tune your bow

[ironhead22]

Just wondering how many of you guys tune your bow yourself or do you have someone do it for you.

[ElkNut1]

Tune my own. Never had a bow tuned by someone else for me before.

ElkNut1

[ironhead22]

Any specific reason elknut?

[pointysticks]

I'm not do sure someone can tune a bow for you. They won't shoot it like you would.

[pointysticks]

They could spec tune it.

[Harmy]

While you pros are at it in this discussion would someone care to explain the basics of what is involved in tuning a bow and how frequently these contraptions need to be retuned?

[ironhead22]

Harmy it depends on several factors, how much you shoot, how rough you are on equipment ect. A good bow should stay in tune for awhile, but I have had bows in the past no matter what wouldn't hold a tune.

[ironhead22]

Short answer is on average about every 2 years on strings and cables, at which point things like tiller settings, cam lean, cam timing on two cam or hybrid cams will be set. I shoot a lot and do it all myself I have OCD when it comes to my bow so I check it about every 6 months or so, its really not needed but I enjoy doing it so.

[ElkNut1]

iornhead, just never saw the need I guess. We've tuned our own bows for many moons now & have few issues. We tune them with field points & broadheads & shoot both out to 100yds.

Pointysticks, yes a bow can be tuned by someone else. If you are not shooting a tuned bow well you are most likely torquing the bow or you are using arrows where fletching may be contacting string cable or rest. A tuned bow is a tuned bow as a sighted in rifle is a sighted in rifle with a scope.

ElkNut1

[>>>---WW---->]

Check out www.bowtuningtips.com and you'll have no problem learning how to tune your own bow. This guy know his stuff!

[ironhead22]

Elknut I guess my question should have been do you have access to a good proshop with someone you trust with your equipment? I'm looking to open a shop in the next year or so and am just looking for idea's to make it a great place. The reason I started working on my own is because I didn't trust the guys around here.

[ElkNut1]

We have no Pro Shops or real Archery Shops here, nearest ones are 100 miles from us. We do basic tunes for ourselves but have never gotten into cam lean type adjustments, so far we've never had to. I do hear you though on the "trust" factor, many shops do not have a clue!

ElkNut1

[ironhead22]

When I was 16 I saved all the money I could and bought my first brand new bow, looking it over after about 2 weeks I noticed that my upper cam had some scratches on it took it up to the.counter and asked the.guy what could be causing this he says your cam is leaning and its an easy fix. Takes my brand new pride and joy Alpine behind a wall I hear the.press cranking and then BOOM, he comes around the corner shaking and says I don't know what happened it just blew up. The owner of the shop replaced the limbs and made me happy but that's when I decided that I would learn how to do everything and never give my hard earned bow to someone who probably should be trusted with a potato gun.

[Swede]

I prefer to tune my own. Ultimately what you want is for the cams to be in sync and for the arrow to leave the bow in perfect alignment with the travel of the string nock. In theory it is very simple, but there are a number of things that need to be taken into consideration including the form and release of the shooter and the kind of release used. I use a double jaw release and ty to eliminate hand torque. With a drop away rest I set the string nock level with the rest, and the arrow is set square with the riser. Bow tuned. Let's go shooting.
Elknut is absolutely right. There are many pros, or so called pros who are worthless at tuning a bow. Some are very good. The trouble is that you can't tell the difference by listening to them brag, and they act like they have a franchise on all bow skills.

[pointysticks]

elknut. i respectfully disagree

IMHO, i think shooting a bow is about consistency. every person grips a bow differently, has a different anchor point, etc. bare minimum. if someone needs to tune my bow, they should at least shoot a 28" DL. i know for a fact, bowshops dont yell out.."hey norm!..we have a customer that shoots a 29"DL..his bow needs a tune. you're a 29..you're up!"" what about lefty shooters? my bowshop has no lefties.

i've bought 2 bows..both times, the shop takes the time and gets me to shoot a bullet hole in paper before i leave. (Second bow sucked). then i just take bow home and broadhead tune it for my broadheads. i basically move the nock point up or down, and move the rest left/right/up/down..until my broadheads fly the same. theoritcally, i take all the papertune measurements and move them around until my broadheads fly right. never tried going back to paper. i assume it would be horrible tears.

i think a GREAT bow shop will get the bow to spec. ATA perfect, berger to string distance perfect..cam timing perfect. look for things more sinister like idler lean, cam lean..and let the bow go.

my last bow, shot bullet holes on paper and would shoot any broadhead with my fieldtips. man, why i sold that bow i dont know. i am an idiot. all that bow had to be in was a perfect spec tune and it was good. GRRRR, i want that bow back. next bow i buy like that, i am NEVER selling.

my good friend. you nock an arrow on his bow, and it wont even line up with the stabilizer. it is wacky. he is deadly accurate. a great hunter. his grip is so wrong, the bow needs to have the rest way out. but it works for him. i shoot his bow (lefty) and i would shoot arrows around a corner.

just my opinion. i'm probably incorrect, but i'm correct for me. hehe.

[ironhead22]

"
Elknut is absolutely right. There are many pros, or so called pros who are worthless at tuning a bow. Some are very good. The trouble is that you can't tell the difference by listening to them brag, and they act like they have a franchise on all bow skills.[/quote]

I agree, I've always tried to keep an open mind when it comes to bow tuning. 7 years ago I would have argued till the cows came home that paper tuning was 100% vital to tuning until one of the beat shooter in the.country showed me otherwise. Now I very rarely do it unless I'm getting something that's shooting very strangely, but if I can't get a perfect bullet hole I don't worry about it so much, let the vain do its job and move on.

[Swede]

Ironhead22, I rarely paper tune also. What I do instead is to ensure my broadheads hit very near where my field points hit. Based on my initial set up, that is usually very close. Another item often over looked is the arrow. The arrow is a critical part of the equation. Have one that has the correct spine, or is just a little stiff, balances a little front of center, and is offset or spiral fletched. Normally I go several years with the same string and do not readjust the bow. A well tuned bow should not need to be tinkered with, unless something happens to it.

[cnelk]

I trust my bow shop to do most of my tune up and any maintenance.
If needed, I can fix and tune it in the field for hunting purposes.
But if something more specific is needed, the bow shop gets my business

But not just any shop.
I know of one that I wouldn't let work on my wheelbarrow

I do my own tuning on my recurve

[pointysticks]

But not just any shop.
I know of one that I wouldn't let work on my wheelbarrow

hahahhaha.

[ironhead22]

Swede I agree 100% with you. I shoot Gold Tip and spine test every arrow, I don't do it because I don't trust them but because I truly enjoy every aspect of archery and to me that's part of it.

[pointysticks]

here is my horror story.

i got a solo..err..single cam. the bow company flipped the cable and string locations going thru the cable guard..effectively pulling the idler wheel way crooked. to shoot anything the arrow rest had to be really close to the riser. fletching contact was a big issue. to fix this, the shops would twist the outside yoke alot. this destroyed the cable. THREE bowshops had a shot at it. i got new strings and cables. they simply followed the companies lead again..STRUNG the cable wrong. the bow was shooting "ok", but the cable at the yoke was coming apart again with the many many twist. i was sitting in a tree stand in texas just staring at the bow. i heard the click in my head..i figured it out!!

i compared my bow to all others in camp and knew i was right. i emailed the manufacturer. sent a picture of the original strings installed on the bow. thank goodness i had a picture. the vice president of the company called me. he was so apologetic. he sent me two sets of strings (which i sold on AT), ball caps, tshirts... he asked me what would renew faith in my company. i said, "invite me and my brother to your secret company hunting ground". he actually laughed at me. we talked for an hour. he said he had a meeting with his staff and my picture was part of his presentation. nice guy. wish i could have hunted on the company dime. hahah.

i drove 3 hours to find a new bowshop to install the strings. my bow shoots great now. it may not be the "one", and as soon as my wife gets done with school, i am buying a new one. i am done with single cams. time to try something new.

[ctdad]

I used a local archery shop and was always happy with their knowledge base and service..... Then I started reading and learning how to do things myself and I learned that even the basics of tuning were being done incorrectly by the shop. Center shot was off, cams were not synched and I had adjusted things on my bow to make it work, sort of. Now, I do everything myself.

I've enjoyed learning about the psychological side of archery regarding some of this as well. Bernie Pellerite books go into it in detail. In his shooting schools and books, he points out that many of the tuning details of a bow are more in your head than anything. If you believe you have a problem, then you will have one. Of course, he acknowledges that a few basics must be correct. His shooting school spends 3 days on form and about 20 minutes on tuning. Pretty obvious to me after attending that I was the problem, not the bow!

[Freebird134]

I tune my own.

1. A proshop cannot/will not tune a bow for you as well as YOU can tune a bow for You. Even if they tried (which they usually won't) subtle differences are inevitable.

2. It's cheaper

3. What happens if you need a retune in the woods? I want to know the ins and outs of my bow.

4. Every time you switch something, you must retune. I tinker with BHs, arrows, stabilizers, etc too much to rely on someone else.

[ironhead22]

Ctdad your absolutely right! I'm going to throw this out I'm sure some of you will disagree with me and that's fine, there are thousands of mechanical broadheads sold every year and the main reason why is because everyone says that tuning a bow to shoot fixed blade broadheads requires some kind of black magic.

[cnelk]

What's a mechanical Broadhead?

[buglmin]

lol....
I replace my strings and harnesses every year. I make sure my strings and harness have no more then five twists in them...a bowstring is lke a rope or cable, twisting weakens them.
A bow perfectly tuned and grouping extremely well might have terrible holes through paper. I was taught how to tune for groups. Paper tuning is just the a step to see how your bow does after its been tuned.
With todays bows with their huge cams, split limbs, cam lean is always there. You can never completely do away with all cam lean, its not possible. And torqueing a bow effects cam lean. Thats why a lot of bows shoot better without a bow quiver on...cam timing might not be perfect on a bow, and some guys prefer the timing to be off just a lil to aid in paradox. But its something to be played with.
I tune my own bows. Tune for perfect arrow flight and grouping at 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards. I dont try to tune a bow when I'm tired, or have other things on my mind. And I dont worry bout shooting perfect holes in paper.
Arrows greatly effect a bows accuracy. Thats why Im always telling people to buy the best they can afford. A broadhead tipped arrow going over 300 fps will show problems in bow tuning and form. I spine all of my arrows, check for straightness, and check spine 360 degrees around the arrow to find the stiff side. I weigh each arrow and each broadhead. The most important thing people overlook is the nock. Nock tightness effects arrow/bow tune. After Ive had the experience of shooting my bows in a shooting machine, you learn and see things that help greatly in bow tuning.
No one can tune your bow for you. They can set it up and get it close, but no one anchors or grips a bow like you. No one releases like you. A good pro shop can help you and show you how to get the best performance from your bow.
And yessir, I spend just as much time tuning my recurves as I do my 3D bows, hunting bows. Is all the time spent tuning really required? I dunno, but it gives me confidence in myself and my equipment.

[Broken arrow]

I shoot a recurve and a couple selfbows and I tune myself. If I can get a bare shaft to fly straight out to 20yds I'm satisfied sometimes a half twist up or down on the string or a brace height on the high or low side is needed it can take time (A lot sometimes) to find that sweet spot of speed, quietness, and great arrow flight! If I owned a compound I wouldn't even know what to do might as well be a nuclear reactor! Lol

[ctdad]

"Is all the time spent tuning really required? I dunno, but it gives me confidence in myself and my equipment."

This is the key to the psychology. It matters b/c you believe it matters. For those who don't think it matters, it doesn't (as long as a few basics are correct). I'm the same as you. I believe it matters so I focus on that part of archery....now. When I was in my twenties, I shot whatever setup was in front of me with no clue as to what "tuning" meant and I didn't care. Killed all sorts of animals. I had confidence in my bow and abilities. Would have laughed at people who tried to tell me differently (which is also part of how I was in my twenties!).

[ElkNut1]

When a bow is tuned at a specific draw wt with a specific arrow spine & draw length no matter by who, then it is tuned. The bow has a "sweet spot" for that setup. You are not going to take 5 different guys & find 5 different sweet spots in that bow & it's setup! In order for things to change it's tuning in that bow something else has to change such as draw length, arrow, etc. If you take that tuned bow & are having issues then it's the shooter not the bow! You are torquing the bow or you do not have fletching clearances. The bow only draws so far & hits its valley, you can nock anywhere you'd like on your face it does not change the tuning of the bow with that correct spined arrow. Again, it's the shooter!

I will qualify that if someone tunes your bow their may be a slight adjustment by the actual bow owner but for the most part it is dialed in.

ElkNut1

[ironhead22]

I shoot one off custom strings I give the guy my bow he builds my stings, shoots the string in with peep and d-loop to my measurements and the tune is about dead on. My opinion is yes someone can tune your bow and you be nowhere around. I have tuned hundreds of bows for friends and there friends and at times its easier for me to get the bow very close without them and then fine tune with them, I know my grip is the same every time where they might have high wrist one shot and low the next especially with a new shooter. Just my opinion.

[planebow]

I do all my own tuning. Built me a parallel bow press so I can do all the tuning. Have changed to lower weight limbs, installed new bow strings and all my tuning. I enjoy trying to get everything perfect but that is very time consuming.

[otcWill]

I do all my own or seek help from archery nerd buddies if necc. I actually like the whole tuning process and think it helps you to really get a true feel for your bow that you'd not get otherwise.

[Indian Summer]

I'm a fairly self sufficient guy. I'm also the kind of guy who likes to know things work & how they go together. If it's something I use and depend on on a regular basis I have to know what makes it tick.

When I was young I spent a fair amount of time in the archery store even if I didn't need anything. A few new shops popped up over the years and I became friends with a couple of the owners. I knew as much as they did. I would watch them go through employees and it didn't take to long to see that they were just people who were learning just like anyone else. Back then we didn't call it a Pro Shop either.

So I tune my own. Center shot isn't rocket science.

Any adjustments a shooter needs to make to a perfectly tuned and sighted in bow are just compensations for flaws in shooting form, same as a scoped rifle. That is basic rocket science. Once center shot is achieved it's just a matter of trajectory.... setting the pin height.

If I have any questions I'll go to a couple internet techy guys that I know and ask them. I'll learn from a trusted source and do it myself.

If I owned or worked at a pro shop and assembled and tuned bows for people I would walk them through what I was doing if they were interested. That way they'd learn and also know that I knew what I was talking about.

Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach him to fish & tune his bow and he'll eat for a lifetime. (grin)

[>>>---WW---->]

Between my son in law and myself, we have our own home shop and we can pretty much handle anything that arises. He has a cutoff saw, 2 Bitzenberger fletchers, bow scale, and string level. I have two bow presses, also another Bitzenberger, spin tester, and arrow weight scale. We both have most of the other odds and ends that might be needed for any tuning problems.

So if you have a buddy that you shoot with, you can set yourself up for a fairly reasonable price by sharing equipment.

[cnelk]

But not just any shop.
I know of one that I wouldn't let work on my wheelbarrow

hahahhaha.

Just to confirm my opinion about this shop...

I called them this morning to see if they had any recurve strings.
Told the guy that my AMO is 58"
The 'lackey' on duty went to the shelf to look and came back and told me 'We don't have have any 58" strings'...

'Click'....

[FemoralArchery]

Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach him to fish & tune his bow and he'll eat for a lifetime. (grin)

But he'll likely be eating carp if he follows his local game laws, at least in the west he will.

[Indian Summer]

You misunderstood Femoral... teach a man to tune his bow & he won't have to fish!

[FemoralArchery]

Good call. Fish can get old after a while.