Is Bareshaft tuning a requirement?

[Dave_S]

I'll start off by saying maybe this is a stupid question. I just bought a bow last year and plan to hunt with it for the first time this fall. I know I will need to tune for broadheads, and I think I understand why paper tuning first is important. My understanding is basically that this will get major corrections out of the way before you add in the broadhead. Seems like lots of folks have different methods, but most involve starting with bareshaft. Is this something that is 100% necessary? I'm not at the point where I am fletching my own arrows, and I kind of hate to think about shaving off fletching if I don't have to. Can I just start paper tuning with my fletched shafts and move on? Looking forward to getting schooled.

 

[ElGuapo]

No doubt 9 out of 10 guys will tell you, that tuning fletched shafts is perfectly adequate. When I learned to tune bare shaft THEN Fletch, it completely eliminated erratic broadhead flight for me. I believe fletching hides a lot of flaws in the tuning process.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Bareshaft tuning is not necessary; neither is paper tuning. For a hunter, broadhead tuning is the only 100% necessary form of tuning IMO.

I personally shoot through paper for initial ballpark tuning, then shoot bareshafts to refine, then shoot broadheads as final verification. Paper tuning is nice because it can be done at close range indoors. Bareshaft tuning is done with field points so it saves wear on your target. But you hunt with a broadhead on a fletched shaft, so that needs to be your final (or only if you prefer) method of tuning.

 

[Stache Attack]

Not required. If you have the time though you can have a bare shaft impact right with it or a little high. This will save you a lot of time with broadheads and possibly a ruined head depending on how far off you are/how good bow is set up and paper tuned

 

[BBob]

I skip the paper, shoot some bareshaft and finish with broadhead. I hate messing with paper and haven’t used it for 30 years.

 

[Rob5589]

For compound I do not. I do bare shaft my trad bows.

 

[sndmn11]

I personally shoot through paper for initial ballpark tuning, then shoot bareshafts to refine, then shoot broadheads as final verification. Paper tuning is nice because it can be done at close range indoors. Bareshaft tuning is done with field points so it saves wear on your target. But you hunt with a broadhead on a fletched shaft, so that needs to be your final (or only if you prefer) method of tuning.

This is my process as well.

I have found that if you bare shafts or broadheads flying fine the other will too.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve only owned 4 bows, since I started bowhunting in ‘92. I’ve never had to bareshaft or broadhead tune any of them.

 

[Zac]

Going straight to broadheads is just fine. I usually fire a couple through paper just to make sure I don't plane off and miss my entire broadhead target.

 

[Dennis]

I never use to, but now I always do!

 

[Jbehredt]

I skip paper at least partly because I set up my own bows at home and don’t have a rack for paper tuning. Start with bare shaft and then broadheads. I like bare shaft tuning because it will also reveal grip or form inconsistencies that can come with a new bow. I can’t recall ever having to do more than bump my rest a mm to get broadheads dialed after grouping a bare shaft with fletched arrows at 20 yds.

 

[Beendare]

I would say tuning in general IS a requirement…but many ways to accomplish it. Typically, I use the fastest method and sometimes skip steps when I feel good about the initial setup.

In a compound, I sometimes skip right to shooting BHs for groups at longer range. I sometimes used to papertune, but its worth noting you can overshoot slightly with a paper tune…then when adjusting your rest for BHs you might have to go a tiny bit ( never more than a 1/16”) in the opposite direction as recommended by the tuning guides.

If a compound is shooting a bullet hole in paper, I have never had to move my rest more than a 1/16” in any direction to ge it to BH tune. If thats not working…you might be underspined.

I bareshaft tune in my recurve as those are very picky on arrow spine and there is no rest to adjust.

.

 

[MattB]

BS tuning is optional.

 

[justin davis]

I like to do it. If your bareshaft is flying and hitting the same as your fletch you got a well tuned bow in my opinion

 

[nphunter]

The only thing that really matters is your that broadheads hit where you are aiming. Lots of ways to accomplish that. Regardless of all of the other ways to tune, you still may have to make minor adjustments once you put on broadheads. Once you do that all the rest of the tuning you have done will change, just don’t go back and check the others once broadheads fly like they should, doing that will drive you nuts.

 

[TCUHunter34]

I like to do it. If your bareshaft is flying and hitting the same as your fletch you got a well tuned bow in my opinion

I would advise listening to this man, especially in this department.

 

[gelton]

I like to check my tune often which means that bare shaft tuning is a necessity unless you have endless money to buy new targets.

Broadhead tuning is superior, and I always switch to it 30-60 days before hunting season but BS will get you close enough and save you $$ in the long run.

 

[justin davis]

I like to check my tune often which means that bare shaft tuning is a necessity unless you have endless money to buy new targets.

Broadhead tuning is superior, and I always switch to it 30-60 days before hunting season but BS will get you close enough and save you $$ in the long run.

Yea I agree. Broadheads are the end result. But a bareshaft acts like a broadhead tipped arrow. So if I tune and my bare shafts are shooting good my broadheads shoot good to

I then go back to further distance and will
Fine tune the broadheads. But the bareshaft tune initially gives me less headache for broadheads

 

[Dave_S]

Yea I agree. Broadheads are the end result. But a bareshaft acts like a broadhead tipped arrow. So if I tune and my bare shafts are shooting good my broadheads shoot good to

I then go back to further distance and will
Fine tune the broadheads. But the bareshaft tune initially gives me less headache for broadheads

I'm a little confused by this. I thought that big reason you need to broadhead tune was because you now have added the steering of the broadhead to the steering of the vanes. Wouldn't a bareshaft just remove all steering from the equation and be more indicative of the input from the bow rather than the input from the arrow?

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[Trial153]

I tune a bow to get clean bare shaft holes at 3 and 10 yards. From that point I can’t recall the last time my broadheads and field points weren’t with my margin of error.
So while it not a necessity. I don’t see the down side at all. In fact it’s all upside as l don’t have to mess with BH tuning other then confirming the same POI at various distances