Practical definitions, starting numbers, and the how-to that goes with them. Written for Olympic recurve, barebow, and compound. Numbers are starting points, not rules. Your bow, your arrow, and your shot get the last word.
For the site
Have Any Suggestions Let Us Know
Happy Tuning
Happy Shooting
Do this before you chase groups
First-time recurve setup order
String the bow with a stringer. Never step through a recurve.
Check limb alignment, then set tiller.
Set brace height with string twists.
Tie the nocking point.
Set the rest so the shaft crosses the center of the plunger.
Set center shot.
Bare-shaft or walk-back tune. Then touch the sight.
Change one thing at a time. Write the number down. A bow that was shooting and then “got weird” is usually a brace height that moved, a loose rest, or a nock that no longer fits the serving.
Style
3D archery
3D archery is shot at life-size foam animal targets set along a trail through woods and fields. You walk the course like a round of golf: stop at a stake, shoot, walk up, score, pull, move on. Courses usually run 20, 30, or 40 targets, and you normally get one arrow per target.
Scoring
The rings sit over the animal’s vitals. The small center ring scores 10, the larger ring around it scores 8, and any other hit on the body scores 5. Many targets also have a tiny ring inside the 10; depending on the event it counts 11 or 12. The rings are hard to see from the stake, so a lot of shooters carry binoculars.
Distances
The organizer decides whether yardage is marked. On a known-distance course you can use a rangefinder. On an unknown-distance course you judge it yourself, and that is a skill you have to practice as much as the shot. In North America the two main rule-setting groups are the IBO and the ASA. Read the rules of whichever one your shoot follows before you go.
Recurve and barebow archers are welcome. Without a sight you aim by instinct or off the arrow point, and an unmarked course is where a good crawl chart and honest yardage judging pay off.
Form
Anchor
The anchor is the repeatable place the drawing hand meets the face. It is a reference, not a decoration. Same place, every arrow, or the group moves up and down even when the sight has not.
Olympic recurve usually anchors under the jaw, with the string touching the chin and the nose, and a kisser or nose button as a second check. Barebow often uses a higher face anchor, or a string walk, because there is no sight to move. Compound releases anchor against the face or jaw with the release hand, not the fingers.
If the anchor drifts, fix that before you retune the bow. Tuning a moving anchor just hides the problem until the next session.
Arrows
Arrow spine
Spine is how much the shaft bends. A weak arrow bends more. A stiff arrow bends less. Recurve arrows have to bend to get around the riser, so spine is a tuning tool, not just a safety spec.
Static spine is the lab number: how far a shaft deflects under a set weight on a set span. That is the number on the chart. Dynamic spine is what the arrow does on your bow. Draw length, point weight, poundage on the fingers, and a stiff plunger all change it. A heavier point weakens dynamic spine. A lighter point stiffens it.
If the bare shaft
Recurve, right-handed
Try
Lands left of fletched
Weak
Stiffer shaft, lighter point, or a touch more plunger spring
Lands right of fletched
Stiff
Weaker shaft, heavier point, or less plunger spring
Lands with the fletched
Close
Leave it and tune the sight
Left-handed is the mirror. Charts get you in the bin. Bare shafts tell you if you picked the right shaft out of that bin. Our arrow and vane notes live at arrows and vanes.
Arrows
Arrow weight and speed
Arrow weight is measured in grains (gr). The shaft is rated in GPI, grains per inch. A finished arrow's total weight is:
Total = (GPI × shaft length) + point + nock + pin or insert + fletching.
Weigh the finished arrow on a grain scale to confirm. Glue and wraps add a few grains.
Light vs. heavy
Lighter arrow: leaves faster, with a flatter path, so distance errors matter less. It drifts more in wind and leaves more energy in the bow, which can be noisier.
Heavier arrow: slower, but it takes more of the bow's energy (often a bit more kinetic energy), is quieter, and holds its speed better downrange.
Every bow has a minimum safe arrow weight. Too light an arrow acts like a partial dry fire. For compounds, a common guide is at least 5 grains per pound of draw weight. (Industry rule of thumb. Follow your bow maker's minimum.)
ATA standard draw length is the industry way to label draw length so a thick riser and a thin riser do not lie about the number.
Measure draw length to the pivot point: the distance from the string at the nock, at full draw, to a vertical line through the throat of the grip. Add 1 3/4 inches. That extra 1 3/4 inches is the old average from the back of the bow to the pivot point. Manufacturers mark compound cams and talk about recurve draw length with this ATA number.
ATA draw length = distance to the pivot point + 1 3/4 inches.
Your arrow length is not your draw length. A clicker shooter often runs the clicker past the point, so the arrow can be longer than the ATA number. A compound shooter should set the cam to the ATA draw that puts the release anchor on the face without creeping or overdrawing.
Safety
Backyard range
Shooting at home means more arrows and faster progress. Set it up properly first.
Check the rules. Look up your town or county ordinances, or ask local police, before you shoot. Telling your neighbors what you are doing avoids most arguments.
Pick a safe direction. Never shoot toward a road, a house, or anywhere people walk or gather.
Build a backstop. Put something bigger than the target behind it that will actually stop an arrow; even hanging old carpet helps. If you can, also keep about 25 yards of empty, safe ground behind the target and backstop.
Choose the right target. Big bales cost more but are hard to miss, last longer, and handle long shots. Small portable targets store inside; set them on the ground so you shoot slightly downhill and a miss buries itself quickly. Foam 3D animals are fun and good hunting practice, but they are easy to miss.
Run it like a range. Everyone stays behind the shooting line while anyone is shooting, call it clear before anyone walks to the target, and keep pets indoors or leashed.
Style
Barebow
Barebow, in World Archery target, is a recurve with no sight, no stabilizer, no clicker, and no draw check that marks the face. Weights in the riser are allowed inside the rules. The aiming reference is the arrow point, a gap, or the string picture, not a pin.
Distance changes are made with a crawl or a face walk, not by moving a sight. That is why barebow tune is picky about nocking-point height and why a very high crawl can need a different tiller or a higher nocking point than Olympic recurve.
Brace height is the distance from the pivot point of the grip to the string, bow strung, at rest. It is how far the string sits off the bow before you draw.
Adjust it by adding or removing twists in the string, with the bow unstrung. Add twists and brace height goes up. Remove twists and it goes down. Do this on a stringer. Do not twist a strung string and hope.
Measure from the throat of the grip to the string. A brace-height gauge is faster than a tape.
Bow
Typical starting window
Modern target recurve, 66–70 in
About 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 in. Many 68 in bows like the middle of that.
Shorter hunting recurve
Often lower. Read the limb label before you guess.
Compound
Set by the cams and cables. Do not “fix” it with random twists. Follow the spec.
Too low and the string slaps the arm and the bow gets loud. Too high and the bow can feel harsh and lose a little speed. Move in quarter-inch steps, shoot, and listen. On a Hoyt Formula XD with Axia limbs we have run about 9 inches, measured to the inside of the string, with the string built long enough that it only needs twists to come back to that number after it stretches.
Center shot is where the arrow sits left to right in the bow. On a recurve it is set with the plunger. The rest only holds the arrow up. The plunger decides the side position.
Starting point we use: nock an arrow, look down the string, and put the plunger in the center of the shaft. Move the rest up or down until the shaft crosses the middle of the button. Then set the button in or out until the shaft is on the center you want.
A parallel shaft can start on center. A barreled shaft, thicker in the middle, often starts slightly outside center so the nodes line up at full draw, not just at brace. That is a fine tune, not the first knob to grab. Get the button on the middle of the shaft first.
A chronograph measures arrow speed, usually in feet per second (fps), as the arrow passes between two sensors. It's the cleanest way to compare one change: a different vane, point, string, limb, or dampener.
How to get good numbers
Change only one thing. Keep the bow, draw length, arrow, and brace height the same.
Shoot several arrows (5 or more) and use the average. Note the spread too.
Set the chronograph a few feet in front of the bow, square to the arrow's path, with steady light. Indoor lights can flicker and throw readings off.
Record the arrow's total weight in grains. Speed means little without it.
Fingers add shot-to-shot variation. That's why we also test with a shooting machine. See fingers vs. shooting machine.
Speed and weight together give kinetic energy: KE (ft-lb) = arrow weight (gr) × speed (fps)² ÷ 450,240. This is the standard formula.
A clicker is a draw-length check. It is a blade on the sight window, or a magnetic clicker on the string, that snaps when the point passes it. The snap is the signal to finish the shot. It is not a training wheel and it is not required to shoot well.
Set it so it falls at full draw, with the shoulder down and the anchor locked, not an inch before you are finished expanding. If you have to creep to make it click, the clicker is too short or the arrow is too long. If you collapse to get through it, the draw weight is too high.
Style
Compound
A compound uses cams and cables so the peak weight is at mid-draw and the holding weight is lower. That let-off is why the wall and the valley matter. You do not hold peak weight the way a recurve shooter does.
Even tiller is the normal start. Brace height and draw length belong to the cam, the cables, and the module or the ATA mark, not to a handful of string twists. Twists change timing. If the cams are out of time, fix timing before you paper-tune.
A peep, a D-loop, and a release are part of the system. Finger-shooting a modern high-let-off compound is a different setup and a different risk. Do not dry-fire either kind.
Barebow
Crawl and string walking
A crawl is how far the tab sits below the nocking point. String walking means changing that crawl for each distance. A deeper crawl points the arrow up, and that's the barebow way to shoot different distances without a sight: you aim with the arrow point and move your fingers down the string. A face walk moves the anchor instead of the fingers.
Building a crawl chart
Pick a fixed anchor and keep it the same at every distance.
At each distance, adjust the crawl until the arrow point on the gold puts the group in the gold.
Measure the crawl, either with marks or stitches on the tab or in millimeters, and write it down.
Recheck the chart when you change arrows, point weight, brace height, or limbs.
Mark the tab. Guessing the crawl between ends is how a barebow group turns into two groups.
Tuning with a deep crawl
A very deep crawl loads the string below the nock, so the bow behaves differently than with split-finger. That's one reason barebow archers often run a different nocking-point height or tiller than an Olympic recurve archer on the same bow. Tune at the distance you shoot most.
Barebow rules don't allow stabilizer rods, so balance comes from weights on the riser. Tungsten riser pocket weights fit specific risers. Check your organization's current barebow rules (equipment and string-walking limits) before you compete. See also Barebow and barebow statistics.
Gear
Dampeners
A dampener is a rubber or elastomer piece, or a weight, whose job is to absorb vibration after the shot. It does not make a badly tuned bow accurate. It can make a loud bow quieter and a harsh bow easier to shoot for a long line.
Limb dampeners, a heavier long rod, a dampener between the rod and its weight, and a dampener on the string are different tools that work in different places.
How to test one
Start from a tuned bow, and shoot it bare to get a baseline for sound, feel, and speed.
Add one dampener. Stacking three at once only tells you that something changed.
Shoot the same arrows at the same draw. Note sound, hand shock, and chronograph speed. Dampeners add mass, and some can cost a little speed.
Keep it only if it helps. Then try the next one.
Our test sheet compares Limbsaver Mini, Insulator Strip, and Broadband, a standard stabilizer dampener, and more: dampener data. See also Stabilizer and Chronograph testing.
Limbs
Draw-force curve (limb smoothness)
A draw-force curve is a graph of draw weight against draw length. You measure the weight at small steps (for example every half inch) from brace to full draw and plot it.
How to read it
Smooth: the weight climbs at a steady rate. Each inch adds about the same as the last. Small differences in draw length cause small, predictable changes.
Stacking: the curve bends upward near full draw, so each extra inch adds more weight than the one before. A stacking limb feels harder at anchor and through the clicker, and it punishes small changes in draw length.
Two limbs with the same marking can feel very different, because the label is only one point on the curve. Compare limbs at your own draw length, not at 28".
Draw weight is the force at your draw length, not the number printed on the limb. The marking is the weight at a standard draw of 28 inches (the AMO/ATA convention), measured on a reference riser length. What you actually hold, "on the fingers," changes with three things:
Your draw length. Pull past 28" and a recurve keeps getting heavier. Stop short and it's lighter. A common rule of thumb is about 2 lb per inch on recurves. (Approximate. It varies by limb and weight.)
Your riser. A different riser length or geometry can change the weight by several pounds with the same limbs.
The limb bolts. On ILF bows the limb bolts change weight, a few pounds across the safe range. Turn them evenly unless you are setting tiller. Do not back a bolt out past the maker's mark. The limb can leave the pocket.
Measure it
Draw to your real draw length on a bow scale and read the number. Our limb data and equipment ratings compare measured weight for the same limbs on Gray AIX and MK X10 risers. Limb smoothness shows the weight every half inch, so you can see where a limb stacks.
If the clicker will not come, the sight window is shaking, or you cannot hold the expand for a full end, the bow is too heavy. Drop weight. Form comes back faster than a shoulder does.
A dry fire is letting the string go with no arrow on it. The bow has nowhere to put the energy. Limbs, cams, and strings break. People get hit. Do not do it to “hear the bow” or to demonstrate let-off.
If a bow has been dry-fired, unstring it and have someone who works on bows look at the limbs and the riser before it is shot again. A cracked limb does not owe you a warning shot.
Style
Field archery
Field archery is target archery taken outdoors onto a walking course with hills, angles, and weather. Close targets use small faces and long ones use big faces. It is a great home for barebow archers. There are two main rule sets.
World Archery field
Divisions are barebow, recurve, and compound. Archers shoot 24 targets a day over two days, three arrows per target, at 5 to 60 meters. One day the distances are marked; on the other day they are not. Faces are 20 to 80 cm, black with a gold center, and score 6 down to 1.
NFAA field
The course is 28 targets, either a 14-target course shot twice or a full 28. There are three rounds:
Field (target) round: marked distances from 20 feet to 80 yards, in 5-unit steps. The faces are black and white, scoring 5 in the center with an X for tiebreaks, then 4 and 3. Four arrows per target.
Hunter round: 11 to 70 yards, mostly at odd distances, with a white center spot. It often includes walk-ups, where you shoot one arrow from each of four stakes as you move closer.
Animal round: paper animal faces from 10 to 60 yards. You shoot up to three arrows and stop at the first hit. A first-arrow hit is worth the most points.
The NFAA has many equipment divisions, including traditional and barebow-style classes. Check the current division list before you enter.
Gear
First bow and starter gear
Get your draw length measured and pick a draw weight you can pull and hold steadily without straining. Drawing is not a strength test. Back and shoulder strength builds over time, so starting light is normal. Set a budget before you shop, expect setup and test shooting to take a while, and ask questions. Your arrow spine depends on arrow length and draw weight, so pick arrows after the bow is chosen.
Beyond the bow
Arrows matched to the bow and to how you shoot (indoor, outdoor, field, 3D). See vanes and feathers.
Finger tab or glove for recurve and longbow. A tab should cover all three fingers without hanging past the tips and can be trimmed to fit. Compound shooters use a mechanical release instead.
Armguard. A string slap on the forearm stings.
Quiver: back, hip, or bow-mounted.
Case. Soft cases suit most people. Hard cases protect best and are the usual choice for flying.
Small stuff: a bow stringer, Allen wrenches, a bow stand, string wax, and an arrow puller.
Sights, rests, and stabilizers are optional depending on your style. Add them when you know how you want to shoot. Shop all accessories in our store.
Form
First lesson
A lesson with a qualified coach is the best way to start, and it is a good idea before you buy a bow, because you get to try a few types first. Here is what to expect:
Safety first. Range rules come before any arrows. See range safety.
Basic form: stance, drawing the string, body position, and the release.
Short distance. You will shoot close so you can focus on form without worrying about misses. Top archers use close-range blank-bale work for the same reason.
Wear fitted clothes and closed-toe shoes, and tie back long hair. Loose sleeves and hair can catch the string.
Arrows
FOC
FOC is front of center. It is how far the balance point of a finished arrow sits ahead of the shaft's midpoint, as a percent of arrow length.
Calculate it
Balance the finished arrow, with point, nock, pin, and fletching on. Measure from the throat of the nock to the balance point (B), and measure the arrow length (L). Then FOC % = (B − L/2) ÷ L × 100.
Example: a 28" arrow that balances 16.8" from the nock throat: (16.8 − 14) ÷ 28 × 100 = 10% FOC.
How points change it
Adding point weight moves the balance forward and raises FOC. It also weakens dynamic spine, so the arrow may need a stiffer shaft. That is the trade.
Tungsten adds the weight in a shorter point, so more of it sits at the very tip. A long-head tungsten point is built for extra FOC.
Weight at the back (nock pins, heavy nocks, big fletching) lowers FOC.
Target arrows often land around 7 to 15 percent. (A common range, not a rule.) Tune for groups first. FOC is a result to note, not a number to chase. A tuning pack lets you try several point weights on the same shafts. See also Points.
Gear
ILF and Formula
ILF is International Limb Fitting. The dovetail on the limb slips into a pocket on the riser and a bolt holds it. Most target brands share it, so limbs and risers mix. They do not all feel the same. Alignment, tiller range, and the actual poundage still have to be checked on the riser you shoot.
Formula is Hoyt’s own fit. Formula limbs do not go in an ILF pocket, and ILF limbs do not go on a Formula riser. Same idea, different hardware.
Limb alignment is whether the limbs sit in the same plane as the riser. A limb tipped left or right sends the string off center and fights the plunger.
String the bow. Look down the string from the limb tip. The string should run down the center of the limb and the center of the riser bolts. Adjust the pocket shims or the alignment screws the maker gave you. Do this before center shot. A plunger cannot fix a crooked limb.
A nock pin is a small aluminum post glued into the back of the shaft. A pin nock slides over the outside of the pin instead of pushing into the shaft. If another arrow hits the nock, the pin and nock take the damage and the carbon shaft is often saved. Pin nocks also let you rotate a nock without loosening anything inside the shaft.
Choosing and installing
Pins are sized to the shaft's inside diameter. Use the pin made for your shaft model and spine.
Pins add weight at the back of the arrow, which lowers FOC a little. Note it when you build a tuning sheet.
Glue the pin in straight and fully seated. A crooked pin gives a crooked nock, and that shows up in the group.
Check nock fit on the string after changing pins, the same way you check any nock (see Nocks).
The nocking point is the stop on the serving that sets the arrow’s height on the string. Tie it on. A brass ring works. A tied serving ring works. Tape does not, once the string starts to move.
Start with a bow square. A common Olympic recurve start is the bottom of the top nock about 3/16 to 1/2 inch above square, then a second tie under the nock so the arrow cannot slide. Bare shafts that hit high mean the nocking point is too low. Bare shafts that hit low mean it is too high. Move it a little.
People spell it nocking, not knocking. The nock is the plastic on the arrow. The nocking point is on the string.
The nock has to snap on the serving and come off clean. Too loose and the arrow can fall off the string, or leave early. Too tight and it can lift off the rest or tear the serving.
Test: hang the arrow on the string. It should stay. Tap the string. It should leave. If you changed serving size, recheck every set of nocks. A nock that fit last season’s string may not fit this one.
Olympic recurve, or World Archery recurve, is a recurve shot with a sight, a stabilizer, a clicker, and a finger tab. One anchor, one crawl of zero, distance changes made on the sight scale.
The setup order on this page is the Olympic order. Barebow skips the sight, the clicker, and the long rod, and adds a crawl. The bow underneath can be the same riser.
Setup
Plunger
The plunger, or button, is the spring-loaded pin in the sight window. It does two jobs. Position sets center shot. Spring tension decides how hard the arrow can push sideways as it bends past the riser.
Start with a middle spring. Stiffen it if a bare shaft shows weak and you do not want to change the point. Soften it if the bare shaft shows stiff. Do not use the plunger to fix a nocking point. High and low tears are usually the nocking point. Left and right are the button, the spine, or the release.
Point weight is a tuning weight. A heavier point makes the arrow act weaker (lower dynamic spine) and moves the balance forward (more FOC). A lighter point does the opposite. Break-off points let you change grain without buying new shafts: snap off a section and the point gets lighter. On our 4mm points, each break-off is one 20-grain step.
Why tungsten
Tungsten is much denser than steel or brass, so a tungsten point of the same weight is shorter. A short, dense point puts more of its weight right at the tip, which adds FOC without needing a longer, heavier shank. Our points are 97% tungsten, titanium plated, and sold as matched dozens.
Fit
Match the point size to the outside diameter of the shaft. If you are between sizes, use the larger point so the point covers the shaft wall, not the other way around. The size charts are on each product page.
Install
Install with hot melt on a clean shaft. Heat the melt, not the carbon, and never heat the carbon for more than a few seconds. Seat the point with a twist, stand the arrow on the point, and let it cool. Do not quench it. If you break a 4mm point down to its lightest setting, glue it generously so it stays put. The full method is on each point page.
Choosing a weight
Start with the point weight the spine chart for your shaft assumes.
Bare-shaft or group-tune. If the arrow acts stiff, go heavier. If it acts weak, go lighter (or change spine).
Change one step at a time and keep notes. A tuning pack with mixed weights saves buying a full dozen of each.
Archery is a very safe sport because everyone follows the same few rules every time.
Only draw and release with an arrow on the string. Releasing without one is a dry fire.
Everyone shoots from the same shooting line. Nobody goes past it until every archer has finished and the range is called clear.
When pulling arrows, stand to the side of the arrow, and make sure nobody is standing behind it before you pull.
When you are not shooting, stay well behind the line.
Risers
Reflex and deflex
Reflex and deflex describe the geometry of the riser, not a feeling.
Draw a line between the pivot points of the two limb pockets. Look at the throat of the grip.
Throat in front of that line, toward the target: deflex. Brace height tends to be higher. The bow is usually more forgiving.
Throat behind that line, toward the string: reflex. Brace height tends to be shorter. The bow is usually quicker.
Green is in front of the pocket line. Brass is behind it. “Usually” is doing a lot of work. Geometry is not a promise.
A deflex riser is not automatically easier, and a reflex riser is not automatically faster once the arrow, the brace height, and the shooter are in the mix. Use the geometry to compare risers. Use the target to pick one.
Setup
Rest
On a finger-shot recurve the rest is a shelf for the arrow, not the thing that aims it. A simple wire or a plastic launcher is enough. Set its height so the shaft crosses the center of the plunger. If the rest is too high, the arrow rides above the button and the plunger never does its job.
Compound rests are a different part: a launcher that drops, or a blade. Time those to the bow. Do not put a drop-away manual on a recurve and expect the plunger tune to survive.
String
Serving
Serving is the wrapped thread on the center of the string, and at the loops. The center serving is what the tab and the nock touch. Its diameter is the nock fit. Change serving size and you change every nock in the quiver.
Replace a serving that is cut, glazed, or separating. A nock that suddenly fits loose is often a serving that has crushed, not a bad batch of nocks.
Testing
Shooting machine
A shooting machine holds the bow and draws and releases the string the same way every time. It takes the archer out of the test, so differences in speed or grouping come from the equipment, not from form on that day.
What it's good for
Comparing limbs, strings, vanes, points, or dampeners with a chronograph.
Checking whether a group problem is the arrows or the archer.
Repeatable speed numbers with a small spread.
Limits
A machine doesn't release like fingers. A finger release rolls the string around the fingers, so the string and arrow behave differently, and speeds usually differ from a machine. Use machine numbers to compare equipment, and confirm the final choice by shooting it yourself.
The sight is a reference in space. Windage is left and right. Elevation is up and down. Move the aperture the way the arrow missed: arrow left, move the aperture left, for a target sight. Then leave it alone until the bow is tuned.
A sight will not fix a nocking point. If you are chasing elevation every end, check the anchor and the clicker before you blame the sight block.
Shop data
SSA equipment ratings
SSA Equipment Ratings are Shore Shot Archery's measured scores for recurve limbs. Ratings include general draw weight recommendations by body weight, tested on Gray AIX and MK X10 risers.
How to use them
Compare limbs on the same riser. The ratings are measured, so riser differences show up in the numbers.
Use them with limb smoothness. A score is one number, and the draw-force curve shows how the limb gets there.
Measure your own setup on a bow scale too. Your draw length and limb bolt setting change what you hold (see Draw weight).
A stabilizer is a rod with weight on it. It does three jobs: it adds inertia so the bow moves less while you aim and while the arrow leaves, it lets you set where the bow balances in your hand, and it gives the bow somewhere to put leftover vibration after the shot. It won't fix bad form or a bad tune. It makes a good shot easier to repeat.
Long rod, side rods, extenders
Long rod (front rod): threads into the front bushing of the riser and points at the target. Length plus weight at the tip gives the most resistance to the bow rocking left and right or up and down. Most of the steadying comes from this rod.
Side rods / V-bar: a V-bar mounts between the riser and the long rod, and two short rods angle back from it. They balance the bow left to right (against the sight and the long rod) and set how it falls forward after the shot. On compounds, a single back bar does the same job.
Extender: a short rod that moves a V-bar or the long rod farther out from the riser. It changes where the weight sits without needing a longer rod.
Diameter and stiffness
A thicker carbon rod of the same material is usually stiffer, and a stiffer rod bends less under heavy tip weight, so the weight stays where you aim instead of bouncing at the end of the rod. A thinner rod weighs less and catches less wind, but it flexes more as you add weight. Choose stiffness to match how much weight you'll hang on the rod: light setups don't need the stiffest rod, and heavy stacks do.
Weight placement
Weight at the end of the long rod has the most effect on aiming steadiness and on the forward pull you feel.
Weight on the side rods sets left/right balance and how far back the bow sits in your hand.
Weight close to the riser adds mass but doesn't do much to stop the bow turning.
Start light. Add weight in small steps, shoot a few ends, and stop when the pin or sight stops wandering. More weight doesn't mean more accuracy. It's just more to hold up for 72 arrows. Tungsten packs more weight into a smaller size than steel, so a tungsten stack is shorter for the same weight and catches less wind.
Recurve, barebow, compound
Olympic recurve: a long rod (often roughly 26–33 in. for adults; this is a general range, not a rule), plus a V-bar and side rods. Moderate tip weight. The bow should fall forward a little after the shot.
Barebow: World Archery barebow doesn't allow stabilizers in the usual sense. Weights mounted directly on the riser (no rods) are generally allowed, within a ring-size limit. Check the current rulebook for your organization before you buy. That's why barebow archers use riser weights.
Compound: usually a long front bar with a lot of weight, plus one back bar offset to counter the sight and quiver. These setups are heavy, so they need stiff rods.
Youth / JOAD / new archers: shorter, lighter rods. Start with a long rod alone and add side rods later.
Dampeners
A dampener is a rubber or elastomer piece that goes between the rod and the weight, or on the end of the rod. It soaks up vibration and noise after the shot. It doesn't make a badly tuned bow accurate. Add one, shoot, and decide. See our dampener data.
Where Rebar fits
All Rebar rods are made to order in the USA from ultra-high-modulus carbon, with 5/16"-24 threads (the standard stabilizer thread) and black end caps. Length is measured from the ends of the end caps. Standard lengths for all four models run 5" to 36". For a custom length, choose the closest standard length, select the Custom Length option (+$50), and write the exact length in the order notes.
Stabilizer weights screw onto the 5/16"-24 thread at the end of a rod, or onto a threaded rod between weights, and you stack them to tune balance. The material matters because of density. Tungsten is roughly 2.4 times as dense as steel (about 19.3 vs. 7.9 g/cm³ for the pure metals; tungsten alloys are a little lower). So the same weight takes up less than half the length. A shorter stack catches less wind and keeps the mass right at the tip, where it does the most. Stainless steel costs less and works well when stack length doesn't matter.
Sizes
1.25" diameter: the common size for long rods and heavier stacks. Ours run from 1 oz to 16 oz.
1" diameter: for slimmer rods and caps. A 1 oz 1" tungsten weight is about 0.14" (3.63 mm) tall, and a 4 oz is about 0.54" (13.89 mm).
Thread: 5/16"-24 is the standard stabilizer thread. Some rods use 1/4"-20. An adapter lets 5/16"-24 weights fit a 1/4"-20 rod.
How to use them
Add one weight at a time to the end of the long rod until the aim settles.
Balance left/right and front/back with the side rods.
Shoot a few ends at each step. If your arm tires before the end of a round, you went too heavy.
Write down the total weight at each spot so you can rebuild the setup.
A recurve string is a set of strands with loops, built to a brace height, then twisted to fine-tune that height. More twists give a higher brace, up to the point the string gets fat and lazy. A new string stretches. Build it so the stretch lands on the brace height you want, then add twists to come back. We often end around 30 twists because the string was made long enough to need only that.
Strands and material
Strand count follows the material and the poundage. Too few strands and the nock fit gets odd and the string wears. Too many and the bow slows down. Match the maker's chart for that material. Endless strings are the standard for modern recurves. Flemish-twist strings are common on traditional bows.
Care and replacement
Wax the string lightly and regularly, outside the serving.
Check the serving and loops. Replace the string if strands are cut or frayed, or if the serving keeps separating.
Use a bow stringer. A step-through or a push-pull against the leg is how limb tips get twisted and how people get a string in the face. An adjustable stringer with a limb-tip pocket is the right tool for most recurves, including shorter bows and archers who cannot muscle a fixed stringer.
Our adjustable stringer fits most bows from about 40 to 74 inches. The XL fits about 45 to 86 inches. Leather pocket, back-stitched. That is the one we make because the cheap cord version walks off the tip.
Setup
Tiller
Tiller is the difference between the top limb-to-string gap and the bottom limb-to-string gap. Measure at the base of each limb, where the limb meets the riser, at a right angle to the string. On a single-cam compound, measure from a line through the axles, not by eye.
Positive tiller means the top gap is larger. The bottom limb is slightly closer to the string.
The job of tiller is to make the bow hold on aim through the draw and the release. It is not a group-size knob.
Bow
Start
Finger recurve
Positive 1/8 to 1/4 in. Bottom gap shorter than the top, because three fingers sit mostly under the arrow.
Compound
Even. Top gap equals bottom gap.
Barebow with a deep crawl
Often less positive than Olympic, sometimes even. Test it.
Adjust with the limb bolts. Too much tiller on the bottom: take weight off the top limb, or add weight on the bottom. Most makers want you to start even, then add the positive you need. We have shot 1/8 inch positive on a Formula XD, top at 7 2/8 and bottom at 7 even, measured to the inside of the string.
These are not penalty rules. They are how you avoid wrecking someone else’s concentration.
On the line
Lanes are narrow and gear is big. Watch your stabilizer and your arrows so you do not bump the archer next to you when you pull from the quiver.
Move slowly and calmly. When you finish, wait until the archers on either side are not at full draw before you step off.
Keep frustration to yourself: no swearing, yelling, or throwing things. The person next to you may be having their best day.
When you are not shooting, stay well back, and keep pace with your group at the target.
Scoring
Archers usually score each other. If you disagree on a call, ask for a judge rather than argue. Accept the ruling either way and do not gloat.
Spectators
Treat it like golf: stay quiet while anyone is on the line, stay behind the competitor line or the equipment area, and take photos without flash. Approach pros when they are not competing.
Gear
V-bar and extenders
A V-bar mounts between the riser and the long rod and holds two side rods (often called twins) angled back toward the archer. An extender is a short rod that moves the V-bar, or the whole setup, farther out from the riser.
What each adjustment does
Side rod angle down: more downward angle moves weight lower, which tends to make the bow sit steadier and fall forward less sharply.
Side rod angle out: spreading the rods wider resists the bow rolling (canting) side to side.
Unequal weight left and right: balances the sight and the sight-side lean so the bow hangs straight.
Extender length: moving the V-bar out puts the side weight farther forward, so the bow feels more front-heavy. Shorter keeps the weight back near your hand.
Set up in this order: long rod and its weight, then side rods for left/right balance, then fine-tune how the bow reacts after the shot. Change one thing at a time. These are general starting points, not rules. Your shot decides.
Fletching steers the back of the arrow once the point has started the shaft moving. Feathers are lighter and forgive rest contact, because they fold out of the way. Plastic vanes are tougher in rain and last longer on a target bale.
Setup
Three fletch is the normal target setup. A little offset or helical helps a barebow arrow clear a crawl. More helical is not more accurate if the vane hits the rest. If you are tearing vanes, fix the rest height or the nock rotation before you buy a stiffer vane.
Speed vs. steering
Bigger vanes and more helical give more steering and spin, but they add drag and some weight, so the arrow slows down more on the way to the target. Smaller, lower-profile vanes keep more speed but correct less. Outdoors, the right answer is usually the smallest fletching that still groups your arrows well.
We measured how different vanes change Easton X10 arrow speed with a chronograph, and compared price per vane. The data is on arrows and vanes. Shop: feathers. See also Chronograph testing.
Already on the site, not in the menu
Shop data
These pages are the original part of the encyclopedia. They should sit in Archery Help, each with a date and a method note above the sheet. A 2019 embed with no sentence on it looks abandoned even when the numbers are still useful.
Fix the line on those pages. It should read “Your support is appreciated,” if you keep it at all. A link to the shop or the club is more useful than the line.
