atlasman

I was bored yesterday so I got out the paper and checked my setup to see how she was tearing holes. I added a new sight and figured what the hell...........any change could effect a bow so I better check.

After a few arrows I was getting a very small left tear so I moved my rest to the right just a hair and was shooting bullet holes on next shots through paper.

Like I said I was bored so I just felt like shooting the paper up so I kept shooting it............well on one of my shots I got a BIG left tear again. Obviously I was torqueing the grip because I went right back to shooting bullet holes after that.

It got me thinking that if someone consistently torques the grip a little bit they will get false readings on the paper and be changing their setup when they shouldn' t. Even worse is if they make a shot without torqueing the grip with a bow tuned by shooting with torque......they will get bad arrow flight/penetration.

Last question is.........if a person torques the grip enough to get for example a big left tear. He then either gets a stiffer arrow shaft (right handed) or moves his rest to the right until he gets perfect bullet holes. Is this bow now in tune?? Is there such a thing as being tuned to a shooter style or should every bow be tuned as if the shooter will have good form???


Hope that wasn' t too confusing.

Arthur P

I' ve always said that paper tuning is at least just as much a test of your shooting form as it is a test of bow tune. I don' t think paper tuning is totally useless (even though I hardly ever mess with it), but it needs to be followed up on by other forms of tuning as a double check.

Rack-attack

No, I disagree.

I do not think paper tuning with fletched shafts is a good tool to get perfect tune - but it can be a tool to get close. And when I talk about tune it also includes what the shooter is doing - the bow and the shooter need to be " in tune" with each other.


I don' t see that as a false reading - with a little knowledge of what’s going on - you can conclude that torque is the culprit - so it is telling you something of value - the " false reading" come from the interpretation of this by the shooter - not from the paper.

Same exact thing can happen to a shooter with perfect form - who has is bow tuned for no torque - if he now torques it a little he will gad bad flight. It all comes down to consistency - deviate from it and arrow flight suffers.

A stiff arrow will not help, or IMO put the bow back into tune - to many factors going on.

It is rare to have a bow set up and tuned perfect that does not account for some hand torque or shooter personality. If this weren’t the case we would just set the bows up to factory specs and have a perfect tune. Bows are often tuned to the shooter - so yes the bow would be in tune. You can " tune out a little bit of consistent hand torque. It is when it is excessive or inconsistent that problems occur.

This is why a bow must be tuned by the shooter. we all shoot diiferent, and all require a slightly different tune. I cannot shoot and tune your bow for you nor can you for me.

And that paper can give people fits

mathewsarcher

More people have quit archery over paper tuning than we will ever know!
Occasionaly I take lessons from a Former World Champion. He tells me that paper tuning is the biggest waste of time there is. I know that some are fans of it. My coach is not. FWIW..................

atlasman

By the sounds of what you guys are saying you don' t rely too much on paper as your tuning guide.

What does satisfy you that your bow is tuned well??

Here is what I have found best results with.

I paper tune to bullet holes.........then I shoot from 20-30 yards and watch the arrow flight, not caring where they hit, just how they fly. If I am satisfied that the arrows are flying straight, I will then shoot groups and adjust my sight to the groups. In the end I have a bow that is shooting bullet holes through paper, with atraight arrow flight and nice groups hitting right where I place my pins.

The problem I have with tuning is if you take 20 different guys and give them the same bow they will have it tuned 20 different ways.

I' m all ears if you have any secrets you want to share


Also............if you had to pick one measuring stick on how well a bow is tuned......what would it be??

atlasman

What does he recommend??

Rack-attack

Easy answer - screw on your broadheads - and shoot and tune until you get good consistent groups out to 40 or 50 yds. If you can achieve this do you really care if you walk back to the paper and find a 1 inch high tear?? I wouldn' t.

pdq 5oh

I used to shoot paper. Not much anymore, though. I have a starting point re: set up, & tune from there. For me the indicator is groups at 40 yds. If the groups are bad, the tune is off, or something in the equipment mix. I shoot the vertical & horizontal before shooting groups.

c903

Paper-tuning is a take it or leave it process; ' bout like rattlin' .

My problem is I am a 1/64th nut. When it comes to my bowhunting gear, I do not feel right or ready unless I am convinced I have squeezed in the tightest tolerances possible on all my settings, including the flight of my shafts.

I know that some of what I do is " overkill," but I always enter the field with full confidence that none of my gear will fail through the entire season, and that all systems have been adjusted and set for maximum performance. I am confident, barring the arrival of " Murphy," any unsuccessful performance in the field will always be my fault.

I have never considered " paper-tuning" to be an indicator of accuracy. For me, paper-tuning is my calibrator that I use to ascertain that each piece of gear that is adjusted to best performance to enable the best (shaft) flight and accuracy possible, and that my form is correct.

In many ways, arrows are a unique projectile. Arrows sometimes have the ability to fly poorly for certain distances, and then being assisted by fletch or vanes, certain types of broadheads, consistent spine deviations, correct itself in flight and hit the spot. However, hitting the spot or shooting good groups does not always mean that the flight was clean. An arrow that did not have a clean flight to the quarry will lose KE and penetration loss can occur.

I usually paper-tune my shafts starting from 10-yards up to 40-yards. I figure that if a shaft is flying so well as to punch bullet holes at these distances, it is a nothing lost and a lot gained situation.

BOWFANATIC

Personally , I agree that paper tuning is a waste of time for most people!
I prefer the bare shaft tune myself. If I' m getting good arrow flight which is important for a hunting setup , I' ll leave everything else alone. Accuracy is up to the shooter not the bow!

Oh yeah , torque does make paper tuning useless if you expect to achieve bullet holes.