Archery Info -- take the Mystery out of your archery
Should "string follow" be built into a longbow?
There’s a misnomer about sting follow in bows. You put string follow into bows you make a heavier bow lighter. It makes no sense. You make thicker limbs less efficient. You make a 55# bow a 50# bow, so you don’t get the lightness of limb. You just get a heavy limb with no cast on the premise that there’s string follow in it. Nobody ever did that. Howard Hill never did that to any of his bows ever, never! It naturally occurred into the bow, and as it naturally occurred, the bow goes where it wants to. And it shoots better for it. You can’t build it in. And if you do build string follow into the bow and then you get natural string follow you’ll probably make a 60# bow a 50# bow! And now it’s 15% to 20% less efficient!
The
Mystery of I.L.F.
A clever,
simple 3 piece take down system for Recurves and Longbows.
There seems to be a lot of mystery
around the I.L.F. (International Limb Fitting) takedown system – but the truth
is it’s just basic bows and arrows without the need for tools to take it apart.
I.L.F. is simply a really clever system with no mystery at all.
Earl Hoyt made
the I.L.F. system by a progression from his original screw-from-the-back system
to a dovetail alignment system – a flat sided dovetail with alignment screws to
make the riser straight, not the limbs. It then morphed into a tapered dovetail
and adjustable pocket, built to allow you to take your bows apart and put them
back together with relative ease.
This system was
so good that it was mimicked by everybody, eventually becoming what it is today
– International Limb Fitting (which was actually coined by someone else. Earl
Hoyt called it the Dovetail Alignment System).
Why
is the I.L.F. system so good?
What the I.L.F. gives you as a
shooter is the adjustability that Olympic target shooters have had for nearly
three decades, allowing you to change tiller and adjust the weight by about
10%, making the I.L.F. system very tunable for your shooting style and bow. When
the goal is to shoot 90 meters, it’s a lot more demanding on the equipment.
Following that,
people believed that the DAS system was the first to develop I.L.F. for bow
hunting (which is probably true). David Allen Sosa, although using the older screw
from the back system, simply took the technology of the target limbs and fit
that to field and hunting use.
I.L.F.
is a clever system and easy to calculate your bow length.
I.L.F. System is simple:
The bolt pattern on a riser is 5 inches shorter than its
length, and the limbs are typically three lengths – 23”, 24”, and 25” (at SKY
Archery we also make 22” and 26”). To calculate your bow length, you just add
the bolt pattern and each limb.
I.L.F. Example: a
17” riser has a 12” bolt pattern. With 24” limbs, that makes a 60” bow (12 +
24+ 24 = 60). Or you can adjust it further with shorter or longer limbs, making
a 56”, 58”, 62”, or 64” bow. Now try different riser lengths from 13” to 25”
and you have bows from 52” to 72”.
Some people don’t like adjustability
or that it doesn’t lock in until you put the string on and snap it. Some people
don’t like the look of it. Some people don’t like metal. These are reasons
I.L.F. is not for everybody, or just excuses for not understanding the system.
But, that said, metal handles are the best and are the most tunable, even more
so than wood risers. This is because of the total adjustment for true center
shooting. There is no flex with the metal like there is with the wood.
For you to be a better shot, you have to shoot
and understand your equipment. I.L.F. is just a different, simple system
of attaching the limbs to the riser. Once you tune it into what you shoot, it
shoots like all the rest. Don’t over think it!
GENERAL ARCHERY SAFETY GUIDELINES
The use of archery
equipment by minor should be closely supervised by a knowledgeable adult.
Unless properly supervised, keep out of the reach of children.
Prior to using new equipment, read the manufacturer’s instructions or obtain
instructions from a qualified authority.
Prior to each hunt, practice session or competition,
inspect your equipment for signs of wear of damage, such as but not
limited to frayed bowstring, cracks or dents in bow and/or arrow.
Always inspect your arrows for sings of cracks in
either the shaft or the nock. If the arrow is cracked or badly bent,
throw it away immediately. If the nock is damaged, replace it.
Never point, aim, or draw the bow in the direction
of another person.
Never shoot at a target until you are sure it will
stop your arrow.
Inspect the area behind your target to insure that
it is clear of living creatures and objects that could be damaged.
Be sure the arrows are the correct length, weight,
and spine for your bow. Shooting arrows that are too short can cause
injury.
Shooting arrows that are too light can approximate a DRY
FIRE.
STRINGING YOUR BOW
We strongly recommend that you use a
bow stringer to string your recurve or longbow. Stringing a bow can be a
difficult operation and you can damage your bow without one.
NEVER DRY FIRE YOUR BOW. Never draw back or shoot any bow without an arrow on the string — this is DRY FIRING YOUR BOW. Without the arrow to absorb the energy, dry-firing can damage your bow and possible cause personal injury.
MEASURE BRACE HEIGHT
Measure Brace Height (Fistmele) from the pivot point, or the most inward point of the grip, to the bowstring.
ADJUSTING BRACE HEIGHT
The brace height can be adjusted by twisting or untwisting the string.
To increase brace height, unstring bow and leave the string on the top limb. Twist the bottom of the string tighter.
Restring the bow and measure the new brace height.
To shorten the brace height, untwist the string to loosen the string.
ARROWS
We recommend 8 - 10 grains per pound for arrow weight.
All types of arrows (wood, aluminum or carbon) can be used with your Belcher bows. Regardless of arrow type,
it is important that arrows are correctly spined (have the correct spine
stiffness) for your draw weight. Check
your arrow manufacturer’s recommendations to determine the arrow size best
suited for your bow at your draw length and weight. When shooting a nock for your arrow, make
sure the nock is not too tight on the string as this will interfere with arrow
flight and performance. At the same
time, it should not be too loose as it could cause a dry fire.