Usually I never paper tune. I shoot my bare shaft into a target, nock high, I adjust, nock to the right, I cut (I'm a lefty). I can get a bare shaft to enter very straight. I thought I'd try paper at 6 feet. I constantly get about a 5" tear diagonally from where the shaft enters the paper tearing high to the right(6 o'clock position to 2 o'clock). I've moved the nocking point up, down, all around and can't get rid of a high tear. Both bows I shoot have the same pattern, even though they are a differnet weight, and I'm using stiffer shafts for the higher weight bow. My form is the same every shot.
Any suggestions without going through all the specs? Is my shaft bouncing off the rest? I shoot 3 under.
thanks

That would be my first thought.  Is your draw hand coming straight back, along your face, under your ear?

You're wasting your time trying to paper tune your arrow at 6 feet. The arrow shaft hasn't had time to straighten out yet and this is why you've got a 5" tear. I paper tune at 5-7 "yards".

Try adding a knock below the arrow. The arrow may  be slipping on the shot.

You can tune from 6 feet and you will get a perfect tear when you arrow is properly tuned.

Only if you have a perfect release and most people don't.

A 5" tear is an indication that something is not right.
Here are a few things to check:

Is the paper at shoulder level? Your shot needs to be horizontal to get an accurate "read" of the situation.

Are you getting any indication of feather wear? If so, which feather.

Is your brace height within manufacturer's specifications? I have found that it is best to get the brace height set before paper tuning.

I suspect that you are getting some significant shaft or feather contact with the shelf, and that is kicking the tail of your arrow up. (a too-low nock height will often give you a tear that reads too high -- this is because of the fletch bouncing off of your shelf) To correct that, try moving your nock height up 1/16" or 1/8" at a time until the vertical part of the tear goes away and the tear is just horizontal. Then you can tune for spine by adjusting point weight, or by cutting off 1/4 " of arrow at a time.

Look up paper tuning on the Elite Arrows website. There is good information there.

Good luck,
Joe

That may be your experianace NW.  It will certainly help you to identify some issues with your release, once you have your arrow set up properly. I don't know about most people, but the guys I shoot with are able to get perfect tears with well tuned trad equipment and good form.  I would still try adding a nock below.

Smokin Joe: my lower hen feather is wearing, if you draw a line from the lower hen, it would extend exactly in the direction of the tear.
I'll try what you suggested. thanks

how are You holding Your bow? Are you holding it straight up/down or cantering it?

If Your cantering it You have to look at the paper the way the bow is being held... What I do is make a small mark on the paper where My limbs will be ( Don't have to be dead on but close) I canter when I paper tune because that is how I shoot My bow when hunting...

Example:

I hold bow top limb at 1-O'clock and bottom limb at 7-O'clock I mark the paper the same way.. I'll put lines to show where My limbs are at.. I then look at the tear going by My marks... I have had bullets at 5 yards.

I then add BH to arrow and re-tune till I get bullet or slight High/left ( Right handed )

You can paper tune fine as long as you have a consistent release.  It doesn't even have to be perfect.  A little farther distance helps take out some of the wobble, but often close shows the problem at the start of flight where farther shows the opposite or over correction of an arrow that is way off.  I would look at the nock sliding by putting on a low nock.  Then play with nock height more.  It sounds a lot like what I have gotten with edge of shelf contact bouncing the shaft out and up.  It could also be a combo issue like too stiff and too low a nock causing the arrow to come off the inside corner of the shelf.  try to work out the nock height issue first.

-thanks for all the help. For the heck of it, I tried shooting cock feather in, and that significantly reduced the tear. Started raising my nock higher than I thought possible, and that took most of the tear out. BUT, my nocking point is about 3/4" above centre. That sounds much too high???

split or 3 under?  Finger pressure and release make big differences in nock height for me.

-thanks for all the help. For the heck of it, I tried shooting cock feather in, and that significantly reduced the tear. Started raising my nock higher than I thought possible, and that took most of the tear out. BUT, my nocking point is about 3/4" above centre. That sounds much too high???

If you shoot 3 under a higher nock point point is often necessary.

Hockey 7,
The 3/4" nock point is not too high, especially if the bow is tillered for split-finger shooting.  On my bows that are tillered for 3 under, my nock point is 5/8" -- so 3/4" does not sound too high.

When I tune a new bow, or even a new string, I use 1/2" tape above and below the arrow nock to test and I don't tie a nock point on the string until I am sure of the measurement from paper tuning.

It sounds like you are getting close to being tuned. Keep at it, and good luck.
Joe