pickleboy

hello all, first off as you can surely tell i am a greenhorn. i just took up bow this season. got my first deer last saturday night, not agreat shot but it was effective. that is not the point though , sorry. i read alot of the post on here and many have reference to "tuning", both bow and arrows/ broadheads. can someone please explain the basics of "tuning" so i know where to start. i have had the local pro shop fit the used older PSE to my draw and got new carbons fitted and done quit a bit of shooting but i want to know if there is steps i am missing. thanks for the forum and any responses in advance.

gibblet

find the easton archery website and download the tuning guide. that'll give you enough to chew on for quite a while.

BGfisher

www.eastonarchery.com Tuning guide tells you everything you'll ever need to know.

Paul L Mohr

Eastons tuning guide is an excellent place to start, there are also some books and other online sites that are great. Some of the best info you will get will be right here though.

Some times I get blasted for this, but I will say it anyway. Something I want you to keep in mind about tuning, especially for a beginner archer. In most cases tuning will not make you shoot better. Accuracy does not come from tuning, it comes from shooting well. It is important with a hunting set up though because you want that broad head tipped arrow traveling as straight as possible when it hits the deer. Just remember that you can't tune any better than you YOU can shoot.

What I mean by this is that if you are currently shooting 6 inch groups at 20 yards having a perfectly tuned bow will not make you suddenly start shooting 3 inch groups at the same distance. The things you should concentrate on are that your bow fits you the best it can, that your arrows are all well matched and in good shape, and that you have good form and release technique. The key to shooting well is being able to repeat everything the exact same way every time.

I'm not saying tuning is not important and that you should forget about it, just that at this point you should not obsess about it and let yourself get frustrated because it isn't perfect. Worry about shooting consistent groups and being confident and comfortable with drawing and releasing arrows. Then worry about tuning if you need to.

There are a lot of people that spend a ton of time on fine tuning, and lots of money on fancy gadgets and equipment like expensive sights, rests and releases to help them shoot better. When the simple truth is if they would have spent half the time and money on a few lessons they would probably shoot twice as well and be more confident.

Archery is a lot like golf in many aspects. Do you think Tiger Woods got where he is by winging it? I bet he took a few lessons along the way.

Something to keep in mind anyway.

Paul

pickleboy

Thanks a lot guys. I have downloaded the Easton manual and read it. I understand most of it. I am practicing as often as I can but the grouping is not what I would like. I understand that to put 3 in the same hole as with a rifle takes lots of practice (way more than I currently have). I was mostly concerned that in the pro shop setup did they get everything setup well enough to start. I am fairly consistent @ 10-15 yards but when moving back to 20 + it starts to stray. I think the biggest obstacleto get over right now is muscle condition. I have an older PSE set @ 50 pounds and 65% let off (all it has). I can shoot about 6 arrows drawn and released well then start to shake and wobble a lot. I assume this is normal for a newbie. I am also wondering how much I should work on this bow since I hope to upgrade to a bigger let off and faster bow in the spring. Also this thing is super load when shooting in the woods. I shot my first deer last weekend and a partner was about 100 yards away across the meadow and heard me shoot. Sorry for being so long winded but this is all new to me and I am so excited to be doing it. Again thanks for all the help and recommendations. I look forward to learning much more from this board

BGfisher

Well said, Paul. It's 100% on the money.

Roskoe

Realistically, you may be expecting too much here. A competent archer shooting good equipment ,without any form errors, can be expected to reliably shoot groups of about 1" for every 10 yards downrange. So 2" at 20 yards, 3" at 30 yards, etc.Anything better than that is either luck or a world class archer. Robin Hoods are 95% luck (bad or good, depending on how frugal you are).

Don't be afraid to admit that a 45 lb. bow is more comfortable for you to shoot than a65 lb bow. Personally, I would at least try a newer generation bow setup and see how that affects your shooting. The improvement in bows over the years is pretty significant.

pickleboy

Roskoe (and others) thanks for the comments. i fully agree with you on the robin hood thing. i have no desire to shoot my own arrows. i am however looking for a guideline for what is good to real good accuracy for a hunter. i dont plan at this time or even the futureto try to shoot in competition. i only want to be an accurate hunter. witha rifle i am a real good shot i hope to get there with a bow as well. as for pounds of draw i am 43 years, and had to give up being a mechanic and welder due to issues with my hand strength. i am not looking for the macho bow. i want one that will give me a smooth pull and large let off so i can hold for the perfect (or damn near) shot. at the same time i use a hot load in my rifles so as to assure a fast clean kill. i am looking for that kind of performance with a bow. i understand that with the rifle it is a ton more energy and shock value than with the bow but what is the mininum i should be using for good clean kills? as i stated earlier i am very much a newbie at this and am looking for the advise of you all here with years more time on the bow than me. main thing is i want to continue to be an ethical hunter as well as find a bow than i can continue to use for years to come.