paper tear test - value for recurve shooters ?

[clickerati]

Buzz once showed me paper tuning and marked the nodes of my arrows (once they were found, and that was another fun experiement!) with different coloured wax pencils. The pencil rubs off on the paper as it goes through and you can see how straight your arrow is (I think that's the theory). I thought it was interesting.

Whether it has value is beyond my limited knowledge.

[geoffretired]

Paper testing has interested me since I first read about it many years ago.
At that time, it was seen as "the be all and end all" of tuning.( rightly or wrongly)
It has been seen to be flawed in many respects.
However, it still shows something about the way the arrows exit the bow.
If the nocking point is too high/low the tear shows that.
If the point enters the paper too far to the left/right, that shows up too.
If one arrow consistently gives a different pattern, that shows.
If the archer is shooting in such a way that the tears are changing shape almost every shot, that will show.
I think the value depends on what you are trying to find out at the time.
If you are tuning your bow for groups; I can't see much point in shooting at such close range, through paper or not.

[wingate_52]

I have tried it. My button needed a slight adjustment, and now my grouping is better at 30 meters and no worse at 50 and 60 yards. If it does not work for you, you have only wasted a small ammount of time. if it works you have a few more points. Floating your shafts seems strange, but it works. Try everything.

[Old Bloke]

If you are using a paper tune, make damn sure that you are standing exactly dead square to the paper.

[Cimbian]

Nock position - Yes
Spine difference - Possibly but requires a lot of shooting and recording
Everything else - Probably not

[GeoffT]

It would be really useful is you had frames set every 24" for about 20 yrds.!!! But high speed photography would be better.

Otherwise no use at all. IMHO

[disbloke]

Don't bother and can't see a lot of point to it. I know I can move the tear in a complete circle around the hole the shaft makes as well as changing the tear by the way I activate my release. Even by putting different stabilisers on I can change the tear!

[buzz lite beer]

Originally Posted by clickerati

Buzz once showed me paper tuning and marked the nodes of my arrows (once they were found, and that was another fun experiement!) with different coloured wax pencils. The pencil rubs off on the paper as it goes through and you can see how straight your arrow is (I think that's the theory). I thought it was interesting.

Whether it has value is beyond my limited knowledge.

Shooting through paper is very limited if you use the methods employed for compound shooting to make corrections (trying for bullet holes) when you are shooting from your fingers from a recurve bow, when Mckinney's book came out he had a section about plunger alignment/ nodal aligmnent relationship, how can you measure this with out the aid of a fast eye aquisition or the use of high speed imagery, I initially found the nodes doing the tapping and finding dead spot method later tried high speed ocsillation gizmo (modified jigsaw) both showed same results but the tapping method stands less chance of putting you in hospital. The nodes are marked with diffrent coloured soft wax pastile crayons, when shot through the paper the residue shows what the front and back of the arrow are doing and corrections made on the results do infact improve arrow flight very well.

[grimsby archer]

Depends a lot on the paper used.

Andrex quilted with added balm gives really good results mostly due to the nature of the paper prefaring not to tear along the perforations.
This compares well to the financial times which only tears in a downward direction.

[The Meggy]

Now I know where I have been going wrong - I should not have attempted paper tuning using the Grimsby Evening Telegraph