Flight tuning your bow

[bowtech]

I want to share with you , a method of tuning a bow that is so superior to paper tuning that persons who understand the principle will use no other method.

This is not intended to be a slam against anyone who does paper tune but rather a different way of tuning for better arrow flight.
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Before even bothering to go through this procedure lets determine if it is even needed.
Do your broad heads group with your field points out to 40yrds?
If so then you are fine and don't bother
If not , please try this method if you are at wits end , trying to make things work.

What is needed most of all is near perfect form on the shooters part and if you just are not good enough (nobody is perfect) your bow can be tuned for you by a friend who possesses such form

We must start with a bow that is timed (if dual cam) properly and a nock point which is correct.
(thats another thread ;D )

Start by putting a cardboard target on your backstop which has a cross drawn on it with visible (from 40yrds) marker pen.

Starting at 10yrds. hold the top pin on the vertical line and fire three arrows before removing any.
Don't be concerned with the center point , just concentrate on the vertical line.

If all your arrows are grouped well and on the line you can continue.
If you need to set the sight do so now and if you cannot group at ten yards , fix it first.

now move back to 20yrds. and repeat the vertical line shots.

where are your arrows?
If they are on the line good.
if they are not then follow the suggestions below.

if the arrows are to the left of the line,move the rest to the right.
Perhaps 1/32 " to the right for every 1" that the arrow is off.
Opposite for arrows hitting right.

Now that you have moved the rest , re-shoot at 20yrds. and continue to move the rest until the arrows are back on the line.

Now go back to 10yrds. and re-shoot moving the sight pins if needed.
(normally not needed)

Now move to 30 and repeat the same as the 20yrd. test.
Adjust as needed.

Now out to 40 and viola!..you are dead nuts! right?....NO


;D

Now we are going to make sure that there are not other little gremlins hiding beneath that perfect tracking flight

Time to shoot the broad heads

Take a good rest and head back out with a couple field points and a couple broad heads.
(the bigger the better )

At 30 yards first shoot a field point to insure that you are rested enough to make that perfect shot.
If so , now shoot the broad head.

Now you are going to shoot for that X and be sure to hold primarily on the horizontal line.

What happened?

If the head hit high then start moving the nock height up starting with1/16 for every 3" that the head hits above the horizontal line.
Opposite for low impact.

once you have it where it is on the horizontal plane , do a quick recheck at 40yrds to make sure the vertical has not changed.
(normally wont)

When you have finished all this , you will have a bow that is either the best tuned bow money can buy or... if you cant keep tune in this way , you will have a bow which cannot be tuned

Any questions?

[ScottC]

Thanks for the info, bowtech.

[admin]

That all sounds vaguely familiar, must have read it somewhere else.

[bowtech]

well its not an original idea and bare shaft tuning follows the same principal so you may well have.

[elk4me]

sounds great Bowtech I am gona try to do that myself!

[michihunter]

Great stuff BT!! And I personally feel that paper tuning is the most over hyped BS in the archery world. I'll try to dig up an article from a Hoyt employee that states about the same!!

[Pete]

Hey BT, what's the difference in this from setting your center shot? Kinda' sounds the same to me but then I'm just a redneck from NC ;D

[michihunter]

I agree IBO!! I say it's just another form of walk back tuning. But it still beats paper tuning everytime!!

[bowtech]

You are correct that it is like center shot tuning but I like my method better because within all that picky twittering about , you can sometimes find a fatal flaw that may be missed in a straight walk back.

[michihunter]

Makes perfect sense!!

[Pete]

I'll have to try that the next time I set someone's bow up. Maybe it'll cut down on some of the "hit-n-miss" time.

[hoosieroutdoorsman]

Bowtech,,have you found very many bows that couldn1t be tuned to perfection? If so what were the causes? I always in my early days of archery thought that each and every bow no matter how expensive or cheap could be tuned to perfection,,but over the years I have found exceptions. Or at least what I felt were exceptions and couldn`t get them completely dead on.

[michihunter]

Here's that article I mentioned about papertuning!!


HOYT USA-Dealer Newsletter



Archery Myths

Paper Tuning &

The “Perfect Bullet Hole”

By Wade Doyle - Hoyt USA Customer Service Manager


Paper tuning for the “perfect bullet hole” is probably one of the most argued subjects in archery. It is also probably one of the least under stood subjects. Archers tend to believe their bow will never shoot perfectly if it can’t shoot a “perfect bullet hole” through paper. As we will discuss, this is just not true!

Shooting an arrow through paper will illustrate your arrow flight at the specific distance you’re shooting from only. If you move back a few feet or up a few feet your tear could be completely different! Obviously, arrow flight is important when tuning your bow. However, even if you can’t shoot a perfect hole, this does not mean your bow is not working right or that you will not be able to shoot tight groups. In fact, many top archers actually tune their bows to get a small ½” or ¾” tear to achieve the best groups. So if you can’t create a perfect bullet hole, don’t panic and give up. Remember that the sole purpose of tuning your bow is to help you attain the tightest groups possible, not to achieve a perfect bullet hole though paper.

The first thing you should do after obtaining a bow is to install all of your accessories. Rough tune the bow and shoot a minimum of 100 shots. Shooting the initial 100 shoots will allow the “shoot in” and will preset the buss cables and string. If you take time to shoot the first 100 shoots without making changes, it will be much easier in the long run to tune your bow.

Once you have completed these steps, you should paper tune your bow several distances. This will help set your bow up for good arrow flight. The following descriptions will help you determine what your paper tears mean. Note these adjustments are for small tears, larger tears may require arrow change. Excessive vertical tears indicate a nocking point adjustment is needed. For a high tear lower your nocking point height slightly. For a low tear raise your nocking point slightly.

Holes with a Right Tear Right Handed Shooters.

A right tear indicates that your arrows are too stiff in spine for the bow’s present weight setting. This applies to a right handed shooter. A left handed archer will have the opposite pattern. To correct this type tear, try one or more of the following:

a) move your arrow rest in toward the bow.

b) increase the bow’s weight setting.

c) use a heavier weight arrow point.

d) decrease your cushion plunger tension if a plunger-type rest is used.

e) try a weaker spined arrow.

Holes with a Left Tear Right Handed Shooters.

A left tear indicates that your arrows are too weak in spine for the bow’s present weight
setting. This applies to a right handed shooter. A left handed archer will have the opposite pattern. To correct this type of tear, try one or more of the following:

a) move your arrow rest out from the bow.

b) decrease the bow’s weight setting.

c) use a lighter weight arrow point.

d) increase your cushion plunger tension if a plunger type rest is used.

e) try a stiffer spined arrow.

These adjustments will also help as you tune for accuracy. It is important to note that any changes you make to the alignment of your rest should be very small. If you find you are having to make major changes, then you are probably using the wrong arrow. The final tuning should include tiller tuning, micro tuning or a verity of other tuning methods.

Once your arrows are grouping tightly at your aiming point, go back and shoot a couple more arrows through paper. This is not to make additional changes to the bow, but to create a reference for the future adjustments. Many times when your bow is perfectly tuned and is grouping well, the hole through paper will not be a perfect bullet hole, but will be slightly off. This is fine, you do not need to have a perfect “bullet hole”. Don’t forget, many top archers say they have a tear that is slightly off after they have finished tuning. Remember, your bow is in tune for you’re shooting style! Accuracy is everything in archery-not necessarily a perfect bullet hole!
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[bowtech]

hoosieroutdoorsman , sorry for the late reply but I have been really busy.
I have seen bows that couldn't be tuned as is but most can be tuned if they are fixed

There have been some exceptions in as much as the design was so poor that the state of tune for that bow was not in line with standards that would be expected.

Yet even in these cases a percentage can still be fixed to afford some amount of reliable service.

I have a bow right now that cannot be fixed by any manner of tuning alone and I am just waiting for the time to do something with it...whatever that may be