I've decided to get (more) serious about tuning this off-season. I did my own (as a rookie) last fall just from reading "how to's" and was able to get it close but not perfect. I went to my bow shop to get some help to finish the job and the guy there tells me that you typically can't get a bow in perfect tune with a WB due to the bristles not being able to guide the arrow consistently every time. I want to look closer at my spine, FOC, and possibly going to a 125 grain tip. But if you can't get a WB in tune what is the point now? I would then want to consider other rests and get one that shoots consistent before I start doing any further tuning so I don't end up spinning my wheels. I have always been a K.I.S.S. type guy so that is why I choose the WB. I want full containment (if possible). Is this guy at the bow shop full of it or what? He is an older guy with a lot of experience (claims) so I don't believe he suffers from the "young kid and just been hunting for 5 years but I work at a bow shop and I am an expert" syndrome.
BS. I've gotten lots of them to tune perfectly. I'm not a big fan of papertuning but I used to use it for a starting point and got the WB to perform just fine. Some people just are dead set against the WB. They aren't my favorite and I even used to be a bit prejudiced against them but after playing with and using a few for a while, there's no arguing that they are a simple and solid performing rest. You should get yours to tune perfectly if everything else in the system is equally perfect.
I've done it with the hostage pro, not the WB... and yeah you can get it perfect. I will say that the bristle wear will change the tune IMO on the hostage pro... I can't speak for the WB.
I am leery of the triangle rest designs simply because of the bristle wear. Seems like that is a major issue with them based on reviews I have read.
Yes, they will paper tune perfectly, but you must also walk back tune . These type rests have a tendency to give you a "false tune".
I've gotten my recurve dead nuts......shooting off the shelf (paper tuning). So, there's nothing I'm reading that would have me believe you couldn't do it with a containment rest (such as the WB).
I've hunted with nothing but a Whisker Biscuit for 5 years now.....4 of those with the same exact rest. I can assure you it tuned perfectly on each of those bows. I'm now playing with a different rest on my current hunting bow, but if I don't feel it's flawless in function and super reliable, it will be coming off.........because I know my biscuit will get it done EVERY time.
Thanks guys. The good news I apparently don't need to buy a new rest. The bad news is I have to make it into the bow shop when this guy isn't working and hope that someone there is willing/able to help me. This guys seems to be there a lot so it may be difficult. And also to set the record straight he has been right with everything else that he has helped me with as far as I can see. This just did not smell right to me and that was the reason I checked on here.
The better option is to learn to do it yourself. It's almost rocket science, but not quite. We all started right where you are.
Well that was the goal. Did make it better? Yes. Was it perfect? No. I'm planning on changing several things before I start tuning again. I'm unfortunately right on the edge (according to CA's chart) between a 250 and a 350 maxima. I have the 350's now and I want to increase my poundage to 60lbs. I want to buy (1) 250 arrow to see how that will tune. I also want to try the CA Maxima "Hunter" arrow. I want to look close at my FOC and get that at ~12%. Any suggestions on the best "how to" article and trouble shooting article?
Don't bother with the 250 shaft. If you're on the border now it'll be too weak, especially when you go to broadheads; better too stiff than too weak then. Get the Easton tuning guide. I think Matt has a link to it in his signature.
How do I know that the reason I can't get it tuned in perfectly is because I am overspined? It's possible right? The chart is just a starting point right?
Try tuning with different tip weights and different DW's. If you have a collection of different tips (easy to get) then it is fairly easy to work at tuning. If you are overspined you can just add tip weight until the spine comes into spec. The benefit of that if you increase total weight and FOC at the same time. If you are underspined then you lower DW until the spine comes into spec. All of that is predicated on being somewhat close to proper spine to start with.
The best way to tell is to put the bow back to centershot and shoot a group of bare shafts vs. a group of fletched shafts. How they hit in relation to one another will tell you whether you're getting a weak or stiff spine reaction. If your arrows are too stiff the bare shafts will group to the left of the fletched shafts. To get your bow in tune move the rest so that the fletched shafts move toward the bare shafts. I do this out to at least 30 yards so that they both group together. If you can get both fletched and unfletched shafts to group together at 30+ yards, you're tuned.
Tip test kits: http://www.3riversarchery.com/Broad...eld+Point+Kit_c57_s124_p0_iCF5-T_product.html http://www.alaskabowhunting.com/GrizzlyStik-Field-Point-Test-Pack-P164.aspx
Makes perfect sense. So this is what I plan to do and let's see if this makes sense. Buy (2) 350 Maxima Hunter arrow's. Have them both cut and inserts put in but only have 1 fletched. Put a 100 grain tip on both, verify that my rest and nock are centered with one another and shoot groups. Change the poundage of the bow and/or head weight to get bare shafts and fletched shafts grouping together. If I understand you correct, I should not move the rest to get better groups but please verify. Once they are grouping together, what do I need to check next?
You will be better off with 3 of each that way you can shoot a 3 arrow group with both bare shaft and fletched. Don't go by your first set of groups shoot 3 or 4 seperate groups with each to get a clearer picture of what they are doing plus that will take out any shooter errors.
Good point. Hard to shoot "groups" with one arrow of each. :D At $13 or so a piece it's hard to buy that many you may or may not use. Is the steps I posted correct?
Technically yes what you stated is correct. However, I just go by the spine chart and my experience to find the shaft that should be correctly spined for the setup I'm using then adjust the rest to get things in tune as needed after that.