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Bow tuning questions and advice please. long read

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woodsman87

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Been bowhunting for several years and have taken a few deer with my bow. I wouldn't guess I am really new to the sport, but I am very unimformed about bow shooting, tuning, broadhead choices, arrow weight and spine, and several other things. Probably because I am all self taught, and when I go to bow shops I feel like they may try to rip me off or are lying altogether. There also isn't a bow shop, that I know of, close to me.(Giles county TN.)
I shoot a Mathews Drenaline. I feel like I made the mistake of falling into the Mathews advertisements and got a new Drenaline when they came out with one. I grew up bowhunting with a PSE Nova, never had problems with it until it tore up on me.
What I am trying to say is, I do not feel like I am shooting my bow as good as what I should be shooting, since the bow was like $800 when I bought it brand new. I shoot 70# and 28"DL(I think).

Is this enough information on suggestions of what kind of arrows, broadheads, etc. to use? I currently use beaman ics pro hunter 500s. 125 grain rages or NAP spitfires.

The main reason I brought up all of these questions is because I was reading a post earlier that said,
"Mechanical broadheads should not be a band aid for improperly tuned bows."
That is the main reason that I ask these questions. I try to shoot fixed blades, but when I do, they shoot everywhere, and I have no confidence in them. I would really like to get my bow properly tuned where I could shoot muzzys or thunderheads once again.
Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
It is well worth the $$$ and gas money to make a trip to a competent bow shop that will help you tune your bow. I recommend Energy Wave Archery in Hermitage TN. Yes it is probably 1 to 1.5 hours from Giles County but having 100% confidence in your equipment is priceless IMO.

The Drenalin is a fine bow. You just need someone to check your draw length and go from there. It is well worth your time and money.
 
Thanks UTGrad. They open on weekends? May go soon. When I was a begginner with my little PSE, I had a bow shop close that I used to use some, but they closed down and I didn't really know the guy personally. I just don't have anywhere to go. Wish I wouldn't have fallen in love with all the Mathews hype anyways. It was as if I was thinking that if I get a Mathews all of my problems would be solved. I was young and dumb
 
woodsman87 said:
Thanks UTGrad. They open on weekends? May go soon. When I was a begginner with my little PSE, I had a bow shop close that I used to use some, but they closed down and I didn't really know the guy personally. I just don't have anywhere to go. Wish I wouldn't have fallen in love with all the Mathews hype anyways. It was as if I was thinking that if I get a Mathews all of my problems would be solved. I was young and dumb
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I don't understand why you think there is a problem with Mathews or your Drenalin. Its a fine bow. Get that bow tuned up and shooting good and you will love it.
 
UTGrad said:
woodsman87 said:
Thanks UTGrad. They open on weekends? May go soon. When I was a begginner with my little PSE, I had a bow shop close that I used to use some, but they closed down and I didn't really know the guy personally. I just don't have anywhere to go. Wish I wouldn't have fallen in love with all the Mathews hype anyways. It was as if I was thinking that if I get a Mathews all of my problems would be solved. I was young and dumb
Click to expand...

I don't understand why you think there is a problem with Mathews or your Drenalin. Its a fine bow. Get that bow tuned up and shooting good and you will love it.
Click to expand...

I don't think there is a problem with it, I know that it needs to be tuned. I was just saying that when I bought it when they came out a few years ago I was for some reason under the impression that It was like a gun, shoot it, site it in, and hunt. The advertisements got me.
 
So your shooting a 500 out of a 70# bow at 28" right? I'm guessing your 500's are way weakspined . With a 400 around the light side of spine for you , I would go with a 340 spines arrow to start with . Especially shooting a 125 broadhead. I'm not real good at all this spine stuff but tndeerguy will chime in and let you know for sure .
 
either go to energy wave in hermitage or archery den in franklin of paytonville road both are very good. and will set you up and not bs you. and your Matthews bow is a great bow just needs to be tuned properly. but I have found back when I shot fixed blades is some don't fly good with faster bows the muzzys slick tricks and g5 fix blades generally fly true when your bow is tuned properly. and the nap spit fires are great that's what I shoot. no complaints here.
 
bowhunter163 said:
So your shooting a 500 out of a 70# bow at 28" right? I'm guessing your 500's are way weakspined . With a 400 around the light side of spine for you , I would go with a 340 spines arrow to start with . Especially shooting a 125 broadhead. I'm not real good at all this spine stuff but tndeerguy will chime in and let you know for sure .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I was under the impression, for some reason, that a 500 was greater/stiffer spine than a 300 or 400. I may have been wrong the whole time, I don't know. Doesn't 500 mean 500 grams per square inch? I do not have my bow with me at the time, not really sure about that statement. I will look at them later, and probably even shoot my bow later this evening.

Do you guys think that if I got a way stiffer spine that would be all that I needed? Or do my cams and wheels need to be "timed" as well. What about paper tuning? These are all things I have heard of bow guys talk about, but never actually did any of it.
My bow shoots great with field points or expandables btw, but the statement about expandles should be no band-aide for improperly tuned bow got me thinking about it. That is the only reason I use expandables, they shoot well.
 
Spine is the way they measure the stiffness of the arrow . Grains per inch is how much it weighs . A 340 is alot stiffer than a 500 as far as spine . And spine issues can cause alot of headache if you are way off .
 
You are underspined for your setup. Some arrow manufacturers are a bit misleading with the numbers on their arrows; some people interpret them to be spine numbers when they actually aren't. A good example of this are the Gold Tip 5575. People think that the 5575 means that they are good from 55 to 75 pound bows...when actually, that shaft is just a 400 spine...and I personally wouldn't use it with a bow over 60#.

Spine numbers go stiffer, with the lower the number goes. Say 250 is super stiff spine, and 600 is super weak. Your 500s are at the weaker end of the scale, and your 125 grain tip REALLY makes it weaker. For your 28/70 setup, I think the .340 spine would be perfect for you if you stick with the 100/125 grain tip.

Most arrows will be labeled 340 spine...Gold Tip arrows would put you in a 7595 to get a .340 spine. I imagine this would make a big improvement in your shooting.
 
Your Drenalin is a good bow...being a single cam bow, it can't get out of time or sync with anything. BUT...it can be out of spec and out of tune. Tighten the limbs all the way down, and check your Axle to Axle length and your brace height...and see if it's still within factory specs in that area...if not, you are looking at easy fixes of just putting it in a press and doing some twisting/untwisting. All of this stuff will be tied together...if the bow is out of spec A-A and or brace height...you can bet that it is off in draw length and peak poundage as well. If they stretch out...the draw length will increase, but often the poundage will decrease.

Single cam's still need tuned but it's not as complex as binary/hybrid/cam 1/2 systems.
 
bowhunter163 said:
Spine is the way they measure the stiffness of the arrow . Grains per inch is how much it weighs . A 340 is alot stiffer than a 500 as far as spine . And spine issues can cause alot of headache if you are way off .
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Correct 163�especially the part about try to tune one when using a way wronged spine arrow. Think of it this way....try to tune a bow with with a way wrong spined arrow is like putting tires from your grandmother's Taurus on your cousin's Corvette and trying to figure out why the Vette handles so bad. Woodsman, you have in your hands one of the finest bows has ever produced IMO. More than likely, it is not the bow, as much as it is how the bow is setup from what I've been reading. What type of rest are you using and are you at 70lbs? If you're at 70lbs and using a dropaway or biscuit then you are underspined. Your ideal spine is around .3400-.3500 given that you are using one of the type of rests above and the arrows are measured and cut properly.
 
You can also do a quick check of the basic timing/tuning issues with that bow�make sure the limbs are maxed out to 70lbs. As CT stated measure your brace height (measured from the string to either the berger hole or the most forward part of the grip...yours should measure at 7") and axle to axle (33" from pin to pin on the axles). I also would check centershot�at the berger hole on the arrow side (hole in the riser that your rest is attached with) measure from the riser to the center of a nocked arrow (that measurement should be somewhere between 11/16-13/16ths". Also while the arrow is nocked it should completely cover, or center, the berger hole�it shouldn't be below it or above it. Check cam lean�lay an arrow on the top idler wheel and let it run down the string past the nock point��it should be around 1/4" off the string to directly under the string at the nock point. Cam timing...there are two 3/32nd holes in the bottom cam that are across from each other near the midpoint of the cam. Take two 3/32nd pins, or nails, and place in the holes. Next tie a long piece of string around the back pin and run it across the top pin to where it comes over the top and runs down the bow�that string and the bow string should be completely parallel.

Keep in mind that these are starting points, but your numbers should not drastically different if your bow is tuned or timed correctly. To fix any of these isn't rocket science, but you will need a press for some of it in case you need to add a twist or remove a twist.
 
bowhunter163 said:
So your shooting a 500 out of a 70# bow at 28" right? I'm guessing your 500's are way weakspined . With a 400 around the light side of spine for you , I would go with a 340 spines arrow to start with . Especially shooting a 125 broadhead. I'm not real good at all this spine stuff but tndeerguy will chime in and let you know for sure .
Click to expand...

I agree . The .500 arrows are way underspined for 70lbs. @ 28" with a 125 gr. head.
 
Just a quick number check if you are going to stick with a 125 Gr. FT 340s would be fine cut at 28". If your going to a 100 gr. 400's will be good cut 26-26.5
 
Thanks fellas. I will have to get new arrows and stuff. Haven't checked the specs on the bow but I will. The guy that set my bow up, and bought it from, issued me with the Beaman 500 arrows. Now you see why I say I am afraid I would get ripped off. I have bought 3 dozen of those expensive arrows since, thinking that is what I needed. I thought, and though wrong, that a 500 would be heaver/stiffer than a 340, and man was I wrong.
 
fasteddie said:
Just a quick number check if you are going to stick with a 125 Gr. FT 340s would be fine cut at 28". If your going to a 100 gr. 400's will be good cut 26-26.5
Click to expand...

I would rather use 125 grains, I have always like heavier broadheads and arrows.
 
TNDeerGuy said:
You can also do a quick check of the basic timing/tuning issues with that bow�make sure the limbs are maxed out to 70lbs. As CT stated measure your brace height (measured from the string to either the berger hole or the most forward part of the grip...yours should measure at 7") and axle to axle (33" from pin to pin on the axles). I also would check centershot�at the berger hole on the arrow side (hole in the riser that your rest is attached with) measure from the riser to the center of a nocked arrow (that measurement should be somewhere between 11/16-13/16ths". Also while the arrow is nocked it should completely cover, or center, the berger hole�it shouldn't be below it or above it. Check cam lean�lay an arrow on the top idler wheel and let it run down the string past the nock point��it should be around 1/4" off the string to directly under the string at the nock point. Cam timing...there are two 3/32nd holes in the bottom cam that are across from each other near the midpoint of the cam. Take two 3/32nd pins, or nails, and place in the holes. Next tie a long piece of string around the back pin and run it across the top pin to where it comes over the top and runs down the bow�that string and the bow string should be completely parallel.

Keep in mind that these are starting points, but your numbers should not drastically different if your bow is tuned or timed correctly. To fix any of these isn't rocket science, but you will need a press for some of it in case you need to add a twist or remove a twist.
Click to expand...

Thanks TNDeerGuy, you sound like you know what your talking about. I will have to check on all of this. My first step though is to get heavier arrows.
 

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