Shooting while tillering.

[Juan Ant. Espinosa]

When I´m tillering I use to shoot the bow some times when I think I´ve make some diference scraping. For consolidate changes is what I think...
I have this days some injury that don´t let me shoot them as I want, so I made a bow without shooting it in the tillering process.
I thought it was everyting nice but after shooting it when it was ready it was changing  its tiller or that´s wat I think.

What is in your opinion the importance of shooting while tillering and how you use to do it?

[Del the cat]

I don't shoot during tillering, but certainly exercise the bow, pulling it back and forth plenty of times to exercise it.
I think someone said or wrote, pull it back 20 times after each time you do some work.
Some times a bow will need a little work refining and tuning after it's been shot for a while.
Del

[Eric Krewson]

I shoot my bows using a short draw (20") a good bit during last part of tillering, I feel the snap of a shot helps the wood scraping I have done register a change quicker. I don't have any proof of this, just my way of doing things.

[Pappy]

I like to shoot mine after I get them out to 20 inches or so, short draw shooting and then just work my way up to full draw and weight I want it to be. If I am making it for me I don't worry much about the weight, I just shoot it until it feels good to me and then weigh it and what ever it is , is OK with me. 
 Pappy

[Pat B]

I do the same as these guys. After every scraping session I draw the bow about 20 times to the draw I've tillered too and near the end of the tillering process I do shoot the bow a few times. I also like to "sweat" a bow by bracing it at progressive brace heights as the tillering proceeds for an hour or so early on and up to 6 or so hours near the end of tillering. As a hunter I want to be sure the bow's tiller is solid during the hunt.

[superdav95]

I do the same as these guys. After every scraping session I draw the bow about 20 times to the draw I've tillered too and near the end of the tillering process I do shoot the bow a few times. I also like to "sweat" a bow by bracing it at progressive brace heights as the tillering proceeds for an hour or so early on and up to 6 or so hours near the end of tillering. As a hunter I want to be sure the bow's tiller is solid during the hunt.

Ya that’s how I do it also.  Once I get it to brace and it looks good I’ll take it to 20” and if still good and below my target weight I will shoot it a bit too.  I like others here will exercise the limbs also but find that shooting it gives me a “feel” for the bow early on in the process.  Often I can get a sense of how fast the bow will be based on how it feels early on and the recovery the limbs make after unstringing it. 

[Selfbowman]

All true.

[Eric Krewson]

I keep this bag target in my shop for bow shooting while tillering, I shoot a dozen arrows after every scraping session, I shoot from my waist, just quick snap shots.

[JW_Halverson]

I don't shoot during tillering, but certainly exercise the bow, pulling it back and forth plenty of times to exercise it.
I think someone said or wrote, pull it back 20 times after each time you do some work.
Some times a bow will need a little work refining and tuning after it's been shot for a while.
Del

I may have to start forcing myself to shoot the bows I am making a lot more during the tillering process since several bows in the last few years have radically changed tiller after a few thousand shots. Several were board bows from red oak that had been sitting in the garage for almost 2 years and one was an osage stave I had roughed out and set aside for at least 5 years. I do strongly suspect that the one has been incorrectly strung with a bad step-through stringing technique, something I tell everyone to NEVER do.