I am very new to traditional archery and have a question about bareshaft tuning. I have used the dynamic spine calculator and read up on the different tuning methods. My bareshaft arrow will hit a little left and low of my field points out to about 15 yards. When I shoot 30 yards, the field points go right where I want them (in terms of left/right, I am still working on getting a sight picture and elevation). My bareshaft will hit nearly three feet to the left. When I mix broadheads and field points, I can see no difference in pattern between them, nor can the person I shoot with. Here is my question: Am I over analyzing this whole thing or should I worry about the bareshaft? If this has been answered previously, I apologize, I just missed it when I searched previous targets. Thank you, Ryan
I'm sure some of the more analytical/tinkering types will disagree, but, if your field points and broadheads group well, I'd leave it be.
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Dusty
you bare shafting at all distances?
Yes, I am bareshafting at all distances. Basically I started at 6-8 yards and the bareshafts hit just very slightly to the left and down, easily attributable to group size. I only shoot out to around 15 yards in my yard into the garage. I could go out to thirty, but don't want to deal with the fallout of any errant arrows. I go to a friend's house to shoot up to thirty yards. He has hunted traditional for over twenty years and helps me with form. My left/right groups at thirty yards are generally under 5 inches. I am trying to get a better idea of how my arrows are flying at that distance more than anything else, I doubt I would ever shoot game at that distance, definitely not at this stage of my development. The up/down really needs work, but that will come once I get used to how the arrow flies. What really concerned me was the bareshaft at 15 yards was only a couple of inches left and maybe a couple of inches down, which I thought would straighten out with the added fletching; then the bareshaft went WAY wide (up to three feet) at thirty yards. I was expecting something more along the lines of 5-6 inches. Thank you for any input, Ryan
im thinking your still just a bit stiff, another 10 grains on point, or a little longer arrow,
imo.
You are not over analyzing. 15 yards will not reveal a lot-you really need 20-25 yards to see how the bare shafts are responding. If your bare shafts are hitting 3 ft to the left they are indicating stiff. Are you holding the bow straight up and down when shooting the bare shafts?
Have a look at the bare shaft tuning section on the A&H Archery site.
I gotta agree with if the broadheads and field points hit the same spot quit working on tuning and focus on form. That could be the entire problem causing the impact issues. Your close right now. Get your form down pat and then try again. The real goal is to get the fletched field point and broadhead arrows to hit the same point of impact. Your post shows that you are already there. Trust me in a couple months when your form is better you will be able to tune them more closely than you can now.
If your broadheads aren't very wide then you might try shooting some very wide ones and see how they group with your field points then. You want a wide cutting head so it will be more likely to plane if your setup isn't tuned well. For instance, if you're shooting 1" cut, three blade, replaceable blade heads, then you aren't gonna be able to tell much about arrow flight/impact. Try a very wide two or three blade fixed head and see how it groups.
Try the shooters forum too
If your fieldpoint and broadhead tipped arrows hit where you're looking and fly like darts, then forget about bare shaft tuning.
Thank you everyone for your input. I didn't put the post in the shooter's forum because I wasn't sure it met the proper guidelines. I didn't include any of the bow or arrow data because I was more interested in what people thought I should do in terms of worrying about the bareshaft versus broadheads. I don't think it really matters, but I am shooting the Beman MFX 340 arrows, with 200 Grain El Grande broadheads, 75 grain inserts on a 63 pound Cascade recurve that I cant and shoot 3 fingers under.
Hey, Ryan, for someone very new to trad archery you're really off to a good start. You may be a little light on grains per weight (if that even really matters as long as your arrows are fast, straight & deep). I figure we'll be seeing some great pics from you soon. Welcome to the sport.
Eddie Paulsgrove
Right on Night Wing! Do not argue with the arrow. After a while you will get to where you can tell when an arrow is leaving the bow clean - bare shaft or fletched. They should go where you are looking, if not check spine, work with point weight adjustments. H