I'm new to bare shafting. At 20yds, my arrow is going in dead straight. But it looks like it's flying nock left out to about 7-8 yds. Am I seeing paradox or should I be tuning at a shorter distance?
I shoot from 5 to 20 yards and can usually get an idea. A buddy shoots out to 30, so I suppose there is no "right" distance.
I can shoot 30 yds in my yard so that's where I end up. Paul you are seeing paradox. I prefer my BS to be a little weak to account for fletching. In my experience you can be too close, and not much shows up, at 20 yds and past, everything will show up.
From 2yds to 30or morejust what ever I fell like.
If my bareshaft and fletched arrows impact together, I don't worry about the angle of impact as it will be small. The fletching takes care of that.
I start at 10 yds to make sure to hit the target if my spine choice is way off the start with.I then move back to 20 yds for finer tuning.
JRY309 x2!
Exactly what Bjorn and Bladepeek said.
X3! I don't worry about nock left/right, just point of impact. It would take a more perfect release than I have to eliminate the little wiggles with a bare shaft, but, when the spine is right and I can put bare shafts into a 4" group at 18yds, I know that the fletched shafts are going to fly great.
Interesting, I'm gonna see what happens when I shoot a bareshaft with a broadhead tomorrow.
Paul there is no reason to shoot a bare shaft with a broadhead.
Your looking for the correct spine etc. A broadhead,will be like putting wings on the front. If it hits true or moves to the side etc. Won't tell you anything.
Many how to threads on bare shafting warn against using broadheads.
It seems like I read that on the ACS website on bareshafting.
Yup, it can also plane kind of wildly since there is no fletch to help keep it strait with the broadhead steering it.
I usually start at about 10 and have shot out to 30 but only with field points!
Typically concerned with nock position at approx. 5 yards to discern whether a shaft is far too weak or far too stiff...beyond that and out to 40 yards, I utilize the actual bareshaft vs fletched shaft impact points for tuning. Olympic archers may bare shaft tune out to approximately 70 yards.
Typically concerned with nock position at approx. 5 yards to discern whether a shaft is far too weak or far too stiff...beyond that and out to 40 yards, I utilize the actual bareshaft vs fletched shaft impact points for tuning. Olympic archers may bare shaft tune out to approximately 70 yards.
I have found bareshafting with a broad head is not the greatest idea, I do shoot a fairly wide head in a delta but any kick at all will let it grab air and plane badly, possibly killing the neighbors cat or something , on bareshafting, like others I start about 10 yds to get a idea then back up to 20 or so
Around 30 yards after some 15 yards warm ups.
So does anyone notice an extreme left/right nock at close distance? Like I say, 20 yds it show dead straight/barely weak, but 7-8 yds it's way nock left and I'm wondering if this is just paradox?
I start around 15 yards and work back. I observe the attitude of the arrow in flight. It will fly either straight, nock left, or nock right all the way to the target. Very easy to observe.
PD29 Don't try bare shafting a broadhead, it will not indicate proper shaft spine as the head will act as a wing...could actually be dangerous.
I just re- read the tuning section on the ACS site again, it says no bare shafting with broad heads, my mistake. Thanks for the info guys, that ACS site also has good info as well.
Bare shaft tuning was probably used first by target shooters to fine tune light, shafts with small feathers, or vanes. Bowhunters used heavier equipment and larger feathers, and were rarely concerned with bare shafting.
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Most testing was done at 2-10 yds. Shooting further was not necessary. Testing was done with a spot the size of a dime, and shafts of various lengths (1/4 +/- inch) and sometimes different weight in points. A fletched arrow was used as a control. The objective was to find the best shaft, weight, length, etc.
In theory, you want the bare shaft to hit the feathered shaft, and one or two test arrows usually gave the best results.
Because straw, hay, or cedar bales were commonly used, grain in the bale often affected how the shaft entered the bale, another reason to stay within 30 ft.
Shooting a center shot bow made it easier for target shooters. Early bowhunters shot non-center shot bows and paradox was a problem with older equipment.
If you can shoot a tight group with bare shafts around a fletched arrow, at 10 yds, it is time to fletch some arrows.
Macbow is correct.
I start at 5 and then if its woods I'll try to make it back to 20yds with decent enough flight where In hit within an 8" circle,, with carbons I try to make it back to 30yds with a bare shaft..
with my personal arrows I like a tad of weak spine nose dive,,,,in a nutshell I put my string nocks on my recurves about 1/8" higher than where it shows perfect flight on the bare shaft test because it gives me more fletch options going from flu flu and banana to 3" parabolics if needed.
the above testing is with the bow straight up and down to read the arrow easier,,,, then I start canting the bow and I noticed the spine is different now maybe its the draw gets shorter because of the hunting stance but try it you should see the perfect flying bare shaft is now showing stiff,,, I tune for a little weaker shaft based on that..
I took an arrow last year that had a tree shark on it and submerged the fletch in pond water and then squeazed the fletching down with my hand so it was as flat as possible,, I shot that 2" wide tree shark 27yds into a bale and hit 3" lower than what I wanted I was convinced again the bare shaft tuning works for people who at some point mount broadheads
Remember that although the A and H site is relatively new the bareshaft tuning goes back to the days when OL Adcock was still involved with the company...some of his ideas could be a little outdated
DDave