Tuning for Outdoor Olympic Recurve Archery

Written By: Amari Thomas

One of my favorite things about archery is that there never seems to be a shortage of new things to learn. A great example of that is tuning with an olympic recurve bow. This can be a tricky process for beginners in the sport but with a little practice and determination, you can tune your equipment to be able to shoot higher scores and feel more confident in your setup.

First, I like to set my arrows up by gluing in the points, pins, adding nocks, and fletching the arrows. When I begin to tune a set of arrows, I always start with them at full length. This way, you have room to cut them if you need to. If the arrows are too long to shoot with your clicker on the riser, you may need to use an extender to be able to shoot them right now.

Outdoor recurve tuning should be done at 30 meters. This distance is far enough that it allows us to see how the arrow is really flying, but is close enough to produce reliable data. Once you’ve gotten the clicker where you want it, shoot an arrow or two to make sure you are hitting the target. Then, hang up an 80cm compound target face to shoot at. I would discourage you from using a single spot indoor recurve face because it is very hard to see at this distance. Also, refrain from using a 122cm outdoor recurve target face as it is too big to really focus on and can allow you to make less than great shots because of its size. I would suggest putting the target face in the middle of the bale or just above center. This is to prevent any stray arrows from missing the bale.

In the tuning process we will need to shoot both fletched and unfletched arrows. Unfletched arrows are typically referred to as bareshafts. Shooting a bareshaft arrow will tell us exactly how the arrow is flying without any compensation from the fletchings. Fletchings are normally curved for outdoor recurve archery because they help to create spin on the arrow which allows it to fly better in the wind, and can reduce human error from the fingers, a bad release, or improper shot placement.

When you begin the tuning process, try not to warm up too much or shoot a ton of arrows. The idea behind this is that we want your setup to be as forgiving as possible, so if you tune the bow to how you would be at a tournament, i.e. “cold” or not as warmed up, then when you do settle into the tournament, the tune of your arrows will provide you with the best possible results. Paradoxically, when we do tune, you also need to ensure that you are still making good shots to receive good information from the arrows.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this process is dealing with the wind. I’m not a gambling man, but I’d be willing to bet you that there will be some amount of wind through the duration of your tuning. Since most of us do not have access to a 30+ meter indoor range, we have to just make peace with it. However, one thing that you can do is wake up very early as the Sun is rising to try and tune before the wind kicks in. The reason that you want to tune with very little or no wind is because the bareshaft arrows are extremely susceptible to any external factors because they do not have the fletchings to compensate for the wind and can be easily manipulated, negating the useful information that they provide. If you cannot find a single time of the day without any wind, try to wait until a big gust comes through and then shoot immediately after it, as this is probably the least amount of wind that you will have.

 

Now you’re ready to shoot the bow! Start by shooting three fletched shafts into the target, followed by three bareshafts. Remember, try to make these some of your best shots because the bareshafts are easily manipulated…not that you would ever want to make a shot less than your best anyways! [insert laughing emoji]. If your first fletched shaft is near the middle, DO NOT move your sight. Keep shooting because the placement of the group is inconsequential right now. If you are a perfectionist like myself, then feel free to get your fletched shafts in the middle first and then proceed with shooting the bareshafts, however this step is not necessary.

Once you have shot all six of your arrows, walk down to the target, but do not pull your arrows just yet. I always like to take a picture of the target after each end so that I know where I started and can have something to compare to when I am finished. If your three fletched shafts are grouped together then you know you have made pretty decent shots. If you have just one that is not with the group, then you can decide whether you need to shoot them again or if you know why it isn’t with the group then that’s okay and you can continue with the tuning process.

For a right-handed archer, the bareshafts will typically fall within five different categories that correspond to their placement on the target. If you are left-handed, you’re out of luck….just kidding!, all you need to do is reverse the left and right in the categories below. If the bareshafts are grouped:

• Above the fletched shafts: This means that your nocking point is too low and needs to be raised higher.

 

 

• Below the fletched shafts: This means that your nocking point is too high and needs to be lowered.
• To the right of the fletched shafts: This means that your arrows are too weak in spine.
• To the left of the fletched shafts: This means that your arrows are too stiff in spine.
• In the middle or “with the group” of fletched shafts: This means that your arrow spine and nocking point are good to go and no further adjustments need to be made at this point.

 

• Fixing the Up and Down

 

The goal is to have the bareshafts arrows shoot roughly in the same group as the fletched shafts. This includes the horizontal and vertical axis. In reference to the bareshafts being too low or too high, it may seem counterintuitive to move the nocking point in the same direction as the bareshaft, but we have to remember that we are adjusting the bow to the bareshaft because it is how the arrow is really flying without the help of the fletchings. It helps me to say “follow the bareshafts,” when trying to remember in which direction to move the nocking point. To adjust the nocking point, I suggest using a T-square tool that attaches to the string and sits on the arrow rest. First, find where your nocking point is at and then decide which direction you need to move it. Even if your bareshafts are shooting very far above or below the fletched shafts, I would suggest only moving the nocking point an eighth of an inch, centimeter, or one “line” on

the T-square, depending on whether yours is SAE or Metric. Doing it this way will save you from overshooting your goal and having to tie extra nocking points.

As with everything else in archery, it’s helpful to fix one thing at a time. If your bareshafts are flying too high above the fletched shafts and are too weak or stiff, just fix one of the issues and then work on the other. I would lean towards fixing the horizontal axis first because it can take longer to fix and can affect the vertical axis more than the inverse.

 

 

 

• Fixing the Left and Right

 

If your bareshaft arrows are flying to the right of the fletched shafts, this means that your arrows are too weak. This really just means that the spine of the arrow is flexing too much as it comes out of your bow. One simple way to fix this is to reduce your draw weight. Another way to fix this issue is to cut the arrows. I would repeat the tuning process multiple times before cutting because once they are cut, it cannot be undone. As scary as that sounds, it really does not have to be. Just be very sure that you need to cut the arrows before doing so. If you decide that the arrows do need to be cut, err on the side of caution, cutting less than you think you’ll need to. I like to cut about half and inch to an inch at a time so that I don’t cut too much. If you cut too much at one time, you could end up with bareshafts that are now on the left side of the group, resulting in a stiff arrow. Also check with your arrow manufacturer to see how much they recommend cutting from the arrow. Most arrows, if not all, should be cut from the front of the arrow or the end that the point will be glued into. It’s helpful to cut only the six arrows that you started with at a time so that you do not have to cut all twelve arrows

each time you go back to the saw. Once you are happy with the tune and how much you’ve cut, then go and cut all of the arrows to the length that you have the saw set at. A VERY VERY important thing to remember when doing this: If you set the arrow saw to a specific length, make sure that you are the only person who is using it that day or at that time because if you decide not to cut any farther and someone changes the specific length that you set the saw to, when you are ready to cut the rest of the arrows at the end, you will not be able to get the saw back to the exact place that you had it at before. This can result in your arrows having variations in length and will be a nightmare for those shooting with a clicker.

Another way to fix a weak arrow is to reduce the point weight. You can do this if your points have the break-off sections. Take off one at a time and then tune again to see if you need to take another section off. They are usually about ten grains in weight and can be easily removed with two pairs of pliers. Easton makes an arrow plier that has holes in it and are very helpful for this. Putting the break-off section in the hole of the pliers will act as a lever and give you the force that you need to break it away from the shank or the part of the point that will be inserted into the arrow shaft.

If your bareshafts are hitting to the left of the group (remember to reverse this if you are left-handed), then this means that your arrows are too stiff. Meaning that the poundage or length of your arrow is not allowing them to flex properly or enough during flight. A very easy way to fix this is to increase your bow poundage. I always prefer this because poundage is not permanent. However, some archers may not be ready to go up in poundage, so this may not be the best option. You can also increase the point weight in the arrows to make them weaker. Note that this may slow your arrow speed

and for archers with already low sight positions, it may cause contact between the arrow and the sight aperture.

Once you have made your adjustments, always go back and shoot two or three more times just to make sure that you have fixed the tune of your arrows. Good luck and I hope this helps you!