no deck wax in cold weather?

maple · Post by **maple** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 8:39 am

Last week I was at Ottawa Archery zeroing in the Exomag, and the guys there saw NOT to use deck wax on the string or rail. Apparently, in really COLD weather, it slows down the speed of the string and arrow enough to cause considerable arrow drop in flight. 4 to 5 inches at 30 yards according to them. Told me to scrape it off with a credit card or something.

This is new to me. And 4 to 5 inche sis a lot!! (........of arrow drop that is.)

Now, they are talking COLD, like way below freezing. But it's that cold up here for a long time.

Is there any hard evidence for this non-wax strategy?

Maple

bj · Post by bj » Mon Sep 15, 2003 9:45 am

i think string and deck wax is now named incorrectly (if you ask me)...a few years back it was recommended that you apply wax to the deck...recent testings have showed that actually applying wax to the deck can retard accuracy (or at least make shot placement inconsistent)...ideally, you want wax on the serving but you want to keep that deck area clean...there are lubes available for this, but some of the silicone and teflon coated gun cleaners and scrubbers will work extremely well at a fraction of the cost of the "specially formulated stuff"...it's a never ending battle though...you've got to keep the serving waxed, which transfers to the deck of the bow while cocking and shooting it, but you need to keep that deck clean at the same time...my .02cents...b.j....

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 10:04 am

What works for me is to use Excl. wax only on the serving, not the deck. I work it in well to the serving and a very small amount gets transfered to the deck when it is shot. I do this for both my older carved limb tip Vixen and the Mag Tip Exocet.

If the wax builds up on the deck, I scrape it w/an old credit card and buff it with a soft cloth. For me, this only has to be done once or twice in a whole 3D season.

I have shot at winter 3D's down to about 20 degrees F at ranges out to the maximum OAA distance of 50 yards without any noticeable change in performance or accuracy using this method.

twogun · Post by **twogun** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:01 pm

I only wax the string and use Horton Rail Lube on the serving. Not sure if this is proper or not. The wax seemed pretty sticky, and I didn't want it on the rail.

maple · Post by **maple** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:14 pm

Good. I feel a little better.

Not that I wax the deck, but inevitably the wax on the serving transfers to the deck with use. And I do keep the serving waxed.

It's this preception that COLD might affect ACCURACY that bothers me.

Maple

Bill T · Post by **Bill T** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 5:28 pm

I've never heard of deck wax buildup actually changing point of impact, but letting it build up is a mistake and the best way is to apply it and work it into the string then let the string spread it around. In the good old days we only had nylon serving and without a lot of wax everywhere it would
burn out quickly, but the new fastflight is much more durable, so a bit where the serving is touched by the catch is really about all you need.
As to the greasy kid stuff for your deck, if you chrony a bow with and without the speed is virtually the same, but it gets all over your bow, your hands, and your objective lens on your scope, so I'm not a big fan of it.

Evan · Post by **Evan** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 8:07 am

I wax the serving and a little gets on the deck, but it seems to "burn" off as I shoot (I can smell it). At the rate I apply it to the serving, and if it's worked in to the serving, I don't really have a problem with wax buildup. I've shot thousands of shots through my Vixen, and I've never had a need to clean the deck.

Evan