Tuning Question

[stikbow]

Hey guys, quick tuning question.  I have ordered one of the "tuning" kits (arrows) from 3Rivers and after ordering it, I see that everyone recommends that you bare shaft tune.  Is that the best way to tune your bow or can I get my bow tuned just as well with the flethchings on the shafts?  I hate to have to strip the fletching off the arrows as soon as I get them, but if that is the best way then that is what I will do.  I am gonna be shooting wooden arrows, if that makes any difference.

Another quick question.....   I am shooting a 1969 Bear Grizzly.  The arrow shelf is flat.  Should build up the shelf so that my arrow has less contact, or does it really matter? If I do need to build it up, what is the best way?

Any help would be appreciated.

[chris amos]

Thats a great question, I don't have an answer but I have a super necedah with the flat shelf and have been thinking the same thing! Can't wait to learn something, thanks for putting that out there!

[L82HUNT]

You can paper tune, although quite a few will never get perfect holes thru paper to many things to go wrong(release, none consistent draw etc.)
  You could strip the feathers off since its only a kit you going to have to get a batch of them anyway. Bareshaft is the easiest way I have found to tune the arrow.  
  As far as the shelf, if the arrow is tuned to the bow it wont matter.  Leave it the way it is.

[Fletcher]

Paper Tuning  

Most bows will shoot better if the arrow contact point is directly above the pivot point of the grip.  If I was doing it, I would use files or a Dremel tool to crown the shelf so that the high point was above the grip.  Or, you could mount one of Trap's feather rests.  You can find them in the Sponsor's Classifieds.

[xtrema312]

Originally posted by Fletcher:
Paper Tuning      

Most bows will shoot better if the arrow contact point is directly above the pivot point of the grip.  If I was doing it, I would use files or a Dremel tool to crown the shelf so that the high point was above the grip.  Or, you could mount one of Trap's feather rests.  You can find them in the Sponsor's Classifieds.

I would paper tune.  It is hard to read the shaft angle in a target unless you have a target that really shows it well.  Most bag and layer targets will not.  You can eyeball shaft flight, but if you can't shoot a fletched shaft half decent in paper you probably can't shoot a bare shaft all that straight either.  Group shooting fletched and bare is a good way, but you have to be a consistent shot for that also, and if you only have a test kit it is kind of hard to shoot several fletched with several bare shafts.  

With paper tuning you can get it done.  If you are not a consistent shot yet then just try to get your tear down to about 1" or less to the weak side if you can.  Keep your arrows a little long until you dial in your form.

[Rob DiStefano]

fwiw, just my observations as they apply to me and my shooting ...

having spent several decades (60's and 70's) very involved with target archery (recurve fingers and compound release), i see no benefit to bare shafting or paper tuning for barebow hunting bows, or any non-sight aiming bow, which includes both hard and soft sights - 'soft sights' means gap, poa. stringwalking, etc.

how an arrow flies out of a bow is predicated on three things; the arrow, the bow, the shooter.  too often i've seen the problem with getting arrows to fly well out of a bow is an archer who hasn't mastered his bow.  far too many archers or aspiring bowhunters start off their quest with too much holding weight.  gotta crawl 'fore ya walk, and pay yer dues up front.  gotta be real honest with yerself about bow holding weight, it's really that important.  can you hold yer bow at full draw for 3 seconds and not even show a tremor?

if you are either over or under bowed, too heavy or too light a holding weight, you will have either form issues or a chore to get a good release of the string, and any form or release issue(s) gets amplified to the arrow, which in turn causes bad arrow flight, tail wagging and porpoising, and nock ends protruding form the butt that aren't at all as straight as they should be.

another consideration is how you aim.  howard hill and many other barebow archers could pick out any arrow length, spine and weight, and make a good shot with it.  the all aimed the arrow, got their master eye over the shaft, but always kept the target as the prime focus whether they looked at the arrow or not during their aiming process.
 
i had lots of problems when i first started shooting carbons.  for the most part the shafts were way too stiff, but i could surely shoot them well enuf, but not consistently well as they were just a tad too squirrelly to shoot.  after trial and lotsa errors i realized carbons just have too broad a spine range for any given shaft size.  so i went down 2 sizes weaker in spine and had far more stable arrows.

the two other final factors in arrow flight are mass weight and foc.  the more of each, the more stable the arrow is in flight because the arrow is now capable of accepting and absorbing more energy as delivered by the engine (bow limbs) via the transmission (the bowstring).

getting the gpp to at least 10 is a good thing for a hunting arrow.  ditto for an foc that's above 15%.

hope some of this rap is at least food for thought.

[bshunter]

very good info Rob. I need to print this and look at it often.

[Fletcher]

Good read and info, Rob, but I gotta say that paper tuning has made a tremendous difference in my shooting and hunting arrow performance.  Arrow flight is a prime factor in accuracy and penetration and paper tuning gives me that great flight better than any other method I've tried, and I've tried quite a few.  The shooter does need their form down and be shooting a bow they can handle, but that is true with any tuning method.  JMHO