Turkeys, hogs, and varmints are the perfect warm-up for fall deer season, but is your bowstring ready for the rough road ahead? Are you getting all the speed it can deliver — quietly and reliably? Corrine Bundy is marketing communications manager for Matthews and is fresh from an archery double-take of South Dakota longbeards, tagging a great Rio Grande and a Merriam’s — half a grand slam with two arrows. Communicating archery is her business, and when that second bird fell to a dialed-in neck shot at 43 yards — now that’s communicating!
While in camp, I asked Bundy about string tuning and she was enthusiastic about this often neglected item. “There are a number of components of the string and all are important,” says Bundy. “The first is the overall string. Depending on how much you shoot your bow, get some genuine Matthews bow wax to keep the string in shape. Next you’ll see a string loop, which many archers use. It preserves your serving and takes the wear and tear of your release aid off the serving and moves it behind the nock.
“A peep sight is super important for accuracy and I recommend any archer use one because it keeps your face in the same exact position every time. Just like the rear sight on a gun, you will be looking through the peep sight and looking at your sight pin with your face in exactly the same position every time, improving accuracy because you are repeating that consistent effort. Also, you will notice a string suppressor, a monkey tail, and a dead end string stop. These are components that halt vibration and noise from your bowstring because it is working at a crazy amount of speed. When it comes back and hits the string stop, vibration is reduced.
“String stops are also excellent for preventing the bowstring from striking a bulky jacket in
cold weather,” says Bundy. “Monkey tails can go on any bow and really do a great job of reducing vibration with minimal speed loss. You can put up to four on a string and cable and they will only equate to one-to-two feet per second in lost speed. Brass nocking points, for example, can suck up to five feet per second for each brass nock you have on the string. I suggest tying on a nocking point to keep your speed up. All of these things on my particular bow really equate to accuracy and minimal speed loss. Everything on your string should contribute to a positive shooting experience — reduced vibration and noise level, speed, accuracy, and performance at the optimum level.”
