Excellent information. Thank you for posting.

This should go a long way for the people that are new to the limb driven world.

 

Agreed cool to see. We need more like this

 

Great information from a great company

 

Very nice write. Great pictures explaining power stroke.
Great writeup about the WHY for where you attach the cord for a limb driven arrow rest.

 

Yep, great write-up and pics. I put mine on the drawing board today with my marked arrow. After seeing the video where the guy adjust spring tension I watched and could see how it effected the launcher timing. I use a Blake knot so when I got it set where and how I wanted it, I put a silver sharpie and marked the cord for spring tension. I hope this even further improves repeatability.
Ches.

 

This should be a must read for anyone setting up a limb driven rest. I thought I knew but now I know what I didn’t know.
Great write up and pics!

 

Excellent!

 

Devin, can you explain how to properly adjust the launcher and internal spring tension and? Another post like this would be awesome.

 

I can work on making some explanations for these adjustments as well. Anything else everyone has always wanted to know about the Hamskea's?

 

Great info for sure! Thanks for sharing!

 

tag

 

Appreciate the effort and detail provided by the Hamskea crew. Another reason I continue to shoot their products on all my bows. Keep up the good work!

 

Great post. I put my traverse on the drawboard with arrow with the Mathews limb attachment. Noticed it was coming to full slightly above 70%. Now I have an excuse for all my misses

 

Devin is a great guy and guided me through this exact process last year via PM here.

I have a dedicated arrow for this with masking tape on it and all my various marks. I reuse it to check my rest periodically.

Instead of releasing the rest and using it as a landmark, I instead hold the arrow at a consistent location and angle to the containment cage and use the back of the cage as my marking landmark. As long as you do it consistently, you can find the same powerstroke, etc. with either method.

I've found if I set my rest to rise at 50%, then rubber damper stretch will take it to 70% after a shooting session. So, I just leave it there or set it back to 50% periodically. It is close enough to shoot the same in that range.

 

Does anyone think the rubber dampener would cause accuracy issues if it can change the timing depending on the amount it stretches?

 

I use the springs and that is why I mark my cord with silver sharpie once I have found my limb location to repeat stretch. Spring tension can change launcher timing. So I don't know, but I would think the Rubber Dampener would do the same.
I have seen less than stellar performance with a shorter stroke.
Ches.

 

Michael Braden has a detailed video explaining how limb driven rest timing affects accuracy with actual results using a hooter shooter. It's worth the 20 minutes to watch.

 

As the popularity of limb driven rests continues to increase, Hamskea would like to make sure dealers and customers are able to get the best performance out of their limb driven arrow rest. One of the key components of this is identifying the correct location to attach the actuation cord on their limb. Here is a brief description of how we recommend identifying the best attachment point for each individual bow model as well as the reasoning behind our method.

Before we get into the actual set up of a Hamskea Limb Driven Rest, we would first like to clarify the difference between Cable Fall-Away, Limb Driven, and Cable Driven. Cable Fall-Away is a method where the actuation cord is slack when the bow is at brace with the internal spring is holding the launcher in the down position. The down cable will apply tension to the cord through the draw cycle lifting the launcher to the full upright position. When the bow is shot, the internal spring of the rest will pull the launcher back to the down position. Limb Driven and Cable Driven arrow rests operate by having tension on the actuation cord when the bow is at brace with tension being released as the bow is drawn. As the tension is released from the actuation cord the internal spring tension of a Limb Driven or Cable Driven rest will raise the launcher to the up position. When the bow is shot, tension will be applied to the actuation cord and will pull the launcher to the down position. The main difference between setup with the Limb Driven vs Cable Driven rests is where the actuation cord is attached. Limb Driven rests will have the actuation cord attached directly to the limb, Cable Driven rests will have the cord attached on the up cable or yolk splitter.

A major benefit to using a rest in Limb Driven mode is having the ability to adjust the amount of time the launcher is in the up position. Limb flex varies as you move down the length of the limb with the most flex being experienced at the limb tip and no flex being experienced at the limb pocket. Since a Limb Driven rest relies on limb travel for actuation, we can use the varied amount of flex to adjust the timing of the rest. The closer the actuation cord is attached to the limb tip, the sooner the rest will reach the up position and the longer it will stay in that position. As we move the actuation cord away from the limb tip, the launcher will come up later in the draw cycle and be in the up position for a shorter time. If the cord is attached to the yolk splitter, all this adjustment ability is lost.

When choosing the best location on the limb to mount the actuation cord, you will want to choose a location that allows the launcher to guide the arrow for 50-70% of the shot cycle or power stroke. If the percentage guidance is less than 50%, then the arrow might lose support before it reaches a speed that it is able to guide itself. If the percentage of guidance is greater than 70%, there will be a greater chance of fletching contact as well as added shock being introduced to the rest at the shot. The specific bow and settings can have a drastic effect on where the best mounting location will be located on the limb due to the varying amount of limb flex. An example of bows with higher limb flex is the Mathews VXR, V3, and V3X. On these bows, we don’t recommend utilizing the Hamskea Limb Cord Attachment because the launcher guidance will be well above 70%. This has been known to cause fletching contact and a loud slapping noise due to the excessive shock being transferred on the rest. These bows benefit from having the activation cord attached about 2-3” from the limb tip. For Mathews with less limb flex, such as the TRX series, the Hamskea Limb Cord Attachment Bracket is still a great choice.

You can easily determine the optimal location range for the actuation cord attachment by utilizing a draw board.

1. With the bow in a draw board, nock an arrow and place it on the rest launcher with no tension on the actuation cord. Mark the arrow where it contacts the launcher at the brace position.
View attachment 7626344


2. Use the draw board to bring the bow to full draw and mark the arrow where it contacts the launcher at full draw. The distance between these two points is called the power stroke. On the pictured Mathews V3, we measured a power stroke of 22”.
View attachment 7626345


3. You will want the launcher to be in the up position for 50-70% of the power stroke to provide proper guidance. Using the same arrow, add marks for the 50% and 70% guidance locations. With the sampled V3 mentioned in step #2, the 50% mark will be 11” from the full draw mark and the 70% mark will be 15.4” from the full draw mark. You will want the launcher to hit the up position between these two marks to get the best performance out of your limb driven rest. On faster hunting bows, I tend to favor towards the 50% range while on slower target bows I will favor towards the 70% range.
View attachment 7626346


4. Once you have the acceptable 50-70% marks on your arrow, attach the actuation cord to the limb without the limb pad and draw the bow until the arrow hits the up position. You will want the launcher to hit the up position between these two marks to get the best performance out of your limb driven rest. If the launcher hits the up position before reaching the 70% mark, you will need to move the cord further from the limb tip. If the launcher hits the up position after the 50% mark, you will need to move the actuation cord towards the limb tip. Repeat this step until your arrow has the proper guidance.

5. Once you have found the optimal mounting location, apply the knobby limp pad, and reinstall the actuation cord for the final time.

 

Great topic
Learned something from this!
Lover archery talk
helps new shooters like myself get the In depth education more people need these days
Thanks 🙏

 

Thanks for the clear and simple explain of both why and how.

 

This is exactly how I set up my Hamskeas. Great post!

NC

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

This is exactly how I set up my Hamskeas. Great post!

NC

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

I need to head your way so I can get mine setup correctly before TAC!

 

I don’t use the rest, however seems to be a good bit of info for those who do. Should have a sticky for others to find later. Great post..

 

Great info. tagged for later.

 

One of the biggest but cheap investments a guy can make is in a draw board, making one diy or just buying one allows you to do simple jobs like this one and see the truth instantly.

 

I have shot limb driven rests since 2009 I believe and it was a vapor trail limb driver, years later hamskea came out with the hybrid pro and I got one and have shot it competitively ever since.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Get the composite launcher of your choice, they are simply better in every way over the metal launchers.

2. Get some bcy spectra 23 cord to use, this stuff has little to no stretch compared to anything else out there and it is nice and small.

3. Set up your internal spring tension, to me this is something that only a few of us actually do but it is easy and it teaches you how the rest works. Such as not over tightening the set screws that hold the spring adjusting plate, in fact if you do it incorrectly it can bind the plate and put friction into the system and the launcher will not move up and down smoothly.

4. Blade angle, I have mine adjusted more like a target blade angle so it isn't so steep. They usually come very steep, this means that you have to study the two set screws that adjust the angles and get some small thin washers so you can set that up angle. Now with the down position I actually have my launcher pointing down about a 1/8 inch and this allows my launcher to go past parallel and totally get out of the way and if there is some jump back it can not hit my fletching.

5. I have my launcher set up about 1/16 inch behind the shelf in the down position and this is how I allow myself to set the launcher 1/8 inch lower than parallel, I do this so that I can set my arrow on the berger hole in my preferred position without the launcher banging the shelf when the bow fires.

6. I shot a limb driver without a spring on the cord for years, the only issue is using a cord that stretches and you needing to tighten it back up. On my hamskea I do not use the spring on the cord either but with the spectra 23 I do not have issues with loosing tension because it just doesn't change hardly ever.

7. I shoot a bowtech with yokes and I tie my cord in the eyelet of the yoke where the yoke connects to the axle, I have attached to the limb and the split of the yoke and the yoke eyelets and I have never seen a difference in accuracy . I am a hooter shooter guy so I have tested and once I have my bow to same hole accuracy I can tie on the cord in any one of the three positions and the point of impact does not change.

8. Cord tension, In the beginning I treated the cord of my limb driven rests like a cable activated rest. The cord had to be perfect and if it stretched I corrected it instantly, but over the years I have learned that it simply does not hurt the accuracy at all. For example right now my launcher is not bottomed out when I am not drawn, the launcher comes up 1/16 inch or so because I haven't taken the time to change it. I know this because of the hooter shooter, I have set it up to shoot same hole accuracy more than one time with the cable perfect and then put slack in it to see if it changes and it simply does not. Of course there is a limit to how much slack but if I am at a tournament and I notice that the launcher isn't bottoming out all the way I at least know I am good to go.

9. One more reason I don't like using the spring is that in the beginning I feel like the spring was invented by hamskea because of them getting slack, I don't think most people understand that without the spring if the cord stretches at all you now have slack, so the purpose of the spring is so that you can pull on the cord and stretch the spring a little lets say a solit 1/8 inch and this spring tension is going to allow your cord to stretch that same 1/8 inch before it has play in the system. But, my issue with the spring is that the spring causes the launcher to get jerked down sooner than if you don't have the spring on there. Why? Because when you stretch the spring when setting your cord when you come to full draw the spring goes back to normal so the whole system is 1/8 inch shorter than it would be without the spring so when the bow fires the cord grabs the launcher 1/8 inch earlier and starts jerking it down way earlier. I prefer for my launcher to stay up longer so I don't use the spring. In fact think about it, right now my launcher is not bottoming out all the way so that means that my launcher is staying up way longer than a setup with a spring.

I will try to get my bow in the draw board tonight and check and see what percentage I am at, I never did the percentage thing I just eyeballed it years ago but it has been so long I can't remember the specifics.

 

4. Blade angle, I have mine adjusted more like a target blade angle so it isn't so steep. They usually come very steep, this means that you have to study the two set screws that adjust the angles and get some small thin washers so you can set that up angle. Now with the down position I actually have my launcher pointing down about a 1/8 inch and this allows my launcher to go past parallel and totally get out of the way and if there is some jump back it can not hit my fletching.

Maybe I am reading this wrong, but to lower your "UP" blade/launcher you need a longer screw, remove washers, tilt the whole rest down, or lower whole rest. Putting washers under the up stop screw raises the launcher. Putting washers under down screw does lower the down position. But again, maybe it is just me reading it wrong.
Ches.

 

Excellent, informative post Devin thank you.

 

Nice write-up. Ears gave one years ago for the VT Limb Driver. It wasn't made Sticky.

I have both VT Limb driven rests and one Hamskea Hybrid Target Pro rest. Piece of cake setting both types of rests.

Randy Ulmer; The launch arm only needs to stay up long enough to give good arrow guidance. I go back a ways with setting up drop rests. My own and then 5 years working at a archery shop and more since. Pretty straight forward. Cable rests are generally set so the launch is fully up about 1" before full draw - depends on instructions. Limb driven rests - pull cord so launch is down and tighten cord - probably takes care of 95% or more of all archers.

Someone had to mention "jump back" (bounce back of the launch arm). This is used way too much and usually in the wrong context. As long as launch arm bounce back doesn't interfer with the arrow there is no problem. How many times as bounce back been told of a real issue here on AT? I can't think of one instance....

Rest properly set up no launch arm should smack the riser shelf, period. All of mine have right 1/8" and more gap. See pic of Target Pro.

Some cord material noted as stretching. It stretches so correct - no problem. For the VT Limb Driver you simply loosen the set screw and pull cord tight and re-tighten set screw. Know what you're doing and it's minute or so. I use BCY #24 and I don't have a problem.

 

Great info