Dear Valued Customer,

     I am very pleased that you have chosen a Silvertip for your hunting bow, and I thank you for your business. I have put together a short guide that I hope you will take the time to read.  The following information will serve as a reference guide to many common questions and concerns you may have with your Silvertip products.  Most importantly, there are necessary techniques that should be used to prevent unnecessary damage to your bow.  You will be held accountable for the information contained in this short guide, and any techniques or products  used other than those recommended will not be covered under warranty.  If you should have questions after reading the enclosed information, feel free to call me at anytime.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, and I look forward to doing business with you in the future.

 Sincerely,

Dave Windauer

 GENERAL CARE FOR THE ENTIRE SILVERTIP LINE 

• I can’t emphasize enough, always use the stringer and stringing instructions provided to string and unstring your  bow. Stringing your bow can be a cumbersome process.  My advice to you is to take your time. Always be aware of  the string,  making sure it is lying  in the center of each string groove.  Once you are set and ready  to brace the bow, pull up slightly and move the rubberstopper a little closer  towards  the tip before you give it your last big lift.  This will give you a little more leverage.

•  In general, leaving a bow strung at all times will not hurt the bow, however the bow should be hung or laid flat on the floor to alleviate side to side pressure and to avoid twisting of the limbs. If you hang your bow on pegs be sure to hang it with the weight on the riser or limbs not on the string.  We have found leaving  your bow strung at all times will not decrease the poundage of your bow.

•  If you decide  to leave your bow strung it is a good idea to take your bow down when it has been exposed to long periods of wet or dampness.  While taken down, dry off the bow, guide pins and bolts. If you live in a region of  high humidity you will want to do this more often. If you are using a limb tip protector you will want to be sure to air out the tips occasionally  as well.

• Leaving  a bow sitting on hot surfaces for even short periods of time can cause twisting or delaminating, so avoid this if at all possible. A common mistake is leaving a bow strung in a hot car or setting against hot metal objects such as cars, ATV’s etc.. 

• Should you get a nick or scratch which goes through the finish of your  bow you can simply seal it with clear fingernail polish or a lacquer based  finish to keep the moisture out.  I’m always happy to look over your bow should you have concerns.

• If you notice a clicking  noise on your first few shots of each practice time that eventually goes away, it is most likely the guide pin sticking to finish in the pin hole.  This can be alleviated by lubricating the guide pin and hole with chap stick or by using a dry lubricant such as graphite powder.

• Be sure to keep an eye on your string.  If you begin to see worn areas or frays you may want to replace it.

•  Dry firing your bow may cause damage so be sure to keep an eye on your nocks to be sure they are not broken prior to shooting.  If a dry fire does occur be sure to look over your entire bow before shooting it again.  If you have concerns please don’t hesitate to send it back for me to look over.

• If you have had snakeskin’s applied to  your bow they have been sprayed with  finish to protect them from moisture   It  would not hurt to occasionally apply a furniture wax to the skins for further protection.

(Please refer to the  appropriate PDF links below for  information about your specific model.  FF and Dacron recommendations are different so please be aware of your selections below. I encourage you to print these out and keep them with your records.)

Schafer Silvertip TD or One-Piece Recurve Tuning Guide 

•  Recurve Fastflight (pdf)

•  Recurve Dacron (pdf)

Schafer Silvertip TD or One Piece Longbow  Tuning Guide 

•  Longbows Fastflight (pdf) 

Tuning Talking Points

Bare Shaft Tuning

 I have mostly used bare shaft tuning and have found it works well for me. Start with your arrow minus the feathers. It is not as critical for feather fletching but I like to add the weight of the feathers back onto the arrow by wrapping the fletch portion of the arrow with tape that equals the weight of the feathers or veins. If you dip or wrap your arrows, make sure you have that done first. Any weight added to the back of your arrows will stiffen it. Weight to the front will weaken it. Shoot the arrow starting at 5 yards at first until you have the spine close. Then you can move back to 10 or so yards. If you are right handed (opposite for left) and the nock end is to the right in the target the arrow is too stiff. You need to weaken the arrow or get a softer spined arrow. If the nock is to the left it is too weak. You need to stiffen the arrow or get a heavier spined arrow. I have found that a slightly weak or under spined arrow is better than stiff or over spined. If the nock is high in the target generally the nock point is too high. Too low in the target nock is too low. It can be a little confusing when shooting off the shelf because a low nocking point may causer the arrow to bounce off the shelf and stick in the target nock high. So, it is important to move the nock in small increments (under 1/16”) at a time to find the best height. With an elevated rest it is very obvious and you will know when you find that point because you don’t have the shelf to interfere.  You don’t need the arrow to be absolutely perfect but if you can get it close it will definitely improve arrow flight especially with broadheads

Ways to increase spine or stiffen arrow (do opposite to weaken)

• Add weight to the nock end of arrow (ex. dip, wraps, plastic vanes)
•  Lighten tip weight of arrow
•  Add string silencer- this slows recovery of the string and causes the arrow to act stiffer
•  Shorten the arrow
• Try different string material but be sure to check with the manufacturer to determine the correct amount of strands and proper string material needed. Fast Flight recovers quicker and causes the arrow to act weaker while Dacron recovers slower and causes the arrow to act stiffer.
• Adjust brace height higher

Arrow Set-up

I think the index feather should always be perpendicular to the string if shooting three fletch.  I don't think it matters much with feathers but I still align it perpendicular. You definitely want to have it that way or close for better clearance if you are shooting plastic vanes.  A rest must be used if you are going to shoot vanes.  Feathers are more forgiving from the shelf or rest but they can be noisy, not as durable, and flatten out in wet weather.  You'll just have to find what you like.  I would start with feathers and with a helical, a spinning arrow is more stable.  I don't think it matters what direction the helical is with feathers but for a RH shooter people usually go left helical.  You definitely should go left helical with vanes for a RH shooter.  I would start with 5" feathers for more stability. 

When you buy arrows, I would leave your arrows long so you will have room to shorted them if you need to stiffen the spine. Tune them by shortening them a little at a time, about ½” increments. .  If you fletch them yourself, put the feather far enough forward to where it doesn't hit your face when you draw (about 3/4" or so in front of the nock).

Shelf/Rest Set-up

For those shooting off the shelf, placing something small under the shelf material to elevate the portion right above the deepest part of the grip by 1/8” will be more forgiving and help in arrow tuning.  Possibly leather or hard rubber would work well.

For those using an elevated rest it’s best to place the rest as close to the shelf as possible (about 1/4" above the shelf) if you are shooting feathers.  An elevated rest with vanes may require a little more clearance from the shelf.  You will probably get away with a lower nock point also; I usually end up at about 5/16" above the arm of the elevated rest.  The rest will be more forgiving and get slightly better performance.  If your point of impact is a little off, give it a little time, you will get used to it and automatically adjust.  You may want to cover the base plate of the rest with thin moleskin or some sort of adhesive backed thin padded material.  This will help the rest stay on and quiet your draw at close distances.

 Quieting a Bow

 There are many things that can contribute to bow noise. Here are some things to consider:

• Shoot a heavier arrow
• Consider a slightly higher or lower brace height. Up to 3/8” higher or lower from recommended. Higher usually quiets the bow more.
• Loose string silencer material. I have seen loosely wrapped string silencer that was causing considerable vibration and noise.
• Try different string silencer material. More material will quiet the bow but may slow arrow speed some. The quietest I have seen are the wool or yarn balls. I hunt in wet weather a great deal so I find that cat whiskers work well. I tie them on with bow string and cut them back to about 1 ½” across. I usually double them up first by folding the cat whiskers before tying them on.
• Move silencer closer to the center of the string. This will also slow arrow speed slightly.
• Try a different string material. Make sure your bow is reinforced for the type of string you are considering.
• Try a new string as loose serving can have an effect on noise.
• Consider Tiller. Should be close to 3/16” for split finger shooters and closer to even for three finger under shooters. Three under shooters seem to generate more noise out of the bow.
• Consider putting moleskin under the string on the limb. Place a 4” x ¾” strip of thin moleskin on the limb to extend toward the tip 2” from where the string makes contact with the limb (while strung) and 2” toward the riser from where the string leaves the limb. Center the strip from where the string leaves the limb. You will want to mark this point while the bow is strung. Unstring the bow and place the moleskin. Be careful when stringing the bow to make sure the string is centered before shooting. The string will create its own groove in the moleskin. When removing peel moleskin slowly to not lift finish or fiberglass.