How far from target when bareshaft tuning?

[david janssen]

I was wondering how far from target to bareshaft tune?
I want to keep my shots at game 15 yds or less.Will the arrow recover/straighten out at such a short distance.
Thanks for the help.

David

[HATCHCHASER]

I start at 15 and work my way back to 30.  Just keep em a fuzz weak.

[Robertfishes]

thats some good advise, I also bare shaft tune a little "weak". I simply take full length arrow fletch it up and cut the feather off leaving just the quill, then start cutting the shaft down a quarter inch at a time until arrow flys just a little weak. I have a large selection of bare shafts so it dosen't take me long to tune a bow/arrow combo.

[Cherokee Scout]

If you are starting with an unknown spine, you might consider starting at 10 yds to be sure the spine is close enough to let you hit the target.

[Robertfishes]

Yes, if your not sure if your close in spine close would be best for sure.get your bareshaft arrow flying slightly weak then start backing up to 20 plus yards. 15 years ago when I first started bareshafting I broke a couple of cedar arrows by hitting target sideways at 20 yards with a real weak arrow. shoot into a loose bag target if you can, I always put a bareshaft arrow in my quiver when I pratice or go to a 3-D shoot

[katman]

Ditto on what Sipsey river and Robertfishes have said. Start close no more than 10 yds so as not to break an overly weak shaft, adjust length for good group and gradually move back, I go back to 25 total but leave the shaft weak at 20, about 2 inches right of fletched seems to work well for when I switch to check with broadheads. Periodically checking with a bare shaft also helps you check your tune/form.

If your tuned well and have good form the arrow will be flying well shortly after leaving the bow, the bareshaft proved it to you, so 15 yards is no problem.

[X2]

I bareshaft test out to 30 yards or a little further (just for fun).  In order to read the results it is best to test out to your max range you can hold a good group.  If you are all over the target it will be hard to read what the arrows are doing.  I usually start at around 15 yards, and move back.  If my bare shafts and fletched shafts group together at 25 yards, that is usually good enough.  It takes very good form to get consistent results at the longer ranges.

[O.L. Adcock]

Tis better to be too far then too close if you have a safe backstop/suroundings....Dirt/sand piles work well. If you were to start shooting fletched shafts at a bag target at 30 - 40 yards and your bare shafts completely miss the target left/right/up/down...It tells you the exact same thing 2" does at 10 or 20...Good tuning and good shots can shoot properly tuned bare shafts at 90 meters.....O.L.

[CareyE]

How about how far for paper tuning?

[O.L. Adcock]

CarryE, IMO, paper tuning and the "kick" metchod of bare shaft tuning are one and the same and neither are good methods because they rely too much on having good form to be useful. You can take a perfectly tuned set up and make the arrow "kick" any direction you want with bow grip and release. In other words, many/most of the bad tears or kicks are NOT caused by tuning issues and trying to fix them with tuning methods is futile. I use the planning method which seperates form/tiller problems from tuning problems.....O.L.

[Teknoclash]

Originally posted by HATCHCHASER:
I start at 15 and work my way back to 30.  Just keep em a fuzz weak.

Why keep them "a fuzz weak". Fletching make is stiffen up?

[Robertfishes]

Teknoclash, yes the weight of the fletching will "stiffen" up the arrow spine, also most of us "short draw" more often than over draw.

[ny state land]

Goto O.L.'s site it simplifies the process and will have you tuned in very short order. Great info, it helped me more in a 1/2 hour of reading his instructions than fuddling around for years.
Thanks O.L.

[O.L. Adcock]

NY, Glad to hear it. Been a stickler for tuning when I unscrewed my field tips and put on my Bear Razor heads the morning of a broadhead tournament some 40 years ago. First shot was 60 yards and I watched the broadhead do 20' circles on the way with what I thought was a well tuned bow using some of the other methods. Took a long time to figure out what was going on but once I understood what caused the poor flight, it is pretty simple......O.L.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by CareyE:
How about how far for paper tuning?

Start out about 7 feet or so and slowly work your way back.

[bowless]

I'll second the soft bag target.  I don't mind breaking a shaft while tuning but trying to tune a bent shaft that I thought was still straight is whole other story.  Sure will keep you out there a while.  
And no, Please don't ask.