Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Bow Tuning-How many here actually tune their bows

Im not just talking about shooting a fletched arrow through a piece of paper. But actually walk back tuning with fletched arrows/bare shafts. Then group tuning at long distance.

I shoot traditional and am positively anal about tuning. I mostly bare shaft tune to shoot bare shafts and fletched arrows into the same group at distance. I often cut 1/8" at a time to tune my shafts as well as tuning my bow to that particular shaft.

Im a hunter. Play around on a 3D course from time to time. But I dont run different setups. I shoot my hunting bow all year. And if I miss its my fault. But Im curious as to what others actually know about properly tuning a bow. Getting their DL correct. Seen a lot of folks suprised when they find out their proper DL falls in between the adjustments on their mods or the DL specific cam on their bow. And without the DL being correct, tuning isnt possible. Seen folks fight a left tear. And no amount of yoke tuning or adjusting the rest will eliminate it. Not even switching arrows(tail left can also indicate a weak spine). But shorten their DL a touch either by adding twists to the string or taking some out of the cables and presto. Bullet Hole

I do a modified walk back by shooting a hanging string. Adjust center point by horizontal stringing and nock by vertical. Adjust poundage to arrow spine for optimum flight.

Cuts out the unnecessary processes.

Kent

The walkback tune with fletched arrows and bare shafts is my preferred method as well. Once thats done i tweak my groups at 60 yds. Never shoot an animal that far, but if my bow will group at 60, its certainly up to center punching a whitetail at 40

Walk back tuning is the only way....

When I used to shoot 3D competetivley I did all of the different tuning methods, sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't. I was more concerned about accuracy with the actual arrows and fletching I was using than how it grouped with bare shafts or what kind of hole it teared in paper. My most accurate 3D bow I ever used would send the A/C/E's through the paper with a 3" tear but would put the arrow right where I wanted it. I think many people get to caught up in having perfect bullet holes in paper, etc. instead of worrying about how it actually groups.

I have a professional-archery guy who made his lifes business straightening out bows replacing strings adjusting draw lengths, he has a faithful following,
anyway he gets my bows 1st: then for my hunting setup I choose the weight between 48-55pounds shooting all kinds of different weighted arrows with 2 different types of broadheads,, that's about the extent of what I do,, it works enough for me,,

If you are getting a 3" tear in paper there is no way your getting good consistant groups. An arrow impacting a target with that much of an angle means the difference of cutting a line and not. Now facture in wind and you have a very unpredictable arrow flight.

If you think you could compete you aren't shooting against guys that are very good. Look at guys like Wilde, Broadwater, Cousins, Ellison, Kaminski, and Johnson. All their bows are tuned to perfection with arrows hitting perfect 90 to target.

Matter of fact the last guy in the last flight in Vegas, bow is tuned to perfection as well. So it isn't just the cream of the crop doing so. If you want to compete you have to have a properly tuned bow period.

I've been out of the game for a while but at the time I was shooting I was competing just fine on a regional level and shot against some pretty good shooters, and beat them often times. I have a state championship to my name and on spots averaged 55X the last year I shot. I don't say this to brag but to show that I do have a little bit of exeriaence in archery. My arrows would hit 90 degrees to the target but leaving the bow they sure didn't. Maybe if you're shooting Lincoln Logs for arrows but when you're shooting arrows at 5gr/lb you're not always going to get great tears.

At the time I knew and talked to pretty much all the greats in 3D and at the bar at night most of them agreed that most people spend way to much time and effort to tune their bows to shoot bullet holes for no good reason as often a bow shoots more accurate when it doesn't shoot a bullet hole. They, and me, are more worried about how the arrow groups than what it does going through a piece of paper at 5'. That's not saying that I don't play with the tune of my bow but what I worry about it groups, not tears.

Paper is just the beginning. Its a good starting point or rough guage if you will. Modified french, walkback or whatever name you wish to give it with bareshafts and fletched arrows is the way to go. Proper DL, getting rid of cam lean at full draw, proper form, properly spined arrow, proper synching/timing of cams all work together to provide perfect arrow flight. I can tune a bow to destroy arrows all day long. But thats only within the parameters Im given to work with. Put that bow in the hands of a shooter with bad form, or the DL isnt correct for him/her and they are not going to be able to duplicate those results. Bareshafts and fletched arrows flying to same poi and hitting 90* to target is the definition of a perfectly tuned bow. There are some of us that go even farther. Tinker with cam positioning. Number/location of speed nocks. Just to squeeze that last little drop of speed. For a short draw guy like myself, the extra effort is worth it

Funny you say that. Because there are a ton of professional tuners out there. I happen to know one very very well. And yes groups are very important. Yes fletching will stabilize less than perfect arrow flight at distance. But why not have perfect arrow flight. It is attainable with flyweight arrows as well as lincoln logs. Makes the bow more efficient too. Every tuner i know wont send a bow back to its owner unless it is getting perfect arrow flight from up close to way out there.

What your arrow does 5' off the bow is important and directly translates to what it will do down range and the effect wind will have on it. The faster your arrow stabilizes the less effect wind will have on the arrow in flight.

I shoot X10 Pro tours outdoors and A/C/E's for Field Archery and Lightspeed 3D's for 3D none are even remotely close to Lincoln Logs. But my X7's I shoot indoors are Lincoln logs.

Using 3D as a baseline for Target archery isn't very good. 3D is more about judging distance then it is about great shooting.

Bow tuning is about finding the optimum energy delivered to the arrow to create optimum flight. Arrow equals brand, weight, length, head weight.

Arrow tuning is finding the correct combination for a preset draw weight (energy) to a specific bow. Much trial and error in that route.

Kent

Yes try finding the optimum places to cut a dozen X10 Pro Tours. That's much trial and error that gets expensive very fast.

Yep, which simplifies the process... cut the arrows, fletch, add desired head weight, walkback tune, adjust poundage for best groups... done.

If that doesn't work spine is wrong, play with head weight.

Kent

Wrong they are tapered shafts.

I was responding to trial and error gets expensive... the shape of your shaft is too much information...

Kent

I've never messed with tapered shafts but I only work on 1-3 arrows at a time and after I get them right, I fletch them. I'll only cut and fletch the rest after I have shot those enough to be sure.

Many places will sell you 1-3 shafts if you aren't sure and want to experiment. I have found a difference between different manufacturers even in the same listed deflection.