Martin Archery Martin Compound - Manual (Page 17)

Left handed shooters should follow instructions in reverse.
Stiff Arrow.
Bare shafts fly to left.
Limber Arrow
Bare shafts fly to right.
17
Fine Tuning Your Compound Bow
Fishtailing
Fishtailing relates to the arrow rest adjustment and the stiffness of your
arrow. Just as before, start at about ten to fifteen yards and shoot three fletched arrows into
your target. Using the same aiming point, follow them up with a bare shaft. After you get
the shafts to impact with the fletched shafts, you may want to try shooting them at a longer
distance for a finer indication of arrow flight.
If your unfletched shafts impact to the left of your fletched shafts, your arrow is too stiff.
There are two things that you can do to correct this problem; you can select a weaker
arrow, or you can decrease the cushion plunger tension. Increasing the peak weight of
your bow or increasing your point weight will also make your arrow act a bit more limber.
If your unfletched shafts impact to the right of your fletched shafts, your arrow is too limber.
There are two methods you can try that will correct this problem; you can select a stiffer
arrow, or you can increase the cushion plunger tension. Decreasing the peak weight of your
bow or decreasing your point weight will also make your arrow act a bit more stiff.
To further fine tune your setup, step back to twenty or thirty yards and repeat
the above procedures. Small flight disturbances will show up better as you get
farther from the target. Your Martin bow is essentially tuned when your bare shafts hit
together with your fletched shafts. Keep in mind that if you continue and complete the super
fine tuning methods in this manual, it is not uncommon for your bare shaft impact to change.
Even with your bow shooting its best, it is common for a perfectly tuned bow to shoot a bare
shaft a bit low and right or low and left. Perfect arrow groups are the goal when completing
these exercises.