We all have different methods of tuning that work for us. It's about that time of year to put the time in to get our bows right so that they'll be ready for good summer practice then bow season!
I'll answer bob's question from another thread here so we don't wreck Frank's thread
I'm shooting Hoyt ProElites for target and a Mathews Drenalin or Drenalin LD for hunting so I'm dealing with a single and hybrid cams.
I start by shooting a bare and fletched shaft through paper at 6'. If I can get a bullet hole (or slight nock high) I then go outside. I work until I can get bullet holes with both by adjusting the rest in and out to the best tear possible. If I can't get a true bullet hole I'll get as good as I can get and then change the draw weight by increasing if I'm fighting a right tear or decreasing if it's a left tear. If I can't get a good tear I've probably selected the wrong spined arrow. It can take some time, but it can also take 5min if you get lucky I spent over an hour paper tuning my spot bow. It drove me nuts. I ended up having to change the blade on my rest to get it right. I set up a 3D bow Sat. I eyeballed the rest in the vise and it shot a perfect nock high bullet hole with a bare shaft on the first shot. I ended up moving the rest less than 1/64" when I walkback tuned it. I used up all my luck for 2010 with that one
After I set the rest through paper I walk back tune from 20 to 50yds. I would like to go farther, but arrow drop is usually too much to comfortably stay on my target. You can french tune instead, but I can't aim at something at 3yds very well with the true spot scope I use on my spot bow. I seem to do better with a walkback method.
(Here's a good article on french tuning)
http://www.dudleyarchery.info/articles/usarcher1FT.pdf
The walkback tuning will get my arrows in a straight vertical line. I don't have an article on walkback tuning, but here's a picture...
I adjust my sight until I can center a spot at 20yds. I'll shoot an arrow at 20 then back up to 25 to shoot another. Do not move your sight when walkback tuning. It's important that you leave it set on 20yds and aim at the same spot for all shots. You are looking for your arrows to fall in a straight line up and down. Some folks shoot three arrow groups at 20, 30 and 40yds and read the groups. I usually shoot an arrow every 2 or 3 yards from 20 to 50yds and read the line. If my group is like this / I move my rest a tad right. If it's like this \ I move it a tad left. I work until I can get a straight line. It shouldn't take more than 1/16' either way after you've got it paper tuned.
The next step is group tuning. If you aren't shooting over 40yds it's not worth investing a lot of your time, BUT there is a lesson to be learned in it on spine selection.
I shoot several groups at 60yds to get an idea of how my arrows are grouping. I throw out the shots where I had a bad release, wasn't on target, etc. At that range I'll usually end up with about 80% of my shots being "good". Then I increase the draw weight and redo the test, noting the group size and shape. Then I'll decrease the draw weight to below my starting point and redo. What I'm looking for is the point at which my groups are the narrowest. On my spot bow I started at 58lbs and have run it down as low as 53lbs. What I've found is that the sweet spot is between 55 and 56lbs with the arrows I built for it. I literally tested every half turn until I found the narrowest groups I could get. Before my last adjustment I was getting an oval shaped group that was twice as high as it was tall. I backed off 1/2 turn on both limb bolts and the group size shrunk left/right to where it is a nice circle now. Once the groups are as narrow as you can get them work on the group height. I move the rest up and down a hair at a time to find the smallest top to bottom group I can find. I set my nock about 1/8" high when I paper tune because that seems to yield the best groups for the way I shoot. Some folks shoot better with an arrow set level to the shelf.
When I'm doing all this group tuning I'm not really worried about my sight. I aim at something that I can see well and really hold on and fire arrows. If they miss the dot no big deal. I'm worried about group size at that point. After I get my groups tightened up I'll adjust my sights accordingly.
Group tuning teaches us something for shooting broadheads. You can move your rest to get your BHs and FPs to hit together, but you can also quickly increase and/or decrease the draw weight to test the spine. If all signs point to a spine that's too stiff, add 5 lbs of draw weight and see if it improved. When I first set up one of my hunting bows the BHs hit right of the FPs. I moved my rest a little at a time narrowing the gap then the BHs jumped left of the FPs. It wasn't a launch problem it was a spine problem. I reset the center shot and took a turn off the limb bolts. They were fine after that. The charts showed that the spine was right, but for whatever reason it was behaving like it was slightly weak. That's why I shoot in the mid-50s for target. With a low let off and solid wall I can run up to 60lbs if I need to when tuning. If it takes 60lbs to get an arrow to shoot well and I don't want to shoot that much weight I'll add point weight, shoot a longer shaft, or go to a lighter spined arrow. At least I've proven to myself the spine was the culprit before I change the hard stuff on the bow. Same thing if my arrow is too weak. I don't want to be at 53lbs shooting field or fita. I would rather be around 57lbs to get the right combo of holding weight and arrow flight. If I have to run down to 53lbs to get my outdoor arrows to fly right I'm cutting an inch off to stiffen them up or trying a lighter point.
I have tried an uneven tiller, but it doesn't seem to help me much. Maybe I haven't tried it enough to really know. Some folks tiller tune to fight their natural problems of holding high or low. I tend to hold low and shoot out the top of the target with too much hand pressure. I've been able to fight it best by adding mass weight to the bow, tweaking the bow's balance with my stabilizer weights and shooting with the top cam slightly advanced ahead of the bottom cam.
I was very timid about tinkering for several years. I wouldn't do anything without an "expert" standing beside me. I was worried that I would screw up my bow too bad. I've developed enough confidence that I'll go slow and make changes one at a time. I still ask a bunch of questions of people with more experience, but it's usually just to validate what I've learned and proven. It is good for me to get some affirmation before trying stuff. I know a senior pro in TX. I call him to pick his brain and he always tells me, "you know what to do so just do it. Quit asking permission". Now I'll try just about anything with my bows
Next I want to learn to build my own strings. I would love to build a set with too short of a string and cables for one of my target bows so I could preload the limbs, pull the ATA well under spec and stretch the brace height higher. Several top pros are shooting that way and I'd really like to know why.
I'll answer bob's question from another thread here so we don't wreck Frank's thread
bobthebowhunter said:
I'm shooting Hoyt ProElites for target and a Mathews Drenalin or Drenalin LD for hunting so I'm dealing with a single and hybrid cams.
I start by shooting a bare and fletched shaft through paper at 6'. If I can get a bullet hole (or slight nock high) I then go outside. I work until I can get bullet holes with both by adjusting the rest in and out to the best tear possible. If I can't get a true bullet hole I'll get as good as I can get and then change the draw weight by increasing if I'm fighting a right tear or decreasing if it's a left tear. If I can't get a good tear I've probably selected the wrong spined arrow. It can take some time, but it can also take 5min if you get lucky
I spent over an hour paper tuning my spot bow. It drove me nuts. I ended up having to change the blade on my rest to get it right. I set up a 3D bow Sat. I eyeballed the rest in the vise and it shot a perfect nock high bullet hole with a bare shaft on the first shot. I ended up moving the rest less than 1/64" when I walkback tuned it. I used up all my luck for 2010 with that one After I set the rest through paper I walk back tune from 20 to 50yds. I would like to go farther, but arrow drop is usually too much to comfortably stay on my target. You can french tune instead, but I can't aim at something at 3yds very well with the true spot scope I use on my spot bow. I seem to do better with a walkback method.
(Here's a good article on french tuning)
http://www.dudleyarchery.info/articles/usarcher1FT.pdf
The walkback tuning will get my arrows in a straight vertical line. I don't have an article on walkback tuning, but here's a picture...
I adjust my sight until I can center a spot at 20yds. I'll shoot an arrow at 20 then back up to 25 to shoot another. Do not move your sight when walkback tuning. It's important that you leave it set on 20yds and aim at the same spot for all shots. You are looking for your arrows to fall in a straight line up and down. Some folks shoot three arrow groups at 20, 30 and 40yds and read the groups. I usually shoot an arrow every 2 or 3 yards from 20 to 50yds and read the line. If my group is like this / I move my rest a tad right. If it's like this \ I move it a tad left. I work until I can get a straight line. It shouldn't take more than 1/16' either way after you've got it paper tuned.
The next step is group tuning. If you aren't shooting over 40yds it's not worth investing a lot of your time, BUT there is a lesson to be learned in it on spine selection.
I shoot several groups at 60yds to get an idea of how my arrows are grouping. I throw out the shots where I had a bad release, wasn't on target, etc. At that range I'll usually end up with about 80% of my shots being "good". Then I increase the draw weight and redo the test, noting the group size and shape. Then I'll decrease the draw weight to below my starting point and redo. What I'm looking for is the point at which my groups are the narrowest. On my spot bow I started at 58lbs and have run it down as low as 53lbs. What I've found is that the sweet spot is between 55 and 56lbs with the arrows I built for it. I literally tested every half turn until I found the narrowest groups I could get. Before my last adjustment I was getting an oval shaped group that was twice as high as it was tall. I backed off 1/2 turn on both limb bolts and the group size shrunk left/right to where it is a nice circle now. Once the groups are as narrow as you can get them work on the group height. I move the rest up and down a hair at a time to find the smallest top to bottom group I can find. I set my nock about 1/8" high when I paper tune because that seems to yield the best groups for the way I shoot. Some folks shoot better with an arrow set level to the shelf.
When I'm doing all this group tuning I'm not really worried about my sight. I aim at something that I can see well and really hold on and fire arrows. If they miss the dot no big deal. I'm worried about group size at that point. After I get my groups tightened up I'll adjust my sights accordingly.
Group tuning teaches us something for shooting broadheads. You can move your rest to get your BHs and FPs to hit together, but you can also quickly increase and/or decrease the draw weight to test the spine. If all signs point to a spine that's too stiff, add 5 lbs of draw weight and see if it improved. When I first set up one of my hunting bows the BHs hit right of the FPs. I moved my rest a little at a time narrowing the gap then the BHs jumped left of the FPs. It wasn't a launch problem it was a spine problem. I reset the center shot and took a turn off the limb bolts. They were fine after that. The charts showed that the spine was right, but for whatever reason it was behaving like it was slightly weak. That's why I shoot in the mid-50s for target. With a low let off and solid wall I can run up to 60lbs if I need to when tuning. If it takes 60lbs to get an arrow to shoot well and I don't want to shoot that much weight I'll add point weight, shoot a longer shaft, or go to a lighter spined arrow. At least I've proven to myself the spine was the culprit before I change the hard stuff on the bow. Same thing if my arrow is too weak. I don't want to be at 53lbs shooting field or fita. I would rather be around 57lbs to get the right combo of holding weight and arrow flight. If I have to run down to 53lbs to get my outdoor arrows to fly right I'm cutting an inch off to stiffen them up or trying a lighter point.
I have tried an uneven tiller, but it doesn't seem to help me much. Maybe I haven't tried it enough to really know. Some folks tiller tune to fight their natural problems of holding high or low. I tend to hold low and shoot out the top of the target with too much hand pressure. I've been able to fight it best by adding mass weight to the bow, tweaking the bow's balance with my stabilizer weights and shooting with the top cam slightly advanced ahead of the bottom cam.
I was very timid about tinkering for several years. I wouldn't do anything without an "expert" standing beside me. I was worried that I would screw up my bow too bad. I've developed enough confidence that I'll go slow and make changes one at a time. I still ask a bunch of questions of people with more experience, but it's usually just to validate what I've learned and proven. It is good for me to get some affirmation before trying stuff. I know a senior pro in TX. I call him to pick his brain and he always tells me, "you know what to do so just do it. Quit asking permission". Now I'll try just about anything with my bows
Next I want to learn to build my own strings. I would love to build a set with too short of a string and cables for one of my target bows so I could preload the limbs, pull the ATA well under spec and stretch the brace height higher. Several top pros are shooting that way and I'd really like to know why.
Jay and I have taken SEVERAL trips out of state together chasing various critters. It was kind of an inside joke though! LOL Jay is diehard bowhunter through and through. He took ONLY his bow on a winter caribou hunting trip with me once. He done a fantastic job whackin em with it too!
Good stuff , Jay . Should be a sticky at the top of the page . 
