Pre Season Maintenance: Axle Lubrication

Shoot your bow through a chronograph and check your speed before doing this so that you can compare the results later.


With most all bow manufactures using Teflon bushings these days there is practically no maintenance to be done on the bearings and axle's. I guess I am still a little old school when it comes to this. I still remove the the cams and/or idler wheel for inspection.


I will provide a brief description of the process. First you need a bow press. Don't have one, get one. If you are reading this it means you are somewhat inclined mechanically and should have the means to perform minor repairs.


Once the bow is securely mounted in the press and the bow is relaxed just enough to provide about 1" of slack in the harness you are ready to remove the "e-clip" securing the axle in place. After this you need an object that will fit the hole in the limb tip so that when you slide it inward the axle will come out with the cam staying in place. I use a roll pin punch to do this.


I will then remove the other "e-clip" at this point. With the axle lying on a smooth flat surface, roll it while watching and listening closely. This test will let you know if it is warped and in need of replacement. If so you can relax the tension from the press and your cam and strings will stay put until you can find a new axle. Also, check the straightness at the store from where the parts are being purchased before leaving with a bad one.


If it rolls out smoothly, you will want to inspect it for any wear or marks in the finish. Most of the time there will only be a slight discoloration on the surface. In this case just grab a 3M pad in your hand and lay the axle so that it can be twisted with the opposite hand while applying slight pressure in the other that contains the pad. The axle will be shiny and clean after only a minute or so.


At this point you only need to remove the cam or idler and take a look at the bushings. I normally use a clean cloth and wipe them clean. I have not ever seen a Teflon bushing that looked bad. So the way I would test them is to lube the axle slightly with a "good" lubricant that contains Teflon. Slide the axle back into the limb and through the cam or idler wheel. Install the retaining clips. Don't forget to install both, you will look silly on the range when someone says "hey! your axle is about to fly out of there and kill you!" Yes this has happened and yes, I felt really stupid. It has not happened since!


With everything in place and the bow still relaxed in the press, move the cam or idler from side to side. Is there any movement? How much is too much? Well to answer these questions I would have to ask you what the bow is going to be used for.

On my target bows, I prefer to have the cams with a little play. I don't want a lot of friction in these spots as I am trying to obtain as much speed from the lowest poundage that I can pull. With my hunting bows, a little friction is not a problem. I would like to say that it may even cut out some noise after the shot but I have not ever tested this theory.


Ideal friction for me is when you remove the strings and cables from the cam and then hold the lobe at it's highest point. Let go of the cam and it should only rotate to the lowest point and rock slightly back and forth while coming to a slow stop. If when you spin it and it stops abruptly, it may be to tight. This is noticeable when reinstalling your cam and it's difficult to slide in between the slots in the limb. If a Teflon bushing is used there are several ways to remedy this. You can take a flat file and carefully remove a little Teflon from both sides and check the fit. It should be just a little snug. If the axle is too tight, I use a small rat tail file and hone the inside slightly. The file needs to be small enough to slide all the way through the cam bushing. Slowly and lightly is the way to go here.



With and idler wheel I will spin it and watch as it stops. Slow is good.
I should also point out at this time that a lot of manufactures are using sealed ball bearing and lubrication will not effect those at all. When there is tension applied to the bearing it will stop spinning on the axle and roll as it was designed.


To check these bearings I use a pencil and insert it into the axle hole and rotate the cam or idler while applying pressure to the bearing. If it has a choppy or rough feel it should be replaced. Most of these contain 2 bearings, one on each side. Check both! I have found numerous bearings that have failed within a year of shooting. I will go a little deeper into this in another post.


After reinstalling check your speed again. I have found that when the task at hand is complete the bow speed will sometimes increase a few feet a second.

Good luck!

Pre Season Maintenance: Bowstring And Serving

(R)to(L) Bees wax Bohning, Silicone waxBohning, ML 6 BCY, Teflon by Slick It

This wax from Bohning is impregnated with silicone.

Whenever a word is mentioned about bow maintenance, string wax comes to mind. It is one of the simplest things that an archer can do with the best results. After scouring the Internet and looking at hundreds of magazine articles, I've come to the conclusion that this is one of the most talked about chores with the least amount of knowledge required to gain maximum effect.

Have you ever seen a bowstring wax comparison? No, me either. How does one know which wax is the best? Um, well I wondered the same thing. Here's what I came up with after doing some research.

Under a microscope you can see the makeup of a single strand of HMPE (high modulus polyethylene) is made up of millions of small or fine fibers running in all directions. A lubricant is needed in order to cut down on friction. Excessive friction can cause weak spots and eventually a breakage in the fiber.

A good wax will also help keep the “bundle” of strands together. If for some reason you have a strand or two that have came out from the bundle it's probably time for a new string as this usually indicates a breakage. Typically under a serving most likely.

Waxing also helps prevent water absorption into the string. Here's the really interesting part to me. Bowstring "material" manufacturers normally apply a synthetic wax in liquid form to insure that from its conception, the string material is well lubricated inside and out. This process gives the material its initial protection from fiber to fiber abrasion. I was unable to find the brand or type used for the production application at this time. But this wax is really not important because the end user is where the difference is made.

It's recommended that a silicone based wax be used for maintenance. A wax blended with silicone penetrates the string material very well and keeps the inside fibers lubricated as well as the outside. Wax can be applied with fingers, cloth, or even paper. I have seen a few guys that carry a small piece of Latigo to ensure that the wax is thoroughly embedded between the fibers.

I have used several products over the years and have come to rely on one in particular. Bohning makes a silicone based wax that works quite well. I have used this since it's conception with outstanding results.

Don't forget your serving either. Most everyone who owns a one cam bow will agree that the serving on the cable has a very short life due to the stress of rolling into the cam track. Relax the bow in press and remove the string and/or cable. Rub the wax liberally on the serving. Then with your fingers or whatever you choose, rub the wax until you can feel the heat caused from the friction. This is best done with a silicone based wax. You will know that it's penetrating when the string turns a shiny. The silicone will penetrate through the serving into the fibers below to aid in the protection of the string as well as the serving itself .

A life expectancy of 2 years is normal after doing this twice times a year. Sure beats having to reserve right before a tournament or a hunt. The problem I have with the others is the amount of weight added to the string. Minimal yet, it makes a difference at longer yardage's. I find it had to get an a nice thin layer of beeswax without having it clump up in certain area's, especially around the cable slide.

All string material is made from polymers and do not take heat very well. This should explain the reason your string stretched while your bow was lying in the bed of your truck in the sun for 3 hours. Never put any heat on your string. I used to use standard beeswax and heat it with a hairdryer until it was nice and soft. After awhile I would notice a change in my draw length.

I hope this will help explain the mystery surrounding the proper way to maintain a string and cable with wax.

Broadheads And Great Arrow Flight

These two things don't always go together to well. Why, you ask? In order to answer this question you have to get back to some bare bones tuning. This is the key to good broadhead groups no matter which head that you choose to launch at a critter.

Is your bow tuned properly? How well do your arrows equipped with field points group at 40 yards? Do they group at 50 yards and how large is it?

The old standard was approximately 9" at any given distance. Let me explain. Have you ever heard the expression, "I can hit a pie plate at 30 steps and that's good enough for me!" Well, it's not good enough for me and shouldn't be your standard either.

Can you can shoot a group of 6 arrows at 30 yards into a 5" circle? Why not? This should be a bare minimum for your groups. Ideally, a 5" group at 50 yards should be your goal. Yes, it takes a lot of practice and requires that your bow be tuned perfectly but the game that you are hunting deserves it.

I would recommend taking your bow to a professional and having it setup and tuned correctly. Let me make myself clear on this. After someone tunes your bow, they should spend a few minutes with you to be sure that it will punch a perfect hole in a piece of paper with you shooting the bow. I should warn you that this does not mean that your broadheads will fly correctly but you will be off to a good start.

Second, I would like to point out that most bowhunters are do-it-your-selfers. If you are one of these people by all means continue reading. After shooting a group of arrows with field points at 20-40 yards, pay special attention to arrow flight and your groups in the target. If they are tight and your arm is up to it, fling some broadheads. How is the grouping? Not so good? Then you will need to continue reading. If they are good, stop here and get off of the computer and go shoot some more.

I have used this link to the Easton Tuning Guide in a previous post and consider it a valuable tool in tuning my bow. http://www.willowcreekarchery.com/Easton-arrow-tuning_guide.pdf After downloading go to page 11 for broadhead tuning.

After you complete the tuning of your bow to your broadheads you will find that almost every head will fly good. Here is the exceptions. Yes, there is almost always an exception.

• When trying a different head, check the alignment.


• If shooting expandable heads, use a bread tie or a very small piece of wire so that it will not open during flight. Also this will stop them from opening in the target and saves on replacement blades.


• Test every head that you have. I have found only one brand broadhead that would not group with all of the others. Hint: One of the most popular on the market for years.

OK. Now that you are armed with the knowledge, go try it out!

Have Paper Tuner Will Travel

This tear indicates a perfect tune for my Compound bow shot with a release aid. I see the best groups at 50 yards with a slight tail high and left tear.

This image is proof that a good paper tune will allow your bow will perform at it's best. This is a group that was shot from 40 yards.

There has always been a certain amount of hype and mystery surrounding the paper tuner. I will attempt to explain it as well as simplify it in this post. But first you need to know what the arrow is doing when it's released as well as in flight. This is a link to that will give you an idea of what is happening after the arrow is released.http://208.81.178.138/cms/content/video-oscillation-test

You are now asking yourself how in the world did those aluminum arrows hold up for so long. I have searched for an old video that Easton and PSE put out about 12 or 15 years ago that contained several camera angles and super (and I do mean super) slow motion.

OK, back to tuning. The paper that you are shooting through actually indicates exactly what the arrow is doing at a given distance. As you can see from the video, the arrow will bend several times in the first 15-20 feet of flight.

I am going to save you from an awful lot of shooting at paper by offering up this tip. Measure 4 feet out from you target and place the paper there. Next, measure 6 feet out from the paper and put a mark down there. I found that after testing the best tuned bow and arrow combination I have ever had that it punched a perfect hole at 6 feet every time.

Let me say this, just because it will punch a good hole doesn't mean that it is tuned. During the 2 cam days of yonder, I would set up a bow to shoot slightly tail high (only a 1/4") to obtain a good starting point. This was shooting 2312's with the old uninock. Normally it was just right.

It takes some effort to shoot 10-12 perfect holes in a sheet of paper. You have to grip the bow the same every time as well as make a good smooth release. After achieving this goal you will need to shoot every arrow that you intend to use with this setup to ensure consistency.

One of the best publications on tuning ever written is here
http://www.willowcreekarchery.com/Easton-arrow-tuning_guide.pdf

I could not find it at the Easton website, I guess that they have discontinued the publication. I would save it to your desktop and you can print pages as you need them. Skip to page 7 for paper tuning.

If anyone is interested in tuning a compound using a finger release, just leave me a comment and I will respond asap.

String Jumping Issue

Have you ever had a deer jump string or duck an arrow just as it arrives resulting in a miss? I believe that there are 3 distinct causes for this.

1. Loud bow



2. Nervous or alert deer



3. Noisy arrows

I will start by saying a loud bow is something that is taken for granted these days due to the manufactures really stepping up and introducing quality products.

I have shot at a lot of alert deer and have somewhere in the 60% success ratio. When a deer comes in and knows something is wrong, their senses are heightened much like our own. Anything will send them running at warp speed. If possible wait it out. Let them calm down and then set up your shot. If you must shoot and the deer is at 20 yards or less, aim really low. Watch some hunting video's and you too will be convinced that an alert deer will drop 8" or more.

Noisy arrows? Yes, arrows do make noise and at times a lot of it. I was shooting with my brother one day and he had walked to the target before I had stopped shooting. While standing behind a tree for 2 or 3 shots he yelled that the arrows were noisy. After some investigation it turned out that some vanes and/or broadhead designs are just noise makers and need to be avoided to prohibit string jumping.

I had the good fortune to have been given several broadheads to test for a name brand company that was introducing a new design the following year. At the time these would retail for a staggering $36.00 for 3 pack. When everything else was around $15.00-$19.00 dollars.

After having my brother stand down range at my indoor range and listen to the heads, we determined that the loud whistling noise was caused from the new heads. I quickly changed to some other popular heads and shot those.

Conclusion, not all heads are created equally. Be sure to test a few on your own this year before headed out to the stand.

Best of Luck

Summer Time Bow Tune Up

Summer is a great time to get out all of your archery gear and give it a go. The reason is because most of us are sitting in a tree during October and sweating our butts off. So if you can master the shot with sweaty palms in the summer you should be able to make the shot when it presents itself.

Lets start with the basics. Have your bow tuned by a professional. These guys have gotta eat too. Then you need to check his work. By this I mean get out and shoot.

Start by developing a routine practice schedule. It doesn't mean that you have to shoot everyday, just that when you do get to shoot, use your time wisely. More on this later.

Here it comes the same old same old. If you wear gloves and a face mask, practice with them on. Yea, I know it's hot but you need to know how these will affect your shot. I normally use camo cotton gloves on my hands and I practice with them. Two years ago I picked up some Under Amour gloves. Skin tight and the palms have these cool rubber type grips on them.

When I shot with them on I noticed that my point of impact was about 3 inches to the right at 30 yards. Hmmm...Obviously I am torquing a bit during the draw cycle and the cotton will let the bow rotate to the correct position. Now I practice with the new gloves on.

Here is a head net horror story. One very cold day in December I reached for my brand spanking new head net. One of those full face insulated babies from Cabelas. A few minutes after sliding it on here come 5 does and a 5 point buck sucking up acorns 25 yards away.

Six arrows later I was watching all of the deer stomping and blowing wildly. Never even cut a hair! After returning home and a little bit of practice with the head net on, I returned it to my backpack only to use during extreme temps. I will not ever attempt another shot in one. Yes, it was ugly. I barely hit the bag at 25 yards!

One more example. I had bought these super duper coveralls. You know the one's that are made for gun hunters. How can you tell? They have a breast pocket with a metal snap. Long story short, the entire flap was ripped off and neither I nor the buck had any idea what happened!

Do yourself a favor, test your apparel before hand.

Sumertime Fun

Summertime fun, I know what your thinking, a week at the beach or hanging out with friends at the lake for a weekend. And yes, these things are fun, but what I'm talking about is a weekend of chasing animal through the wood. That's right, we just got back from our weekend of hunting in Texas.

It was a extremely hot weekend, 102 degrees in the shade with only a slight breeze every now and then. When you've got that hunting bug, it doesn't matter if it's 150 degrees, you got to feed the beast! This was a different hunt, with times being tight on the bank account. We had a "economic" hunt. Although every animal taken with a bow is a trophy, these trophies were going to be smaller than normal.

Here's our bow setups. I was shooting a Bowtech Guardian set on 62 pounds. I have a Spot-Hogg Seven deadly pins sight. My arrows are Goldtip 5575 tipped with 100 grain Slicktrick broadheads. Bear was shooting a Hoyt Rintech set on 41 pounds. He has a Vital Bow Gear movable single pin sight. His arrows are Easton LightSpeed 500 tipped with 100 grain slicktrick broadheads.

We were going to hunt two ways, spot and stalk and stand hunting. The setup was great for stalking. We had sandy soils that were quiet for walking and crawling in and we had high grass that made it easy to hide in.

We looked around for a while and found a few animals the look good and got us excited. My first stand was a good choice and I got lucky. We were there for a couple hours and had some rams working our way. In the group of rams was a Corsican ram that I had spotted earlier and had on my list. The rams kept coming and got inside 20 yards but they stayed bunched up and I couldn't shoot, in fear of hitting more than one animal. After about 30 minutes they separated enough to slip an arrow into my ram. Smoked, the ram made it 30 yards and piled up. Perfect shot, straight up the leg, right in the triangle. I like starting a hunt that way.

The next morning Bear was eager to get after a ram. We knew the rams would be around the feeder that were set up. We spotted a Texas Dall ram that Bear wanted to take a closer look at. The group of rams were headed to a feeder. The stalk was on! This was a perfect setup. The wind was right, we had a creek bottom we could move in, and the grass beside the creek was high. It took about an hour to crawl up the creek and get close. After looking the ram over, Bear decided he like the ram and wanted to shoot. We moved to within 15 yards. It was looking really good. Dang it, one of the rams spotted us. We stayed still and after a few minute the ram settled down and eased off. Now all we were waiting on was a quartering away shot. Finally, 18 yards, quartering away....aim and squeeeezzze.... Perfect! Bear smoked his ram. I wish I had what he's got. 9 years old and he shoots like a machine! We have both bagged our animals.

We have both taken bigger and better animals but for whatever reason, this was one of the most fun hunts I have been on. Maybe it just because it has been so long since we have been able to hunt anything in many many moons. Hopefully it will hold us out until later this fall when hunting season open again.

Alabama Sports Festival

This past weekend was a big weekend for me and my family. I knew it was going to be busy. First off, it was Father's Day. I knew we would be on the road seeing both sides the family. This meant we would be traveling up and down the interstate. But, it was also the weekend for the Alabama Sports Festival. The state of Alabama host a weekend of sporting event competitions every two years. We were competing in the 3-D event.

We got to the event early because of the busy day and we couldn't be late. You know you have to keep momma happy! Anyway, after warming up on the bag targets, we joining a group to begin the course.

Wow, what a course, every shot was down hill at different grades of steepness. Bear and I were shooting together and after the first couple of targets, the pressure was building. We were both hitting 8's and 10's but for some reason we were both battling a mental breakdown. I knew what I had to do! It was Big League Chew time. Big League Chew is shredded bubble gum. Popeye has spinach, we have Big League Chew. I pulled Bear off to the side away from everyone and we loaded our mouths.

Then, I reminded him...and myself, that we were there to have fun. Not torture ourselves, which is the way I was feeling at the time. Our next shot, we both got 10's. We were now starting to have fun. We start joking with each other and smack talking with some of the news reporters. Yep, that right, we had reporters.

When we started the back half, the shots started getting hard. Steep hills, shooting into holes that were dark. No details on the targets...... But, somehow we were holding it together. My usual target panic was quieting down and I was holding it together. Bear was smoking every target. He made one bad shot but came back strong on the next target.

Finally, the last four targets were on flat ground. In the middle of the field, with the sun blazing down. Last target was a strutting turkey at 26 yards....I shot it for 29 yards. Luckily, I caught the top of the eight line. Final scores, I shot a 196(yeah baby!!!), Bear shot a 176. We both to first place for our classes.

As usual, we were running late. I thought momma, my smoking hot wife, was going to kill me. But, I did have the Father's Day "card" that I was going to use if I needed. Good news, some of the other family members were running late and they changed the time we were meeting.....Momma was in a good mood and we weren't going to be late. Jackpot!!!

Summer Time Blues

Here in Alabama summertime has arrived, 96 degrees and humidity is high. It has been several months since I have been in the woods scaring any game animals and the "nothing to hunt" blues are starting to set in. That means one thing. It is time to head to Texas for the annual exotics hunt. I talked to Mr. Hunt and we are now scheduled to hunt early in July.

For the past several years my family and friends have headed to Hunt's Bowhunting Ranch for a long fun filled weekend of hunting. I know what you all are thinking and you're right, it's going be hot! But, Maria, my trusty Bowtech hunting bow, has been lonely since 3-D season arrived. I feel like I have neglected her for too long. I decided to take her out to the range to make sure nothing had changed. She's still driving tacks. The excitement is starting to build....

Now, time to check "Bear's", my son's, bow out. He has been shooting the same bow throughout 3-D season. Just a little test to make sure his Slicktrick broadheads are flying true and we will be ready. I feel like I should start loading the truck.....

We have made several trips to Texas to hunt exotics. We have hunted ram, fallow deer, Blackbuck, Oryx, Sika, and Mouflon. Bear shot his first animal,Black Hawaiian Ram, when he was seven years old. He has been hooked ever since.

Before the hunts, I would take the time to pick out the animal that I wanted to hunt months in advance. Now, I have gotten to the point that I like to show up and enjoy the company of friends and family and if it works out, harvest an animal. I have also enjoyed catching the other hunters on video. Just writing about the hunt is getting me fired up. I hope I can wait until July.

Next will be the big cookout for everyone that is going this trip. We will all sit around laughing about past hunts and whatever bloopers happen...have you ever been chased by a 2500 pound water buffalo....yep, I have. NOT FUN! But, now its a great laugh...and one of the other guys got it on video.

Tick tock, it seem like an eternity until July gets here and I can finally start loading the truck. But, when it does, I'll be ready for our summer time hunting fun.

LOAD UP!!

Average Range Distance

I have been asked on several occasions a question that seems easy to answer yet difficult to explain.

• How far do you shoot in competition?
  

This then leads to multiple answers that seem to just puzzle the average hunters. I use the word hunters because most of these questions come from guys who only hunt or are reluctant to shoot competitively.

The answer is , it depends. On what you ask? The organisation, such as ASA, IBO, or FITA etc...

I am just anal enough to carry a rangefinder most everywhere I go and use it for practice at judging distance. When I am competing, I will write down the distance to every target on the back of a score card. After I have stepped it off or asked someone in the group how far they thought the target was. There seems to always be one guy who can judge like a human rangefinder, I wish I could be that guy! Afterwards I will average the total yardage against the target count.

ASA Limited Class is what I shoot most often. The ranges average about 33 yards. Therefore when I practice at home, the stake I shoot from the most is 35 yards. You will always have one really close target, typically a Javalina at 18-22 yards and several in the 38-40 yard range.

When I shot the Open A class in ASA, the average was 37 yards. 34-37 yards was the norm. In this class you had better shoot at 12's and 14's if you wish to finish in the top 10. More on where to aim in another post.

When shooting IBO, the ranges seem to be bit more diverse. The targets are staggered very well and very deceptive. I will take this up in another post later. In the MBO class (men's bowhunter open) the average for a given range is around 39 yards. There are quite a few that are pushing the max. When shooting in this class I will typically practice judging more and shooting at 45-50 yards.

Local shoots are dependant on the range officer. By that I mean, if it's been raining a lot, or the temperature has been hovering around 98F for two weeks the targets are usually closer. If the weather is cooperating and he has help, well you may be in for some long shots. I have averaged a couple of ranges in my home state and they really fluctuate. Anywhere from 27 yards to 36 yards. Most of the time if you have shot the course in the past, you will have a good idea if it will be tough or not.

There it is , the average of averages. I too, seem to shoot average!