Know-How: Does Your Bow Need Super-Tuned?

by
posted on May 24, 2016
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
super-tuned_bow_f.jpg

Most target archers obsess over bow tuning, while hunters are often satisfied with whatever tweaking was performed on their bow moments after purchasing it. It should be the opposite.

Why? Because minimal tuning is needed to make target (field) points fly great, while broadheads exacerbate any slight tuning issue and therefore degrade accuracy. So it’s actually hunters who stand to benefit more by spending the time or money to have their bows “super-tuned.”

Super-tuning is a term for adjusting a bow and arrow until the pair is perfect. It takes knowledge, tools, time, and trial and error. While trained professionals spend years mastering the art, here are the basics:

With your bow set up as well as possible and your arrows spined properly, paper-tune using a bare-shaft arrow at 15 yards. (Fletching is used to correct minor flight errors, but the goal here is to allow the fletching no errors to correct.)

Using a paper-tuning chart for guidance, adjust the arrow rest until your fletch-less arrow makes a clean “bullet hole” and the shaft does not tear the paper. If this proves impossible, it means something else is out of whack. Perhaps the nock or the cable guard needs tweaking. Sometimes it’s due to cam lean, a problem that’s frequently remedied by twisting or untwisting one of the bus cables or adjusting the yoke. Often it’s a combination of all.

Keep in mind, however, that if your shooting form isn’t perfect, you’ll never get a bow to show that it’s perfectly tuned—even if it is. That’s why professionals often use mechanical shooting equipment, and they never attempt to tune bows outdoors in the wind.

Will super-tuning make you a better shooter? Probably not, but it can allow hunters to reap the maximum performance potential from their bow.

Latest

BTB 7Mm RUM Lead
BTB 7Mm RUM Lead

Behind the Bullet: 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum

Launching a 160-grain bullet in excess of 3200 fps, the 7mm RUM is among the fastest commercially loaded 7mm cartridges available.

USFWS Debuts 2025-2026 Federal and Junior Duck Stamps

The 2025-2026 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp—commonly known as the Duck Stamp—became available for purchase on June 27, 2025.

Tested: Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust Elite Knife Sharpener

Digital Associate Editor walks viewers through the features of the Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust Elite Knife Sharpener, the perfect tool for a hunter looking to keep all his knives factory sharp season after season.

Recipe: Green Curried Black Bear

Green curry sauce is an excellent base for simmering bear meat, making it flavorful, tender, and safe to consume. Read on for another instant classic recipe from Brad Fenson.

Coyotes to Competitions: An AR-Build for Accuracy

ARs make great coyote guns. But what would the absolute best coyote rifle look like? Digital Associate Editor David Herman builds his take on the best AR for shooters who like to plug coyotes in the winter, and ring steel all summer long.

Pennsylvania Governor Signs Sunday Hunting Bill

Legislation that will fully repeal Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting ban was signed into law on July 9.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.