So what are your guys thoughts?
edit(clueless is being used as a shortcut to mean uninterested or a lessened priority to getting your bow maximally tuned)Personally I now kinda fit this model as I'm just not interested in worrying with it.
Some would question the ethics of good folk who can't tune their own bow....especially if they gun hunt some :)
However shooting bows can be a dynamic proposition so one should understand the process and be able to keep their bow shooting it's best while in the owner's hand and not a hired tuner.
Even a very poorly tuned compound bow will outshoot a longbow or recurve. If it is ethical to hunt animals with a longbow, it is ethical to hunt them with a poorly tuned compound.
What is apparent on this site is that the "average archery IQ" is head and shoulders above the average guy who hunts "the best 5 days of the rut" except for the two he oversleeps. The average archery hunter on the street has seldom if ever even shot a broadhead at a target from what they tell me when we visit. Sad but true. Bowsite norms are in reality a highly selected sample.
Western hunters who shoot to longer range are likely much more well informed.
I have had 6 new compound bows over the last 18 years. Not one could I get set up to my satisfaction at a public bow shop. All were ok, but none truly tuned. I am very lucky to have friends who are truly masters at tuning. No idea what I would do without them.
Someone else can tune your bow, if you're shooting it.
Tuning's not hard, it's fun, being able to do it on your own doesn't make you a better anything in this world, except a bow tuner.
Explain the rifle comment, if you would, Steve?
I then take it home and shoot it for the next few months and get everything dialed in. If it starts acting funky, or previously sighted in pins start shooting off, I go shoot with him. He stands behind me or to the side, and corrects whatever form issue I'm having.
Then I start shooting fixed blade heads. Before I move anything, I again go shoot with him. He checks me for form flaws before we move anything at all. Once I've got the form dialed in, we make some adjustments. Since we've been doing this, we've never made more than minute rest adjustments. Very minute
Throughout the season, as I shoot fixed blade heads, if something goes funky, I go shoot with him, or I call him on the phone, and he corrects what is almost always a form problem.
So yes, I do believe, that if an archer uses correct form, that someone else can tune their bow
Bake
In fact, anyone who hasn't tried a good reputable tuner, should do it once. Send them your arrows and (as long as your draw length is right) you will be amazed at the accuracy and speed you will pick up by doing so. You can even have them pre-load your limbs which adds even more speed, which is beneficial if you are a low poundage user.
John's Custom Archery in Virginia is one of the very best.
No one but me is welcome to turn screws or tie knots on my bow.
It's just the way things are.
"and here again we get into the "my way, or you're a failure," huh?
Mine was a poke at the absolutes that exudes some threads ie. bowhunters who gun hunt was my example for the hardliners who draw such lines.
We all prioritize differently so one guy's supertune is another guy's scent control.
What I tell people new to it all is too learn to do it yourself.....even if you can't get to the exact endpoint you desire.The day may come when you save a hunt because of your in the field serve job or other issues you comfortable correcting.
Alot of deer died under the auspice of "pie plate" accuracy.So much of what we do could be considered overkill by the bowhunting masses.
For the vast majority of shooters though, having a qualified technician set it up and "tune" it will be far better than what they are currently doing, which is little to nothing, except buying a bow on line or at the box store and shooting it.
I think there are folks who shoot the hell out of a bow that is out of tune also.
There are a lot of bow hunters who want to use their poor performance as an excuse on their equipment.
Whenever I am shooting bad I have my dad stand behin me or have my wife or Morgan video me and then work on what I am doing wrong.
As one stated there are recurve a and longbows that have poor design but the archer corrects all tht with tons of practice and dedication.
To me, tune is to optimize the mechanical aspects of the bow for most efficient use. Timing cams, setting and timing rest etc. This can be done remotely by anyone, just as a car can be tuned. Not driver specific.
To set a bow up for a shooter, select or set draw length, serving in d loop, serving peep, dial in sights etc. That is for a specific individual. Guy who shoots the bow will need to do the shooting. Who turns the tools is not limited to the shooter to be effective.
In practice, not always.
There are guys who do strange things WRT form, anchor, draw length, etc. that effect the shot and in some ways can be compensated with tuning.
You aren't going to change their form or how they shoot. Many are convinced their "style" is an improvement even. See TBM and his thesis on grip torque tuning... =D
Even minor differences that are not flaws can have an effect. But for the vast majority, yeah, a guy that knows his stuff can get a bow 90+% tuned for 90+% of the archers.
If not, just screw on a mech..... =D
Also help buddy's in elk camp each year. Some folks just aren't the perfectionist nerd that some of us can be and for the most part they tune it with your advice since at the end of the day, it has to match their form not yours.
Helped my buddy's teenager last year with a bow he recently inherited that required some tricks you learn if you do this often enough (like shortening draw length with just a draw stop). Got him shooting bulls eyes in <1hr and that was his first time using a release, peep, this bow, etc.
If you really want to see your form and tuning flaws just put a few field pointed bareshaft's down range, 20 yards should do. Do they hit with your fletched field point arrows? If yes, that's a tuned bow and good shooting form.
I have to laugh at the one's who actually ship their bows to a "super tuner" and pay them $100 to tune their bow without them there to shoot it. How exactly is the tuner supposed to know how and where to set the draw length... Maybe only 10% of bow owners that I tune for have had the correct draw length on their bow when they came in.
Hand position and hand torque are things that can be adjusted for by most who have a small sense of how a bow works, but fine tuning your draw length for optimum shooting form consistency can usually only be done by an experienced tuner.
I have tuned several peoples bows. I do the shooting while I take care of the major work. But the final fine tuning work is done with them shooting it.
Almost always, I will have it shooting perfect but when I hand it to the person to shoot, I end up having to make more adjustments to get the arrow flight straightened out.
The worst is when you have someone who doesn't shoot much, or has poor form, and you can't get a consistent read on the arrow flight!!! That will make you pull your hair out. Generally, those end up staying with where I tune it.
Everybody just grips a bow differently.
Also, with the same people, it can vary by bow.
A few years back, I tuned my bow and my son's bow. Had both shooting perfect, for ME. Handed him his bow and he would consistently shoot it 4" left. He then shot my bow and was right on the spot. I tried his bow again and still right on the spot. Never did figure out what was going on with him and his bow. Tried everything I could think of with the grip and still the same 4" left. I ended up getting a different bow and gave him mine. I never did have to adjust my old bow for him. Still right on the money...... Go figure.
One thing I would like to mention is that a lot of bows get put away in a closet for awhile and only shot right before season starts. If your bow has set up awhile and does not shoot perfect when you bring it out to shoot, then don't start tinkering with it right away. You should shoot it several times (maybe a 100)and get your form back and let the bow itself settle before making any adjustments. The same as when you add a new string.
