# High Country hatchet cam timing



## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

I need help with with cam timing information on a 2000 model High Country Max Force with hatchet cams. Anybody familiar with this setup?ukey::shade::star: (sorry for the smileys, my little girl saw them and wanted to add some)


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

Come on folks, I need some help on this thing.


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## whitebuck (Oct 17, 2003)

When I set my High Country up all I did was set the draw length right, equal tiller and cam timing .... what problems are you having?


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## JDZ (Mar 23, 2010)

If I remember right, at brace there should be approx 1/8-inch between the string and the closest part of the lobe of the cam. Adjust the cables so the cams are in sync at full draw.


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## whitebuck (Oct 17, 2003)

JDZ said:


> If I remember right, at brace there should be approx 1/8-inch between the string and the closest part of the lobe of the cam. Adjust the cables so the cams are in sync at full draw.


At 1/8" the cam will hit the string, not good ...... depending on the ATA this should be around 3/8" - 1/2", High Country told me to never let the cam lobe go past a straight ATA line

Hope this helps


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

My buddy is trying to get a couple more years out of his old bow. He was having problems with it throwing limb savers and being really loud when shot. I called High Country and got the specs. 39.5" ATA and 7.5" brace. The strings and cables were stretched so bad that the ATA was 41 1/8". I twisted the strings and cables to get it back in specs but couldn't figure out how to time the cams. I've got new strings and cables ordered, I just wanted to have my ducks in a row when the strings and cables get here. I figured it had something to do with the gap between the string and the straight edge of the cams. Thanks guys.


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## JDZ (Mar 23, 2010)

If the lobe of the cam is straight on an ATA line, the gap would be approx 1/4-inch. I'm not saying that is the proper measurement, just saying what it would be at minimum, if what whitebuck said is correct.

Be careful with the specs High Country gives you. The company has changed hands since the days of the hatchet cam. They told me that a 57-inch string was the proper length for my Machined Supreme, which when installed, was clearly too short. An old timer told me it should be 57-1/2, which lets the cams roll over a little more. I know that speed really suffers if they don't roll over far enough. Also, HCA doesn't (didn't) even acknowledge the existence of an Excalibur XL, which my brother owns. A mistake between a regular Excalibur and an XL would be a significant difference in axle-to-axle dimension and string and cable dimensions.


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

I think the specs they gave me were correct. The bow is much quieter and the shock has reduced greatly after I set it to the specs they gave me.


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## FS560 (May 22, 2002)

Hatchet cams on high country, mountaineer, and css seem to perform better, smoother, and quieter if the flat of the hatchet is about a 30 degree angle away from the string, sometimes more is also fine.

As always with cams that have a wall flat on the module, the cam synchronization must be done at full draw, there is no other practical way.

If you need to optimize the nock path, sometimes negative tiller will help but a weaker deflection top limb will help more. You cannot do it with the cams because, being a two cam bow, the cam synchronization at the wall dictates the cam positions relative to each other.

Unlike on a Hoyt where the top wall hits before the bottom. This is because the Hoyt is modified one cam technology where the wall flat on the top cam is not really a stop but modifies the stop action of the bottom cam wall flat.


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

FS560 said:


> Hatchet cams on high country, mountaineer, and css seem to perform better, smoother, and quieter if the flat of the hatchet is about a 30 degree angle away from the string, sometimes more is also fine.
> 
> As always with cams that have a wall flat on the module, the cam synchronization must be done at full draw, there is no other practical way.
> 
> ...


Very good information. You either know alot about the subject or I know so little you just sound extremely intelligent. LOL I may PM you with some questions as I go back together with the bow. I found a picture of a new high country with hatchet cams and they were as you described, about 30 degrees off the string. This would also explain why he was experiencing such a violent shot with his bow. The specs were way out and the flats of the cams were at a negative angle to the strings. Almost touching the string at brace! OUCH!


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

FS560 said:


> Hatchet cams on high country, mountaineer, and css seem to perform better, smoother, and quieter if the flat of the hatchet is about a *30 degree angle away from the string*, sometimes more is also fine.
> 
> As always with cams that have a wall flat on the module, the cam synchronization must be done at full draw, there is no other practical way.
> 
> ...


This is the pic I found the other day. Is this accurate for cam positioning?


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## whitebuck (Oct 17, 2003)

Yes


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## FS560 (May 22, 2002)

When the HC hatchet cams first came out on the HC Supreme the bows were shipped like the picture and some even parallel.

The bow will shoot like shown in the picture but will be much more crisp and yet smoother and quieter with the cam backed off to about the 30 degrees.

The DW will be lower and so will the letoff but the bow will be tighter. The difference in how it will shoot is remarkable.

I played with a lot of things on the HC Supreme, having a handfull of limbs, cams, and modules and then continued that with Mountaineers and a little with CSS, all of which used the same cam design.


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## rlbreakfield (Jun 6, 2009)

FS560 said:


> When the HC hatchet cams first came out on the HC Supreme the bows were shipped like the picture and some even parallel.
> 
> The bow will shoot like shown in the picture but will be much more crisp and yet smoother and quieter with the cam backed off to about the 30 degrees.
> 
> ...


So you're saying the increase the angle even more than what is shown in the picture?


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