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.

I am a relative newbie to archery. However, I think that tuning has taken two divergent pathways. Maybe I am just so inexperienced that I don't know the difference but I have had to spend some time paper tuning and walkback tuning my Hoyt Vector Turbo.

My Elite Answer and my Quest Primal took little to get extremely accurate out to about 50 yards. Both have binary cams and are not split yoked like the Hoyt. I used the same set up of SpotHog 7 Deadly pins, 8 inch Stokerized Stab with saturn weight and QAD HDX fallaway rest.

My Hoyt is getting where I want it to be but it took more work. It has the same SH 7 deadly pin sight as the other two but I went with a TT extreme Pro fallaway rest.

I tend to have two types of arrows. Practice arrows that are Gold Tip Kinetics and then hunting arrows that are CE Maximas. Both group the same.

I don't shoot competitively but several of the guys that I shoot the 3D course do and they do quite well. I am not practiced enough to attempt to shoot animals farther than 40 yards. I just need to keep shooting.

Sincerely,
Thomas

That is pretty much what I did. I bought 1 dozen, cut the first all off the front end, cut the second off the back end, then cut the third 50/50 split. Played with those for a couple weeks. Then figured out that about 60 rear/40 front was what I was looking for. Played with that for a few days then wanted even less then 40 off the front. Last try was the charm at 75 rear/25 front. Is it 100% where it should be? I don't know but I am very happy were it ended up so that is the magic number for me. So I got 7 arrows out of that dozen.

I went thru I don't know how many knocks and vanes weighting them to get the closest dozen I could. Not many people are willing to go thru all that trouble. But if tatget archery is your cup of tea these are the things you just do.

An arrow that hits the target STRAIGHT at all distances is as good as it's gonna get for hunting purposes. It doesn't matter how accurate an arrow is if it's not going straight.

I run my setup thru OT2. Gives me several choices. Then set up my arrows and start tuning. Sometimes I do have to tinker with DW to get it just right. I wont run an arrow that bare shafts and fletched shafts wont group together. Usually shoot both out to 20 or 30yds. Then tweak fletched groups at 60.

Hoyts can be tricky till you get the cams synched right. Then tweaking yokes or rest or nocking point to bring it all together

Wow...... I'm a complete redneck bow hunter

I have mine shoot bullet holes in paper with fetching

Then I adjust my sights and go kill stuff. Decent equipment, good shooting form, tons of practice..... And reasonable bow hunting range.... Done!

I'm not the guy that needs to shoot 1" group at 50 yards. But my redneck methods will get me 4-6" groups at 40-50 yards in my pasture shooting a glendel buck target.

My longest shot at big game I'm my life was 38 yards at a mountain lion that I killed with that shot, second longest was the same distance at a cow elk which also died. 99% of the remaining shots which have taken game have been under 25 yards.

I like bow hunting for the "bow hunting" not for the long range accuracy skills. I don't think it's complicated to have hunting functional accuracy out to 35 yards. The massive science of this bow tuning is probably more a competitive or target level arrangement. But hey that's just my opinion.

Today's bows, arrows, and even an average pro shop should have just about anyone with desire shooting big game hunting groups in no time.

I like em close too. But sometimes they dont read the script. Plus i shoot 3d on occasion. Same bow, same sights, same arrows i use to hunt. I dont want my equipment "good enough". I want it right. And that means completely tuned. Because that "tuning" is not just for the bow. It requires the shooter to do things right as well. To each his own but why be satisfied with 6" groups when with a little extra time and effort those groups can become 2" groups? That kind of stuff builds confidence not only in ones equipment but in ones ability. And with most, that confidence goes a long way

I shoot recurves and if what Stu's Calculator and I decide we want to shoot, shoots good, I shoot it. May bare shaft one or two without the paper just to make sure.

Yup...as long as my arrow flys straight with a broadhead, I'm good. An arrow hitting game sideways is bad news.

Problem for some is shooting straight when it matters...

I call elk for folks just to keep in the game here in Az between the years waiting to draw my few tags. Often for guides that draw, as all their buddies are making money guiding during the same time.

One morning we went into a hotspot I found preseason, three fingers, three canyons and three herds. In the mornings before the herds split up to the bedding areas, all the herd and satellite bulls would tear that spot up.

Before light two of the herd bulls were fighting out in the seneca. We snuck around to a ridge and my buddy snuck over through some jack pines as I stayed under cow calling.

The bulls were screaming and fighting, I'm waiting for them to shutup when my buddy shoots one... then he sneaks back... the bulls are still going at it.

I raise my hands like... what? he shows me his bow, and there's no arrows left. He shot every one and missed every time.

We had to drive 80 miles to his sister's for his spare dozen...

He could sure hit a target's bullseye at 60 yds though... every time.

Kent

this is the answer IMHO here. If I were to be serious about bowhunting anymore I'd go back and tune for sure.

I got bored with bowhunting and only now do it at times, just shoot enough to make sure I'm good at 15 yards and limit my shots to that.

But really, in anything I want to do, I'd prefer to do it the best I can. I used to shoot to 80 yards as a kid all the time in the late 70s early 80s. We tuned the best we could and was amazing what you could shoot group wise at that distance.

Of course when the deer dodge the arrow at 20 yards accuracy at 80 doesn't help. But it sure makes a 15 yard shot a gimme every last time.

Though IMHO knowing how and when to draw teh bow when deer etc.... are 45 feet or less away, is much more important than anything else, assuming as noted, arrows are not hitting sideways.

That seems to be a southern thing.

Nope any deer with pressure on them become jumpy.

I can take you to a spot where you can damn near light off fireworks and the deer don't bat an eye. Then take you 20 miles from there and if you close your car door they are long gone.

That's actually good to hear, it gets frustrating sometimes, trying to explain why you can't kill deer around here wearing a pink tutu and shooting a whisker biscuit.

Why would anyone in their right mind and any self respect at all,... risk getting seen hunting with a whisker biscuit?

I love whisker biscuits...unfortunately our deer do too.

Mule deer always amazed me. Granted we never killed anything big with a bow, maybe a 140 ish buck. But 40 yards give or take was not an uncommon shot, and IF they'd seen something or you, they'd watch the arrow coming. Until it hit them or missed.

Then you have a 15 yard deer here capable of totally ducking/dodging out of the way of a decently fast setup... not even cutting a hair at times.

15 yards and in is my shot limit here in TX. Beyond that its a total gamble for me and as such I owe the animals more respect. Pigs are another story.

But as noted a tuned bow, from the late 70s, capable of hitting something the size of a softball or beer can pretty consistently out to about 80 yards, back then it amazed folks more than it would now. And think about how much better the bows, arrows, rests etc.. are.. 100 yards should easily hit a pie plate or better I'd think.

Some people can do it, but past 50 yards I'm getting out the metal detector!

Mule deer almost always bolt when spooked, then stop to look back... coues deer WT take off when they decide it's time and don't quit.

In the open Az desert most opportunities are longish but the mule deer will stand there curious. In the 80s and 90s I killed some at long distance and some at short... now that I'm in my 50s my range has shrunk... 40 is my real max.

It's about shooting vertical and ranging... another indicator of a tuned bow/arrow/head combo is keeping all shots on a vertical line, as the vitals are stacked vertical.

Horizontal stringing wounds and is an indicator of tuning issues. It's the biggest issue I see with hunters I take out.

Walkback tune on a hanging string, once I get to a 5 or 6 inch horizontal spread, that's my untimate max... sometimes it's 50, other times it's 60... so 40s my hunting max.

Getting old, a few floaters in my right eye, not as steady on my hold... Killing stuff doesn't seem as important anymore, animals can walk.

Kent

Funny how people in different areas of the country view gear. I wouldn't shoot anything BUT a Whisker Biscuit. I send my bows to Wes Van Horn for a super tune and strings/cables. From there it's no problem to sight in and shoot.

I've had no problems shooting wise with a WB, have one on my oneida LFM I plan hunting with this season.

Kent

I like 'em too, but you can't draw an arrow through it on one of our mature whitetails without alerting them. I understand it's different in other locals.

Walk back tuning for me. Just shoot the arrows I intend to hunt with. I use to paper tune, bare and fletched, then walk back. I eliminated the paper tune and haven't been able to tell a difference. I do my part I get good groups out to 70 and I will never see that far in a hunting situation much less shoot that far.

Today I'd probably need a detector at 30 yards....

IMHO vitals are actually stacked diagonally more so than anything, which makes them, IMHO, an unfair target.....

This. I got to CO once... guy had a flipper, bare metal, not even the teflon tube... AL arrows.... I said no way in hell. He killed a cow elk, I never got a shot...

But he would never have drawn more than an inch or two on our whitetail..

I put moleskin over the rest, and with AL arrows and have done it with carbon too, car wax on the shafts. Sucks looking at the shaft for blood, but damn slick and quiet to draw.

You cant be serious....?

Betting he is

Dead serious.

Its easy to tell who's been there and who hasn't. I got laughed at by "experts" over at the handgun forum when I opined that the metallic click from a single-action revolver could spoil a whitetail treestand hunt in a heartbeat. A noisy safety on a rifle will do the same thing. With a bow you have noise AND movement unless that bow is utterly silent.

Hunting out west where the wind typically blows most of the time and their is "white noise" from rustling foliage makes it a different game. A foggy 40F morning in a southeastern hardwood bottom can be absolutely cathedral/pin-drop quiet.

Silent Draw. Silent at the shot. Thats the way I like my bow. And a WB just dont offer that option

Not having 100% contact on your arrow never hurts either!

True that. And having something other than the 0 effective brace height the WB offers cant hurt either

Don't try to tell that to the WB Disciples!

Yeah I know

Killing chit isn't as hard as opinion on the Internet professes... luckily...

Kent

lol ok....

I guess those S.E. Texas deer are different than N. Texas deer that get hunted just as hard...

Chit easy to kill if you and your equipment r up to the task

Your right but your logic is wrong. Otherwise you would be using sticks and stones to kill chit! There are many tools to get the job done. Some tools better then others.

If I used sticks and stones I'd kill stuff, if I used a 50 bmg I'd kill stuff... I use what I want and don't disparage another man's choice... especially when I'm just speculating.

Getting the choice to perform at it's optimum... i.e. 'tuning' is the issue. Whether a club or a bazooka... and yes I've killed with a club.

Kent

Whatever. Drag an arrow through a WB here and you'll be shooting at a buck that's looking at you.

Since we are on the subject of the WB, Ill say this. Can a bow be perfectly tuned with a WB? Yes its possible. Would I reccomend one to a customer? Nope. A rest that provides full arrow contact until the nock end passes through is not a good thing. It creates a zero effective brace height. And in turn will magnify any flaws you have in your shot process. And of course make proper tune a PITA to achieve. There are far better options for an arrow rest available. Something to consider....if fletching contact with cables or a riser or anything else is considered undesireable, why the heck is it ok to have brush bristles rubbing both sides of all three fletchings??

zero effective brace height.

That some new proshop soundbite to scare the newbi into buying an expensive rest. There is no such thing unless the string comes to rest on the pivot point of the bow.

The flipper rest shooting fingers had arrow contact through the shot cycle on one side with adjustable horizontal plunger tension. The prong rests shooting a release made contact on the bottom with vertical spring tension. There were a variety of spoons and Ys... all making some kind of contact. The WB has consistent contact and not just partial.

The physics of arrow flight is all still same, optimize your spine so that the two nodes of an osculating arrow fly as calm, straight, square to the target as possible.

I've killed biggame with a flipper, prong, WB, dropaway... I wasn't any less deadly with any. The prong was my least favorite, I killed my farthest animals with the flipper at 190 fps. I wasn't any less accurate with any.

We all like buying the latest gadgets, I have boxes of 'em, all the newest world changers at the time... but experience and hunting skill kills animals... equipment is just the latest fad.

If you don't have confidence in a rest, don't use it.

Kent

And I"m here to back him up... don't hunt SE TX but do hunt Central and Hill Country and South TX... none of them are forgiving at all. WB ain't quiet at all.

Add to teh fact that I won't shoot unless they are close and you HAVE to be quiet. Hence use of Moleskin, and waxing shafts with car wax....

^^^^^^^^

Dont own a pro shop. Dont sell arrow rests. But I have set up and tuned hundreds of bows. And without the human element, a WB will tune. But add in the human element and less than desirable form and the WB will magnify flaws in the shot process more than a non drop away prong or blade rest. Yes Im familiar with flipper rests, bodoodles, super star, tm hunter style etc. The one difference between those rests and the WB is that when properly setup, there is NO fletching contact. Arrow contact yes. But no fletching contact. The arrow contact with the prong and lizard tongue rests and even the super star is consistant. Once fletching starts "rippling" from repeated trips through the WB( i have run just about every brand/size vane and feather thru one) consistant pressure goes out the window. And yes it affects proper arrow flight. While the Hamskea, AAE, QAD, and Limbdriver are my favorites to work with, there are quality rests to be had in the same price range as the WB.

Honestly as a newer bow shooter it seems as some "bow guys" treat "tuning" as some sort of black voodoo...

Not voodoo. Absolute perfection. Perfection that isnt offered from most bow shops. Its about getting the most out of a bow. And yes its in demand. Maximum speed, maximum accuracy. Maximum efficiency. Folks send firearms to gunsmiths for basically the same things. Why not expect the same from your archery gear?

My guess would be because nobody is going to be taking a 400yd shot with a bow. Even as a novice with a budget bow I have no problem keep arrows within a 6" circle at 50yds as along as my form is good.

Maybe if you're shooting for money or bragging rights (which is where most of this comes from I believe). Fact is not everyone needs a 4x sight or a 3ft long stabilizer or witchcraft voodoo tuning to make a 30yd bow shot. But if that's what tickles your fancy, go for it.

It comes from the fact that more and more shooters are hitting the 3d and spot shoots in the offseason. I dont run magnified sight or a long stab. I shoot my hunting rig year round. But a lot of shooters are looking for any edge they can get. To truly tune a bow you either own your own press(a have to have especially for yoke tuning), you drive to your local shop and fork over money to them every time you need to try a little tweak here or there, or you ship it off to a professional tuner.

Hey 280,
I think like you do. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right.

I would really like to know more about how to tune the bow the best it can be. Can you run us through the steps, list the equipment necessary, and maybe post some links to sites or videos that will help explain.

I have done the standard paper tuning, but that's the extent of it.

I will now walk back tune after reading this thread.

Is there more to do?

Tuning a bow means different things to different people. My method involves several different things. But there are some basics that must be done before anything else takes place. And to get what most refer to as the "super tune", these are a must. Because without these basics, nothing else will work as it should. We will start with form/proper DL. Improper DL causes bad form. It prevents the release forearm from being on same plane and directly in line with arrow. It also causes bad shooting posture as a too long draw length causes most shooters to lean back instead of keeping the back straight. And NO everyone is NOT X" or X.5" DL. And yes even an 1/8" can make a difference. Proper form when DL is correct, will have feet about shoulder width apart with weight evenly distributed. Bow arm should have slight bend(this of course is debateable depending on who u ask because some teach the bow arm locked straight out). Thumb of bow hand should be exactly even with top of shoulder on bow arm. Arrow dead level. Release forearm directly behind and level with arrow. Head upright. Do NOT tip foreward trying to gain contact between tip of nose and bowstring. With todays short ATA bows it is not always possible.

The grip should be torque free. Relaxed hand with thumb of bow hand pointed at target. Bow hand should remain relaxed through the shot. When you draw you "build up steam" to get to the valley. Dont let up on your pull once the bow breaks over. Keep it and transfer that " built up steam" to your back muscles. Settle your pin and pull through the shot.

Next thing is properly spined arrows. I use OT2(pinwheel software) to help with that selection. Most of the "std" arrow charts you see at the bowshops are "outdated" concerning todays bows. Carbon express offers a pretty decent one on their website. Its a bit aggravating to use with all the "add for this, subtract for that" but it will get you very close to correct dynamic spine for your setup. I also spine test my arrows. Want "stiff side up". With trad bows you want "stiff side out". That affects the way the arrow flexes/oscillates/recovers at the shot.

Equipment needed depends on just what degree of tuning you want to achieve. I have if course a wide variety of allen wrenches, a precision tuning fixture, string and arrow levels, a laser tuner to set centershot, a mech shooter, a draw board( a must when working with dual cam or cam 1/2 setups to be able to properly time and synch cams), a chronograph( helpful when tinkering with speed nock numbers and locations), and a paper tuning rack. Also a couple block targets(a must for walkback tuning because bag targets can distort impact angles). And a good scale for checking DW and holding weight.

I like to start by checking measurements on the bow. Draw length. Draw weight. Brace height. ATA measurement on both sides. Next bow is placed in my tuning fixture/bow vise and square/set center shot. Center of arrow matching up with center of berger btn hole is a good starting point. Next its on to paper rack to get a good visual of arrow flight. Check with both fletched arrow and bare shaft. A bullet hole with both is desired result. I shoot my bow myself. But use my mech shooter if owner of bow is not available. Tweak rest, nock point height and/or cams(adjusts nock travel because it may not be perfectly level from factory). Usually high or low tears are easy to adjust out. But side tears can be tricky because they can be caused by more than one thing. If you cant adjust a left tear out or eliminate it by adding weight to back of arrow/maybe removing some from front(effectively stiffening arrow spine because a weak spine will give a left tear) shorten your DL. A right tear that cant be adjusted out or eliminated by adjusting tip weight on arrow(need to add weight to tip to weaken spine a tad or by going to next weaker spine) is too short a DL. That can sometimes be corrected be merely going with a tad longer D Loop.

Once the paper tune gives desired results, its on to the block with a weighted string hanging down the center. Start at 5' distance. Shoot a fletched arrow at string with the goal being touching the string or splitting it. Target should be shoulder height for human shooter or at height that allows arrow to be dead level at full draw for the mech shooter. After the fletched arrow, adjust rest ever so slightly to bring arrow to string. After you accomplish splitting the string with the fletched arrow. Go to bare shaft. Same process. Next shoot fletched arrow and bare shaft at string. If they group together but dont touch string, adjust yoke to move group to string. Then repeat at 10'. As you increase distance adjust windage on your sight to move group. If at longer distances the bare shaft and fletched arrow dont group together, tweak rest until they do. Adjust sight windage. If group still wont move back to center, tweak yoke again. Most all adjustments that need to be made will be done at top limb only.

People ask about cam lean. At rest its not a big deal. But it needs to be adjusted out when bow is at full draw. Eliminate it first. Then procede with tuning. After I get bare shafts and fletched arrows grouping together at 20 yds and get fletched arrow groups tight and dead center at 60 yds, i go measure again. Makeing sure bow is still within factory specs in relation to brace height and ATA. Also check draw weight and holding weight again

Lots of stuff!

Not really that much. Shoot. Adjust. Shoot. Adjust. The name of the game is get your form right. Get your DL right. Be consistant. Just like your rifles favorite reload. Give you the same results everytime as long as you always use the same amount of powder. In archery. The arrow is the bullet and you(the shooter) are the powder. Do the right things the same way every time and youll get the expected results. Get sloppy and be prepared for disappointment. Your shot process should be a subconcious thing. Practice enough so it becomes automatic. Shoot with someone that help you and vice versa. I have a friend that i shoot with. He is a die hard bowhunter and avid 3d shooter. He was having trouble with accuracy. (Do bear in mind he is a super good shot. Competes in and regularly wins the long distance (80-100 yd) bonus shoots at the 3d ranges around here. Watched him shoot a few and instantly noticed him closing his hand at the shot. He corrected that and problem solved. Once in a while things need to be corrected. Our form gets a little off and we drive ourselves crazy trying to figure it out on our own. A second set of eyes is always a great thing to have around

If you become frustrated... simplify...

Set poundage and tiller

Choose arrows and cut to length

Eyeball center and level

Walkback shooting the string, start close and go back as far as possible. You don't have to shoot any set distances as you are just adjusting your rest to center. If you have to adjust your rest, start from close, reset top pin right/left if needed, repeat a few times.

Once center is set, shoot from around 40, still aiming top pin on top mark. If there is vertical stringing adjust nock up/down until it tightens as much as possible.

If it continues horizontal stringing after tuning there is an overspine issue. up poundage and/or add head weight.

If there is vertical stringing after tuning there is an underspine issue. decrease poundage and/or decrease head weight.

The bow is the engine and it's sole purpose is imparting energy into the arrow shaft... how much energy is completely dependent on the arrow's spine... spine equals arrow chosen, length cut and head weight... there is only one perfect amount of energy to make that combination fly perfect. That's all a bow has to do.

There's a zillion combinations of arrow manufacturers, weights, lengths that can be cut and head weights added. Chasing after the perfect combo just to shoot X poundage on X bow could be futile and frustrating to the max... adjust the energy to the arrow chosen.

Here's a video of arrow osculation on tuned bows, if your energy isn't correct down the shaft, movement will be even more violent and tuning impossible.



Archers paradox

Ditto. Although I have bought a few dozen arrows set the same way and have the "recipe" card on file at the shop for when I run out. I check my brace height often and replace strings frequently. Another line on the recipe card at the shop is for the string I use.