Do I have to bareshaft??

[Lashbow]

Maybe I am Lazy and Maybe i dont want to take feathers off any of my dozen gold tips.

Here is my setup
Chuck Jones osage Royale 68" 55-57# at my long draw of 31"
GT 5575 classics
shooting 200 gr BH or FT.
To get the total arrow weight I want i am adding rope in the arrows total arrow around 600 grains.

Tired of messing with the rope and wanting a litttle more FOC, (we all know why) I was going to go with 260 gr BH and FT.

I am wondering if my arrows will be too weak now, i shoot them full length 33"

I had some old wood arrows and they were too underspined and I had terrible flight, The carbons now fly great, to the naked eye.
I have never bare shaft tested.
Now I am wondering do I need to because I am adding the weight or should I regardless??
I have read past posts and I get alot of " the same carbon arrows shoot great out of three different bows" and I read "trim off 1/4" at a time until they are tuned."
 
How can they be so far apart?
One says it is a universal arrow almost, to the other end of trimming itty bits at a time.

Is 260 head going to be too much?
Do I have to bare test to be sure?

Thanks,
Lash

[overbo]

No,if you're happy w/ the results.Bareshaft tuning works best 4 me and would definately be a way to see the spine of your arro w/ a 260gr point.Also,the more fletching on a arro the quicker they recover.IMO, why so many wood arrosmiths build w/ 5 1/2'' high back feathers.

[Shaun]

The "naked eye" is a great tool! Try the new heads and if your arrows seem to wobble a lot, hack some off. I would guess 1/2" would compensate for the extra 60 grains. But first try them and see if they still look good to you. If so, leave em alone.

Carbon arrows out of bows with a close to center cut shelf are extremely forgiving. Carbon "recovers" much faster than wood from the archers paradox (bending when the string pushes from the back of the arrow against the weight of the point).

[Red Armed Panther]

Waste of time.

[katman]

Shooting a lot of fletch can hide tuning problems. I prefer to bareshaft so I know they are right on. Do you have to bareshaft? no, but if you want the best tune I think you do. It is not hard to strip the feathers off of one arrow to check and keep a bareshaft to check things out occasionally.

[Jedimaster]

Old habits being what they are, I never bareshaft.  I won't say I never will but I have yet to discern a real need.  I can pretty much tell whether my arrows are flying like they need to.  Any extra is superfluous to me.  Can't argue that bareshafting is the "gold standard" but there are plenty of guys that don't as well.  IMO carbons are more forgiving but then my bows are center shot/ cut past center and that has alot to do with it.  Only you can determine what is right for you.  Try tuning fletched, and if you don't like it or are not satisfied strip the feathers off and go again.

[bigcountry]

I love bareshafting, but if its not convienient that just shoot at 30-35yards and see how they are flying.  Put some BH's on and see if they are hitting way to the left or right.  That will tell ya the same thing.

[Fletcher]

Paper tuning can tell you whether or not our arrows are flying cleanly off the bow.  Hang a sheet of newspaper about 3 ft in front of your target and shoot thru the paper.  If everything is perfect, there will be a single hole with tears from the fletching.  If the arrow is flying a bit crooked, there will be a tear with the fletch tears at one end.  It's pretty easy to figure how the arrow was flying and what it means, spine and nock point wise.

Shooting broadheads will tell you a lot, too.  Mount some vertical and some flat.

[R H Clark]

The reason you hear different things from different people is because of their different personalities and definitions of GOOD.

[Roadkill]

Western States Rendevous last weekend-it rained.  I have my arrows bareshafted and when the rain took the feathers down to nearly flat, I was still shooting.  Really good flight-not perfect but really good.  Feathers cover a lot of errors that could have possibily been corrected.  That said, do what ever you think you need to do.  Make yourself happy first

[Lashbow]

I think I will give the paper test a go first, Should i also paper test with broadheads?

Question: Can I foot about 4" and get the same results as the added weight? I am at about 25 grains every two inches i think. I will make sure, but before I buy some 250 gr tips I wonder if this will give me the same result? I suppose ons sacrificial arrow to bare shaft test isnt too bad.
What is the best link/site on bare shaft testing.
I hear OL has one??

Nice Kudu Katman!!!!
Thanks for your help, that is great

[SHOOTO8S]

A trick that works in pinch...wrap fletching with Saran wrap or whatever its called...lol The wrap will make the feathers ineffective and give close to the same results as bareshafting

[SteveB]

Originally posted by Red Armed Panther:
Waste of time.

It would only be a waste of time if you do not have a clear understanding of the methods and objectives of bare shaft tuning. I use it to get as near perfect tune as possible so that I don't need to reli on a huge ball of feathers to correct minor form or release errors.

Steve

[J-dog]

I will bareshaft, think it does help. But something I do not understand is do you go back and use paper again after you have fletched your arrows??

I always have as that is how the arrow hunts. To me bareshaft tuning helps "feather/fletching" tuning afterwards. You know the base is good, now you have a foundation to build off of. Just my .02

Yes it is worth the time.

J

[Ken Sorg]

opinions differ thats for sure. I think it is a waste of time also. And something I'd like to add is not spending money on 12 of the exact same arrows if one is concerned with bareshafting.

[jacobsladder]

i like ol adcocks method best

[George D. Stout]

No.  You don't have to, but you do need to start with a logical spine accuracy to begin with.  A paper test will work fine too.  Over the years I've come to know instinctively (did I say that 8^)) what will work for my bows, and I have acquired accuracy enough to shoot Class A instinctive field rounds and yes, good arrow flight to boot.  A little common sense will go a long way toward tuning.

Almost no one bareshafted until the carbons came along and required more work.  Then someone opened the book and saw it was a good way to narrow down spine quickly.  Frankly, I think you change the dynamics very quickly as soon as you add fletching that it is nearly null.  

I know guys who do it religiously and that's cool with me; confidence is everything.  But I'm with old Sam Fadala....it just ain't always necessary 8^).

[bigcountry]

One thing I was going to mention is bareshaft is an important tool, but has its limitations.  I use it mainly to get me close.  

Where the rubber meets the road is how your arrows hit to where your aiming.  If your hitting right constantly, you have to ask if its your form or weak spined. And if you hitting left constantly, ask the same.  

I highly suggest BH tuning, it tells you alot.  And if yoru a hunter, this is what is important.

[JOKER]

BH tuning will give you the best results and bare shaft tuning will get you verry close. You will get good arrow flight with either. I do not like paper tuning my self. I have seen too many times (with long bow and compound) where I got a "bullet hole" with an out of tune arrow and a tear with an arrow that was tuned.  Steve

[whossbows]

if they shoot good bare shaft,why waste the feathers,,jeff