Anyone serious about setting up an accurate bow can do it – you don’t have to be mechanically inclined.  This column is a systematic guide to getting the job done quickly and correctly.  Of course, there is more than one way to set up a bow, but these methods have produced bullet-hole arrow flight and plenty of filled tags for me through the years.

ATTACH THE NOCK POINT

 I’m a brass nock set guy because I have never been comfortable with the extra second or two it takes me to snag a string nocking loop.  To its credit, the loop improves serving life and top archery coaches insist it promotes better arrow flight and accuracy.  You must decide if these benefits are worth an extra second or two during the moment of truth.

 Attach your nocking system so the top knot of the loop or the bottom edge of the nock set (I always use two nock sets) positions the top of the arrow’s nock 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the center of the riser’s cushion plunger hole.  The cushion plunger hole is the one you used when you attached the rest to the bow.  You will need a simple T-square and a good nock plier for this step. 

 I could go into the details of how to tie the loop, but instead it is better if you simply buy your first loop from a pro shop and watch carefully as the pro installs it.

ATTACH THE REST

 If you plan to shoot carbon shafts, I recommend a drop-away or full capture rest (like the Whisker Biscuit) because these rests will produce easier tuning.  Larger diameter aluminum shafts allow you to use any style of rest with good results. 

 Adjust the rest until that the arrow is directly in line with the forward thrust of the string.  Look down on the bow as it stands on its bottom cam with the arrow nocked and sticking straight out in front of you.  The shaft should be parallel to the stabilizer when properly adjusted for horizontal position.  You may need to tweak the rest one way or the other later, but this is an excellent starting point.

 Adjust the vertical position of the rest so the arrow crosses directly over the center of the cushion plunger hole.  You can eye ball this adjustment accurately enough.

 Ideally, a drop-away rest should reach its full upright position when the string is still about five inches short of full draw.  This will allow the rest to stay up a little longer during the forward travel of the arrow to provide some guidance.

INSTALLING THE PEEP SIGHT

 You have to find the center of the string to install a peep properly.  Ideally, the string builder used two different color fibers so you can immediately identify the center.  If not, finding it will be much more difficult, maybe impossible.  When the peep is in the manufactured center of the string it won’t twist much when you draw.

 After you put the peep in, take the bow out of the press, put an arrow on the string and draw it back.  Through a process of small movements, line the peep up perfectly with your eye when you pull back to your most comfortable anchor point.

 Once you have the peep at the proper height, you need to serve it in.  I use a simple wrap using strand material from a worn out bowstring.  Shoot the bow several times to set the string before you worry about how it is rotating.  When it appears to be rotating the same every time, remove one end of the string (using the bow press again) and add twists (or half twists) until it comes back square to your eye every time you draw.  This process will take place over a week, or more, of shooting as the string reaches its final, fully stretched length.

ATTACHING THE SIGHT

 Use the least number of pins possible to keep from cluttering the sight picture.  Most whitetail hunters do fine with two or three pins set for 20 and 30 yards or 25 and 35 yards.  Western hunters normally will have opportunities for longer shots and should set four or five pins: 20 through 50 yards or 20 through 60 yards.  Always use high quality fiber optic pins with a very obvious and durable fiber protection system.  If the fiber is flapping around in the wind it will snag on brush and break after just a couple of weekends of hard hunting.

SILENCING THE REST AND RISER SHELF

 Your bow should be quiet not only during the shot, but during the draw, also.  Take every step to avoid an arrow clattering on the rest shelf or screeching across the launchers.  I use a thin layer of adhesive backed foam rubber or fleece on the rest shelf and sight window anywhere an arrow could make contact if it fell off the rest.  Dr. Scholl’s moleskin, straight from the grocery store, works great on the rest’s launchers.

RESERVE YOUR STRING

 After shooting the bow a few hundred times, perform two maintenance steps.  First, if the string has stretched you need to twist it back down to the proper length.  You’ll notice this if your draw length increases forcing a deeper anchor point.  You can shorten a string easily with a bow press – twisting the string in the direction of the existing spiral. 

 Second, unless you bought a custom string, you should replace the serving on your string before you sight-in and start tuning.  There isn’t enough room here to go into every aspect of the technique so make a quick trip to the archery shop the first time around and pay to have it done. 

PAPER TUNING

 Stand six feet in front of a tuning fixture.  You can make one easily by cutting a square hole in a cardboard box and taping a sheet of copy paper across the opening.  The tears that occur in the paper will tell you what changes to make.  You are trying to make a perfect bullet hole through the paper. 

 Most modern bows tune easily, but there are still some that have problems due to sideways string travel resulting from cam lean.  If you absolutely can’t get your bow to tune by normal methods (adjusting the nock point up and down, rotating the arrow’s nocks and moving the rest in and out) try a drop-away arrow rest.  If that doesn’t work, take the bow to the pro shop for help.  Likely the bow itself is at fault.

SIGHTING-IN

 If you are hitting above the intended spot, move the pin up.  If you are hitting to the left of the spot, move the pin to the left.  Spread the project over several days; your form can change slightly from one day to the next, so you need to average the effect over time to get the best results.  It takes me five days to get a bow sighted-in perfectly. 

CONCLUSION

 The difference in accuracy between a bow that is properly set up and one that is slopped together is like night and day.  Setting up an accurate bow takes commitment but the result is well worth the investment of time and the price of a few basic tools.