I've heard do and don't bare shaft. Get the arrow to fly goodand put a BH on it. then I've heard bare shaft, bare shaft. So which is it?

If you know how to read the bare shaft it works great...    

For me it works well, but in the end it boils down to tuning with a BH on a fletched arrow if you're gonna hunt with it..

Bare shafting is good but is just a step to get you close to tuned and from there you shoot broadheads to confirm.Sometimes you have to tweek a little bit at that point.

If you think your flight is real close,you can skip the bare shaft test and go right to broadheads.Tweek from there if you need to.

The whole point of tuning is to get the fletched field point arrows to impact exactly at the same place as your broadheads.Those arrows should also have the best flight.

Go to bowmaker.net and read the tuning information.

I like bareshafting, but only at about 10 or 15 yards.  THEN fletch, maybe a little brace height tweeking and you will be shooting darts WHERE YOU ARE LOOKING!!!!!


JMO based on a year of shooting though, but it works for me.  I'm a tweeker though and I actually enjoy it.

Good for a reference sometimes, but it doesn't show me much if the range is less than 20 and more like 25 yards.

(I'm a tweeker though and I actually enjoy it.)

Maybe you meant you like to tinker?
A tweeker yikes...

It works.

Funny I just came in from playing around doing such .. had a longer stiffer shaft shooting well with 125 gr.. seeing what happens by stepping down in spine with a shorter shaft with 145 gr points. It certainly is a good way to get close to a starting point.  It will most certainly tell you if you are way off base as far as spine.
My last two shots with the trial setup had two flethed shafts touching where I wanted them to be,bare shafting put them there in pretty short order.

I have bareshafted my arrows for many years to get the best dynamic spine for the bow I'm shooting.Works for me.

I prefer to bareshaft.

The ideal fletched arrow should bareshaft either perfect or SLIGHTLY (very slightly) weak...but it should not be too stiff at all. When you fletch an arrow, you add weight AND wind resistance to the nock end of the arrow...and that in effect causes a "stiffening" of the arrow's dynamic spine.

I haven't bare shaft tuned an arrow since Stu Miller's free DSC program came along. It's basically a virtual "what if" program where you can see what size spined arrow is going to work without having to buy the arrow beforehand.

I have one constant and that is arrow length. All my arrows are cut to 32" BOP. Never shorter, never longer so cutting my arrow is out of the question since bare shaft tuning is predicated on cutting the arrow length down, on a full length shaft, by 1/4" increments.

The DSC program will give me a tunable arrow in about 10 minutes of time. With the arrow length the same 32" BOP all the time, I plug in the point weight I want to shoot and then fine tune by adjusting brace height either up or down. Since my 66" recurves have a recommended brace height of 7 3/4"-8", I set the initial brace height at 8" and go from there.

In order to use the DSC program, one must enter all the info in the 14 boxes "correctly". Most people who have problems with the program enter the wrong info in one or more boxes and one of those boxes is usually the Strike Plate distance box. This box is critical. Entering incorrect info in these boxes is the same as "chasing your tail".

Both of my bow's shelves are cut 3/16" past center. This allows them to shoot a variety of differently spined size arrows. Since I shoot 32" BOP aluminum arrows; the program has allowed me to tune my 42# recurve to shoot 2114, 2212, 2213, 2215 and 2117 spined arrows. With my 37# recurve, it's tuned so it can shoot 2114, 2212 and 2213 spined arrows.

In closing; to each, their own on whether they choose to tune an arrow using the bare shaft method or using the free DSC program. I chose the program.

QuoteOriginally posted by Protege Longbows:
I prefer to bareshaft.

The ideal fletched arrow should bareshaft either perfect or SLIGHTLY (very slightly) weak...but it should not be too stiff at all. When you fletch an arrow, you add weight AND wind resistance to the nock end of the arrow...and that in effect causes a "stiffening" of the arrow's dynamic spine.

X2

only way to really know for sure imho is to bareshaft and cut

I wouldn't even consider hunting with a setup that I had not properly and extensively tuned in advance. Honestly, I believe proper tuning is why one guy can shoot clean through an elk or moose, and another person with a similar setup can't get through a whitetail.

If you like to tinker, try bare shafting a with a braodhead.  I do most of my practice with broadheads anyway and the SGH type heads and feild points fall right in behind them.  It really works well in my experience.  Give it a shot.

I think bareshafting is great if you are a very good consistant shooter.

It amazes me though what amount of differences a bareshaft will show to a person with the slightest of inconsistancy.

I agree with bare shaft tuning. That way when you have those bad days it give you one less thing to blame.

Have had some bows that I just could not get to bare shaft good. It always gave me a pinch of doubt about my shooting with that bow.

Adcock - "do not bare shaft with broadheads."  That my friend can be dangerous.

Bowmania

I have had great results with the bare shaft planning method, then move to broadhead tunning with the same method.  The nock direction method has been completely useless for me.

For years I had trouble with getting my broadhead arrows to shoot well. Dan Quillian introduced me to bare shaft tuning, and it made all the difference. I found out that I had been chronically underspined, so when I put broadheads on they tended to dip and swerve before hitting the target, or somewhere close to it.      

I shoot wood exclusively, so I shoot a very soft foam target from close range and go by nock left/right/up/down. I set the up/down to just barely nock high, then change spine until I get a straight in shaft. I don't trim my arrows to adjust- instead I have a full set of bare shafts in multiple spines and two-inch different lengths, 28", 30", and 32", all with 125 grain field points. For my longbows I shoot the 28's until I get the right spine, and I use 30's for recurves, which I tend to draw a little longer. The 32's I rarely use, generally only when a long-draw friend needs help. If I want a shorter arrow than 30", I bare shaft a little weak with the 30's and them make up my actual arrows at 29". If I'm going to use broadheads heavier than 125, which is most of the time, I bare shaft a little stiff with the 125 field points. When I then shoot broadheads, I do the final adjustment by changing broadhead weight if necessary. This technique invariably get me perfect broadhead flight, which is the final objective.

I agree with Bowmania- don't bare shaft with broadheads! Not only can it be dangerous, but you must have absolutely perfect form every time. I don't know anyone who is that good, and it will just lead to frustration.

Bare shafting is also good for tuning your bow. In order for it to work smoothly, the bow must be braced at the correct height with the nocking point in the right place. That's the first order of business to get the best arrow performance.