Building the wood arrow, Part 12. Final tuning process

      "Fine tuning comes from hours and hours of diligent practice. You see, it's generally the archer that needs the tuning, not the bow!"  John Schulz.

       We must keep this in mind during all our attempts to make good wood arrows and shoot them in the Hill style.  The arrows are capable of much greater accuracy than we can muster, so just relax and shoot your most fluid, dynamic, rhythmic style and remember to smile and enjoy the fun of shooting a longbow.  That's the first step to shooting good wood arrows.

       If you've followed along during the many blogs on wood arrow making, by now you've got the itch to make your own, or have tried to improve on your arrow making techniques and it's time to fine tune those beautiful wooden sticks so they shoot where they're supposed to. Where your eye is looking.  We've discussed how shooting form and being relaxed and stress-free really helps those arrows to fly well.  We tend to get dogmatic, and rigidly-static in our attempts to shoot well and that hinders our arrow flight.  We need to keep relaxed and fluid, keeping the bow arm bent and "soft" to the recoil of the shot so that a stiff arrow can push the bow aside if need be.  We've discussed how to apply arrow finishes and use the weight of varying types of stains, paints and varnishes to add weight by degrees so that our arrows all match as closely as possible in total arrow weight.  We've learned to sort arrows by spine and how to accurately measure our true draw length and cut arrows to match so that we can have arrows closely matched in spine.  Now for the final arrow "tuning".  No, it's not what most people think when you say that.

       We are tuning arrows to each other more than we are tuning them to the bow.  That runs counterintuitive to popular teaching of today, but if you think about it, that's how Hill did it and it still works today if you also keep in mind that Schulz says the archer is the one "needing the tuning".

      Schulz wrote, and Hill also stated similar things, that when Hill got a new batch of arrows, he went out and shot them and noted how they grouped and then kept similar groups together.  This was so that when he grabbed a group of arrows for a hunt or outing, one arrow shot from the group would tell him how the rest of the arrows shot and he could adjust as needed to shoot them all accurately.  I do the same and it's a good way to sort arrows.

      Now that you've got your arrows all made up, and they're similar in weight and fairly close in spine, how do you get them to match super close?  By small adjustments to the tip weight.  Not in the style that is purported by the heavy EFOC crowd or other archers that add lots of front weight to get their arrows to fly well.  Remember our lessons on balanced arrows?  I suppose if your only shooting is done from fifteen feet up at an animal at 5 yards, I guess proper arrow balance and proper parabolic arrow flight isn't necessary.  But if you want to shoot a nicely parabolic arrow flight, and be able to hit things at decently far distances, you need a balanced arrow. I won't dive into that again, look back in the blogs and reread it if you've forgotten.  Now we're just looking to closely match arrows so they all have the similar flight characteristics within the group.  

      If you've gotten your wood arrows to be closer than a 20 grain spread, even closer than 10 grains you're almost there.  The final matching is done by putting the arrow (sans head) on a grain scale and set your head/tip of choice on the scale with it. Note the total arrow weight.  Now try different heads and/or broadheads and notice that not all are the same and your arrows can be matched by swapping around the heads on different arrows within the group and ending up with some closely matched grain weights.  If you've got an arrow that is a little light to fit into the group, say it's within 20 grains, here's a tip.  Lead.

       Lead sinker weight that I recommended for melting into .38 shell casings for blunts works well for melting into the tapered ferrule of a broadhead or other point.  What works better is using air rifle pellets.  These are a consistent weight and slightly rounded or pointed on the nose end.  Usually a .22 caliber pellet is around 20 grains or so.  Simple drop on into your point, rounded or pointy nose first and tap into place.  No need for heat.  There, you just adjusted your head weight as needed.  If that is too much weight, snip off the required amount and drop into the head.  In the old days, archers used solder which still works if you want to use it.  In this manner, you can get arrows very closely matched and even perfectly the same weight if you want to go that far.  It isn't necessary, as using the proper shooting form makes up for any small variances anyway.

      These arrows, twenty-eight in all, are closely matched by group.  They show three different ways of doing an arrow finish.  I like to do hunting arrows in batches of eight (just because) and this year I also did a full baker's dozen.  The eight arrows with the white crown dip and red crest are fir and all eight weigh within 6 grains and are spined within 3# total range.  The full white dip and 2/3 white dip arrows, twenty arrows total are from pine and fir and the spine range is 3# total and the arrow weight is 6 grain spread for the full white and 4 grain spread for the 2/3 white for a total of 10 grains total weight spread  between all of them and 3# of spine range.  That's much closer than I could ever shoot a difference but shows what's possible by matching arrows by your arrow prep, the arrow finish, and finally a touch of point weight lead.

       I can shoot these arrows by group and know how they fly, like Hill did. However, I could also shoot them mixed up and not notice much difference, because my shooting form allows for variances in the arrow spine and weight.  It's me that has had the greater tuning process, not my arrows. I do the arrow matching like this just for added peace of mind and for the fact that it's fun to see how closely I can make  a batch of arrows that was not very close to begin with. This next photo shows a different set of arrows, with a simple clear coat. They started out, a mixed bag of cast-off firs. The ones that hadn't found a home previously.  They varied in weight up to 50 grains as raw shafts but were within a 5# spine range.  I added multiple coats of varnish on the lighter shafts and varied my tips weights a bit and the end result was six arrows matched within 8 grains and 4# dynamic spine.  That's fun. I also used the Bohning T nocks with the inside filed out to fit my string which is also pictured for those that wonder how they work.  They work well for me when filed like Hill and Schulz did.

        Here we are at the final stage of making good wood arrows, and having them shoot well still comes down to our adherence to the Hill method of shooting.  Keeping it simple, relaxed, fluid and dynamic. Remembering to heal the grip to keep the bow limbs in proper timing. Keeping the bow hand just loose enough to allow the bow to move if it needs to be pushed aside. Using a glove (with possible insert) that allows a crisp release as the fingers pass the first reference point on their way to the anchor. Using a heavy string (more strands) which makes the bow shoot with a little more performance and allow for a stiffer arrow spine.

       Arrow tuning is commonly thought of as tuning the arrow to the bow and getting it as closely matched to the bow as possible. We do want that, but it isn't the end-all.  Getting the arrows to match each other, and just going out and really learning the Hill style of shooting is what it's all about.  Tune yourself, and your shooting form with diligent practice and you'll find that there is a lot of forgiveness in the Hill style of shooting a longbow. You'll realize what seasoned veterans of this method are meaning when they say the "longbow" is a very forgiving bow.  You can't force the longbow and arrow system into the mold of today's popular mindset and expect great results but you can shoot the way Hill and Schulz and lots of other archers have with similar equipment and get those great results.  The old lessons still ring true, whether it's listening to Dr. Elmer explain how arrow woods behave when shot from a bow, or whether it's shooting those arrows with Hill's words ringing in your ear.  Let's keep those old lessons from going away.  Keep them fresh and share them with others that want to shoot with success in the Hill style with good wood arrows...share with others how these wood arrows, and the proper "archer tuning"  help you and will help them to

       Shoot Straight.