Limbs Maximum number of turns on the tiller bolts

nbuuifx

Member
What are people's thoughts on backing out the tiller bolts to their max?

I have a HOYT Horizon 25" Riser. The manual says I can back the tiller bolts out 6 full turns. I've never had them out that far and wondered what people's thoughts were on having them out that far?

Is there any risk when they are out that far?
Is there any affect on angles etc?


The reason I ask is that I had SF Elite Fiber Foam 28lb limbs. Wound in fully I was getting about 34lbs OTF. (with a longer draw length). I wound them in fully during the last indoor season so have had them like this for quite a while and feel it is time to progress on. I have now ordered a set of SF Elite Carbon Foam 34lb limbs.

My plan is to back the bolts out the full 6 turns which I predict will take me to about 36lb OTF. Does that sound right?


I did some tests with a set of 38lb carbon limbs. Wound in fully they gave about 44lbs OTF, I then backed them off 5 full turns which dropped them to 41lb OTF. However at 41lb I could shoot but it didn't feel comfortable and was ruining my form - I felt it was too heavy.

I'm hoping that with the 34lb limbs I can get a range from about 36lb to 40lb which is the range I think I will happy to stay in as it should enable me to hit all the distances I require.


A few other archers have also said that they found that carbon limbs feel lighter for the same weight (I'm not sure if that is physically possible?!) - what do others think?
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
If the mfr says you can find the bolts out 6 turns, then you can.They tend to be conservative, and leave a margin of error.

Guessing weights can be difficult. Take those nominal 28lb limbs... actual weight will be between 27 and 29 at the "bottom" end of the adjustment range with a 28" draw... 34lb could make sense with that, fully wound up and with an inch or so more draw...

But figuring out what the weight of an unseen pair of limbs will be, fully wound out... guess work. It doesn't help that "wound out" will be different on different handles. I wouldn't be surprised by the range you suggest. I also wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit up or down from there.

"Feel lighter for the same weight" literally - no. But the draw profile of better limbs can make the weight develop differently. Different feel, maybe smoother. Faster for the same weight? Yes that's certainly possible.
 

nbuuifx

Member
Arrow length is about 30" to the end of the riser.

It does seem to be a lot of guess work! Hopefully they will work out, should hopefully arrive tomorrow - so at some point I can test them out but I'm not going to shoot them yet as I have a couple of shoots coming up and they will change everything. Will probably wait until the indoor season to get used to them.

I'll start with them fully wound out and see what weight they are and go from there.

Thanks for the reply!
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
AS Rik said, limb weights can be a bit of a guessing game. But considering you are replacing SF limbs with SF limbs on the same riser, you stand a better chance of getting what you expect than ony other untested combination :)
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
AS Rik said, limb weights can be a bit of a guessing game. But considering you are replacing SF limbs with SF limbs on the same riser, you stand a better chance of getting what you expect than ony other untested combination :)
Yes... like for like gives most comparability. I've seen bias in how different manufacturers weigh their limbs. "try before you buy" gives the best results, but it's often not possible.
 

nbuuifx

Member
Well I've been using them for a couple of weeks now and can feel the extra weight but have been coping fine with them. Even shot quite well this weekend.

I've just got round to measuring the weight. I ended up going with 5 turns out.

At 5 turns out with my usual 30" arrow. I'm getting 38lbs OTF. Which is a jump up of about 3.5lbs from my previous limbs. I could still back out the extra turn but as I'm coping fine with them - I think I'll leave them there.

If all works out equally then fully wound in - I would expect them to be about 40-41lbs.

My 620 spine ACC arrows seem to be reacting nicely to them, the arrow flight seems much better - before it was coming up a bit stiff (even though the charts suggested it should be correct)

The selector now shows that I should be using 500 or 560 ACC arrows - I have a set of 500 ACC arrows so will give them a go but personally I think they will come up as stiff.

Will try bareshaft tuning both sets and see what works out.

My old alloys from last year seem to be too weak now though, so I think it will be time for them to go. They were 733 spine so that makes sense.
 

nbuuifx

Member
Just as a point of interest for myself, I measured my bow at each full turn out and recorded the weight to the nearest pound.

I thought the results may be of interest to others, especially the results at either end of the scale.

0 turns (fully wound in) - 42lb
1 turn - 42lb
2 turns - 41lb
3 turns - 40lb
4 turns - 39lb
5 turns 38lb
6 turns 38lb


Each was measured 3 times, I rounded to the nearest pound but none of them were far off the nearest pound. At the 42lb point the difference between 0 turns and 1 turn was virtually indistinguishable. At the 38lb point there was a slight difference but it wasn't much at all (0.14lbs).

The fully wound in point coincides with what I found on my previous limbs - they came in at 34.5lbs fully wound in and 1 turn out.

So for now I'm leaving them at 38lbs - it is higher than I expected but I'm coping OK with it.

So these carbon ones were 6lbs heavier but wound in they come out as 7.5lbs heavier.

From a distant memory I think my old limbs were about 30lbs wound out, so again these seem to be about 8lbs heavier.



With so much guesswork involved in buying limbs I thought these values may help someone else, but I predict that you could well get different results even if identical kit was purchased!
 
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