Bare Shaft Tuning With Different Arrows?

[rideold]

I have a question about bare shaft tuning. I have, in the past, only paper tuned but as I learn more I am moving to give bare shaft tuning a try. I have two sets of arrows. The one set are Gold Tip Hunters HX shafts in 340 spine built with 50 gr of weight added and Q2i Fusion X Vanes, 3 fletch, 2 degree helical. The other is a factory 4 fletch Day Six in 350 spine. The Gold Tip arrows are a tad longer. I have a bare shaft in the Gold Tip arrows but not in the Day Six....I'm not super jazzed about stripping the fletching off one of my new Day Six arrows. Anyone want to pitch a guess at how much of a difference it will make to tune using the Gold Tip vs the Day Six? I know in my gut that it probably will but until I compare both setups I'll never know. Before I start stripping vanes off a good arrow I thought I'd toss it to the crowd to see what others have to say. To clarify, I would be bare shaft tuning using a fletched and a bare shaft Gold Tip, not mixing two different arrows.

 

[TheJason]

Do it with the Gold Tip and don’t worry about it. Bare shaft tuning isn’t the end all, it’s just a step along the way that reveals different things. You still need to BH tune at the end.

 

[brocksw]

I've spent an embarassing amount of time tuning arrows in a variety of methods. Now I just spine align arrows through paper by twisting the fletched arrow around the knock until all my arrows are bullet holes at 0 and 6 yards in my garage. This is why I've moved to 4 fletch low profile vanes, so I don't have to worry about fletching contact no matter where my arrow wants to be around the nock. Then I use a sharpie and mark the top side of my nock and a line on the arrow up against the knock indicating where it shoots best. Once that's accomplished I leave it. Bare shaft tuning would sometimes lead to improvements but usually not enough to be worth all the extra time.

 

[rustednuts]

I've dropped bare shaft tuning from my process. I paper tune, then walk back tune. I find walk-back tuning reveals more than bare shaft ever did.

 

[grizzly63]

When I bareshaft tuned, if I got it accomplished, the broadheads would hit the same point as my field points. It is very critical of form and equipment tune. A whole lot more complicated than most people can handle. I only broadhead tune now and if it doesnt work, I switch spine until I find the right combination. Regardless of which method you choose, do the gold tip until you are happy and then see what the other does.

 

[Indianajoe]

I don't worry about bare shafts. I paper tune, broadhead tune, and shoot. If paper and broadheads don't line up I check spine first.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Regardless of whether or not you do any bareshaft tuning, you need to broadhead tune with whatever arrow you'll be hunting with. Broadheads hitting with field points is the ultimate goal for a bowhunter; other tuning methods are optional preliminary steps.

That said, I would bet that if you bareshaft tune your GT Hunters, you won't need to change much when broadhead tuning your Day Six arrows. A slight rest adjustment might be necessary to compensate for the difference in shaft diameter, but other than that both arrows will likely tune the same assuming both are built to yield a similar dynamic spine.

 

[rideold]

This has been an enlightening conversation so thanks for that. In the past I have just paper tuned in my basement and then adjusted my sight to match where my broadheads hit. I've never worried about my field points. I thought by using bare shaft tuning I would be headed in a better direction but it sounds more like I'm better off just broadhead tuning and calling it good. I guess it's an example of there being six ways to Sunday!

When you all broadhead tune what distances do you do it at or do you just do it at one distance? Does it matter? Thanks for the education.

 

[Indianajoe]

like mighty mouse said broadhead tuning to match field points is my end goal. I do it at 20 yards and check it out past that. If planing isn't an issue, you should be good to whatever distance. I still check for sure. I shoot broadheads at farther than I realistically hunt just to be sure I will not have problems when it matters.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

In the past I have just paper tuned in my basement and then adjusted my sight to match where my broadheads hit. I've never worried about my field points. I thought by using bare shaft tuning I would be headed in a better direction but it sounds more like I'm better off just broadhead tuning and calling it good. I guess it's an example of there being six ways to Sunday!

All roads should be heading for the same destination (broadheads hitting with field points), but, yes, there are multiple ways to get there. I personally use paper to get things in the ballpark, bareshafts to refine, and broadheads to finalize. Paper tuning is convenient because I can do it indoors at close range regardless of weather or time of day. But paper tears can be deceiving; bareshaft tuning tells me what's happening further downrange and saves wear and tear on my targets (compared to shooting broadheads). Using a paper > bareshaft > broadhead progression, I rarely have to make any adjustments during the broadhead tuning phase.

When you all broadhead tune what distances do you do it at or do you just do it at one distance? Does it matter? Thanks for the education.

I start at 20 yds and work back to at least the maximum distance I'd consider taking a shot at an animal. As with most things in archery, distance magnifies any flaws.

If you go back far enough, broadheads will eventually hit noticeably lower than field points (even out of a perfectly tuned bow) because broadheads induce more drag than field points. If you're confident in your tune and reach the point of noticeable vertical point of impact difference, you'll have to decide whether you want your pin(s) sighted in for broadheads or field points at longer ranges.

 

[dgc1963]

I've dropped bare shaft tuning from my process. I paper tune, then walk back tune. I find walk-back tuning reveals more than bare shaft ever did.

What he said

 

[N2TRKYS]

I don’t paper tune, bare shaft tune, or spine align. I shoot 3 fletch and have had no issues with my fixed broadheads hitting with my field points at all my hunting ranges.

 

[Redman]

I guess I am not following exactly. Paper tuning with fletched arrows is a good thing but paper tuning with bare shaft arrows will result in a more accurate arrow. I do this and find the sweet spot on each shaft prior to fetching them. My broadheads and field points always hit the same spot. It is way more time consuming but to me it is worth it. It is like finding the most accurate handload for your rifle. You can have a perfectly tuned bow but if there is a spine issue with an arrow it will not shoot perfectly and will be even more apparent with a broadhead.

 

[grizzly63]

I don’t paper tune, bare shaft tune, or spine align. I shoot 3 fletch and have had no issues with my fixed broadheads hitting with my field points at all my hunting ranges.

Well you lucky stinker! Not many people can say that but we don't know your ranges. I do know that placing a longish broadhead on your arrow actually affects the spine.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Well you lucky stinker! Not many people can say that but we don't know your ranges. I do know that placing a longish broadhead on your arrow actually affects the spine.

I know, right.

I built a couple of friends some arrows this season. They both wanted to go full tilt on tuning(inserts, spine, and bareshaft), but I told them it wasn’t needed. They trusted me to the task and the arrows turned out great. They were surprised how easy it was and both killed good animals with them this year. I didn’t do anything special to them, I just built them bell curve arrows.

I/we use regular sized fixed broadheads.

 

[TheJason]

You do realize now tuning is about much more than arrow spine, right? Just because you built a great arrow does not mean everything else is properly aligned and tuned.

 

[shannerdrake]

It has already been said, but I find bare shaft tuning to be the least important of the tuning methods. It's not a bad place to start, but since I am never going to shoot a bare shaft at anything, I find it not all that important.

IMO, walk-back tuning is the most usable in the real world. I want my final arrow (broadheads, nocks, vanes, inserts) to fly well and I want it to impact same as my field points at hunting distances

Tuning is a rabbit hole that will likely lead you to Wonderland if you dive all the way end. If you have the space, time, and patience to tackle a perfect tune, go for it. However, I care more about where my arrows impact and the amount and quality of practice I have.

 

[mottlet]

When I changed my setup to get heavier a couple years ago, I did a bunch of bare shaft stuff to experiment and see where I'd end up re: weight on the front. But, once I settled on that, I only did a tiny bit of broadhead tuning to get just right on field point impacts.

I just got a new set of string and cables to put on and have no plans to do anything with bare shafts since I'm not changing my arrow setup. I'll shoot paper and then finalize with broadhead tuning and feel pretty confident that I can roll with that.

 

[BBSK]

I get bow set up right first then bare shaft tune, nock tune , then fletch that one arrow then start all over again. It takes time.