I have just made the change to a recurve after 20 years of a compound. I am realizing that I know nothing about traditional archery. I am starting to shoot decent groups at 15 yards, but my question is should my arrow be sticking in the target crooked. The fletching end is sticking to the right. The whole group of arrows are the same. I am wondering because if I am holding the bow at an angle should the arrows come in at an angle. I am shooting a 30" Carbon Express Terminator 4560 with a 125 grain tip out of a 50# @28 recurve. If this is the wrong arrow please give me suggestions as I need all the help I can get.
You can tell more from shooting a bare shaft into the target than you can from fletched arrows. The problem is, you need to have reasonably good form to shoot a bare shaft. Otherwise, one will go one way and the next will go another way.
But if you shoot a bare shaft that is right for your bow, it will fly to the target as well as if it was fletched. If it veers to the right (for a RH shooter), then you need a stiffer arrow, and if it veers left, then you need a weaker arrow. If it veers up, your nock is set too low. If it veers down, then your nock might be set too high, or you might be getting bounce off the arrow rest. Raise the nock way up until you are sure it is too high, and then work your way down 1/16" or so at a time until you eliminate all the nock high you can, but don't go any lower than that.
For a more comprehensive approach to doing this, check out http://bowmaker.net/tuning.htm
Sometimes the target material will make the arrows stick in at a different angle than the angle they hit the target, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Look at arrow flight and see if there are any wobbles, up and down or sideways. If there are, then get into arrow tuning. If the arrows seem to be flying straight and steady, then just enjoy shooting the bow.
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.
Great Link!! Thanks McDave!!
If the arrows are hitting nock right, your spine is probably too stiff (RH shooter). Do you sometimes hear a "click" when you shoot? A quick check would be to try a heavier point and see if they get straighter. Shooting thru paper will tell you a lot too, without having to strip the fletch off a few arrows. Let us know what you figure out.