mrfishy34

i have been readin a book and they are talkin about stuff i do not know anything about. do i have to worry about arrow rest or nock adjustments? and is there any more tuning i should worry about. plus if i buy my bow at a pro shop will it be tuned for me? or do i have to shoot it quite abit first and then they will tune it? and if i buy it from a store like cabelas or scheels will they do anything in helping me tuning wise? these probley sound stp to you guys but i am new so i dono much. thnks for your help and puttin up with my questions

Arthur P

Question 1 - Yes. Centershot and nock location are the two most critical adjustments on your bow, and the two that don' t require a bow press.

Question 2 - Yes. TONS of tuning. Maintaining your axle to axle length and brace height, proper cam timing (or timing and synchronization on dual cam bows), limb tiller... Most of these adjustments require a bow press.

Question 3 - Depends on the shop. Most places just toss on a quick, generic tune that you have to tweak to fit yourself. I could tune your bow to shoot perfectly, but it would be tuned for shooting MY form, not yours. A very few superb shops will work with you to get your bow tuned before you walk out the door. And yes, there will be some touch-up tuning to do once the string/cables get settled in to their service lengths.

Question 4 - HAHAHAHAAhahhahahaaahaahaa he he... ahem. If you' re talking mail order, No. You get the bow and a box full of accessories and you' re in charge of setting it up. If you' re talking their department stores, then they will help but who knows if the guy behind the counter really knows any more than you do?

I suggest getting the book ' Tuning & Silencing Your Bowhunting Shooting System' by Larry Wise. Excellent resource to have in your archery library. It runs about $12 and worth every penny.

PABowhntr

Darn it Arthur....I was gonna get this one......and you are so darn thorough too.

Arthur P

I finally got a word in edgewise, Frank!

xibowhunter

arthur, i have a question, what do you mean when you say maintaining your axle to axle?i didn' t know that was adjustable. thanks

PABowhntr

Ha! I got this one covered Arthur.

Axle to axle length can vary depending on normal string stretch as well as the amount of twists you put into the system to compensate for it.....as well as the set draw weight in any given draw length range.

Taking measurements on things like cam position, brace height, axle to axle length, etc... when the bow comes right out of the box is a very good idea....(side note...not always saying that bows are always properly built right out of the box but you have to start somewhere...)

Arthur P

Yep! You got it, Frank. I' ve had axle to axle length on my ProTec increase by as much as 2 1/2" and brace height decrease by 5/8ths inch when I got a little lazy and didn' t check the measurements for a couple of months. It took 12 twists in each cable and 15 twists in the string to get everything back to factory spec and keep my draw weight and draw length on mark.

rockytop

You just got a lot of good advice and it probably scares heck out of you, thinking how in the world am I going to learn all that. Don' t worry about it. Get you a good bow from a good pro shop or a good used bow from a trustworthy friend and start learning. Shoot for a couple of months and read all you can about adjusting the bows. If you can' t work it out, get some help. I bow hunted for 15 years with a bow I bought from bass pro that I set up and I didn' t know anything about how to do a set up. I managed to kill alot of deer in those years but I will be the first to admit that I would have done alot better and it would have been alot easier if I had got some help. The main thing is to practice and try to find somebody that can give you pointers. Good luck to you and don' t be intimidated, just get with it.

Arthur P

Abolutely right!

One of the best things you can do is find a good pro shop in your area and build a good relationship with the people behind the counter. When you take your bow in for service, don' t just drop it off and leave, if they can get on it right away. Stand there and watch what the tech does, and how he does it. Ask a few questions along the way, but don' t be barrage the poor guy at every step. He' s a trying to make a living and doesn' t have time to relive the Spanish Inquisition.

In my opinion, the VERY best thing you can do is join an archery club and hang around with experienced shooters. You can learn more by accident just being around those folks than you ever will by reading books.

TFOX

I would like to add something.Knowing all the technical mumbo jumbo really isn' t necessary to being a good shot or hunter.It is conveniant and makes it easier from time to time.Or maybe harder if you start doing things you are not comfortable with.

I enjoy the technical side as do alot of people on this site.But there are some pro' s out there that couldn' t tune their own bow if their life depended on it.A friend of mine had a pro in the ASA tell him he doesn' t touch his bow but to shoot.He has a shop do everything.That is hard to believe but true.

I do suggest that a person should be familiar with his eqipment and should learn as much as possible but this comes with time.This really isn' t rocket science and is pretty easy to pick up.Being a master at the craft will take years of experience but you need to just enjoy the sport and learn it as you go along.