Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

I was out playing with my son's Fred Bear Element tonight. I have had the bow limbs back off to 45 lbs. (the bow is a 50/60) for about three months now. I got some 500 series Eastman arrows initially that have shot fairly well (tennis ball groups at 20 yards) an figured this was about as good as a $300 bow was going to shoot.

I decided to crank the limbs up all the way to see how the bow shot with 400 series arrows. After some group shooting, I started backing the limbs off a half turn at a time - and shooting a five shot group at each setting.

At 47 lbs of draw weight (five turns out) the bow produced a 1" group at 20 yards. I tried three more groups - same results. Went down another half a turn and the groups opened up to almost 2".

How often do you hear of final tuning the draw weight of the bow to a particular arrow? The charts show the spine of this arrow to have a range of 45 lbs. to 52 lbs. - but apparently there isa sweet spot at 47 lbs.

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

That sweet spot will change with tip weight, draw length and the particular bow being shot. It has more to do with the arrow, then the bow. This is why I believe the most overlooked aspect is tuning the arrow. Pay attention to Len's trilogy of tuning the bow, the arrow, and the person. Most will will work hard on two of those, but few pay attention to tuning the arrow.

These are the steps that aren't often done, but will help:
Spine test for consistency and stiff side
Put enough weight on the front
Put enough drag on the rear
Bareshaft tune for spine
Trim from both ends
Spin for broadhead straightness
Adjust draw weight to fine tune dynamic spine

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

thats sort of like limb tuning back one of a half turn or vice versa

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

Adjusting draw weight to perfectly match the bow to the arrow's spine. It's part of what's called 'tuning the bow to the arrow,' Roskoe.It goes hand in hand with adjusting the bow's tiller toperfectly match yourgrip. I've tried to get this across for years now.People who crank the limb bolts all the way down and leave 'em there are ignoring the single greatest benefit of having a bow with adjustable draw weight.

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

A bow that tunes BELOW limb weight? How common is this?

If it is common...then if I want to shoot at 65-70lbs. , which is comfortable for me ...should I be buying 80lb. limbs??? to get the sweet spot?
The sweet spot below recommended weight doesn't seem right? Can anyone explain this?

OR...does an overspined arrow answer the question?

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

For a begining archer this might be overlooked , most of them shoot what the shop gives them .
For those that are experianced , this is the starting point of tuneing .
Heres a link for you from an experianced guy who preaches spine tuneing as THE most important aspect .

http://domino.htcomp.net/ragsdale.nsf

To answer archer58's questions , get the bow you can pull , and then the arrows to match , then fine tune the spine for a "forgiving" setup
Overspined arrows are not the answer , corectly spined arrows are .
Slightly overs[ined is usely more forgiveing than slightly underspined thats why they are sugested , grossly overspined arrows can be very hard or imposable to tune , when compared to the corectly spined arrows .

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

That is why the limbs are adjustable, so you can tune for correct spine. Just nobody uses them for that. I don't know why they make adjustable limbs anymore? Might as well just pin them at peak draw weight since hardly anyone turns them down. I can't beleive how many times I hear someone complaining about trying to broad head tune or some other form of tuning. And when you ask them if they tried to turn the poundage down they look at you like your nuts. Then you explain it to them and they still won't do it? Uh, oh, I'm ranting.

When I set up a bow I pick an arrow based on the mid setting of the bow. Like if my bow is 50 to 60 lbs I pick my arrow based on 55 lbs. That way I have the leeway to tune up or down to find the correct spine. I won't buy a bow with a peak weight higher than I can comfortably draw. Seems like a waste to me.

That being said I feel the most overlooked aspect of bow tuning is the shooter. Consistent form is THE most important aspect of shooting accurately. And after that come well matched straight arrows. Then spine and lastly nock and rest set up.

Just my opinions anyway.

Paul

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

Your comment about shooting as good as the what you are going to get isn't exactly true. I had a $150 Bear Whitetail Legend bow that I had to shoot at multiple targets with because of breaking arrows. It had a $15 double prong rest and a $20 site on it and shot XX75's.

Even with an arrow not spined exactly right tight groups are still possible if you have good form, therest is set correctly, and your sites are on. Especially at only 20 yds you do not need perfect spine to be accurate to less than 2 inches.

You obviously have good form for the groups you are shooting with the bow turned up to inside the recommended wieght. The poor groups are probably the result ofshooting the bow below it's recommended draw weight. Five lbs is probably a min of 1 turn and maybe more further out than recommended. Which is a no-no with any bow. Yes, it will turn out that far. However, there's a reason they say 50 - to 60 lbs. Once you get below that weight the limbs are moving more than usual due to the bolt being extended so far from the riser.

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

Dave - several of the shops in the area report that this particular bow can be backed off six turns with no ill effects. For many other bows, they say the maximum is often only four turns. My thought was that, at age 14 and only 140 pounds, my son could only pull 45 pounds - at least three months ago. So I bought some 500 series arrows to get him started - and planned to turn the limbs up a little at a time as he gains strength. By this time next year, I hope to be up to 50 pounds. Maybe another year we could be up to 55 or 60.

Even at 45 pounds, the bow shoots well enough for big game hunting. But I never expected a $300 bow to shoot as well as my $800 Hoyt. Apparently I underestimated themodest little Fred Bear Element.

RE: Most Overlooked Aspect of Bow Tuning?
 

I shoot bows often at under the reccomended suggested weight. Never have an issue with it. I actually shoot spots with a bow that is rated at 50-60 lbs and I shoot it at 45 lbs.

I have shot several bows at extremes of draw weight both way over and way under what the bows are rated at, never had an issue with consistency or accuracy.

The reason you shouldn't turn them out that far is because you run the risk of the bolts coming out of the riser and the bow will explode on you. ALWAYS know how many turns you can back a bow off from bottomed before messing with it. They are not all the same. I saw someone on this site I believe tell someone they can back the limbs off about 6 turns and be safe. That is crap, try it on a bowtech and see what happens. I would suggest wearing a helmet and heavy clothing when you do it though, because it will come apart on you;).

You don't need an expensive bow to shoot well though. Most of the records that have been set and yet to beaten were done with old bows that would be considered cheap and junky by todays standards.

Paul