TABLE OF CONTENTS Important Information/Safety................................1 Bow Owners Personal Record................................2 Bow Terminology.....................................................3 ° Bow Length.......................................................3 ° Draw Weight......................................................3 Bow Assembly..........................................................5 ° Installing Limbs................................................5 ° Adjusting Weight...............................................6 ° Adjusting Tiller..................................................6 ° Helix Alignment................................................7 ° AeroTec & Matrix Alignment...........................9 ° Eclipse Alignment.............................................9 ° Gold Medalist Alignment..................................9 ° Adjusting Brace Height...................................10 ° Choosing the Correct String Length...............10 ° Adjusting Pocket Alignment............................11 ° Dovetail System Instruction............................11 ° Adjusting the Pocket ......................................12 ° Applying A Nocking Point..............................14 ° Setting Your Center Shot.................................14 Fine Tuning............................................................14 Limb Maintenance................................................14 Warranty................................................................15 IMPORTANT INFORMATION 1. NEVER DRY FIRE YOUR BOW. Dry fire means to draw and release your bow without an arrow. Shooting without an arrow, which absorbs most of the bow's stored energy, could cause severe damage to the bow and possible injury. 2. NEVER EXPOSE YOUR BOW TO EXTREME HEAT OR PROLONGED MOISTURE. Excessive heat, such as that experienced on a sunny day inside of a closed vehicle, could cause limb failure. Prolonged storage in a hot, dry attic or damp basement could also be damaging and will void your warranty. 3. CAREFULLY INSPECT YOUR BOW BEFORE AND DURING EACH SHOOTING SESSION. Carefully note condition of bowstring, limbs and riser before you shoot. Frayed bowstrings should be replaced. Damaged or suspect limbs should be reported to the dealer where you purchased your bow. 4. INSPECT ALL ARROWS FOR DEFECTS BEFORE SHOOTING. Replace cracked nocks and loose fletchings and discard fractured or dented arrows. 5. BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET. Make sure that there are no persons, livestock, buildings or other objects behind or near your target. Be absolutely sure of your target in low light conditions. 6. A LWAYS BE SAFE. Never shoot straight up.Wear safety glasses when working on or shooting your bow. Only shoot in a safe direction. Always use a bow stringer to string a recurve bow. Do not use the step-though method for string this or any recurve bow. Never point or aim a drawn bow at another person. Warning: This bow is a deadly weapon. Always abide by all safety advisements. Children must be supervised by an adult. 1 BOW OWNER'S PERSONAL RECORD Hoyt Riser Model_______________________________ Limb Model____________________________________ Length ______________ Weight _____________ # Purchased From_________________________________ Purchase Date__________________________________ Limb Serial Number (located on limb label)__________ Riser Serial Number (located in top pocket)___________ Important Note: Save your sales receipt. The receipt is your proof of date-of-purchase. Proof of date-of-purchase is required should your bow ever need warranty service. The following space is reserved for your sales receipt. Please attach it for safekeeping. IMPORTANT! Staple or tape your sales receipt here for safekeeping. 2 RECURVE BOW TERMINOLOGY Understanding recurve bow terminology and measuring techniques is very important in setting up your new bow. Please familiarize yourself with the following terms and measurements. Refer to them as needed. (Bow shown from sight window side of bow.) Upper Limb Bow String "Back" Side of Bow Tiller Measurement Point Alignment Adjustment Weight/Tiller Locking Screw Center Serving Brace Height Grip Lower Stabilizer Mounting Weight/Tiller Locking Screw Alignment Adjustment Weight/Tiller Adjustment Bolt Top Stabilizer Mounting Clicker Mounting Plunger Hole(s) Clicker Extension System Center Stabilizer Mounting Lower Stabilizer Mounting Weight/Tiller Adjustment Bolt Tiller Measurement Point "Face" or "Front" Side of Bow Lower Limb 3 Bow Length Bow length is the distance from the tip of the top limb to the tip of the bottom limb of an unstrung bow with the tape following the limbs. Depending on which riser length and limb length you choose, you can tailor your bow to your specific needs. Refer to the following chart to determine your bow length. Riser Length Long Limbs Medium Limbs Short Limbs Short Riser (23") 68" 66" 64" Long Riser (25") 70" 68" 66" Note: Short riser will result in an approximate 2 lb. increase over the marked limb weight. Draw Weight To determine the weight on your Hoyt bow, refer to the limb specifications located on each limb. Example: a 25" riser with a long limb produces a 70" bow with a draw weight of 34 pounds at a 28" draw length. If these limbs are used on a 23" riser, the combination would produce a 68" bow with a draw weight of 36 pounds at a 28" draw length. The weight marked on the limb is measured at a 28" standard A.T.A. (Archery Trade Association) draw length. A.T.A. draw length is measured at 26 1/4" to the throat of the bow grip plus 1 3/4". This produces an industry standard by which recurve bows are measured. Note: Your draw weight will change due to draw length. Add or subtract approximately two pounds for each inch your draw length is over or under the 28" standard. 4 BOW ASSEMBLY Installing Limbs All Hoyt competition recurve bows use the patented Hoyt dovetail mounting system. This reliable and proven system is quite simple: 1. Carefully align the limb dovetail bushing with the corresponding slot in the riser pocket. Push the limb into the locket until the detent button engages. You will feel or hear a light "click" when this occurs, and the limb will stay in place under its own weight when fully seated. It is normal at this stage for there to be considerable movement possible with the limb. Standard Hoyt Dovetail (A) Weight/Tiller Adjust Bolt Limb Butt Pocket 2. String the bow using a bow stringer. 3. Pull the bowstring about two inches and let go to "seat" the limbs. This completes the assembly procedure. Weight/Tiller Adjust Bolt Standard Hoyt Dovetail (B) Weight/Tiller Locking Screw 5 Adjusting Weight Helix, AeroTec, Matrix and Eclipse: These bows are adjustable over a range of approximately 10%. Factors which affect this include limb length, limb construction, and limb design and brace height. 1. Using one of the two supplied Allen wrenches; loosen the tiller bolt locking screw (see Standard Hoyt Dovetail (B) image on pg. 5). If you plan to increase weight you will need to loosen this screw by more turns than you plan to add to the tiller screw. 2. Unstring the bow. 3. Turn the weight/tiller adjustment bolt clockwise to increase bow weight. Turn it counter-clockwise to decrease bow weight. 4. Using both Allen wrenches, and holding the tiller bolt in place, re-lock the tiller bolt locking screw. 5. Restring the bow. Tiller Adjustment Tiller is a measurement which indicates the weight relationship of the top and bottom limb. This static measurement has some effect on bow reaction and aiming. It is eas- Warning: Do not adjust weight on any ily measured by noting adjustable bow beyond the limit shown in the drawing above. The weight/tiller bolt the difference between the should never go above flush with the riser. top limb butt to the string, There must be at least six threads of engageand the bottom limb butt ment between the riser and weight tiller bolt. and the string. The difference (if any) is the tiller. The degree of desirable tiller will vary from archer to archer, depending upon factors such as grip pressure, finger pressure, desired tuning patterns, desired aiming arc, desired bow reaction and more. As a starting point, it is usually easy to tune a bow 6 with 0 to 3/8" of tiller (distance from bottom limb to string is equal to that of the top limb, or less, by up to 3/8"). Normally, for most shooters with normal finger and hand pressure, anywhere from 0 to 3/8" of tiller is going to yield a bow which aims easily without "pulling" high or low, and which shoots more quietly. Setting Tiller Measure the tiller as shown in the diagram to the right. If you wish to increase tiller without affecting bow weight, unstring the bow and add turns to the bottom limb tiller bolt, then subtract the exact same number of turns from the top limb tiller bolt. Re-lock the bolts and restring the bow. Do the opposite to decrease tiller. You can increase both tiller and bow weight by adjusting the bottom limb only. Top Tiller Brace Height Bottom Tiller Helix Alignment Adjustments The Helix limb pocket design is the most precise, reliable pocket system available today. This system will maintain correct settings in the most severe conditions. Out of the package, the Helix bow is factory pre-aligned and adjustment is optional when used with Hoyt limbs. In general, the vast majority of setups do not require alignment adjustments. To make an adjustment, follow these directions: 1. Refer to the diagram on page 8 and note the condition. 2. Using a bow stringer, unstring the bow and dismount the limbs. 3. Before adjusting the Hardlock dowels on the Helix, note the 7 relationship of the dowel and slot Dowel Radial Alignment in the riser. This is the factory zero point and by using it during reassembly, you will find it quick and easy to re-set the dowel to the factory radial settings. (You may use a paint pen or pencil to mark dowel settings). 4. In order to make a riser alignment adjustment, you will need to use the two included Allen wrenches. Engage the hex head broaches on both ends of the dowel (one of which is a locking screw) and twist the lock screw counter-clockwise to loosen the system. Note that under the washer that engages this screw, there will be several brass alignment washers. 5. Helix hardware dowels have a radial locking feature which prevents dowel rotation, even Locking/Unlocking Dowel Radial Alignment under severe dry-fire conditions. The next step in adjusting the Helix Hardlock system is to loosen the radial locking LOCK screw by two complete turns (as shown in figure to right). Once the radial screw is LOOSEN loose, the entire dowel assembly will easily slide out of the riser. Be certain to always install the dowel from the sight window side, as the dowel is asymmetrical and designed to mate with the recessed area on the end of the riser. 6. Refer to the condition chart on page 12. If your limb is showing Condition A, add washers to the sight window side of the alignment dowel. If your limb shows condition B, remove washers from the sight window side and shuffle them to the opposite side during re-assembly. Note that only washers on the sight window side control the alignment, so you can store unused washers on the non-sight window side without affecting any settings. 8 7. Reassembly is accomplished by inserting the dowel into the sight window side of the riser, and aligning the dowel radially as shown in the figures on page 8. Then, snugly lock the radial set screw to pin the dowel in place. Re-install any leftover washers and the alignment cap, then using the two supplied Allen wrenches; complete the reassembly by re-installing the dowel cap washer and lock screw. Tighten snugly. 8. Re-check all locking screws for tightness and reassemble the bow. AeroTec & Matrix Alignment: Follow the same directions as given for the Helix, omitting the steps concerning the Helix radial locking screw (steps 5-8). Be sure to mark the dowel radial position before making adjustments. Eclipse Alignment: Tiller and weight adjustments for the Eclipse follow the same directions as those for the Helix, AeroTec and Matrix. The Hardlock dovetail limb mounting system on the Eclipse is factory preset and is not user adjustable. Gold Medalist Alignment: The Gold Medalist uses a simple system for weight and tiller adjustment. GM risers have 8-10% of weight adjustability, depending upon limb length, limb design, and brace height. To adjust bow weight on a GM, first unstring the bow with a bow stringer and remove the limbs. Locate the weight set locking screw and completely remove this screw from the riser. This will expose the adjustment screw (nonremovable). To increase bow weight rotate this screw Locking Screw 9 clockwise. To decrease bow weight rotate counter-clockwise. Using this system, you may follow the instructions for tiller setting given previously. Before reassembling the bow ...