Button Tuning

[Sparkie]

Is there any info on how to tune your button and what differance it makes to your shooting.

Please and Thank you.

[ecclesarcher]

Oooh...open can, extract worms, stand back and watch .

Seriously, there's a lot of info around on this topic. I don't know if it's been covered on here before, but http://www.archersreference.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ has one of the better, clearer explanations and is free to download.

The short answer is that your button is one of the more critcal bits of your equipment. Because its main function is to allow the arrow to fly straight and stable as soon as possible after leaving the bow (at least I think that's what it does...someone please tell me if I'm wrong), it's basically responsible (within the limits of your shooting) for how cleanly your arrows leave the bow and fly.

[robbo]

you can get a couple of good tuning guides from our clubs website:

http://www.greendragonbowmen.org.uk/otherdocuments.htm

make yourself a coffee and have a good read...

[Rik]

And don't forget Easton's guide, available as a download:
Tuning guide

[robtattoo]

Just one quick question, if I may. Does it really make that much difference?
There are people at our club who won't use them at all & are cosistently more accurate than those of us who do. I have a bow set up with a button & a hunter without, yet my grouping is roughly the same with both bows. I know the principal of a pressure button is sound, but is there any real advantage to spending a couple of hours tuning it?

[ecclesarcher]

Originally Posted by robtattoo

is there any real advantage to spending a couple of hours tuning it?

I think so. I don't know whether everyone finds this is the case, but for me having my gear properly tuned makes much more difference outdoors than in. And, archery is a sport based on consistent repetition of the same sequence of movements and actions; if tuning your button can remove one more variable from the mix, it might be worth doing. I think the key is to remember to tune for groups rather than only according to a diagram or list of possible reactions. Everyone's different, and so's their gear; you and your stuff may not respond in a way that fits with the tuning guide you're using. I find that tuning is mostly about changing one thing, checking the group and repeating the process until I come out with the setup that groups best.

[Bald Eagle]

Robtattoo, if you can tune a button in two hours I'd like to know your secret!!

[SLOWHAND]

Is button tuning important? is any tuning at all important? The answer depends to some extent on your standard of shooting. For people shooting less than say 450 Portsmouths or 800 Fitas then it's not crucial, assuming your bow has been set up roughly right and that you are shooting arrows that are roughly suitable in spine. The higher your standard, the more important it becomes.Most indoor tournaments are won by 10 points or less and shooting a well tuned set up compared to one set up badly can often be worth more than 10 points. It also gives you confidence and a mental edge knowing your gear is set up right.To give you an example, I got a new bow on a Friday which Pete from CBA and I set up by 'guesswork', and I shot it for the first time in a tournament on the Sunday. The result was a Portsmouth score of 577, about ten points down on my average. Two weeks later and a few hours spent tuning the bow I shot a pb and county record.
It's not that difficult to set up abow to get a fairly good tune and can be done quite easily in one club night.

[joetapley]

Sparkie

There are two main ways to set up a pressure button called "bareshaft tuning" and "walk back". Having a well set up bow won't directly make you shoot any better but it helps as regards improving the scores.

If you have some experience and understanding then setting up a button shouldn't take more than half and hour (most of which is retrieving arrows). On the other hand I've seen archers spend the best part of a day blindly following some 'how to tune' write up and ending up worse off then when they started.

Simple answer is to ask an experienced archer/coach at your club to help you with the bow set up process including button set up. Much less pain this way.

[Sparkie]

Thanks for the help, everybody. I will try out what has been said and let you know the results.