Bareshaft Flight

[hammbone]

I was just wanting to clarify and confirm what I have seen shooting bareshafts. This is a drawing of somesort of barshafts flying through air. No the drawing isnt the best but is this typically what the bareshaft would look like in flight given the situations. LEFT HANDED. Also the curves in flight are not perfect just looking for general sense. #3 false stiff due to overly weak arrow? Notice how it begins to head to the weak side then comes back to the right? #4 false weak due to overly stiff shaft? Not saying these are happening I just want to see if this is what you would typically see in flight. Most manuals just show the orientation of the arrows sticking in target ie; weak shaft impacts left of fletched for LH etc. BUT if you were to see the flight in air is that what could be seen?

[McDave]

I don't know if this makes any difference to your analysis, but the reaction of the bare shaft happens almost right out of the bow, not as gradually as shown in your diagrams.  My experience is that a too weak or too stiff shaft shows a significant nock right or nock left (for LH shooters) orientation within an arrow length or so of leaving the bow.

A false weak is when a shaft that is too stiff recoils off the strike plate and shows a nock right orientation (for LH shooters).  My experience is that this happens even more abruptly than a true weak.  It is easier to see when we experience a false nock high from having too low a nock point that causes the shaft to recoil off the arrow rest.  Someone standing behind the shooter can usually notice a distinctive blip as the arrow shaft leaves the bow. It is harder for me to see any difference in the flight of a false weak shaft and a true weak shaft, and in either case, I have to solve the problem with experimentation until I get the desired flight.

I’ve never experienced a false stiff, and I didn't know that such a thing existed.

[moebow]

With arrows of decent spine for the bow, Bare shaft flight is MORE of an indicator of form execution than anything else.  IMO, not a great way to determine tune.  Use bare shafts in comparison to feathered arrows and look at the placement of the arrows in the target.  But determining anything from just the apparent flight of the bare shaft arrow is counterproductive, -- again, In my opinion.
Arne

[Friend]

I rely on the bare shaft planing method. I only utilize the bare shaft method when verifying at close range that my shaft spline is not in left field. I only pay attention to the bare shaft mark relative to the fletched shaft.

Often times, I foregoe the bare shaft planing method and go straight to broadhead tuning. Broadhead flight is the primacy of tuning. A bare shaft tuned arrow at twenty yards does not negate the broadhead tuning verification. Have had bareshaft tuned arrows that would consistantly, over a week, tune seemingly spot-on at 20 yards. Shoot the BH and the broadhead would consistently mark 4"s right at 20 yards....lowered the brace height approximately 3/16"s, and then the bare shaft, fletched shaft and BH tipped fletched shaft shared the same mark.

Don't know the min distance for bare shaft plane tuning to have a much more certain BH tune. But bare shaft plane tuning, at 40 yards, has consistantly yielded excellent BH flight and also, shoots holes thru paper.