Tuning Basics, a quick primer.

[Rat]

Every few years this happens; an abnormal amount of tuning questions come up on TBH. I get PMs, and calls and people come over to the house for tuning help. I don't mind helping people tune their equipment, I do it all the time; but here are a few pointers to get you started thinking.

Keep in mind that ALL tuning is results based; if you make a change and the results get worse, make a change in the other direction. Not every bow is the same, not every shooter is the same.

What follows is what I have personally observed on hundreds of bows I have tuned and is the MOST PROBABLE (not the only) method for correction.

Paper Tuning: Since everyone is familiar with paper tuning we will start here; it also the easiest to use to describe other tuning methods.

Left Tear = Move rest right
Right Tear = Move rest left
Move the rest in the direction of the POINT of the arrow.
Accepted knowledge, everyone has been doing it this way for decades.

So think about this:
Given: A left tear in paper means we move the rest right.
Also: A bareshaft that impacts tail left (POI to the right) would be the same as a left tear.
Also: A broadhead that hits to the right (POI) would be the same as a left tear in paper.
Then: Understanding this relationship means that to fix a left tear in paper, a tail left bareshaft and a right POI with a broadhead are the same fix; move rest to the right.

But why you ask?
The result of a left tear in paper is due to the point of the arrow trying to get in line with the power stroke of the string. IOW, the power stroke of the string is to the RIGHT of the arrow; so, we must move the rest to the right to get the arrow in line with the power stroke of the string.

Make sense? Okay, moving on...

Yoke Tuning and Cam Shimming: With yoke tuning and cam shimming we do the same thing, but instead for moving the rest to get the arrow in line with the power stroke of the string, we actually move the string (and therefore the power stroke) to line up with the rest/arrow.

This is useful when you don't want the rest to deviate from the center line of the bow, or you need to move the rest too far to get clean arrow flight.

Tail Left Bareshaft or Broadhead POI Right = Shorten left yoke or shim cam to the left.
Tail Right Bareshaft or Broadhead POI Left = Shorten right yoke or shim cam to the right.

The result is the same, to get the arrow in line with the power stroke of the string; just a different method of doing the same thing.

Now that left and right are out of the way, let's look at up and down, or vertical, tears.

Vertical tears are related to how the nock point travels through the power stroke OR the position of the rest in relation to the nock point. We have a couple of things to think about here: Is the tail low due to the position of the rest in relation to the nock point or are we seeing an inconsistent nock point travel due to cam timing and/or limb loads?

Luckily it is easy to figure out which one it is.
Paper Tuning, Bareshaft Tuning, Broadhead POI
Tail Low or Broadhead POI High= Raise nock point, lower rest or advance top cam
Tail High or Broadhead POI Low = Lower nock point, raise rest or rehtard top cam

But how do we know which to do? If you need to raise or lower the rest by more than 1/8" you need to adjust cam timing. This is my personal preference, if you are comfortable with it being more than 1/8" than by all means, do it.

Again, this is the very basic adjustments I start with. If you make a change based on this advice and it gets worse, go the other direction.

For example: On some binary cam bows (like my Tribute) advancing the top cam has the opposite effect on arrow tail, so just do the opposite.

On some rests (whisker biscuit, launchers and some springs) moving the rest to clear up tail left is to move the rest left.

The advice given above is the move to make for most of the bows I have tuned through the years and will, I believe, take you less time to tune than starting from a point opposite or even from an unknown point.

Many times tuning involves adjusting any number of these things, like rest and cam timing, together. Don't loose focus on all the tools available for tuning and get stuck on one particular adjustment. Moving the nock point too high will result in a very unforgiving bow, adjusting the yoke too far will result in a loud bow and maybe even a derailment. Don't loose sight of the overall picture, make small adjustments, check the results.

Obviously I haven't covered every method of tuning, I already have a post on Walk Back and French Tuning.

For a hunting set up I use broadhead tuning for target I use walk back tuning.

[Rat]

Here is a pretty good tuning video by Shane Chuning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdzU_fJDZrk&t=1574s

[rocky]

I don't want to get in a major argument here, but this whole tuning process can be simplified by thinking in terms of centerline thrust.
Let's assume that bow is in spec, and cams are timed perfectly.
Broadheads are simply "steering wings", and if the thrust of your string is out of center, your broadheads will impact differently than your field points that don't have steering wings.
If your broadheads impact lower than your field points, the thrust of your string is high.
At this point, you need to lower nock point, or raise your rest.
If broadheads impact high, the opposite is the direction you need to move nocking point, or rest.
If your broadheads impact left of your field points, common sense tells us that the thrust of the string is slighty right of the centerline of the shaft, making it necessary to move the rest to the right, the direction we want our broadheads to move in relation to our field points, causing the tip of the shaft to be inline with the thrust of the string.
In other words, we are moving the rest to direct the thrust of the string more in the centerline of the shaft.
Somewhere, In this new internet age, this simple logic has been overcomplicated and trashed.

[Rat]

...If your broadheads impact left of your field points, common sense tells us that the thrust of the string is slighty right of the centerline of the shaft, making it necessary to move the rest to the right, the direction we want our broadheads to move in relation to our field points, causing the tip of the shaft to be inline with the thrust of the string.
In other words, we are moving the rest to direct the thrust of the string more in the centerline of the shaft.
Somewhere, In this new internet age, this simple logic has been overcomplicated and trashed.

It isn't simple logic or common sense, that's the point. Dynamic systems don't always operate according to what we think is common sense.

What you describe can happen, but doesn't always; and more often than not it is the opposite. That is the point.

I see what you are describing, usually, when the arrows are extremely stiff (or with a certain style of rest). When I have an arrow that is very close to perfectly spined I see the opposite is true.

We see the same in the trad world. Why does a stiff arrow hit one direction and a weak arrow hit another in the trad world? The bow string travels the same path, the only difference is the arrow spine.

It's the same for compound shooters; a properly spined arrow will try to get the tip weight in front of the centerline thrust, where a stiff arrow will not (like in your example).

This is part of what makes compound/release shooting so much fun to tune, and forgiving of arrow spine. You can tune for a stiffer arrow or a weaker arrow.

My point is that it isn't ALWAYS one or the other. I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm saying you are not always right.

[JBT]

really interesting info, thanks for sharing!

[manwitaplan]

Rat i wished I lived closer to you. I would bring my bow and some green backs for help and education.

[Rat]

Rat i wished I lived closer to you. I would bring my bow and some green backs for help and education.

There are many good tuners and coaches in the Houston area; but if you ever make it to the hill country bring beer, not money!

[Rat]

Where to start...?

Let's talk about the tuning processes as I see them. I often get asked the question, "Where do I start for tuning?", or "What is the best tuning method?"

I break down tuning into three categories:
Macro Tuning
Micro Tuning
Nano Tuning

One thing I hear many times is this, "My bow is paper tuned, but why don't my field tips and broadheads hit the same spot?" Here's why...

Macro Tuning
Macro tuning is similar to putting a scope on a rifle and then bore sighting the scope; it is just a starting point, a Macro Tune. Of course, it start with adding the accessories to the bow, things like sights, rest, peep and all the other stuff we need. Then, adjusting all these so that we are "on paper".

Then we go and paper tune or bareshaft tune at a close distance. This is Macro Tuning. Some methods are ONLY Macro Tuning methods, like paper tuning and leveling the arrow to the string; others can be both, like bareshaft tuning.

Micro Tuning
Micro Tuning would be like putting a new trigger assembly in the rifle, or a cheek swell; we are eliminating the variables that cause a bad shot. In archery, Micro Tuning means we need some distance, say 50 yards (totally arbitrary distance). This will start to reveal the Micro adjustments we need to make to get everything tuned and, as we make these adjustments, we see the improvement.

Nano Tuning
Nano Tuning is like building a cartridge with different powder charges for the rifle; we are making extremely small changes to the system to eek out the best performance and most repeatable shots. Again, in archery this means more distance, say 100 yards. At this distance we are really making the smallest of changes to our system to eek out every last bit of repeatability, and forgiveness, we can.

The method is not as important as the distance!

Group tune? Okay, start close and work your way back.
Broadhead Tune? Okay, start close and work your way back.
Bareshaft Tune? Okay, start close and work your way back.

One method isn't superior to the other (to a point) as long as the outcome is better repeatability and forgiveness.

Some methods, like Greg Pool's line tuning, combine more than one method, bareshaft up close and long distance line tuning, but it could just as easily be bareshaft and long distance broadhead group tuning.

What is really important is it is the method you are comfortable with and have confidence in when tuning. It will also depend on how good you can shoot and to what level you want to shoot, to a degree anyway.

For example, we have Joe, your average bow hunter. He doesn't shoot all year or, he may make a few local 3D tournaments; but he picks his bow up in earnest a month or two before season starts to get ready. Joe will never take a shot past 30 yards, so all he really needs is good arrow flight and that his broadheads will hit where he is aiming.

Joe can paper tune, then bareshaft tune then broadhead tune, never going past 30 yards, and be effective at taking any animal he hunts. For Joe, this is good enough and I believe it is ethical.

Jack however, is a bow geek and he wants his set up to rival Cameron Hanes at 120 yards. Jack will need to take the same steps, but at much greater distances. He may elect to line tune instead of broadhead tune at distance; but that is what he is comfortable and confident with.

No matter the shooter or the desired goal (indoor, outdoor, hunting) there are three steps in getting the tune, Macro, Micro and Nano; this is different for each scenario.

Yes, I believe some tuning methods are better than others; but really in the respect that they are faster for the same result or are better at certain things then others for a given scenario. I don't think the "average" hunter needs to line tune at 100 yards; most can get by perfectly with bareshaft tuning, then walk back or French tuning and then verifying the broadheads are hitting the same as field points. Of course, using these same methods at greater distances will improve the system all the more.

The Bible says that "Love covers a multitude of sins", in archery, distance reveals a multitude of tuning opportunities.