# Fletched and bare shafts not hitting together... Why would they?



## bigbadwoolfe (Jan 1, 2013)

I see often times when people tune their equipment, they are "all good" when fletched and bare shafts hit together... I've never tried this until recently, and ... my fletched and bareshaft don't hit together (field points). Not at 14 yards, not at 20, definitely not beyond that... But... the way I'm tuned, the fletched hit where I send them (and when they don't it's my mistake), and the bare shafts are always off... But why does this matter considering I'll never shoot bare shafts? 

Further, removing fletching has the following effect on the arrow (not limited to):

1 - less weight at the back, meaning different dynamic spine from fletched
2 - less drag, meaning arrow will be faster, and with that more direct (shorter) flight path to target
3 - less (none actually) correction to flight after arrow leaves bow
4 - less elements influence on arrow flight

So, with all these differences, why would bare shafts and fletched arrows hit together, ever? If they do, wouldn't THAT be weird? 

I'm just trying to understand the logic behind this sort of "tuning"... 

Thanks!


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## Macdoc18 (Dec 28, 2012)

The idea is to get the best arrow flight . Anytime the arrow has to be corrected from its initial flight by fletching, speed, repeatability, penetration and forgiveness deteriorate. The arrow travels slower, penetrates game less and is more subject to environmental disturbance. So we tune the bareshaft flight to be as close to the fletched flight as possible and voila! the archer shoots "better"faster and with greater consistency
Make sense?
MLC


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## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

Bareshafts tell you a great deal about how your bow is tuned and if it's launching arrows in a straight and true manner. 

They tell you even more about your abilities as a shooter. Especially about your grip. 

3 - less (none actually) correction to flight after arrow leaves bow

That, it seems to me is the whole point of bareshafting. The less correction your arrow needs, the more forgiveness you have built into your shot. Who wouldn't like more forgiveness on those shots that are a little less than perfect? That helps conserve the energy put into arrow and gives you higher speed downrange and increased penetration. 

As for myself, after I've bareshaft tuned, I screw in the broadheads and very rarely have to make any adjustments. BH's and FP's hitting together give me the confidence to shoot the FP's throughout the season knowing that my BH's are right there with them. 

It's not mandatory, and if it doesn't make sense to you, don't bother. It sure makes good sense to a lot of folks. It's not the easiest thing to do, but I believe that if offers good rewards to those that have a few hours to spend. 

Best of luck to you.


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## bigbadwoolfe (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks for the replies... I still don't understand why the same bow should be able to launch two different arrows at the same point... Cuz that is what bare shafts and fletched arrows are... If nothing else, POI up/down should be different due to different arrow weight and speed. 

But I do understand why you'd tune your bow and form to perform well on bare shafts. 

Cheers!


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## ithaqua (Jan 5, 2013)

IF a bareshaft flies like a dream, in a very straight line...a fletched arrow will fly even better, because it has correction...
Now, if your form is not good... if your nock level is too high, or too low... if you torque your riser, or if your draw lenght is too long, or too short... Then you will know it immediatly!!! As there is no travel correction, your bareshaft will go where your bow is tuned to send it.
My english is a bit poor (and I have a big head ache today), but I just repeat what I've learned from nuts & bolts.
I was like you a few weeks ago, then I tried to fire bareshafts. Never with arrows. If I was reading correctly, N&B was telling my draw lenght was too long...Pfffff..... I have a 30" draw lenght since I've begun, 2 years ago, and I'm ok like this...
But, as I try not being stupid, I decided to give him a chance, and tried 1/2" shorter, and Bam!!! every bareshaft was grouping with arrows. Now, I have to be used with my new anchor point, but I'm so more stable and accurate than before.

Just to tell you can be a good shooter with fletched arrows, but if you can not shoot bareshafts grouped with arrows, something is wrong with you or your bow, and you could be even better.


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

OK really the only significant difference in the 2 arrows is total mass and fletching drag. The amount of weight and drag the fletch adds is really small I dare say negligible at 20 yards. So your assertion that they are not the same is relatively valid. You are correct they are not the same but the difference is barely measurable and likely indistinguishable at short yardages and mostly only affects the elevation impacts. Proper spine tune and alignment affect the right left impacts. With that little bit of weight on the back what you will find is that it doesn't affect dynamic spine. It is the weight in the front that affects that dynamic spine because the entire length of the arrow is trying to push that weight. the weight in the back does not cause the arrow to bend. If anything the glue and the extra stiffness of the fletching could make the last 3 inches of the arrow more stiff, but again negligible. If you want to try and balance the weight difference you could try adding a nock collar to the back of a bare shaft. 

So yes they are slightly different and without the weight and the drag it would be expected and acceptable to see the bare shafts impact on the top of the group at 30 yards (but still in the group not necessarily a separate group). So the idea is that you want to be able to get a bare shaft to fly as straight out of the bow as possible. It's optimal to apply that force as directly in line with the arrow as possible. This is maximizing the efficiency of the arrow allowing it to collect as much energy as possible from the limbs. Once you have achieved that then as mentioned in previous posts all the fletching does is correct minor errors in the release, grip and flinches. 

I've watched folks try to bare shaft beyond 40 yards and at those ranges you are really splitting frog hares and you are correct you should see a slightly higher impact of the bare shaft at those longer distances.

Now, lets address the real issue here. My guess is that you are having difficulty with this exercise and are looking for reasons why you haven't been successful with this tuning method. The truth of the matter is that this is a very valid and I dare say the best possible way to tune your bow and arrow combination. It does work and so if you want the best possible tune then you need to trust that the theory has been well tested over the last 2000 years and accept it. If you are struggling to get bare shaft flight matching your fletched arrows you need to look at your equipment and identify what is off. Is it a setting or are your arrows miss spined? It sucks to have to buy new arrows to get the best tune but in the long run it will definitely give your setup the best performance. I've done a tone of tuning over the years and I've come to the conclusion that bare shafting is by far the best way of getting proper arrow flight. I also agree I've never seen a well tuned bow using the bare shaft method ever shoot a broad head any different than a field point.


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## Green River (May 13, 2006)

Anyone have a link to bare shaft tuning?


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

the best link is to the Easton tuning guide. It is a comprehensive instruction guide that walks you through the major tuning systems. 
http://www.eastonarchery.com/downloads/tuning-guide


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## Strodav (Apr 25, 2012)

1) I don't use wraps on my target arrows, but put wraps on my bareshafts so the weight is within a grain on my fletched arrows, FOC is the same, so the nodes should be very similar.
2) The difference in drag between a fletched arrow and bareshaft is not significant at shorter distances, say, out to 20 yds. Most of the drag comes from the front surface area of the arrow.
3) That's the whole idea. You fine tune the bow so the the nock pushes directly behind the center of mass of the arrow so it doesn't need any correction to fly straight. I usually try shooting bareshafts out to 40 yds, and while they may not hit exactly the same spot as fletched at that distance, they fly straight and go into the target straight. I tune until they group with fletched at 20 yds.
4) I believe your saying cross winds. Don't try shooting bareshafts when it's windy.

When I've got bareshafts and fletched shooting together at 20 yds, broadheads are usually right there as well for my hunting bows, and, I believe, I shoot my best groups at distances out to 90m with my target bows.


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