Newbie - Arrow Setup Help Needed

[Badger5]

Hi all! A while back I was given an old bear Kodiak that was in rough shape. I have since done some restoration on it and recently got the bug to learn how to shoot this thing. I have been flinging some arrows and have never had more fun in archery.

What I need help with is getting in the ballpark of a properly spine arrow with components that I already have. The goal is to have an arrow that flies decent so I can really work on my form. Down the road before I hunt I will definitely do more in-depth arrow tuning.

I am shooting a Bear Kodiak that measures #50 at my draw weight (I used a scale).

I have a dozen fletched Black Eagle Vintage 400s. These are full length and have std 15gr inserts. At this point I would like to avoid cutting these, I will do this down the road.

I have field points in 100, 125, 150, 200, and 300 weights.

Which field points would be a good place to start with while I'm learning how to shoot? I know this won't be perfect and I'll eventually need to really tune these...but right now my form isn't good enough to bare shaft tune. I have tried.

Thanks!
Chris

[Bowsey Wails]

You mention bare shaft tuning, have you heard of paper tuning? Try it from about 5 yards with the different points and see which one tears the paper the least. Vertical tears, adjust nock point. Horizontal tears indicate spine.

[Badger5]

You mention bare shaft tuning, have you heard of paper tuning? Try it from about 5 yards with the different points and see which one tears the paper the least. Vertical tears, adjust nock point. Horizontal tears indicate spine.

That's good advice, unfortunately I do not have access to paper tuning very close. I am hoping to get some advice on how to get close before I take the drive to do that

[Bowsey Wails]

Google search Archery paper tuning. It is nothing more than shooting an arrow through paper that is attached to a frame, roughly shoulder height, set 3 to 4 feet in front of your target so that the arrow clears the paper before hitting the target. Newspaper attached to a cardboard box with both ends open is sufficient. Fletching tears to the right indicate a stiff spine, tears to the left show a weak spine. Easy to do, no $ involved.

[Orion]

That's a very stiff arrow for your bow.  A .400 deflection is about a 78# spine. Start by leaving them full length and go with the 200 and 300 grain points.  Even that may not be enough.  Another option is to use a heavier insert, for example 50,75 or 100 grains, and experiment with point weight from there. It's possible to make 400s work, but they'll be on the physically heavier side.

Try to find someone who knows a little bit about shooting and tuning trad bows for assistance. It will shorten your learning curve immensely. Shooting as well as tuning, for you won't be able to tune until you develop consistent form. 

[Badger5]

That's a very stiff arrow for your bow.  A .400 deflection is about a 78# spine. Start by leaving them full length and go with the 200 and 300 grain points.  Even that may not be enough.  Another option is to use a heavier insert, for example 50,75 or 100 grains, and experiment with point weight from there. It's possible to make 400s work, but they'll be on the physically heavier side.

Try to find someone who knows a little bit about shooting and tuning trad bows for assistance. It will shorten your learning curve immensely. Shooting as well as tuning, for you won't be able to tune until you develop consistent form.

That is good advice that I will not be able to tune well until I have good form. Right now my primary focus is simply on learning how to shoot with proper form and getting some consistency. I'm hoping to use the arrows I have for this.

Now that I look at the spine chart for Blackeagle, it looks that I am underspined.

When I did shoot, my bear shafts, they consistently were nock left.