Glossary
| AMO Speed Rating The Archery Manufacturer’s Organization set this standard for evaluating arrow speed. To discover the AMO Speed a bow is set at 60 pounds, with a 30-inch draw and shooting arrows that weigh 540 grains. For today’s compounds, speeds over 240fps are considered fast while anything under 220fps are relatively slow. |
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| Anchor You should draw the bow and hold the string in the same location every time–(anchoring) the bowstring. Many people who shoot with fingers use the corner of their mouth as an anchor point. |
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| Archer’s Paradox Describes the movement of the arrow as it bends and flexes around a riser upon release. |
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| Armguard Placed on the arm that holds the bow, an armguard protects your arm from getting “raspberries” from the string hitting it. Some people use armguards to help hold baggy shirts and jackets out of the way of the bowstring. |
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| Arrow nock The notch at the end of the arrow designed to fit around the bowstring. |
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| Axle The axles are the shafts which a compound’s cams rotate. |
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| Axle-to-Axle Length The distance from one axle of a compound bow to the other. This is an important number because it tells you two things: 1) Generally if you want a finger bow, it should have an axle-to-axle length of at least 42 inches to avoid drastic finger-pinch. 2)A really short axle-to-axle length makes the bow more extreme and a little more difficult to shoot but may make it faster. |
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| Blunt An arrow tip that is not pointed. Usually used to hunt small game or to stump shoot. |
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| Bow Press A device used to hold the bow in a bent position so you can work on the bow or remove its string. Today, pocket bow presses are inxpensive and portable. You should never go on a hunt without one. |
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| Bow Square Used to measure brace height or to align nocking points. |
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| Brace height Is the length of a direct line from the back of the grip to the string of a bow. Generally, the lower the brace height, the faster the bow is. It is faster because the shorter brace height means that the power stroke is longer. But, because a shorter brace height gives you a longer power stroke it can be much more difficult to shoot accurately. |
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| Breakline Line of demarcation between the old timber and the new growth. Deer “hold” to these breaklines and use them as new scraping and rubbing areas. They use the breaklines both in a parallel and perpendicular manner. |
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| Broadhead Arrow tips meant for hunting big-game. They generally feature at least one-inch of cutting diameter and may be fixed blades or expandables (mechanicals). |
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| Brush button For recurves and longbows, these rubber round items are placed on a bowstring to keep brush from catching in bewteen the bowstring and the bow. |
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| Cable guard Holds the cables to the side to ensure arrow clearance. |
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| Cable Slide Fits on the cable guard and helps the cables move smoothly across the cable guard. New Teflon cable slides are said to add speed to your bow because they reduce the friction so greatly. Pure Teflon is a clear or milky white color. If the slide is not white, it’s not Teflon. |
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| Center serving The center portion of the bowstring is wrapped (or served) to protect the bowstring from damage, either from the release aid or from the string hitting the cable guard. |
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| Center Shot Is the point that places the arrow shaft directly in line with the string grooves on compound eccentrics or the center of the limb tips on recurves or longbows. |
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| Clips or e-clips hold the axles in place. |
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| Creep The arrow moving away from the wall or your anchor point as you aim or get ready to release. |
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| Cresting The colored designs on the end of an arrow shaft. Cresting tools are available. |
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| Cut to length arrow is cut to specified length. Measured from bottom of nock to end of arrow shaft. |
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| Deflex Design where limbs or riser are angled toward the archer. Deflex designs are generally slower but easier to shoot accurately than reflex designs |
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| Draw length The distance at full draw from the nocking point to the back of the grip. The AMO draw length is the distance from the nocking point to a point 1 3/4 inches past the back of the grip. |
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| Draw weight The amount of force in pounds required to draw the bow. |
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| Eccentric The cam or part of the bow that is designed to control the stored energy of the bow. |
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| Efficiency The amount of kinetic energy of the arrow just as it leaves the bow divided by the potential energy that went into drawing it, multiplied by 100. |
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| Fletch The plastic vane or feather that is at the end of the arrow used to stabilize the arrows flight path. |
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| Grain The measure of weight usually used when weighing arrows or arrow tips. 7000 grains make a pound. |
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| Helical refers to the way fletching is laid on an arrow. Rather than straight, helical fletching curves slightly around the arrow shaft. |
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| IBO Speed Rating The International Bowhunter’s Organization has a speed rating that is generally measured with a bow set at 70 pounds, 30-inch draw and shooting a 350-grain arrow. Today’s fastest bows will shoot over 310fps using the IBO rating. |
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| Insert the adapter which is placed into a shaft to make a nock or arrow point fit the shaft. Outserts are the opposite, they fit around the shaft. Some people believe outserts make an arrow fly less true, but if all other factors are the same, outserts shouldn’t effect an arrow’s flight much. |
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| Kinetic Energy Kinetic Energy = (arrow weight) / 450,800 x (arrow speed). Kinetic energy measures the level of penetration your arrow posesses. |
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| Kisser Allows you to anchor consistently by placing the kisser on the bowstring and making sure it touches the same part of your lips each draw. |
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| Nocking loop Loop placed around nocking point. This protects your string from being damaged by the release aid but the downside is, it reduces speed slightly and some people find it difficult to quickly attach their relase aid to it when “the big bucks a’ comin” |
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| Nocking point Location where arrow sits on the bowstring. |
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| Nocking points Objects placed on the bowstring used to keep the arrow in place and keep the nocking point consistent. |
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| Peep Sight used as the rear sight of a gun is used. The peep sight is placed on or in the bowstring and the sight pins and target aare viewed through the peep. Sight pins should be centered in the peep. Small peeps help you gain accuracy but don’t let a lot of light in. Hunters generally apt for larger diameter peeps. |
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| Quiver Holds arrows, the most popular for bowhunting is the bow-quiver which holds arrows on the bow. But some say that makes the bow too heavy and makes it harder to hold the bow steady in the wind. Other options are hip quivers and back-quivers. |
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| Recurve a bow design which features limbs that bend away from the archer at the tips. |
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| Reflex Riser Features a grip which is closer to the archer than the ends of the riser. This results in a short brace height and a longer power stroke. Thus creating a faster bow but generally more difficult to shoot than deflexed risers |
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| Shelf The part of the riser that is cut out and where the arrow rests. |
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| Power Stroke Refers to the motion of the bowstring after it is released. The longer it is, the faster the arrow leaving it. But the llonger the power stroke, the longer the archer must hold steady after releasing the string. |
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| Serving jig Tool used to wrap center serving. |
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| Shoot-around rest rest which features the arrow shaft sitting on the rest and as it is released it bends around the rest. |
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| Shoot-through rest Shooters using release aids use shoot-through rests. These feature two prongs holding the srrow shaft. when the arrow releases, the cock vane flys through the two prongs. |
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| Spine Refers to the strength of the arrow shat and its ability to resist bending and to recover after bending or experiencing archer’s paradox. |
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| Stabilizer Placed on a bow for the purpose of reducing torque and shock after releasing the arrow. Also, it helps level out the bow and hold it steady prior to releasing. |
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| Tiller To measure the tiller is to measure the perpindicular distance from the bowstring to the points where the riser and limbs meet. The tiller is the difference in these two measurements. |
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| Torque is to turn the bow to one side when aiming or releasing the arrow. |
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| Valley When at full-draw, the area between a compound’s wall and the point where the let-off ceases to exist. Some people like a long valley because it allows you the freedom to move a little at full draw without having your arm jerked, but others want a short valley so they won’t allow any creep. |
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| Wall Term used to describe the back of the drawing motion of a bow. A solid or hard wall is when the drawing motion comes to a sudden and precise end. If the back of the drawing motion is nondescript, it is called a soft or mushy wall. A solid wall is usually preferred because it makes it easier to anchor consistently. Now, some bow companies offer a draw-stop that helps make the wall more solid. |