We have been getting into some talk about tuning methods lately and thought I would give some reasons that I use multiple ways to check tune.
First thing is to set up the rest and on most bows,the centershot is between 3/4" and 7/8" from the inside of the riser. Most of you have seen me tell people to start at 13/16"; the reason is simple: it is right in the middle of the range. Set the nock level to slightly above level for some 1-cam bows.Then make sure there is no cam lean at full draw and you are ready to tune.
I will usually go ahead and check it through paper at this point just to see. If itis a new arrow and bow, I will bareshaft to make sure the spine is close, then check fletched arrows to make sure there is no contact.
Then it is off to the walk back method, shooting to see if the arrows will fall in a straight line back to a distance of 40-50 yards using your 20-yard pin. Adjustthe rest untill the arrows fall pretty close to straight up and down.
NOW, the reason I do not stop here is because the walk back can be misleading. When a bow's centershot isn't set, your groups will spray left to right instead of in a circular group. This will give you a false reading if you are spraying your arrows a little differently when walking back. Your arrows might be in a 2" horizontal path and you think this is as good as you can shoot, when you may be able to get the arrows in a 1/2" horizontal path.
This is why I move on to group tuning. Shoot groups at the furthest distance you are comfortable with. Some of you might be 30; some it might be 40. I will say extend it to your max. Shoot 3-4 arrow groups and then document. Move the rest in in very small increments,1/32 at a time and repeat. Then move the rest out and repeat.There will be a point to where the groups will tighten and you document; you can go back to that spot when things start opening up.
Do the same for vertical. The groups will spray up and down and at some point,you will get your tightest possible group.
You should be able to check your broadheads at this point; they will most likely be very close to field points. If not, you should only need to make very minor adjustments. If adjustments are needed,recheck your groups. If major adjustments need to be made, then check paper for spine issues or torque issues.
Then check your walk back method again; I think most will see that they tightened up the left to right distance.
Then go check the paper again. You should have a bullet or near-bullet hole, provided you do not torque the bow. I have found at this point if you have atear that a spine adjustment might need to be made.
Some will throw the bareshaft in the mix and eliminate some of the others; I prefer the above. I don't shoot an arrow without fletching so I don't worry about it. I do agree with the method and the results, but I find it a little more frustrating than what I have described.
I have also found it to give me the most forgiving setup I can find.
