Traditional Archery - Don't tune Your Arrows!

[@-fazik-3713]

Do not stress Yourself with the equipment. Just enjoy archery!

[@greywolfwalking6359]

-FAZIK- indeed! Yes! Just enjoy one's self in peace without hype!

[@timkopacsi7517]

I totally agree, some people might never be good at a certain activity, but it doesn't mean they're not having fun. So just enjoy flinging the arrows down range.

[@blainclatworthy5423]

Feathers are friends to Compound Shooters as well, when shooting in 45F or colder weather.

[@timofunk5374]

Very impressive demonstration - thanks for that Greg! I am a beginner and I've been racking my brains for days to find the best arrows. The solution is so simple... go by the book and shoot some arrows ;-) Greetings from Germany

[@beautyandthesimp]

Buy 100 arrows and shoot it every day!

[@WoodyWoodward-vh2vq]

Great video! Just what I needed to stop thinking about equipment and just shoot until I get consistent groups. Great channel, great advice. Cheers Greg.

[@johncom1971]

Been shooting my 45# Bear bow since I was 12 (so for nearly 40 years now) and didn't know what a tuned arrow was till last year. Never did any competition stuff, I only ever hunted and my quiver used to have 2 different sized cedar shafts, plus a couple of different sizes of aluminums of various lengths and feather/vane configurations. I'm totally instinctive, and unless the feathers got wet (in which case I only shot the few I had with plastic vanes) the only difference was that the heavier arrows hit lower than the others at a distance. Feathers are your friend for sure.

[@mcd5778]

Awesome!

[@DILATEDPEEPS]

Wahoo! Another channel with THE man! Greg thanks for this content! I'm hooked on traditional archery

[@adriaanvandenberg5013]

I'm not a beginner, more like an advanced archer myself, even still feathers are even more my friend!

[@TheNockingPoint]

Hello Draakeragon, I am an average archer, and "Feathers are absolutely my FRIEND!" ;-)

[@adriaanvandenberg5013]

@John Griffith Feathers steer arrows, the more feather the more compensation for small inaccuracies.

[@johnbeattie1225]

I'm new again now in late life. after early teens learning archery .Like the advice learning 3d archery . And will concentrate on technique and not worry about target so much .Thanks for the video . 👍

[@ruudratajczak2240]

Thank you big friend!!! You are a super teacher!!! I AM SO HAPPY WITH YOU!!!

[@chadkampster7425]

I need the feathers to be my friend 🤣. I need all the help I can get. Great tips Greg.

[@arrowdodgerluvsmarlins1758]

Great video ! A friend of mine says you hail from IL. Lots of archery clubs up here. Thanks much for your fine videos !

[@brycehiigel235]

Thank you. I just built some arrows and working on the point weight. Had somewhere between the 275 and 300gr flying the best. But every so often and didn’t matter which one I would have tail right. So I took a break to give my bow shoulder (surgery over a year ago)a rest when I saw the arrows almost nose diving. I figured it out to be a fatigued and wasn’t getting full draw. After watching your video I went a head and put fletchings on put the 175gr FP and they are flying straight like the ones I bought fully fletched. Sure beats pulling hair out.

[@patrickhenry236]

Word of warning. The advice in this video should only apply if you are shooting field points at targets. Broadheads can act like a weather vane and additional flex in the arrow can send it off target. Most likely you will not be hunting with it until you have practiced for a few months, but if you need help tuning at that point, don't be afraid to seek local help. It will save you aggravation in the long run, and needlessly lost game animals.

[@TradArchery101]

I guess you did not hear the part where I said "For beginners". Beginners should not be shooting broadheads. Tuning should not be done until you have a repeatable shot cycle. Otherwise, as you know the "readings" will be all over the place.

[@patrickhenry236]

@@TradArchery101 I did, but I also did not want those "beginners" thinking the same would apply if they want to go hunting. That is why I did say your advice applies if they are shooting field points at targets. The main concern was preventing wounded game and frustration by adding a clarification to your video, which some may not have understood being beginners.

[@brucenovotny5924]

Great advice. Right on 👍👍👍!!!

[@Cuisinenomade1]

First I must say I have been watching your channel for a while and it is really helpful, thanks. Now, the question is, when one ceases to be a beginner. I have been shooting every day since february of this year and today i finished bare tuning my first set of arrows. I shot wooden arrows and some gamegetters they give me when I bought the bow. At the beginning i didn't even question the arrows nor i knew anything about them. But after a while it was obvious it couldn't be just my form. I weighted the arrows and sure enough there was up to 100 gn difference between some of them! Let alone over spine or underspine. Nonetheless I kept practicing, got a clicker and learned to make my own strings and make sure the nocks fit correctly, since I was shooting tight nocks. Well the new arrows flight like darts to the target, I know now if the misbehave it is my form but well tuned arrows make a huge difference once form has reasonable developed.

[@dancampbell9090]

Life is so much simpler now, can buy exactly what Arrows I need off Amazon, work out where they go and when they get wrecked, buy new ones, same in all activities, some People, try to compensate, with Gear or become obsessed with some adjustment that makes a marginal difference.

[@sigmanarchery54]

Amen just have fun. 👍🏼🏹🇺🇸

[@bluebow68]

Great advice as ever..Thanks man..Greetings from the .U.K.

[@Tony-gl4nf]

Great advise .Thanks

[@greywolfwalking6359]

Been shooting since 1957! All the hype n merchandise that goes on.. For my humble point of view... Is a load of hot steamy buffalo chips!! With flies on top! I hunt, bow fish n on occassion ... Shoot field tournaments.. The " trainer" that I had , my Uncle Martin... Til he passed, had shot each day after work n taught me 3 things : (1) shoot a bow as you are comfortable to shoot, (2 shoot arrows , that are as straight as you can find, (3) ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE!!!!!!! I currently have a bow that I picked up at a yard sale for $8 ! Arrows that I made! And this all said... ENJOY the experience, 100%!!! Do the same n just enjoy your Archery experience, what ever that entails!?? GWW... Ooouuuttt!!!

[@paulpeeters2356]

Greg, great show! Thanks very much! This demo underlines my theory. Stop messing with equipment, 80% of the shot is by the shooter. not the bow or arrow. Indeed if your shots are consistent, work with an expert to tune.

[@brianc6739]

Very sound advice.

[@mathijs175]

getting arrows as a mediocre archer should be as simple, follow charts, think a bit and get them all the same. buy extra fletching and trust on that. when i was a mediocre archer and i tried tuning, on paper i had arrows go both left and right going thru them, only difference was taking 2 steps back. get them flying within reason and put fletching on and 99% of the time you are in for a blast.

[@Emanemoston]

Thank you!

[@valjaliovajusername]

Thx for the video. Can I shoot 340 spine carbon arrows (30", 100gr field point) with my Samick Sage recurve, 20lbs? I have some fish tailing so I suspect the arrows are not right for my bow

[@feralgrandad4429]

Thanks Greg at last a common sense video on the subject 😁

[@jefffletcher3376]

Should have mentioned it takes roughly 4 months of shooting to tune yourself into bow shape before trying to tune an arrow. Really couldn't agree more about tuning arrows for beginners

[@knifesharpeningnorway]

Have you tried the skylon quantic 5.2 arrows? Ive heard from arrowforge they are more consistent in the spine than gold tip. I have a great plains model b in 42 pound im drawing to 27. Im thinking maybe 29 length arrows at 600 spine and 100 point and hope they match well

[@ЛукиСтрелы-ш2и]

For sure,

[@caseysmith544]

Only thing you need to do is get the right weight or lighter then max weight of arrow for the bow draw pounds you are using they will work but I do not know about way way too light of arrow and that would probably not work unless they could be stiff enough on the spine. I know because my brother uses Easton Aluminum arrows with synthetic feathers and the one set has slightly lighter arrow due in part to one set being slightly smaller at 30 inches and others 32 and he does fine with both sets as long as he knows he is using his lighter arrows so he can adjust to those arrows. He then has some 2324 that are different then his larger shaft 2226 and he does fine with those slimmer arrow due to fact they are stiff enough for the bow he has despite being a much lighter arrow. This coming from a guy who is in the lower end of advanced category or would be if he competed in traditional archery stuff. He has used the arrows from both his bows and my dad was using the same arrows just fine.

[@PapaBearCustomKydex2021]

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying ALL your videos. Are you by chance a physics teacher?

[@jimsnow4629]

There was (closed) an archery shop in Deer Park, Washington; you look like the owner of this shop. Would you be him??

[@001RedEye]

Greg, when do you know you're ready to tune arrows? (Thanks for all your great content.)

[@jefffletcher3376]

Try shooting for 4 months 3 times a week. This will tune you into bow shape. Basically you'll stop opening up and finally come to the draw length your going to have then tune. Hope this helps good luck

[@joecoffee968]

Ok but when I wish to go hunting should I just take my target arrows and replace the target points with hunting points and off I go?

[@TradArchery101]

That depends on what type arrows you use as target arrows. If you tuned them, should they not fly alike?

[@joecoffee968]

@@TradArchery101 that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I want to set up my arrows so that the arrows are the same arrows. Who’s the exception being that when I go to hunt with them I have removed the target tips and replaced them with broad heads. This is what I’m trying to do so that I will have the same reaction from the arrows whether target practicing or hunting .

[@TradArchery101]

Your target and hunting arrows should have the same point weight. Then the only difference would be any effect the blade design might have and that should be minimal at trad hunting distances.

[@joecoffee968]

@@TradArchery101 Thank you my friend

[@jamesbrownmiller808]

Never tuned an arrow in my life!

[@DLB1858]

Been shooting for decades, don’t see the point, fletch’em up, if they fly straight and hit what your aiming at who cares are they shoot without feathers

[@Wolf8313]

Great video, HOWEVER, your demonstration only shows that too-weak arrows will fly straight with feathers. What about too-stiff arrows? You'll get clearance problems, especially with 4-feathers, which will have a much greater effect on arrow flight. Combine that with a beginner's 20# bow, and I think the clearance problems (the feathers banging into the riser) will have much bigger negative effects than you've demonstrated. So I suspect this only works if the arrows are on the weak side. Two spines too-stiff, and I suspect your demonstration may not work as well. That's my theory, maybe you can test that.

[@TradArchery101]

The same applies to arrows that are too stiff. I use to use 400 spine arrows on my 38 Pound bow and they flew fine. Then I bareshafted them and found them way too stiff. Ended up needing 600 spine. But they still shot on target. The clearance is not a big factor with feathers, since they collapse. If your arrow is hitting your riser, is that spine or a bad release? Another factor to take into consideration; how is the bow cut? A bow cut to or past center will have a lower chance of feather or arrow interference. And, one more factor, is the riser and shelf flat or radiused? That too can help.

[@TheNockingPoint]

Great advice! But would cut it out with the Great one?

[@TheNockingPoint]

Wait a minute, one should never let their friends know what annoys them. ;-)

[@thirdworldrider6991]

this is counter intuitive, how can i know if im getting better if my equipment is causing my true aim to be off. if i pick up a bow properly turned and hit 9s and 10s and then go back to my bow and hit all over, then its the equipment. so i dont agree at all. you wont know if yyoure drawing well, and doing all those things for a proper release if your shots arent good, you will automatically assume its your form some how.

[@TradArchery101]

Then it is you. I can pick up any bow, tuned or not and within a few shots figure out how it needs to be shot. As a beginner, no sense in tuning when your form is not set. Was that good shot you doing it right or doing it wrong? You are just assuming the good shot was you doing it right.

[@thirdworldrider6991]

@@TradArchery101 indeed I am new. Are you saying you would aim off? When you say you would figure out how to shoot the bow can you explain? If you're supposed to keep the same form etc qnd be consistent. What would you do differently in the shot other than the aim? Thanks

[@TradArchery101]

@@thirdworldrider6991 Do you shoot firearms? There is a method called “Kentucky Windage”. We use that in archery also. Shot an arrow and make an adjustment. Do this til you hit where you want. Things that have a big impact on where your arrow hits, shot cycle wise: Draw length - people love to think they have the same draw length every time, but we don’t. This can affect where you hit by over 2” at 20 yards. Grip pressure - small changes in grip pressure with put different stresses on the arrow and change where your arrow hits by several inches at 20 yards. Back Tension - the single biggest thing that affects your release and how clean it is. Getting a good shot is all about having a clean release and that means proper back tension. Proper back tension is also key to having a consistent draw length. Back tension is huge.

[@thirdworldrider6991]

@@TradArchery101 hi yes i do shoot firearms. and i was told never aim off if your shots are going away. correct the diffiency, whether it be snatching etc...thanks for the reply. i need some instruction and more reading. also, i read your video as dont tune your BOW, not dont tune your arrows. :)

[@TradArchery101]

@@thirdworldrider6991 In a fight you do not have time to correct your equipment. Kentucky Windage has been taught in the service for over 100 years. It is a skill all shooters should have.

[@thomasanderson9296]

"These arrows are not tuned for this bow." That is an incorrect statement. Those bare shaft arrows all hit fairly consistently and like you said, within about the same grouping. I would say they are tuned, just not sighted, or aimed, correctly.

[@TradArchery101]

Thomas, sorry but is a correct statement. A tuned arrow is suppose to hit where you are aiming or looking. One foot down and one foot to the left is not tuned, if they were, they would have hit the white. As for the grouping, that was due to decent form.

[@KevinMillard68]

no one shoots arrows without feathers in the first place so what's the point here and feathers or vanes come on all arrows you buy new unless you order arrow with out any on them or you make you own thats different but other wise everything in the stores and off the shelf already have vanes or feathers tuning is more to do with yes feathers or vanes and the bow your using spin size up front weight of the tip and incert etc.. so your video all it does is prove how bad arrows suck without feathers or vanes and like i said all archers shoot with feathers or vanes even when hunting no one shoots bare arrows ..

[@TradArchery101]

Plenty of people shoot arrows without feathers, it is called "tuning". If you did not get the point, then you were not listening. And no, not all arrows come with feathers and I do not request them not to have them. The point is to focus on your form and not on tuning when you first start.

[@jirik8483]

Sorry but what you are saying is simply not true. you don't have to be consistent in shooting to tune arrows. It depends on the methodology. You take 3 fletched arrows and shoot, and therafter you shoot 1 unfletched arrow and you will see the result. If you are inconsistent it only means you ill have to repeat it let say 10 times or more to get precise result.

[@TradArchery101]

I cannot agree. New archers cannot group anywhere close enough to make that call. How do they know which arrows to take as the "good" shots, versus "poor" shots? That is why so many top trad archers recommend RAT, Repeatable Shot Cycle, Aim, then Tune.

[@jirik8483]

@@TradArchery101 Even if they have poor shots and poor grouping everytime, if the bareshaft arrow is always placed to the left of the poor grouping it means it is too stiff.

[@TradArchery101]

@@jirik8483 That is a lot of "Ifs". A person who plucks, for example, will have arrows land consistently to a side and thus give you a false reading. Once thy stop plucking, the arrow will land in a different spot and thus, a different reading.

[@nothingsurprisesmeanymore]

I'm sorry I couldn't watch this video, you shoot left handed.

[@TradArchery101]

Get Schwifty Invert it, then I would be right handed. You could also watch it in a mirror.

[@bluebow68]

@@TradArchery101 Lol..Great comeback..

[@venturini09]

So your title SHOULD be “Don’t BARE shaft tune….for beginners. With a simple understanding of tail left and tail right you could correct much of that issue with correct spine and different grain tips. Is getting the correct spine and tip weight really too complicated in the Information age? Clearly those bare shaft arrows are way off for that bow. Why waste time and money thinking that you have the right arrows and know how to shoot only to find out your form sucks and the arrows were covering it up. This would be like beginning with a guitar that has built in pitch correction or a car that has auto pilot then wondering why when you turned off the technology you suck as a player or can’t drive through the parking lot without crashing. I’m not saying a beginner should keep tinkering trying to get sub 6 inch groups but with all the test kits available tuning isn’t really a black art too advanced for someone with average intelligence.

[@TradArchery101]

You are glossing over the fact that new archers have so much variation in their form that simply following tail left or right will get them going in circles. Focus on form and pay attention to groupings. Trying to tune is a waste, see it all the time and guess what? They always have to buy new arrows because they tightened up their form so much, the old ones are not flying right anymore.