O.L.Adcock Method

[Greg Owen]

For me, a right hander, that would mean raise the nocking point.  I deal with the nocking point first. Also, it appears the arrow would be slightly weak. The indicators are the same, you just need to rotate the horizontal and vertical axises by the amount of the cant.

YOU don't count Greg.  :^)  I've read your posts and you're NOT a newbie.

[James Wrenn]

Well to be honest if someone is new enough they have trouble hitting the targets any tuning is a waste of time. jmho

You can learn to shoot and even mismatched shafts of the wrong spine will group together at the close ranges most of us shoot.I say spend more time shooting whatever arrow you have for a while before worring about trying to really tune a bow.Chances are you are not going to read things right and get a good tune anyway.Wait untill you at least have some sense of consitancy before going farther.Sometimes it is just best not to put the horse in front of the cart.     jmho

[Jeff Strubberg]

Originally posted by Jim Casto Jr:
For you canting tuners... a question.  A canting "newbie" is trying to bare shaft group tune.  His bare shafts fly to the right and a bit high.  What does that tell him?

Exactly the same thing that high and right tells you if you aren't canting.

You tune the bow to match your equipment and your shooting style.  Tuning to match a style you don't use will net you an untuned bow as soon as you go back to your normal shooting habits.

[vermonster13]

Originally posted by James Wrenn:
Well to be honest if someone is new enough they have trouble hitting the targets any tuning is a waste of time. jmho

You can learn to shoot and even mismatched shafts of the wrong spine will group together at the close ranges most of us shoot.I say spend more time shooting whatever arrow you have for a while before worring about trying to really tune a bow.Chances are you are not going to read things right and get a good tune anyway.Wait untill you at least have some sense of consitancy before going farther.Sometimes it is just best not to put the horse in front of the cart.      jmho

Very good advice here.

[JimmyC]

Shoot the bow upside down if you want.  

The point of this "method" as described by O.L. and on A&H Archery's web page is to study your groupings (field point bareshafts compared to fletched field points or fletched field points compared to fletched broadheads).

Yes, the more consistent you are in your shooting form, the smaller your grouping will be to read.  Less consistent shooting (or less experienced shooter) will simply yield a larger group but A PATTERN WILL EMERGE none the less.  That is the beauty of this method!  

It is rather objective when you understand the process. And what better way for new shooters as well as (clearing throat here) experienced shooters to take our game to the next level than a well tuned arrow/bow?

[b.glass]

Straight up and down was just part of the directions that I got. Don't know why, but since I was using his directions, that's what I did. That's what was asked and that is the answer.

[Greg Owen]

I follow OL's tuning method as given here

 http://bowmaker.net/index2.htm

I will re-read but I don't remember anything about not to cant the bow.  I usually shoot for a while and when I notice a trend, I go look up the webpage and figure out what to try. It's all about trends.  Sometimes a trend shows up in a few shots, sometimes its 100 shots over a few days. I find improving myself to be fun and challenging.  Now if I only owned a bow I'd be set.

[kat]

Get some advice on some arrows that are close to your set up.  Shoot them and have fun. Grouping will come with practice.  
Learn to walk before hyou run.

[JimB]

OL does say not to cant the bow while tuning.I have been using his method also and it has helped me a lot.

[Greg Owen]

Can you point me to where he says it? Or was it in a post somewhere that you saw it? I am just surprised it is not on his tuning webpage.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

Get some AD Trads and "fogetaboutit"!!

[easyup]

I cant as the hunting situation calls for or about enough to get the bow out of my site picture.  Byron Ferguson's book "Become the Arrow" or something like that, uses cant for tuning to make the left/right adjustment to your shots.  I would not want that going on while I was shooting differing cants so tuning with a vertical bows to get the left/right perfect sounds appropriate to me and seems to work well.

[Don Stokes]

I cant the same amount all the time while tuning, and it doesn't make any difference in the left/right, up/down of the nock. I tune for a nearly straight-in nock at less than 10 yards, just the barest fudge nock high. After this process, my broadheads and field points shoot to the same point at all reasonable ranges, which is my objective. It's the method taught to me by Dan Quillian, and I've never found a need to alter it. It works, and I get clean, perfect arrow flight when I've done it right. In the field, if I need to make a shot with more or less cant, I compensate by aiming slightly left for more cant, and vice versa, shooting RH.

I have a full set of bare shafts set up with 125 grain points in various lengths that I made up when I was in the shaft business and regularly setting up customers at shoots. If I tune just slightly stiff with the 125's, 160's shoot perfectly. 190's will always require a full spine class increase, or a shaft an inch shorter. I don't shoot heads over 190 grains. My finished 28 1/4" arrows for my 50-60# bows are usually 600-650 grains, 10-12 grains/inch with 5" LW shield three-fletch, usually around 17% FOC. That's what shoots best for me, and penetration has never been a problem.

Within those limits, I tune my bows to shoot to the same point so I don't have to change my sight picture when I change bows and arrows. If a bow shoots differently from the others, I adjust spine and amount off-center until it shoots with the others and bare-shafts straight. I shoot the same length arrows regardless of my draw length, which varies by an inch or so depending on the bow handle design. It simplifies things, so I don't have to think when I shoot, no matter which bow I choose that day.

[ozy clint]

of course you can cant your bow. i can't see any point in tuning holding vertical if you don't normally hunt like that. all you have to realise is that you have to interpret your results according to your cant. if you cant your bow you just have to move the elevation and windage axis of your target to match your cant.

[metsastaja]

I can not find any mention of cant or not to cant in OL tuning paper. I never worried about it and his method works for me.

[flycastr]

Wisconsinteacher,

Even for an experienced archer tuning and aiming can be overwhelming and intimidating.  I converted from compounds about three years ago and struggled with what aiming method to use and how to tune arrows, etc.  I bought every video I could find on technique, and one of them was by Rick Welch. I was intrigued by his method, and somehow my wife picked up on my frustration with the whole thing, and for my birthday arranged for me to attend Rick's shooting school in Arkansas (I have a wonderful wife!)  Those two days of one-on-one instruction made all the difference. I two hours Rick had shooting better than I ever had!  He teaches a simple, systematic, repeatable method of tuning your bow to shoot where you look.  It removes all the mystery and gives you the tools to analyze and correct mistakes.  I only wish I had known about it two years sooner!

[freefeet]

Just put a cross on your target with the vertical axis of the cross at the same degree as your cant, then the horizontal axis at 90 degrees to that.

Group at the centre of the cross and interpret your tuning in relation to the cross and that will be in relation to your canted bow.

Newbie or not, it'll work.

[lucky strike]

I figured I would put my 2 cents in.
I've had limited success with bareshafting longbows mainly because of paradox and limited space.
I now paper tune with fletchings at 15' until I get a bullet hole-Once I get there I shoot at one inch targets on my target bag at 8 to 10 yds and
have no trouble hitting them 8 out of ten times.
My tuning holds up outdoors with broadheads.
This to me is alot more convenient than having to drive for miles to find a range or woods where I can tune my bows. I can run down the basement any time I like! The only cost is freezer paper for tuning.I will on occasion tweak it at 30 yds outdoors.Usually it's just a slight change in nock position. Good Hunting!

[ishoot4thrills]

I've been using the method as described by O.L. Adcock for about a year and a half now with 5 different bows and I shoot with a cant all the time. To me, it's the simplest and quickest method of tuning my setup.

Stick with it and then take a break from it for a couple of days if it gets frustrating. You'd be surprised how much difference a little break can make as it allows you to be fresh and have more of a clear mind and be better focused.