Bow Tuning Guide

[ELMER J. FUDD]

http://archeryhistory.com/archerytalk/The_Nuts&Bolts_of_Archery.pdf

Here's some decent info I'd like to share with those that may need to tune their own bows. Maybe WNY can work some mod magic and sticky? Enjoy

[WNYBuckHunter]

Sure thing!

[Rev Ev]

great stuff! and just in time for me and my new bow too!

[Doewhacker]

Good idea, I learned an important string loop leason today. When you are replacing your current loop with a new one be sure to mark or measure your nocking point and also be sure to get the nott side away from your cheek or it will give you a kiss when you shoot. I

Now I had the nocking point measured and marked but I did not have the notts on the right side so now I got a boo boo. I blame that on looking at the directions which are obviously set up for a right handed person. At first I had the notts on different sides of the string, that is another important step to note. I found out if the notts are on two different sides of the string it will mess up your tune you had on your bow and send your arrows off in the wrong direction. Once I got it all figured out I am back to normal, who would have thought a little thing like a nott in a string loop could mess you up.

[Doc]

who would have thought a little thing like a nott in a string loop could mess you up.

That's archery for you .... lol. It definitely is a sport of details!

[sits in trees]

i dont know, i have to say this whole bow tuning thing has been made to be way over complicated. i have owned atleast 20 some bows since the early 90s and have set up dozens of newbies bows, just did my son in laws last weekend.

i have a few basic tools from around the house, and can have a bow setup in an hour. guys get way too into it with paper tuning, trying all kinds of gizmos that do absolutely nothing for you and worst spending all kinds of time adjusting this timing that. i say get your bow and square it up and spend that time shooting/developing your form instead.

i paper tuned a bow once about 20 years ago and by the time i was done the damn was so out of kilter it was useless, havnt paper tuned one since and i can hit a pie plate at 50 yards with just about anyones bow that is the right draw lenght.

[sweet old bill]

I went about 15 years ago to a Easton arrow education center for Archery dealers and they had as a guest speaker the coach of the USA archery team and he talked about setting up bows and paper tuning, He asked as his first question how many use paper tuning and of the class there was only 3 of us that siad no we did not. He asked me why, and I told him since I was not a mechnical maching I did not think that I could have the same shot each time due to I was at that time a finger shooter and not a release.. He siad right on and then showed us flims of how by setting up the bow to paper sure did not seem to work as well as just making sure you had a good nock point and then putting baby powder on the rest / riser area and then shoot one arrow. Then check for drag marks to see if the arrow is clearing the rest without a hitting the riser etc. If hitting the riser you may have to fine tune the arrows to the bow like the arrow is to stiff or too weak a spine and have to lower the peak weight on the bow...I try to keep it all simple, I use a WB rest setup for me as now just a hunter. Works great in hunting for those shows under 40 yards. Most deer taken have been under 30 yards in the north east states due to are heavy brush etc, not like out west.

[NFA-ADK]

Agreed, I have never paper tuned my bow and can shoot a cd out to 65 yards when my form is good... Both bow's MQ1 and Heliem. I though it was needed but after talking to a bunch of people I can see it is not... Tuning is just not needed if form is good and consistant...

I purchased my bow from C&B archery in Hicksville and asked if they did paper tune it, they said no. I asked why and they said the bow was set up to factory spec. I asked them to test it. Dustin shot a perfect hole, then I shot(my form was off at the time) and tore a big tear in the paper. After getting my form back and getting a stiffer spine (400s to 340s)I can see the bow shoots true...

Now I just need a worthy deer to shoot!

[growalot]

Thanks...thought it was just me...

[Ironwood6]

FWIW I paper tuned for the first time this year because I was having trouble boadhead tuning. I discovered I was torqueing my grip. I thought I had a good bow grip, nothing wrong with my setup, just my grip.

[sid727]

Thanks Pal, as a newbie it helped me a lot!!!

[Fantail]

Here's something from buckmasters on avoiding the death grip. 

[Terry]

If I am accurate and my broadheads shoot the same as my field points I am happy. I don't get too caught up in it myself.

[damore81]

I went to the pro shop last night, a very reputable shop (Pro-line archery in Queens)  because I could not for the life of me paper tune my bow. I am shooting quarter-half dollar size groups from 20 to 30 yards but no matter what I do I keep getting paper tears. So with that said the guy at the pro-shop looked at my bow and made a few adjustments to my peep, rest and loop then shot it himself then made a few more tweaks.

 

Make a long story short he got it to tear a little less however not perfect and ended up telling me that some bows no matter what you do can never perfectly paper tune and as long as I can get my broadheads and field points to group tight consistently then I should not focus on the paper tuning. He swore to me that he cant even get his Bowtech to perfectly paper tune. 

 

Now I have been shooting for about 15 years and only paper tuned my last bow because prior to that I was not knowledgeable enough. I inherited a brand new bow about a month ago so I figured I would paper tune this one as well but that has not worked out and I dont know if I should give up and  listen to the guy at the pro-shop or keep trying. Now I have two bows, one which is a 2005 model and paper tuned and I dont plan on using anymore because I dont have the time to maintain and shoot two bows so I am going to sell, and one which is a 2013 model which shoots great but I cant paper tune. I kind of feel bad getting rid of the one that I have paper tuned cause maybe it is a better setup. Not really sure.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

How many sheets of paper are you licensed to take this year? Just kidding. But seriously. is it not grouping well? what is wrong with how it is shooting that you are focused on the paper tuning?

[damore81]

I already tagged out on paper lol. It is shooting great and grouping tight but the more I read the more I hear how important  paper tuning is along with all the possible causes and problems. One being fletching clearance through the rest and how I can ruin all my arrow fletchings. Most of all I am paranoid that it will effect my shot when it counts and that is when I am hunting. 

[shawnhu]

Damore, I'm not familiar with the newer bows and paper tuning, but with my older bow, it did take me several trips to Pro-Lines to do. This was with me doing it myself and taking the time to make micro adjustments. I also purposely shot with a tight grip after the tune and noticed huge tares in the paper, so something to think about.

No matter the shop, I don't expect the level of attention they can give vs doing it yourself. I was happy enough that Guy at Pro-Lines was nice enough to let me use the range to tune. You may have spoke with Neil or Joe.

The importance of paper tuning is to harness the maximum KE from the bow string and to help ensure a similar flight path between field tips and fixed broad heads. Some swear by it, some will just sight in for their broad heads. It's all about what you want out of your bow.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

[damore81]

Damore, I'm not familiar with the newer bows and paper tuning, but with my older bow, it did take me several trips to Pro-Lines to do. This was with me doing it myself and taking the time to make micro adjustments. I also purposely shot with a tight grip after the tune and noticed huge tares in the paper, so something to think about.

No matter the shop, I don't expect the level of attention they can give vs doing it yourself. I was happy enough that Guy at Pro-Lines was nice enough to let me use the range to tune. You may have spoke with Neil or Joe.

The importance of paper tuning is to harness the maximum KE from the bow string and to help ensure a similar flight path between field tips and fixed broad heads. Some swear by it, some will just sight in for their broad heads. It's all about what you want out of your bow.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

 

I did in fact work with Neil that day and he is a great guy and seemed very knowledgable but he was also extremely busy that day so I was not sure if he was telling me not to focus on paper tuning for the simple fact that he did not have time to work with me. Anyways my broadheads and field points are flying and grouping true and within a 1 1/2inches at 30 yards so I am satisfied with that for now. If I have more time to play with then I will try and work a little more on it.

[shawnhu]

Do you know the actual speed of you old bow vs new? If you are using the same arrows, and the new bow is shooting faster, the arrows may be flexing more on the new bow than the older one.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

[damore81]

Do you know the actual speed of you old bow vs new? If you are using the same arrows, and the new bow is shooting faster, the arrows may be flexing more on the new bow than the older one.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

 

The bow is much faster however I set it up with a new set of better quality stiffer and heavier arrows so I dont think that is the issue. My form and grip is proper and consistent so I took those out of the equation hence why I am puzzled. Maybe Neil was right and possibly some bows dont paper tune perfectly.

[Bowtoons]

Here is my take on tuning a bow. Yes. You can set up a bow to shoot decent groups out to 40 yrds. by setting center shot and squaring everything up. Myself. I want to squeeze every little bit of performance I can out of my bow. Here is how I tune mine and every other person that brings their rig to me for a tune. I first inspect strings and cables to ensure they are in good shape.( I always use a good set of custom strings and not the factory strings myself). Then the bow goes on the draw board and I time/sync the cams and get the DL. correct. I don't worry about ATA and Brace. Those numbers aren't set in stone numbers. Next. I find the center shot and set the rest and go right into bare shaft paper tuning ( I don't even bother with a fletched shaft). I will do this out to 30yrds. I adjust my paper tear by yoke tuning (if bow has one. The reason I don't care for Elites). Once I get bare shaft shooting bullet holes out to 30 yrds. I go to broadheads. I've yet to have to make any adjustments with fixed or mechanicals with any bow that I've bare shaft tuned at 30 yrds. After all of the tuning is done. I will send some arrows thru the chronograph to see if it's making or close to ibo. More for fun than anything else (They are all fast!). Confidence in your set up goes a long way when you have that opportunity of a lifetime. I'm not trying to hit a pie plate at 40Yrds. I'm trying to split hairs at 40 yrds. I'm not claiming to be the best tuner in the world, but I'm pretty good at it and love doing it. If anyone needs help. Feel free to send me a p.m. and I'll do what I can to get you going in the right direction.

[dhuntley2]

I didn't know much about tuning my bow when I first got it, actually I knew nothing. There are two bow shops close by and the guys there both contradicted themselves on what I should do. I did a little research online and ended up buying Bill Winke's book setting up the perfect bowhunting bow. This book has everything in it that you could need. After following the steps and advice in it I can hit a quarter at 40 yards. I ended up going with the motto . . . keep it simple stupid. The less there is on my bow the less there is to go wrong. I got rid of my clip in quiver and now use a separate quiver that I wear like a belt. That right there made a huge difference so much less noise and weight I will never have a quiver on my bow from now on. I got rid of the top arm on my rest, that also just made noise and got in the way. There are a lot of things you can do with a bow, but for me less is more. Also on a side note if you don't know who Bill Winke is and the caliber of bucks he shoots check out midwestwhitetail.com, it will amaze you.

Edited December 13, 2013 by dhuntley2

[dbHunterNY]

surprised this is only two pages long.  if you shoot well you can get an out of tune bow to stack field points on top of each other.  also if you shoot a lot I'm saying your bow won't hold it's tune thoughout summer/early fall shooting.  the strings and cables will stretch a little and you might have to add a twist or two to each, even with good strings.  you don't have to paper tune to get a bow shooting reasonably well.  if you want the most out of your bow, you do have to do additional tuning than just eyeballing things though.  fine tuning your setup helps accuracy, but not so much the accuracy of the bow.  it makes the bow more forgiving which can drastically increase your accuracy.  you here all the time how people can shoot the smallest uncommon groups at ranges out past 40 yards on nice firm flat ground with little wind.  don't know about you but most of the time I'm shooting at a whitetail from a treestand, siiting in a blind, up or down a ridge, on a side hill, standing in a hole, standing on rocks, etc.  those situations are where you need the forgiveness of a fine tuned bow to make that shot count.

 

bow tuning is an art when done right.  you really can't say a bow is tuned or is not tuned.  any bow can be tuned better or worse.  people don't have to but can make it complicated.  there isn't anything wrong with this, because there's a lot going on when a bow is drawn and shot, especially with today's high energy bows.

 

I always start by getting the bow set to factory specs at maximum poundage as that was how it was designed to perform best.  these specs should still be true after you time the cam or cams, have correct tiller, etc.  also that's with accessories installed in strings and cables, just not in necessarily the exact spot.  otherwise your bow may not be to spec after you install them, as installing them changes the lengths of the string and cables.

 

another pet peeve I have is with drop away rest installations.  install the rest cords to the bow's cable string with the metal clamps that come with the rest.  if you serve them in you've got to put the bow in a press and cut the serving any time you need to re-time or adjust the rest, which should be any time you adjust poundage, arrows, or string accessories unless in kind.  I suppose you could leave a tag end at the rest for adjustment but nobody I know does that.

 

I could type for months about this stuff  I assume this is a thread where someone can ask a specific question with the hopes of being helped out or the question being answered.  i'll leave it at that.

[CuseHunter]

This year my archery season was in jeopardy after not being able to get my bow tuned well enough to have my BH's and field points group both well. I got frustrated and went to a local shop who I've always dealt with, unfortunately they charged me nearly $40 to "fix" my rest alignment (which I bought the whole bow setup there in the first place) and even after that I found my arrow to be shooting way off of my field tip. Half way through the season I got my bow tuned decently well with using tips on here and archery talk. Your guys input definitely helps those who are in a jam like I was earlier.

[Bowtoons]

surprised this is only two pages long.  if you shoot well you can get an out of tune bow to stack field points on top of each other.  also if you shoot a lot I'm saying your bow won't hold it's tune thoughout summer/early fall shooting.  the strings and cables will stretch a little and you might have to add a twist or two to each, even with good strings.  you don't have to paper tune to get a bow shooting reasonably well.  if you want the most out of your bow, you do have to do additional tuning than just eyeballing things though.  fine tuning your setup helps accuracy, but not so much the accuracy of the bow.  it makes the bow more forgiving which can drastically increase your accuracy.  you here all the time how people can shoot the smallest uncommon groups at ranges out past 40 yards on nice firm flat ground with little wind.  don't know about you but most of the time I'm shooting at a whitetail from a treestand, siiting in a blind, up or down a ridge, on a side hill, standing in a hole, standing on rocks, etc.  those situations are where you need the forgiveness of a fine tuned bow to make that shot count.

 

bow tuning is an art when done right.  you really can't say a bow is tuned or is not tuned.  any bow can be tuned better or worse.  people don't have to but can make it complicated.  there isn't anything wrong with this, because there's a lot going on when a bow is drawn and shot, especially with today's high energy bows.

 

I always start by getting the bow set to factory specs at maximum poundage as that was how it was designed to perform best.  these specs should still be true after you time the cam or cams, have correct tiller, etc.  also that's with accessories installed in strings and cables, just not in necessarily the exact spot.  otherwise your bow may not be to spec after you install them, as installing them changes the lengths of the string and cables.

 

another pet peeve I have is with drop away rest installations.  install the rest cords to the bow's cable string with the metal clamps that come with the rest.  if you serve them in you've got to put the bow in a press and cut the serving any time you need to re-time or adjust the rest, which should be any time you adjust poundage, arrows, or string accessories unless in kind.  I suppose you could leave a tag end at the rest for adjustment but nobody I know does that.

 

I could type for months about this stuff  I assume this is a thread where someone can ask a specific question with the hopes of being helped out or the question being answered.  i'll leave it at that.

 

I will have to disagree on the part about setting everything to factory specs. Brace height and ata are not set in stone numbers. You should be within reason of these numbers, although they don't have to be exact. Also the metal football clamps are the worst IMO. They can slide with out realizing it. I always serve my cords in. Once the cord is through the string. You don't need a press to re-time if needed. If you install a good quality set of strings, you won't have much messing around once in tune.