Bareshaft testing and nock height - need input

[BowEd]

Knoll....I dare bet just a small amount of feathers on your shaft will have it nailing it dead straight.Contrary to traditionalists I'm a little different.I try to get by with the least amount of feathers on my shafts.If I could hunt without feathers I would in fact.

[BowEd]

Each to his own I say.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Ed I think the type of shafting used by each of us makes a huge difference on how we approach it.

[BowEd]

Yes I'll agree with that.Hand split parallel shafts are different than tapered shoot shafts,and it was'nt stated by Knoll which.I assumed parallel.

[Knoll]

It's been interesting to read these posts. But, I have a confession. I was shooting this bareshaft-tested arrow from the wrong bow! UGGHHHH!

Went out this morning and shot from "correct" bow. Surprise surprise . . . flight is near perfect staright and nock just a tad high. Now can go ahead and fletch it.

Gettin' old is quite the adventure.       :embarassed:   

[Pappy]

I guess we all don't build as good of bows and arrows as you Pearl, I can't just grab any arrow and it fly well out of my bows, may be the arrows, may be the bow but either way I bare shaft to get the arrows flying right for the bow and then fletch. As Ed said to each their own. Del you bare shaft with field points and then match the weight with the broad head you plan on using, can't bare shaft with broad heads, the head will take over the guidance of the arrow and it will do all kinds of crazy things. I was told many years ago when I first started shooting stick bows, anything will shoot out of these things, well YES anything will shoot out of them but believe me anything won't shoot right and hit where you look. I am a bad enough shot as it is, I sure don't want it to be because my arrows aren't well tuned for the bow I am using. A shooting bow is pretty easy to make but a good arrow is heap big trouble.  Hope no one takes offence here, but arrow flight and a well tuned arrow to the bow is one of my pet peeves.
 Pappy

[Del the cat]

Ah, thanks for the explanation Pappy, makes sense now 
Del

[PEARL DRUMS]

I don't believe the quality of a bow has anything to do with it, all things being equal. I make bows like everybody else does and don't deserve a 1/16 of the internet recognition I get. Repeatable form rules all. You can have a super tuned bow shooting super tuned quiet arrows one day and the next day you're maybe short drawing a bit, or maybe the draw elbow is too high, or grip too tight and that same set up sounds like a 12 gauge going off and you stand there wondering what happened to your super tuned bow. Form, form, form. At least for me, I find this to be all true.

I'm an arrow flight freak just like you pappy. I don't always obtain it every practice session due to the factors I just mentioned, but its always my aim and always has been. A quiet bow and perfect flight. Every bow and arrow is capable, but is every archer every day?


And here is my question for the fella's that do bareshaft often. When you stack up your stash of arrows. How many various lengths (+/- 1")and spines (+/- 5#) do you have in front of you? How much variance in arrows do you find from one 50# bow to the next 50# bow?

[PEARL DRUMS]

And, that would mean new arrows for every new bow? No way!!!! That's a lot of money and 2000 arrows laying around my shop

[bradsmith2010]

I think lower you knocking point and you will be ok,,
I dont normally bear shaft,, but I had a shaft with no feathers the other day,,
so I shot it just for fun,, shot pretty good,, but the knock was hitting high
I lowered the nocking point on the string and the arrow flew and hit great,,
like I said I normally just shoot what ever arrow flies the best out of my bow,, if I am making dog wood shafts, I will shoot them bare, just to get them in the ball park,,

[Knoll]

There's quite a variety to the bows I make. From 20# kid bows to 47# adult bows. That's one reason I got into bareshaft testing. Also wide variance in distance between "side plate" and bowstring.

I find myself using variety of shaft materials. Also buy "2nd's" when I find them and that often means wide spine variances. That's additional reasons I began bareshaft testing.

One of fav bows is 43# @ 25". Have 4 "sets" of arrows that work well with that bow.

     set1     33#     28 1/2"     275 gn w/o point     125 gn point     german spruce, 5/16
     set3     49#     29 1/2"     310                          100                   sitka spruce 5/16
     set4     49#     30 1/2"     375                          125                   cane 5/16ish
     set5     46#     30"            315                          125                  carbon             

And I find bareshaft testing to be fun activity.

[Aaron H]

Chris when I build a bow, yes I do make at least 3 arrows that are solely intended to be used out of that bow. Sometimes more, but that depends on the intent of the bow.

I will make them all the same length according to the draw length of the bow, therefore when I use those arrows, you cannot overdraw the bow. I start with heavy spined arrows, shoot them, then continue to scrape them down until they are flying straight into my target. Then fletch. If I scrape off too much, then those get tossed to the side for a lighter weight bow.
Yes, you do end up with lots of arrows, but I enjoy making arrows nearly as much as I enjoy building bows.  Not saying this is the right or only way, this is just the way I do it.

[PEARL DRUMS]

But you aren't using parallel shafts with a know spine, correct?

I'm not arguing with anybody here as I don't care what anybody else does to gain confidence in a rig, that's a good thing for anybody. Just trying to wrap my head around it. 20 +/- years of doing this stuff has never proven to me its needed for MY set ups. I doubt it has anything to do with my alleged "trophy" bows, they are no different than yours or anybody else that knows how to bend wood evenly. I cant see why one 50# self bow needs anything different than the next 50# self bow. That's why I asked just how much variance you bare shafters have from set to set in similar bows. 

[Aaron H]

Sometimes I will start with a known spine. Whether it be bamboo, PO cedar, Sitka spruce, etc.   But a lot of times I will make them from shoots like dogwood or even river cane. I approach them all the same way. Start heavy, then scrape down to achieve good flight.  Mind you must be careful when dealing with bamboo or cane and only lightly scrape.

I also have a wide range of draw weights when it comes to my collection of bows, and yes some of them will shoot ok from one bow to the other of equal weights.

As far as spine, I no longer measure them to see any variance. The only measurement I care about is weight.

I see bare shaft tuning as a fine adjustment. Plus I like just having matching "sets".

Once again, I just enjoy building arrows, and I do notice a difference in performance and accuracy, therefore in my opinion it is worth the time and effort.

[Aaron H]

But, I haven't been doing this nearly as long as many of you, and maybe it is just me inserting confidence into my shooting, whatever it is, it works for me.