this out at first, but your local pro shop professional can show you how in no time. Don’t leave much of a “loop” yet, and don’t snug the knots down tight yet, either. Make sure you have short tag ends extending an inch or so past the knots.

 After loosely tying the loop onto the string, adjust it to the estimated proper nock height using a bow square. Next place an arrow nock in the center of the loop, which will allow you to create the proper spacing. Now insert a pair of needlenose pliers into the loop, and forcefully open them up. This will both stretch open the loop itself, and tighten the half-hitch knots.

You should play with the loop until it is short enough to leave only a smidgen of space between the arrow nock and release aid jaws. Once you’ve got it right and everything tightened up, use a butane lighter and carefully burn the tag ends on the rope until the excess is gone, and a hardened knot is left at the ends. Careful — don’t burn the bow string! This hardened tag end is usually enough to keep the knots from pulling through, although some shooters — myself included — dab a little epoxy on them, “just in case.”

Once the loop is tied in place, you can proceed with bow tuning just as you would if a conventional nock set were used . The string loop can be slid up and down the bowstring during the tuning process until you’re shooting bullet holes through paper. While a properly-tied loop will stay in place on its own at this point, being something of a “doubting Thomas” I usually crimp a standard nock set above and below the loop to prevent any minute slippage over time.

If playing with string and tying half-hitches isn’t your thing, a metal string loop — the Ultra Nock and Ultra Nock II — are available. These use a small metal “loop,” which is clamped over the bow string and secured using four small screws.

Tying The Loop
While commercial string loop sets are available for four or five bucks at archery pro shops or through catalogs, you can make a satisfactory loop using an inexpensive piece of 1/8-inch braided nylon cord sold in backpacking shops and hardware stores for pennies a foot.

Step one is to cut about six inches of cord off . The string loop is tied by using a pair of reversed half-hitch knots. The reversed half-hitches actually pull against themselves when the pressure of the release aid being drawn back is applied, keeping the knots snug and tight on the string. It can be tricky to figure this out at first, but your local pro shop professional can show you how in no time. Don’t leave much of a “loop” yet, and don’t snug the knots down tight yet, either. Make sure you have short tag ends extending an inch or so past the knots.

  After loosely tying the loop onto the string, adjust it to the estimated proper nock height using a bow square. Next place an arrow nock in the center of the loop, which will allow you to create the proper spacing. Now insert a pair of needlenose pliers into the loop, and forcefully open them up. This will both stretch open the loop itself, and tighten the half-hitch knots.

You should play with the loop until it is short enough to leave only a smidgen of space between the arrow nock and release aid jaws. Once you’ve got it right and everything tightened up, use a butane lighter and carefully burn the tag ends on the rope until the excess is gone, and a hardened knot is left at the ends. Careful — don’t burn the bow string! This hardened tag end is usually enough to keep the knots from pulling through, although some shooters — myself included — dab a little epoxy on them, “just in case.”

Once the loop is tied in place, you can proceed with bow tuning just as you would if a conventional nock set were used . The string loop can be slid up and down the bowstring during the tuning process until you’re shooting bullet holes through paper. While a properly-tied loop will stay in place on its own at this point, being something of a “doubting Thomas” I usually crimp a standard nock set above and below the loop to prevent any minute slippage over time.

If playing with string and tying half-hitches isn’t your thing, a metal string loop — the Ultra Nock and Ultra Nock II — are available. These use a small metal “loop,” which is clamped over the bow string and secured using four small screws.

Features/Advantages of a String Loop
PSE special services (Box 5487, Tucson, AZ 85703) offers the following features/advantages sheet on using a string loop:
Eliminates arrow fall-off at full draw
makes nocking point location less critical
 No need to re-nock the shaft after let-down
 No serving damage from release aid contact
 Assures easy one-hand loading
 Releases can remain attached to bowstring in perfect location
 Eliminates gaps in serving from pressure on nocking point
 Controls peep sight location
 Eliminates nock warping due to pinch at full draw
 Allows release aids to be held at right angles rather than level
 System is suitable for all types and lengths of bows
 Extends sight range due to peep being higher above arrow
Prevents the nock sliding down string during the shot.
Permits high cheek anchor without release aid rope slap
Use of loop improves shoulder alignment
Loop adjustment has same effect as bow draw length adjustment
Eliminates chin slap from release aid ropes
Can be used with all types of release aids
 Loop also functions as a string silencer.

To purchase string loop material see: http://www.eders.com/categories/release-loops/

Equipped with broadheads, your hunting arrows are more sensitive to in-flight factors than are your practice arrows. Surely you know that the combination of broadheads and poor arrow flight will cause wind planing. But, even for advanced archers, tuning can sometimes leave a person scratching his head. There is one simple shooting test – an acid test for archery – that will provide important feedback on the most difficult elements of tuning to isolate: bow hand torque and fletching contact.

Shoot a bare shaft through paper and you’ll learn important information about your arrow flight and your shooting form. When you remove the fletching from an arrow you make it much more critical of tuning and release errors. Finger shooters have used bare shaft tuning for years, but it is just as valuable for release aid shooters when done correctly.

ELIMINATE FLETCHING CONTACT
Fletching interference is the most frequent cause of tuning problems. By removing the fletching from an arrow and shooting it through paper you can isolate interference as a possible cause. For example, if you are paper tuning a fletched arrow and get a left tear, the cause may be the position of your rest, bow hand torque or fletching contact. On the other hand, if you are shooting a bare shaft and get the same tear, you can immediately eliminate contact and work on the other two variables.

Once you have tuned a bare shaft you can again shoot one with fletching to find out if you have corrected the problem, or if contact is occurring. If you believe you have contact the nock must be rotated slightly to make the fletching fit through the rest. If this doesn’t work the degree of helical can be reduced slightly to improve clearance. Before you throw up your arms or wave the white flag, also take a look at your rest. It may be too restrictive to allow the fletching to pass cleanly. In that case, simply spread the support arms until they are just able to prevent the shaft from falling through. At last resort, you may also consider trying a different rest style.

FOUR KEYS TO IMPROVED FORM
Better shooting form results in better arrow flight. These tips will help you eliminate your form flaws so even bare-shafted arrows produce a bullet-hole.
Just relax: Tension results from straining to hold the bow at full draw. It’s nearly impossible to keep the pin from bouncing all over the target when your fighting the draw weight. Don’t be too proud to turn your bow down a few pounds (one turn on each limb bolt reduces draw weight by 3 to 5 pounds). You can always turn it back up as your strength improves with practice.

From the ground up, your whole body should remain relaxed throughout the shot. However, a relaxed bow arm is especially important. Bend your bow arm just enough to unlock the elbow causing your arm to relax more fully and act as a shock-absorber for the shot.

Use your back: The large muscles of the back are best suited for supporting the shot. Try this: After getting to full draw, relax all the muscles except your back. Feel the weight of the draw being supported by the large muscles just above and between the shoulder blades. To better feel these muscles at work, try flexing your back in a way that pulls your shoulder blades toward each other. The muscles you feel tensing are the same ones you should be relying upon to lock you in at full draw. These muscles can be built up very quickly and don’t add tension to the shot.

Releasing the string: With fingers, the correct trigger is the simple act of relaxing the back of your string hand. The string will slip out smoothly. The best finger shooters release the string with only two fingers. Consider dropping your top finger off the string once you reach full draw.

Mechanical release aids require a different approach. Two simple steps will have you squeezing the trigger instead of punching it. First, don’t release the arrow as soon as the pin crosses the center of your target. Let it float there for a second or two. This will defuse the nervous tendency to mash the trigger, which if unchecked, can quickly lead to an ugly condition known as target panic. Second, as your pin starts to settle on the target, rest your finger on the trigger. After a couple of seconds, simply curl it smoothly in one steady motion.

Follow through: The follow-through in archery is both mental and physical. It serves to hold everything together long enough for the arrow to escape the bow. Many bowhunters snap their grip hand closed at the same moment they release the string – destroying accuracy. A wrist sling may help you keep your hand relaxed and your fingers limp without the fear of dropping your bow.

Shooting a bare shaft through paper give critical feedback on all elements of tuning including your shooting form.

Your bow arm is another important part of the follow-through – maybe the most important part. Keep it steady and resist the common tendency to drop it when you release the string; it shouldn’t move one inch until the arrow hits the target. Follow-through mentally by staying focused. Continue aiming until the small spot you’re trying to hit disappears at the end of your arrow.

BOW HAND POSITION
Shooting a bare shaft through paper at a range of three to five yards also provides immediate and extremely critical feedback on the quality of your grip. Several years ago I was helping a buddy tune his new bow. He’s left-handed and for some reason we simply could not eliminate a hard left paper tear. Tears that point left for a left-handed archer and to the right for a right-handed archer are very rare among release aid shooters. I was perplexed. An hour later we’d tweaked just about everything and yet the problem persisted. In an effort to determine if it was some kind of weird contact problem, we removed the fletching from one of his shafts and shot it through the paper. It slashed even more wildly to the left.

The light bulb came on in my head. I took my buddy’s left-handed bow and shot it right-handed. The arrow made a perfect bullet hole on the first shot! Even though my friend is an accomplished archer, I immediately knew he was holding the bow wrong. He was trying to shoot the new bow using the same hand position he’d used on his old one. By experimenting with a couple of minor grip changes my friend was soon making a perfect bullet hole, as well. He found that by simply applying a little more thumb pressure to the side of the grip he could solve the problem with no discomfort or loss of accuracy.

This brings up an important point. I’ve tuned many different bow styles through the years. Every one of them required slightly different grip pressure to make it tune properly. That is one reason why some bowhunters get stuck on one bow brand – their bow hands have learned to seek the proper no-torque position automatically on familiar grips. The quickest way to determine if your bow hand position is faulty is to shoot a bare shaft through paper.

OTHER FORM FLAWS
In my own shooting I’ve been able to isolate various departures from correct form that were destroying arrow flight and making good accuracy literally a hit and miss deal. When you’re shooting fast arrows, 240 fps or faster, it becomes more difficult to group exposed blade broadheads consistently beyond 25 yards. If you hurry the release, or get a little tense, the arrow will veer badly. The trend is toward smaller heads to solve this problem. This “solution” only treats the symptoms of the ailment, and only partially at that. It is better to eliminate the root cause of shooting problems: grip tension, hand position and a rough release. Shooting a bare shaft through paper gives you the feedback you need to become a better archer.

BARE SHAFT TUNING FOR FINGER SHOOTERS
Bare shaft tuning means something different to finger shooters and than release aid shooters. For years, finger shooters have shot unfletched shafts in order to determine what corrections to make to their bow and arrow setups when tuning. If you wish to try this proven technique, first shoot a group using fletched shafts and mark the center. Next, from the same distance, shoot a group using bare shafts and mark this center. If both groups have essentially the same center your system is tuned. However, if the bare shafts plane off-line you’ll have to make corrections.

Here is general guideline to the proper corrections when your bare shaft groups are different from your fletched shaft groups. If the bare shaft group is to the left, try a more flexible shaft, increase point weight or turn up bow poundage. If the bare shaft group is below, move the nock point down, check fletching contact with the rest and check wheel timing. If the bare shaft group is to the right, try a stiffer shaft, a lighter point or reduce your draw weight. If the bare shaft group hits high, check wheel timing or move your nock point up.

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Before I start to write this column each month, I give careful consideration to what my subject matter will be. I prefer my focus to be on something which is different or unique, while at the same time it is a truly functional piece of gear to be used in your deer hunting endeavors. This month I changed my mind on what I would write about, switching over to discussing glass eyes, nails, firewood, and trash bags. These seem like rather weird subjects to be discussing here, I admit, but as far as preserving your deer hunting memories, they are extremely important. Let me explain.

Each year I talk to numerous whitetail enthusiasts who have been successful. Most of them have a picture to show me, whether the kill was a doe, small buck, or an outstanding trophy. As you might guess, the quality of these pictures run the gamut from gruesome to decent. Few of the shots are well-done. Oftentimes both the deer and hunter are smeared with blood. Trash cans, cars, telephone poles and other debris may litter the background. In spite of this, I sincerely like to look at everyone’s picture and hear their story. Still, many times I can sense the hunter’s disappointment in his picture as he apologizes for the blood, or explains how the deer doesn’t really look as big as it really is, and so forth.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, follow this Deer Gear article closely, gather up a few cheap supplies, and you will be able to take high quality pictures that will be printable both on the Internet or in magazines–and they will be ones you will be proud to show to all your friends.

The Eyes Have It
As soon as a deer dies it starts to loose pressure in its eyes. In a picture this shows up as a dull, sunken-in look. In addition, if a flash is used while taking a picture of a deer, a wild yellow glow may show up in the deer’s eyes. Both are displeasing to a person looking at a picture of your deer. Each of these problems easily can be avoided. Simply go to your taxidermist and buy a set of the glass eyes he uses in mounting whitetail deer. Depending on the grade, a set of eyes will run ten to fifteen dollars. These eyes will slip right over the deer’s eyes, much like a contact lens. Taking a little water or saliva and rubbing on the glass eyes gives the deer a tremendously life-like appearance. Spend a little time looking at hero shot pictures on the Internet and in magazines and you soon will pick up on the ones that have used glass eyes in the photography.

What Are The Nails For?
Except on rare occasions, a live whitetail doesn’t have its tongue hanging out. Obviously then, the tongue hanging out the side of your trophy’s mouth doesn’t look very eye-appealing. Some hunters realize this and try to poke the tongue back in, push the lower jaw up, or even tie the jaw closed with strong tread or monofilament. There’s a better way. Simply carry a hammer and a couple of 10D and 12D nails in your vehicle. By feeling under the lower jaw bone of the deer, you will find a soft place where you can drive a nail through the lower jaw up into the palate of the deer. This holds the mouth closed, the tongue in, and doesn’t hunt mounting the whitetail in any way (be sure to remove the nail; it will dull the taxidermist’s knife).

Once this is done, clean all blood from the deer, including from its antlers. If the whitetail has been field-dressed and the stomach will show, get your trash bag and fill it with leaves. Place this bag inside the body cavity. This gives the stomach a full look, just like it had when it was alive. Be sure when photographing the deer to place a few leaves in front of the body cavity so the field-dressing cut doesn’t show. At this point you should have the whitetail looking great. Now do the same to yourself.

Change any clothes with blood on them. Wear a hat, too. Most pictures look best with the hunter wearing one. Be sure your shirt sleeves are down and that you are wearing gloves. Wearing gloves, preferably camo ones, is very important. Hands have tremendous character, and the human eye will naturally start looking at the hands instead of the deer’s antlers. Try looking at deer pictures with hands shown on the antlers and see if I’m not right.

The Photography Setup
“Take the front legs and fold them under the whitetail. What we are doing here is getting the deer to sit as high as possible. This makes it look bigger, yet still natural.”

At this point, consider the lighting of the day. Early morning light, late evening light and bright overcast light is best for great pictures. Harsh sunny days are the worst for photographing deer. Be sure the light is coming from behind the photographer, falling directly on the hunter and deer. Check your background as well. A natural woods background is best because it places the whitetail in its natural setting.

Take the front legs and fold them under the whitetail. What we are doing here is getting the deer to sit as high as possible. This makes it look bigger, yet still natural.

We’re getting close to taking pictures now, but there are a few other things to do. First of all, be sure your bow is placed on or by the deer. Seemingly insignificant, this proves the whitetail was a bow kill. Next take the front legs and fold them under the whitetail. What we are doing here is getting the deer to sit as high as possible. This makes it look bigger, yet still natural. Regarding the firewood, you should have three pieces at hand of 8 inch, 10 inch and 12 inch diameter, all about 16 inches long. Have a friend hold the front of the whitetail up, and place the best fitting piece of firewood under the deer’s shoulder which is away from the camera.

What this does is help hold the deer high, while at the same time it puts the whitetail’s weight on the block of firewood, making it easier for the hunter to hold up the deer’s head. Now you’re ready to put the successful hunter in place.

Be sure the archer stays low. A low archer and a high positioned deer gives you maximum impact. The hunter standing over a whitetail can make even a big buck look rather small. Now let’s go on to the photographer’s responsibilities.

The Cameraman’s Job
Whether photographing a snake, turtle, deer or human, pictures should be taken at eye level or below. In other words, the person taking the pictures should be as low, or lower, than the hunter. Standing high makes the deer look small. The best camera to use is a 35mm. Print film is fine to use, with 100 speed film being the best to use since it is fine-grained and sharp. 200 speed does a nice job as well. As the film speeds go up, the prints will look grainier. If in doubt, shoot a roll of each.

If you have an exceptional trophy, also shoot a few rolls of 100 speed slide film. While slide film has little latitude for error like print film does, it does reproduce best in magazines and most pictures you see published there come from slides.

Regarding camera lenses to use, a 70mm to 210mm zoom lens, or something in that range, is best. They show the most accurate perspective. Wide angle lenses, like 24mm, 28mm or 35mm, distort the image, making close up items look huge and something just a little farther back look small. Again, you can look at hero shots and pick up on this. If the deer’s head looks bigger than the hunter’s body, a wide angle lens has been used.

The Finished Product
Everything I have just discussed was carried out in producing the picture accompanying this article. Note I’m down fairly low, have clean clothes on, the bow is in the picture and my hands are covered. Although hardly noticeable, the deer has his glass eyes in. In addition, the deer’s front legs have been folded under and a block of wood is under his far shoulder to help hold his weight when I pose with the deer. See how little effort is required for me to hold the deer up with this method (resting my arm on my knee is a neat little trick, too).

All in all, it’s a relaxed, pleasant picture giving the deer, myself and the great sport of archery hunting the respect we all deserve. Your pictures, too, can be done just as well by following the advice in this column.

 Following are the items you should keep on hand for photographing the deer you harvest: