Tuning Question?

[BuckyT]

I got my first recurve yesterday.

I spent all afternoon fiddling with it and getting acquainted with my new bow.

I was shooting well out to 25yds.  It's my first trad bow, but not the first time I've shot one before.

Well.....  The arrows seem to me to be flying straight and true.  They were sticking in the target straight and any mess ups on where they hit were due to me, bad release, moving my arm before I released, etc...

I decided to see what a bare shaft would do at 15yds.  I launched 3 fletched arrows and they all grouped w/in 4" of one another on center.  The bare shaft kicked about 8" to the right and didn't fly straight.  It was on center.  Wasn't low or high.

I repeated the process 10 times and everything was consistent to what I wrote above.  Just wanted to make sure the problem wasn't me.  (Form)

I read up on the bare shaft hitting consistently to the right and it said that my arrows are to weakly spined...

The ways to solve the problem were either cut the shafts and make the arrows shorter, go to a lighter head, or build the shelf out..

Well, I don't have the tools to cut the arrow and the next size down I had from the 175gr tips I have now are 100gr tips for my compound.....  I didn't want to go that route either...  I've also got 100gr inserts in my arrows.

So I built the shelf out a bit more using some calf hair rest material.

It seemed to work, it brought my bare shaft in with the other arrows nicely.  But....  The bare shaft still doesn't fly true like my fletched arrows......

That's where I'm stuck at the moment....  Everything seems to be in working order, but the bare shaft not flying straight is bugging me...I want it to fly like the fletched arrows.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

BuckyT

[moebow]

BuckyT, Shooting bare shafts requires the absolute best form you can muster.  If you have the arrows grouping pretty much together (fletched and bare) don't obsess too much about the flight of the bare shafts.  Many will shoot bare shaft to check on and refine their form but when you are just starting out, getting perfect flight on a bare shaft is a frustrating and self defeating proposition.  Look to the grouping together of the arrows and bare shafts and go have fun shooting your fletched arrows.

[Stumpkiller]

I have some bows that bare shaft according to the rules.  My Browning Explorer, on the other hand, does not seem to like bare shafts.  I could never get them to fly well, they always flew nock high no matter where I set the nock point, so I settled on the nock height where the bare shafts hit at the same spot as the fletched shafts.  Seems to work as I shoot this bow the best of all my bows.  

The fletched arrows leave a round hole with even fletching tears when paper testing so I guess it's good enough.

[BuckyT]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Moebow, Your post has put me at ease.  Thanks again.

BuckyT

[Larry247]

I'd try the 100gr points or buy some 125gr.

I've never understood why all the wieght up front, but i guess some guys like it.

[BuckyT]

Could you elaborate some more Larry247?

The main reason I've gotten into traditional archery is to hunt with my bow.

My rookie wisdom had told me to put more weight up front.  The only two things I'm concerned with from a hunting standpoint with this rig are accuracy and penetration.  Not worried about gaining more speed.

If I can switch over to a lighter head and still get very adequate penetration on a whitetail deer or a wild hog, I'll try it!

Thanks again,

BuckyT

[reddogge]

Buy the 125s or find someone to cut your shafts down. Any archery shop should be able to do it. Do one shaft first to try and when it is right cut them all.

[NBK]

Above advice is very good.  Bucky, if you're primarily looking for a hunting rig, then choose which broadhead you're gonna use, then get the field point weights that match.  You don't necessarily want to tune with 125's then say "man I'd like to use 160gr. snuffers".  When you have your broadhead and insert decided, then play with cutting your shafts to match.  And like Moebow said, a perfectly swimming bareshaft is just as much the result of really good form/release as a properly spined arrow.  Like alot of guys I carry a bareshaft with me when I practice, not to check my arrows, but to check my form.

[bauke]

BuckyT

I am not an 'old hand' with the traditional bow and struggled with the same sort of tuning.  I tried all sorts of tuning, walk back, paper tuning, bare shaft and some more.

My question was always, is it the arrow, or my form? How do you tune the arrow, if you doubt about your form?

Then I came across the Static Spine Calculator of Stu Miller.  It helped me a lot as a starting point.  I followed the rules and suddenly my arrows went where I aimed!    

Some may differ from me, but I see it as a good reference and starting point.  It also helped a few of my fellow trad buddies.  It can save a lot of time and money, as I cut quite a few arrows without real success.

I hope it might help and would like to hear what my fellow trad archers / hunters think about this calculator.

Click on this   Link  to download his calculator.