I have been shooting a bow since I was under ten years old. From a very young age, my dad taught me how to aim, proper shooting form, and why it is important to shoot every day as archery season drew near. However, one thing we rarely ever did was set up our own bows.
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A bow vise is relatively inexpensive and makes putting on a site or rest a piece of cake.
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If it was time for a new bow, a new sight, or a new rest, we counted on the local Pro Shop to do that for us. The same can be said about arrows. When it came time to buy a dozen arrows, we relied totally on the knowledge of someone else. The problem with relying on a Pro Shop to set up your bow or fletch your arrows is you never know how much experience the guy behind the counter really has. Are your arrows the first he has ever fletched? Is your bow the last one he set up on a Friday afternoon? Since we don’t know the answers to these questions, it gives us all the more reason to learn how to be your own bow mechanic.
About five years ago, a group of my friends began purchasing all of the equipment we needed to set up a bow from start to finish. We purchased a bow press, a bow vise, a few levels, and an arrow cut off saw. The investment was a large one. By the time it was said and done, we had a little less than a thousand dollars in equipment. The good news was we would never have to bring a bow to a shop to be set up again.
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An arrow cutoff saw isn't cheap, but in the long run it is a wise investment.
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Once we started diving into setting up our own bows and fletching our own arrows, we realized what we had been missing. Setting up the first bow was not a breeze by any means. Making sure the arrow and rest were level and making sure the center shot was set up properly was not very easy to figure out. However, it wasn’t rocket science either. After setting up a few bows, I can’t help but notice that I am shooting better than I ever have before. I think a big reason that I am shooting better is because I am willing to take as long as it takes to set up a bow properly. I am not trying to race the clock on a Friday afternoon. If I think something isn’t right with my bow when I am setting it up, I will take two hours if that is what it takes to make my bow shoot the best it can. I want to be as accurate as I can be.
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The same holds true for arrows. Once we purchased an arrow cutoff saw, we noticed a big improvement in our arrow groups. We paid very close attention to how much glue we used when gluing in inserts and when we glued the vanes on. One of the biggest complaints I had when someone else was putting my arrows together was they used too much glue on the inserts and vanes or not enough. To make things worse, often inserts were glued in crooked which makes arrows fly inconsistent.
In addition to having a more accurate setup, setting up your bow gear can be a lot of fun and can help you better understand archery as a whole. Investing in all of the necessary equipment can be a big pill to swallow but if any of you archers reading this are like me, being accurate is worth the investment.
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Having a bow press allows you to change your own string, put on a peep sight, and perform a variety of maintenance procedures.
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Buying one new bow with all the gizmos required to be ready to shoot can cost over a thousand dollars. Often we only shoot a bow for a few years before buying a new one. If you put off buying a bow for an extra year and spend the money on the equipment you need to set up your bow, you will be able to use that equipment ten years from now. Buying a bow press is a long term investment. Over the years, you can make up the money you spent on a press because you won’t be paying a Pro Shop to maintain your bow.
If you want to take your archery skills to the next level and have fun doing it, invest in a bow press, a cutoff saw, and all of the accessories you need to set up your own bow.