Am I Just a Wuss?

[MikeD]

Or is there something wrong with my set up?

I got a Scythian bow and have shot it a couple of times this week. I keep getting deep scratches on my bow hand from the feather fletchings. Does this mean the nocking point is too low or is it normal for the fletches to make contact?

The arrows seem to fly well and if I put a piece of paper where they land I can hit it again and again

[Et tu brute]

I think that happens with alot of scythian/Hungarian bows, not entirely sure why, possibly because they're quite fast? Anyway, I've found just wrapping a bandage/gauze type thing around my bow hand works fine, and doesn't interfere with the arrow flight etc. The other option is to get a bow hand protector glove, which can be gotten from a few places, Richard Head does one, so do a few other places I think.

Hope this helps!
Dave

[Macbow]

A cheapo fingerless cycling glove will give good hand protection - enough to prevent quills from entering flesh which is painful when trying to pull them out. I've actually had feathers well embedded into the wooden butt frame as well as right through a finger once.
Hand placement and nocking point is important when using these asiatic-style bows which is hard to explain but Kassai's Horseback Archery book has some excellent advice.

[compkiller]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Or is there something wrong with my set up?

I got a Scythian bow and have shot it a couple of times this week. I keep getting deep scratches on my bow hand from the feather fletchings. Does this mean the nocking point is too low or is it normal for the fletches to make contact?

The arrows seem to fly well and if I put a piece of paper where they land I can hit it again and again

Yes the knocking point is too low. Had the same problem with a longbow. Raised the knocking point and all is well.

[Ceri Jones]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Or is there something wrong with my set up?

I got a Scythian bow and have shot it a couple of times this week. I keep getting deep scratches on my bow hand from the feather fletchings. Does this mean the nocking point is too low or is it normal for the fletches to make contact?

The arrows seem to fly well and if I put a piece of paper where they land I can hit it again and again

Yep, perfect scalpel cuts when i shoot mine, usually i just ignore it, untill i have to bandage it up due to blood running down the back of my hand.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by compkiller

Yes the knocking point is too low. Had the same problem with a longbow. Raised the knocking point and all is well.

I'll look at that. I've also got to decide where exactly I place my hand. I'll also look out a cycling glove

[steve58]

Is the leading edge of the feathers sharp? When I make the arrows up I trim the leading edge of the fletchings to get it to blend into the shaft as smoothly as possible and then put a blob of glue over the top of it. Since I started paying close attention to this I have not had problems, it also keeps grass roots from getting under the feathers and pulling them off if you are unlucky enough to miss, trust me I know this from extensive practical experience!

[Bald Eagle]

Sounds like the nocking point is too low, raise it a bit to eliminate cutting your finger!! If all else fails, I sell a leather finger protector/shelf for £1, pm me for details

[moley101]

Nocking point too low, had same problem with longbows, move your nocking point up a little and that should sort it.

[jaselpool]

As others have pointed out you may need to raise your nocking point a little or first of all if your feathers quill base is a little high on the shaft you may want to look at binding the lead points of your feathers (looks better on trad arrows than a blob of glue IMO) as these are:

The Longbow Shop – traditional archery supplies - Basic Medieval

J