Does the Centre Shot Change

albatross

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I am always surprised when I pose an apparently simple question with the number of 'interesting' responses they generate. They very often make me think about things I have not considered, and I am sure they are useful to other archers reading the post and its replies.

So. With that in mind here is another question posed to me by a 'new' archer about bow setup and centre shot in particular. Their question was. We have just set the centre shot on my recurve bow at the brace height. Will it change as the bow is drawn? Is the 'brace height centre shot' set so that at full draw it in the correct position?

Over to you fellow recurve archers.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
It depends on what you mean... since it's an arbitrary point to which you set things at bh, technically, no it doesn't change...
If it's talking about the angle of the shaft then yes of course it changes, even on a parallel shaft, but more so on a barrelled one.

That's assuming that the alignment setup is such that the string centre line is continuing consistent through the draw.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I think this question may have been posed by a beginner who had an idea in their head about "centre shot" that is different from what we mean.
Centre shot from that beginner's point of view may have meant the angle that the arrow makes with the dead ahead direction. As the bow is drawn, the angle between the arrow and dead ahead is reduced, and perhaps the beginner thinks that the full draw angle is important.
Perhaps the thinking is that at full draw that angle will be the one the arrow travels along from then on.
I also think that these sorts of ideas are what lead into archer's paradox and the mistakes made on that topic.
I feel Albatross is right about questions raised and answers being varied. So much of what we say, seems to make such obvious sense to those who already understand; and so often that isn't transmitted to the listener in the way we thought it had been.
"Granny of eight gets a hole in one!"
Poor little grandchild!
How did she get to be a granny at eight?
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
like that Tesco slogan "never pay more for your branded shop" - which seems to be implying that Tesco is the most expensive place to go... I'm sure they didn't mean that... ;)
 

albatross

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
A couple of 'saucy' replies Ha Ha to the 'hole in one grandchild'.

I explained to them that what we are trying to achieve is the 'best' arrow flight - for them - using their equipment - and their form. So centre shot is not a hard and fast rule, but a means of getting a starting point. If they are using a plunger/button the centre shot as well as the spring poundage is adjustable to achieve this. So now I will watch them to see when they start 'fiddling' with it.
 

ThomVis

Active member
Yes, the angle of the arrow changes when you draw the bow. And it is the angle at full draw that is important when tuning the bow, cause that's the moment the forces start working on the arrow and things like arrow angle, arrow spine, point weight, limb weight and button pressure come into play. It's just that the arrow angle at full draw is not easily measured and tuned. Luckily the arrow angle at brace is directly related to the arrow angle at full draw, easily measured and adjusted. And where you set it on an absolute scale is not important, as long as you set it correctly to your tune.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Looking at the complex system in a simple way; is it not true that if the arrow was set up dead on centre shot, wouldn't the arrows fly to the right for a right hander? I assume that would be the case if having some offset to the left, sends the arrows along the straight ahead direction.
Does that imply that arrows tend to fly to the right compared to their direction at set up, or even at full draw?
 

ThomVis

Active member
Lots of words, question unclear.
Yes, changing the center-shot changes where the arrows impacts left<->right. This is used with unfletched arrow and walk-back tuning to arrive at "final" center-shot position.
 

albatross

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Well I have just had an interesting experience shooting at 20 m. My ACG 710 28" arrows are supposed to be suitable for 30 -35 lbs (according to the Easton chart). Doing some 'leisure shooting' I noticed something that I though odd. When comparing the entry angle of the bare shafts they were decidedly angled with the nock pointing to the right. But they were just slightly left of the fletched group. While 'experimenting' I adjusted/increased the centre shot and eventually the bare shafts aligned with the fletched arrows and were just to the left (less than 2") of the group. However. When I visually checked the centre shot the arrow was at over a diameter to the left of the string (R/H archer). The boss is a layered foam one - layers horizontal. Am I being too fussy about the entrance angle at 20M? Or is this the centre shot for my form - equipment etc.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Hi ThomVis, sorry about the questions being unclear. I was responding to Albatross and his post about simple questions and different responses. Makes him think about things more. I like that part of his post. There are all sorts of questions asked by beginners, and the not so new archers, that really require me/us to re think what we say.
One question I remember being asked, was " Why is it called "full draw" when you get the string to your face and on aim, if you are going to draw some more to get through the clicker?"

Back to the centre shot aspect. For archers who are new to archery, the complexity of arrow flight is probably too much to take in if the whole thing is explained. I'm not so sure that I could do that clearly . And I am not sure the beginner really wants to know all that. I think there is a curiosity aspect to arrow flight that is worth explaining to beginners when arrows are being discussed. The fact the arrows bend is something most are surprised by.If we are saying that arrows need to be matched to the bow, I feel we may as well explain some of the reasons behind that.
My post was really an idea of what we might say in explanation without it being too complex and yet not so brief as to be slightly incorrect.
One of my pet hates on that subject is the one where a beginner asks why we use a long rod and the reply is that it makes the bow roll forward.
It may well make the bow roll forward; so it isn't a lie, but do we fit one for that reason? I think not.
 
Top