Info on tuning your bow

[ericboj]

#6282

I have hunted with stick and string for a little while and took an almost ten year hiatus but now I am back. I never really though or even knew about tuning ones recurve or long bow. Either I am typing in the wrong stuff in the search block but I just can not seem to find any info or I am just glancing to quickly at the article titles and missing something. Any help pointing me in the right direction will be much appreciate. The bow I want to tune is an old Bear Stag Hunter 45/50# @ 28″ and my draw length is 31″.

Eric

[Robin Conrads]

#49753

Hi Eric,

I guess my question is are you tuning it for brace height/noise or for arrow flight? The article Tuning 101 covers bare shaft tuning for flight issues. Maybe some of the other folks here have ideas to help.

[David Petersen]

#49771

The most complete guide to tuning I’ve seen–provided here a few months ago by a fellow tradbow member–is O.L. Adcock’s “Tuning Longbows and Recurves.” I restudy it every time a tuning issue comes up. It’s long, and some of the info is beyond the tech and interest levels of the average shooter like me. But it’s crammed with pearls and highly recommended. It’s available online for free at http://www.bowmaker.net/tuning.htm. Let us know if it helps. Dave

[ericboj]

#49823

TBMADMIN wrote: Hi Eric,

I guess my question is are you tuning it for brace height/noise or for arrow flight? The article Tuning 101 covers bare shaft tuning for flight issues. Maybe some of the other folks here have ideas to help.

Yes I guess for all of that but then I might just be over reacting to reading the recent tip of the week and looking back through some of my old back issues of TBM. Thanks for the link David I’ll definitely read over that.

Again I just might be over thinking things here since I only just re-started traditional bow last fall. I would really like to try it small game hunting and as far as deer I’ll keep it under 30 yards. I guess my biggest factor would be to just practice shooting and getting my form correct for more precise or smaller targets. I am just getting so excited about hitting the woods this fall. My wife will be trying her had at archery this year but for her it will be using a 6-Point(10-Point) Recurve crossbow. I have a two year old son I would just love to take out with me for an evening hunt in the blind and I might be able to convince my 20 year old step son to try it too. I am just getting very amped up here. 😀

[David Petersen]

#50064

Eric — you’ll need a fine-tuned bow indeed to consistently make stickbow shots at 30 yards. I’ve been trying for some 50 years now, since I was a teen, and still can’t do it! But maybe it’s a “personal problem.” 😛

[wahoo]

#50683

Eric this was always hard for me but the biggest things I found were brace nock and the proper arrow . I think I really over thought everything.Keep it simple have fun and shoot

[Charles Ek]

#55552

David Petersen wrote: The most complete guide to tuning I’ve seen–provided here a few months ago by a fellow tradbow member–is O.L. Adcock’s “Tuning Longbows and Recurves.” I restudy it every time a tuning issue comes up. It’s long, and some of the info is beyond the tech and interest levels of the average shooter like me. But it’s crammed with pearls and highly recommended. It’s available online for free at http://www.bowmaker.net/tuning.htm. Let us know if it helps. Dave

That right there is worth the price of admission to these forums, and a whole lot more. Thanks!

[Steertalker]

#55559

Eric,

Here is another excellent tuning guide:

http://www.eastonarchery.com/pdf/tuning_guide.pdf

Brett

[tombow]

#57598

The easton tuning guide is good. I’d suggest to work on your form alot. I made the mistake of trying to find the right arrow (aluminums) before I really had consistent repeatable form. Start up-close to the target 10-yards or so and don’t be too concerned with where the arrows hit, just focus on form, gripping the bow from shot to shot, good use of back tension when shooting and feeling the shot, NO peeking at the arrow to see how it is flying because that will cause you to move or alter your position. Just hold the bow and your focus until after the arrow hits the target. When your form is consistent, then you can start the real tuning.

It helps to have someone around who can watch you shoot and can tell you if your are making slight mistakes in your form. Of course, if you feel your form is good by all means start tuning your set-up. Just remember, do what works best for you. It doesn’t hurt to get set-up suggestions from other shooters but don’t make the mistake I did by thinking that my brace height had to be exactly x-inches or had to match how another shooter had their bow set-up. Every body is different so do what works best for you.

A few book suggestions: Shooting the Stickbow by Anthony Camera, a very thorough book on shooting form, tuning and equipment styles. G.Fred Asbell’s books Instinctive shooting and Inst. shooting 2. I also have the DVD’s Masters of the Barebow 1 & 2 which has various shooters and the styles that they use.

Best of Luck and Nice Bow, Man!

TomBow

[hrhodes]

#16223

You have already been given some very valuable sources of reference for bow tuning…

I would just like to add that, at least for me and my equipment, a deer or a squirrel has too much reaction speed to still be there when an arrow arrives if I shoot at them from more than about twenty yards. Maybe some of these other trad guys have different opinions on this subject, but I have found that twenty yards is my max hunting distance, even though I can shoot pretty well a little further than that. I am looking for a clean kill or I won’t shoot at all.

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