I adjust plunger tension. It might not be "proper", but neither is stringwalking for that matter and they both work, so 🤷‍♂️

 

Arrow spine, if you are right handed and hitting left then your arrow is too stiff. Adjust with tip weight, length, and plunger tension/location. Get that close, then string blur can clean up any little error left and right.

 

I forget which does which but from what I read, adjusting plunger tension will help the bareshaft get closer to the fletched at short distances while moving center shot (screwing plunger in or out) helps move bareshafts closer to fletched at longer distances.

If this is true what I wrote, won’t changing plunger tension affect grouping at short distances ?

my question is more so what to do if at all distances the bare and fletched group together but they are always left or right of the target.

how do you get them to group where the point is set when aiming?
Would I be forced to change where I put my blur?
Does this suggest bent limbs or riser?

thank you for the suggestion of changing the plunger. Maybe that is the only solution and a Barebow is always a compromise.

Does a barebow archer always have to aim left or right when the distance is more or less than the distance the bow was tuned for(say20 yards)?

 

So, I coach barebow and Olympic recurve. Have a student going to a tournament this weekend, shooting Barebow Recurve.

1) your riser is not bent. Time for you to find a recurve coach to teach you how to shoot barebow, how to aim barebow.
2) your limb alignment is fine...limb alignment is not the first place to look
3) your limbs are not twisted...very unlikely, and twisted limbs are not the first place to look

4) you REALLY need to get some recurve lessons, about how to shoot a recurve bow, how to tune a recurve bow

5) learn brace height. MUST learn how and WHY to adjust brace height

6) learn plunger extension, meaning how much the plunger tip needs to PUSh the arrow tube away from the riser wall

7) learn how to REALLY tune a plunger, meaning you set pounds on the fingers with a ROCK HARD plunger (replace the spring with wooden match sticks, or bamboo skewers)

8) shoot three bareshafts and three fletched arrows at the bullseye at 18 meters, with the ROCK HARD plunger
....keep adding point weight (screw in field points) until bareshafts hit with the fletched at 20 yards
....REDUCE point weight (screw in field points) until bareshafts hit with the fletched at 20 yards
....wait a sec....you first say ADD point weight, and then u say REDUCE point weight

....so, which way?
....TEST point weight in BOTH directions. If right handed, not enough point weight, bareshafts miss LEFT of fletched.
....TEST point weight in BOTH direction. IF right handed, too much point weight, bareshafts miss RIGHT of fletched.

 

Every time you change your crawl your tune changes. You can get it perfect at one distance then you will need to adjust (if you can shoot that well). The farther down the string you crawl the stiffer your arrow will act. This is because your arrow does not get as much force behind it as it does when your fingers are closer to the nock. It takes a pretty good archer to see much difference. If your bow is tuned at 30 yards it is hard to see any difference at 20 or 40 yards. As the distance become more extreme the left/right will become more apparent but so do other form issues. I never really care where my bare shafts group. I get the fletched ones to hit where I want and shoot. Typically a weaker than I would expect spine arrow is what I end up with.

 

Post a photo of your "well tuned" bareshaft and fletched arrows at 20 yards, shooting indoors.
If you are right handed, and the "well tuned" bareshafts and fletched are all missing left of the bullseye...

which rings are your groups hitting the target,
and what size group do you have at 20 yards?

Need a full draw form photo, with your recurve. Camera phone taped/clamped to a ladder,
camera phone at arrow height, ladder far away enough, so the camera phone can see the floor, can see your shoes,
can see all of you and all of the recurve bow.

Your string arm alignment needs work.
Bow hand grip technique also needs work.

 

I am thinking I would like my string blur on the riser.

String blur should line up with the centerline of the riser, in line with the backside of the limb bolts.

 

1) does my center shot influence where I place my string blur?

2) do you still sight down the arrow shaft in barebow?

3) is the only left and right adjustment done with spine choice and plunger position and tension?

1) string blur should be in line with the limb bolts (backside of the limb bolts)

2) yes, you sight down the arrow shaft in barebow. When shooting outdoors, you may need to aim off sideways (crosswind). Indoors, there obviously have no cross wind, so you aim down the arrow shaft...in barebow

3) left right adjustment, is POINT weight, is ARROW spine selection, is ARROW tube length, is weight of the vanes, is weight of the nock, is using an arrow wrap or not using an arrow wrap, is setting brace height, is setting pounds on the fingers, is tuning nock fit with a custom string and appropriate serving size...YES, a custom string makes a HUGE difference for my NEWBIE recurve shooters.

4) after you tune all the stuff in answer #3, then, we look at plunger extension (how much we push the arrow tube away from riser wall). Moving the arrow centerline closer to inline with the bowstring, makes the arrow react a tiny tiny bit WEAKER....LESS plunger tip extension. Moving the arrow centerline farther from the riser wall, makes the arrow react a tiny tiny bit stiffer.

5) when you are shooting well beyond the 200 score level on the 40 cm target at 18 meters, working with a Beiter click plunger will allow you and your recurve coach to further cut group size at 18 meters.

 

Barebow at 18 meters, is a particular specialty. That means, there are specific things we can do for arrow selection
and point weight, to make things MUCH MUCH easier for the barebow shooter. Not everyone who shoots barebow, also string walks. What if we could make your POINT OF AIM at 18 meters, the bullseye? I've done this for several barebow shooters.

 

Fly - I think you are jumping too far ahead. Download the Easton "Arrow Tuning and Maintenance Guide" Its a good start on how to set up your rest, plunger and center shot. Start with a light draw weight bow (30# is a good start for an healthy adult male. Aluminum arrows 1716 or 1816 with target points will be in the ball park of correct spine).

As far as aiming, go to the Traditional Archery forum. Some good information there.
An Instructor or Coach familiar with recurve archery would be a great help if you can arrange a lesson or a few.
Best of luck to you. Barebow is great fun and challenging.

 

Well, thank you for the tuning advice but I am not sure that is what I was thinking. I mostly shoot compound and am use to the small adjustment of the pins after tune is obtained. I was looking for the analog in barebow.

I have been reading ,’The Art of Stringwalking’ by Godio and read about the advanced tuning and how to tune the plunger stiffness and position and this brought me to thinking about how to adjust when your arrows are tuned well but hit left or right of your point of aim.

this was just a hypothetical, not an actual situation.

It is one part of the tuning process that I do not see mentioned anywhere. How do you get a well tuned barebow that has the groups hitting left or right to fall on point?

Thank you for the information and suggestions. I do appreciate the feedback and help

 

Well, thank you for the tuning advice but I am not sure that is what I was thinking. I mostly shoot compound and am use to the small adjustment of the pins after tune is obtained. I was looking for the analog in barebow.

I have been reading ,’The Art of Stringwalking’ by Godio and read about the advanced tuning and how to tune the plunger stiffness and position and this brought me to thinking about how to adjust when your arrows are tuned well but hit left or right of your point of aim.

this was just a hypothetical, not an actual situation.

It is one part of the tuning process that I do not see mentioned anywhere. How do you get a well tuned barebow that has the groups hitting left or right to fall on point?

Thank you for the information and suggestions. I do appreciate the feedback and help

Get the spine rating on the arrow correct. STEP 1.
Get the arrow tube length correct. STEP 2.
Get the point weight correct. STEP 3.
Tune the brace height. STEP 4.
Tune the pounds on the fingers. STEP 5.
Tune the shooter's form. STEP 6.
Tune the plunger extension (how far away the arrow tube sits from the riser wall. STEP 7.
Fine tune the Beiter click plunger.

My barebow recurve student can hit center at 18 meters and at 50 meters. She is 15 years old.
She string walks, and she shoots split finger style.

If arrows are hitting left or right of point of aim, your arrows are NOT well tuned. Period.
Arrows are well tuned, when the arrows (fletched and bareshafts) hit the point of aim, at all distances.

When shooting longer distances (like 50 meters....about 54 yards),
TINY form errors, TINY tuning errors are MAGNIFIED. "well tuned" at 18 meters....will/may not be well tuned at
50 meters, identifying form flaws, identifying room for improvement on the bow tune.

Yes, my 15 year old student is right handed.
Yes, she misses left on occasion, at 50 meters.
Nope, it's not the arrow tune.
Nope, it's not the bow tune.

How do I know? Cuz, when she executes properly, she can nail the 50 meter bullseye.
Cuz, when she does NOT execute properly, she misses left.

 

Is what you are saying is that a well tuned barebow cannot miss left or right( one or the other but not both) yet group bareshafts and fletched together?

 

Post a pic of your 20 yd groups.
Then, post a pic of your 50 meter groups (54 yards).

If the 20 yd groups are TIGHT...9/10 ring on the 40 cm Vegas Target
and
if the 50 meter fletched groups are tight (54 yards)...but missing left,
you are canting (tilting the top of the bow to the LEFT)...when shooting 54 yards (50 meters).

It's NOT the bow. IT's YOU the shooter.

I suspect you don't shoot much barebow.
Here is my barebow riser. Bernardini Luxor, 27-inch riser. Notice the HOLES in the riser, at the bottom section.

Those four holes in the riser are drilled at the factory (by Bernardini).
The purpose, is so the barebow shooter can install factory weights.

WHY put weight in the barebow riser?
To make the barebow riser BOTTOM heavy.

WHY make a BAREBOW riser bottom heavy?
So, the barebow recurve shooter has more moment of inertia,
and can hold the riser like a plumb bob....goes to vertical, all by itself,
prevents / minimizes the barebow recurve shooter from CANTING (Tilting the bow sideways)
so takes away the potential to shoot left, at 50 meters (54 yards)...

especially newbie barebow recurve shooters who claim a well tuned fletched and bareshaft group at 18 meters and at longer distances,
but says the longer distance groups are drifting left (assuming zero cross wind).

 

I've been through Rick Stonebreaker's Tuning For Barebow guide from start to finish and it helped me immensely. I really like the Rise Up method for finding the proper starting tension for the plunger.

https://texasarchery.org/attachments/article/127/Tuning_For_Barebow.pdf

To control major left/right shift, I work on my string blur. Currently it is in between the tip of the arrow an the riser as the sweet spot. I find the blur closer to the arrow tip when aiming point on to be easier to make consistent.

For minor left/right adjustments (the difference between a 4 and a 5 or X on an NFAA 40cm target at 20 yards), I adjust the plunger tension as described in Rick's guide.

Hope this helps.

 

Tuning for Tens (Rick Stonebraker) is a classic.

Another CLASSIC, is the rigid pressure button (plunger) method by James Park down under in Australia.


James Park
Grand Master Bowman



#1
Tuning a recurve bow
1st July 2006, 09:42 AM

From the many queries I get on tuning a recurve bow:
(Covered in more detail in "Mastering Bow Tuning", as is tuning a compound bow).
Assumptions:

• The bow's physical length is about correct for your draw length.
• Adjustable limb alignment.
• Adjustable draw weight.
• Arrows of a size that will work.
• The arrows are about level with the back of the riser when at full draw.
• You have a sight and a clicker.
• You have a good bowhand position and are not twisting the riser.

If your arrows are the correct size, the following process is easy, fast, accurate and repeatable.

Steps:

- Select the correct string length. This should ensure that the correct amount of string is sitting around the recurve on each limb. It is best to use the manufacturer's recommended brace height.

- Set the tiller. Make the top tiller about 1/8" greater than the bottom tiller.

- Align the limbs. You need to end up with the string running centrally down the limbs and the riser, and for the riser not to be twisted off to one side.

- Set the pressure button (plunger) so that there is zero movement (I put a [wooden] match in it). Then adjust the centreshot so that the arrow is sitting exactly on centre.

- Shoot some fletched and some unfletched arrows at about 15-20M. Adjust the nocking point so that the fletched and unfletched arrows hit at the same height.

- Adjust the bow's draw weight so that the fletched and unfletched arrows hit the same place horizontally. Note that if the arrows are not the correct size, this step will not be possible, and there will be little you can do to fix it (sell the arrows and buy new ones - with a recurve bow you really do need to get the exact correct size, one size wrong will not tune correctly even with much frustrating tinkering). If the bow draw weight will not go high enough you can try a lighter string. If the bow draw weight will not go low enough you can try a heavier string.

- Still with the solid pressure button, adjust your sight so that you are grouping around the centre of the target.

- Now, do not change the sight setting. Take the match out of the pressure button and adjust the spring tension to "something nice".

- Now that you have some give in the spring, you will need to push the arrow out a little from true centreshot, so adjust the pressure button position.

- Shoot some arrows and see where the centre of the group is. If the arrows are to the left then move the pressure button to the right, and vice versa.

- Shoot some fletched arrows at a longer distance and check that they seem to be flying well.

- Powder test to ensure that the rear of the arrow is not striking the rest or pressure button.

- It should now be working pretty well.

Note that we are not fiddling with the spring tension to try to get the fletched and unfletched arrows to group together. It does not work like that. The key adjustment is changing the bow's draw weight.

Note that we tune a barebow recurve in essentially an identical manner (using a sight and a clicker).

Note that we tune a compound bow shot with fingers in an identical manner.

 

I think is what I was thinking:

Arrow tuning 101, Barebow edition

For experienced archers, I can not stress enough the importance of tuning your arrows. Without arrows tuned to your equipment, you can not achieve precise and consistent results no matter how good…

understandingarchery.wordpress.com

1. Final string blur Alignment – Once you are able to group your bare and fletched shafts together successfully, look at where the group is hitting in relation to the center of the target. If your group is left of the center, move your string blur alignment further to the left on the riser (right handed archer). Do the opposite for right of center groups. Continue to make small corrections until the group is in the center of the target. Note: it is also possible to move your arrow center shot position accordingly by adjusting the plunger depth collar. BUT too drastic of a move can cause other issues so if you choose to adjust the collar, make only very small adjustments.