How to set up a new compound bow

A bare compound bow can't be shot accurately until it has a rest, a sight, a D-loop, a peep and arrows that fit it. This guide covers each install in the order you do it, with the reason for each step, and ends with the bow ready for paper tuning.

It stops where tuning starts. The compound bow tuning guide covers the spec check, the contact check and the tune order; its "Set the starting point" section is a short version of this page.

The order matters. The nock point is set to the arrow's height on the launcher, so the rest goes first. The peep is lined up with the sight housing from wherever the D-loop and release put your hand, so it comes after all three. A drop-away is timed by drawing the bow, so it waits for the D-loop.

Installing a peep, correcting its rotation and any other change to string or cable length need a bow press, and bow makers specify which presses can be used on their bows. Without a suitable press, have a pro shop do those steps.

Safety

• Never dry-fire the bow, meaning draw and release it without an arrow. It can break the bow and injure you or people nearby.
• When you draw to check something, point the bow at a target, nock an arrow whenever the check allows it, and let down slowly. An arrow that isn't nocked properly can cause a dry-fire.
• Don't draw or shoot the bow until every string accessory (peep, D-loop, nock points, kisser, silencers) is secured so it can't move.

Confirm the bow is set to what you ordered, using the specs in the owner's manual or on the maker's website.

• Draw weight. Weigh it on a bow scale rather than trusting the label, since a bow set to peak weight can draw a few pounds over its labeled maximum. Turn both limb bolts the same amount, never past the limit in your manual. Set your hunting weight now.
• Draw length and let-off. On bows with modules, the top and bottom modules must sit in the same position. To estimate the draw length you need, use the draw length calculator and have a shop confirm it. Fine-tuning draw length with the draw stops also changes let-off and the valley. The release and D-loop change where your hand anchors, so judge draw length again once they are fitted.
• Specs and timing. Check axle-to-axle length, brace height and cam timing as the tuning guide's bow check describes. Correcting them takes a bow press, and checking timing a draw board.

A new string and cables settle during the first shots; cycling the bow about 100 times settles them. Do the setup now, and recheck the specs and the peep after that break-in.

Arrow rest

• Drop-away. The launcher rises as you draw and falls as the shot goes off, so the vanes pass without touching it. A cord raises it: on a cable-driven rest it attaches to a cable, usually the down cable, though some designs use the up cable; on a limb-driven rest, to a limb.
• Full containment. The arrow is held all the way around, for example by bristles the vanes pass through. These need no bow press to install and hold the arrow when you draw at odd angles. Some drop-aways add a containment bar.
• Blade. The arrow rides on a spring blade or a two-prong launcher. The launcher's support must be narrow enough for the two lower vanes to pass over it without contact.

Match the mount to your riser. Many rests bolt into the Berger hole, the threaded hole through the riser above the grip. Some risers take a dovetail rest mount, and some rests need a bracket made for a specific bow. Buy the right hand for your bow.

Sight, release and the rest of the kit

A multi-pin sight has a fixed pin for each distance. A single-pin slider moves one pin to the distance marked on a sight tape; the sight tape guide covers making one. For setup you need a level bubble, second- and third-axis adjustments, and a mount that fits your riser; a dovetail bar also lets the housing slide in and out. Whatever release you choose (index, thumb or hinge), set up with the one you will hunt with. To keep a record of the parts, list them in the build configurator.

Mount it

Clamp the bow upright in a vise and bolt the rest on following its instructions, with the set screw if it has one. Tighten it enough to hold, not fully: you are about to move it. The vanes must clear the riser completely.

Starting height and centershot

A drop-away launcher lies down at rest, so raise it to its shooting position first. Nock an arrow where it looks about level and rest it on the launcher. Set the launcher height so the shaft runs through the center of the Berger hole, unless your rest's instructions give another reference.

Centershot is the arrow's left-right position relative to the string. Measure from the riser at the Berger hole to the center of the shaft and set it to the bow maker's figure. Most current bows fall between 3/4 and 7/8″, often about 13/16″, but it varies by model, so check yours.

Without a spec, lay an arrow flat against the riser and move the rest until the nocked arrow runs parallel to it. Then look from behind the bow: the middle of the launcher, the string and the cams' string grooves should line up. Walkback and broadhead tuning set the final position.

Attach the drop-away cord

Attach it where the rest maker says. On a cable there are three methods: serving the cord to the cable, threading it through the middle of the split cable and serving it (best done in a press), or a screw clamp, which needs no press but should be checked for tightness regularly. If you haven't done it before, have a pro shop show you. Route the cord clear of the other cable and the cable guard, and leave its length adjustable until you time the rest.

Bolt the sight bracket to the riser's sight holes. It must match the bow's hand and stay clear of the string and the arrow's path. Start with the housing in the middle of its in-out travel.

Second axis

The second axis makes the sight's bubble read level when the bow is level. Clamp the bow with the string vertical, using a string level, and take every sight adjustment from the string. Make the sight bar vertical, then turn the second-axis adjustment until the bubble is centered.

Third axis

The third axis keeps the bubble level when you aim up or down, which matters for steep terrain and treestand shots. Check it at full draw once the D-loop and peep are in. Hang a plumb line, draw with an arrow nocked, and line the sight up on it with the bubble centered. Then aim steeply down, at about 45 degrees, keeping the sight on the line. If the bubble moves, let down and adjust the third axis as your sight's manual describes. You draw several times while aiming down for this check, so take every precaution not to dry-fire the bow.

Starting pin position

Start with the sight pin over the centerline of the arrow shaft. Elevation gets set at the range.

With the bow upright in the vise and the launcher raised, nock an arrow and rest it on the launcher. Put an arrow level on the shaft, or clip a bow square to the string, and move the nock up or down until the arrow sits level and square to the string. The shaft should still run through the center of the Berger hole; if it doesn't, adjust the launcher height and level the arrow again.

Level is the usual starting point; some tuners start the nock slightly above level instead. Your bow's manual may give a limit on how far the nock can sit from square. If your rest's instructions give a starting height, use it. Paper tuning sets the final height.

Mark it, and skip brass nock sets

Mark the string just above and just below the nock with a fine silver marker. You can tie nock sets of serving thread over the marks and tie the D-loop outside them. They help hold the nock position and prevent nock pinch, but they are optional; without them, the D-loop knots are the nock point.

Avoid brass or other metal clamp-on nock sets. Some bow makers forbid them, and the release jaws must not come into contact with a metal nock set.

Use cord sold for D-loops and cut about 5 inches. Practice on a spare string first.

1. Melt one end of the cord into a small ball with a lighter.
2. At the upper mark, wrap the cord around the string and pass the end back through to form a knot, with the ball against it. Pull it tight; the ball stops the end from pulling through.
3. Tie the second knot at the lower mark, starting from the opposite side of the string, so the two knots face away from each other. This keeps both knots tight and pulling evenly.
4. Leave a gap for the nock (below), trim the free end, and melt it against the knot.
5. Cinch the knots with D-loop pliers by spreading the loop. If the knots don't face opposite ways, tie it again; the loop must not come apart as you draw.

Nock pinch

At full draw the angle of the string squeezes the knots toward each other. If they pinch the nock, the arrow can lift off the rest. Leave about 0.5 mm between the nock and the knots, which closes up at full draw. One way to get that space is to cinch the loop with a slightly oversized nock in place.

To check: take the point off an arrow and draw it. If the arrow rises off the rest, there is too much pinch. Repeat with and without a point while aiming down, as from a treestand.

Length and direction

The loop must let the release clip on without touching the nock. Beyond that, a longer loop puts your hand farther back at anchor and makes your effective draw length longer, so set it and leave it. At rest the loop should point straight back toward you. A loop turned to the side spins back on the shot and can hit the arrow. Retying the loop means rechecking the nock point, and the peep if the length changed.

Do this before the peep. The release and the loop together set how far your hand sits behind the string, so a longer release, like a longer loop, makes your effective draw length longer and moves your eye.

On an index release, set the length so the trigger sits behind the first joint of your index finger rather than on the tip. A release set too long tends to make you punch the trigger. With a handheld release, check that your wrist stays relaxed and in line with your forearm, as the form guide describes.

Adjust trigger travel and tension in small steps, such as a quarter turn of the set screw at a time, and test after each one. Backing the screw out too far can make the release fire early. Test every change with an arrow nocked and the bow pointed at a close target.

The launcher should be fully up before you reach full draw, stay up long enough to guide the arrow at the start of the shot, and be down before the vanes reach it. For a rest driven by the down cable, that means fully up in the last couple of inches of the draw, around the point where the cams roll over into let-off. Blade and full-containment rests skip this step.

Check it on a draw board, or nock an arrow and draw slowly while a helper watches the launcher, then let down slowly. Rests with timing marks show where the launcher should sit at full draw. The cord shouldn't pull the down cable out of line at full draw, and the launcher should drop at once when the shot goes off.

On a cable-driven rest, shorten the cord to bring the launcher up earlier and lengthen it to bring it up later; some rests adjust this at the rest body. On a limb-driven rest, attach the cord where the maker's instructions say for your bow and keep it tight; the limbs then time the rest for you.

A rest that drops too early can cause a tail-low paper tear that looks like a nock point problem, so get this right before you tune. Then secure the cord for good and tighten the rest.

Size and type

The common sizes are 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4″, and 3/16″ is the most common. A smaller peep allows more precise aiming. A larger one lets in more light, which matters early and late in the day, when deer move most. As a starting point, use a 3/16″ peep or smaller for sight housings under 1-3/4″, and 1/4″ for housings of 2″ or more.

A tubed peep has a rubber tube attached to a cable that pulls it straight at full draw; a tubeless peep relies on the string coming back to the same rotation. Tubing suits a string that stretches and spins, but it can dry-rot and break.

Find the height

The peep goes where your eye already is at anchor. Nock an arrow, draw, close your eyes and settle into your normal anchor, and have a helper mark the string level with your eye. A typical height is 5-1/2 to 7 inches above the center of the D-loop. A peep at the wrong height makes you change your anchor or head position to see through it: too high leads to a floating anchor, and too low makes you compress your form and torque the bow.

Install and serve it in a press

With the bow in a press and the string relaxed, split the strands into two equal halves and set the peep between them, with the strands in its grooves. New strings usually have a separator thread or two colors marking the split. Otherwise count the strands and divide by two, using the natural split between the string's two bundles, or the string won't rotate naturally. Moving a peep without a press can damage the string.

Serve the peep in before you draw with it, using a small bundle of serving above it and another below. The bundles can still be slid with firm pressure, so the peep can be moved in the press later.

Line it up and get it to rotate straight

Draw with an arrow nocked and repeat the eyes-closed test: the ring around the sight housing should sit centered in the peep. If the height is off, move the peep in the press. If the sizes don't match, move the sight: slide it closer to the riser if the peep looks larger than the housing, and farther out if it looks smaller. Check the sight's third axis now too.

At full draw the peep should face you squarely. If it comes back turned, fix it with twists in the string, not by turning the peep: in a press, take one end loop off its post and add or remove half twists until the peep lines up. Twists change the string's length slightly, so after several, recheck axle-to-axle length and brace height. The peep can need another adjustment after a further 150 to 200 shots.

A kisser button is a small disc on the string that touches the corner of your mouth at full draw. It adds a third contact point to the hand at your jaw and the string at your nose; the form guide covers anchor points.

Set the peep first. Then draw with the housing centered in the peep and have a helper mark the string at the corner of your mouth. Install the kisser there, above the D-loop, and secure it so it can't move. If touching the kisser means moving your head to see through the peep, move the kisser; the peep is already set to your natural head position.

Install everything you will hunt with before you tune; a tune only holds for the setup you tuned.

• Stabilizer and quiver. Thread the stabilizer into the front bushing. If you hunt with the quiver on the bow, tune with it on.
• Silencers and string stop. Many bows come with them fitted. Secure anything you add to the string so it can't move. Each item adds weight to the string, which slows the arrow slightly.
• Clearance. Draw with an arrow nocked and check that nothing touches the string, the cables or the arrow's path.

Spine has to suit your draw weight, arrow length and point weight. The arrow spine chart and the arrow setup guide cover choosing it, and the Arrow Lab checks the whole arrow. Never shoot an arrow of the wrong spine or length for your setup.

Length. Draw an extra-long arrow and have someone mark it about 1 inch in front of where it touches the most forward part of the rest. The extra inch allows for small variations in draw length without the broadhead hitting the rest. Length changes spine (a longer shaft acts weaker), so decide both before you cut.

Cutting. Cut carbon shafts with an abrasive cut-off tool, never a tube cutter or a hacksaw, and wear a dust mask and safety glasses. Square the ends afterward, or have a pro shop cut them.

Weight and points. Total arrow weight must be at least 5 grains per pound of peak draw weight, so 350 grains for a 70-pound bow. An underweight arrow has the same effect on the bow as dry-firing it. Use field points that weigh the same as your broadheads.

Nock fit. Hang an arrow from the string by its nock and tap the string sharply 1 to 2 inches from the nock. The nock should hold the arrow's weight and come off with the tap; many hunters prefer a slightly tighter fit. A cracked nock can break on the shot and cause a dry-fire.

Before the first shot, check that the rest, sight, stabilizer and quiver can't move, the D-loop knots are tight, the peep and any kisser are served in, and the drop-away cord is secured. Inspect the arrows: flex each one, look and listen for cracks, and discard anything damaged.

Start no farther than 10 yards from a large target with a safe backstop. For the first shots:

• Check that the nock is fully on the string before every draw.
• On a drop-away, check at full draw that the launcher is up and the arrow is on it. If not, let down and fix it.
• After each shot, check that the launcher dropped and that nothing moved.
• If the bow is ever dry-fired, stop and have it inspected before you shoot again, because the damage may not be visible.

Run the powder contact check from the tuning guide and fix any contact before you go on. Then get on the target. Move the sight in the direction the arrows hit: if they hit high, move the pin up, and if they hit right, move it right. On a multi-pin sight, move the whole housing for the first pin. Sight in properly after tuning with the sighting-in guide and, on a slider sight, the sight tape generator.

Shoot the string in, then check that the peep still comes back straight, the D-loop still points straight back and the specs still match, and correct anything that moved. Write down your settings and start the tune order with paper tuning; the paper tuning helper gives the adjustment for each tear.

• Setting the peep before the D-loop and release are final.
• Measuring centershot or launcher height with the launcher still down.
• Serving in the drop-away cord before checking the timing.
• Using brass clamp-on nock sets under the release jaws.
• Tying the D-loop knots tight against the nock.
• Turning the peep by hand instead of twisting the string.
• Leaving hunting accessories off until after tuning.

What order do you set up a new compound bow in?

Check the bow's draw weight, draw length and specs. Mount and center the rest, mount and level the sight, set the nock point, tie the D-loop and fit the release. Then time the drop-away rest, install the peep, add the kisser if you use one, mount the stabilizer, quiver and string accessories, and build the arrows. Shoot the first arrows at close range, let the string settle, then start tuning.

Can I set up a compound bow myself?

Most of it. Mounting and timing the rest, mounting and levelling the sight, setting the nock point, tying the D-loop and fitting the release need hand tools, a bow vise and an arrow level or bow square. Installing a peep, correcting its rotation and any other change to string or cable length need a bow press. Without one, have a pro shop do those steps.

Can you install a peep sight without a bow press?

No. The peep sits between the string's strands, and the string has to be relaxed in a bow press before the strands can be split. Moving a peep without the bow in a press can damage the string. If you don't have a press, a pro shop can install it.

How high should a peep sight be?

At the height where your eye already is at anchor. Draw with an arrow nocked, close your eyes, settle into your anchor, and open them: you should be looking through the peep with the sight housing centered, without moving your head. A typical starting range is 5-1/2 to 7 inches above the center of the D-loop.

How long should a D-loop be?

Long enough for the release to clip on without touching the arrow's nock. Beyond that, a longer loop puts your hand farther back at anchor and makes your effective draw length longer. Set it before the peep, leave it, and if you retie it, recheck the nock point and the peep.

How do I set the nock point without a bow square?

Clamp the bow in a vise with the string vertical, raise the launcher, nock an arrow and put an arrow level on the shaft. Move the nock until the bubble is centered and the shaft runs through the center of the Berger hole. You can also set it by eye first and confirm it with an arrow level or a laser level.

When should a drop-away rest be fully up?

Before you reach full draw: in the last couple of inches of the draw, around the point where the cams roll over into let-off. It should stay up long enough to guide the arrow at the start of the shot and drop before the vanes reach it.

Where does a kisser button go?

On the string above the D-loop, at the spot that touches the corner of your mouth at your normal anchor. Set the peep first, then draw with the sight housing centered in the peep and have a helper mark the string at the corner of your mouth. A kisser is optional.

How far out should my bow sight be?

Far enough that the sight housing fits the peep at full draw. If the peep looks larger than the housing, slide the sight closer to the riser; if it looks smaller, move the housing farther out. Moving the housing closer to the riser also extends the longest distance you can aim at with the sight.

What happens if I dry-fire my bow?

Dry-firing means drawing and releasing the string without an arrow. It can break the bow and injure you or people nearby. If it happens, don't shoot the bow again until a dealer or pro shop has inspected it, because the damage may not be visible.

Berger hole

The threaded hole through the riser above the grip. Many rests bolt into it, and it is the usual reference for the arrow's starting height.

Centershot

The left-right position of the arrow relative to the string, usually measured from the riser at the Berger hole to the center of the shaft.

Drop-away rest

A rest whose launcher is raised by a cord attached to a cable or limb as you draw, and falls away as the shot goes off so the vanes pass without contact.

Down cable

The cable that moves toward the bottom of the bow as you draw. Many cable-driven drop-away rests attach to it.

Nock set

A small stop on the string above or below the arrow nock, usually tied from serving thread.

D-loop

A loop of cord tied on the string around the nock, which the release clips to. Its length changes where your hand anchors.

Nock pinch

The D-loop knots squeezing the arrow nock at full draw, which can lift the arrow off the rest.

Peep sight

A ring set between the string's strands that you look through to line your eye up with the sight.

Second / third axis

Sight adjustments. The second axis makes the bubble read level when the bow is level; the third axis keeps it level when you aim up or down.

Kisser button

A small disc on the string that touches the corner of the mouth at anchor, as an extra anchor point.

Bow press

A tool that flexes the limbs to take tension off the string and cables. Needed to install a peep, twist the string, or change string or cable length.