How to set up a Traditional Bow, longbow or Recurve

When you get a new traditional bow, whether it be a longbow, recurve, or selfbow, there are a few things you’ll need to set up before you go out to the archery range and shoot a few arrows or get out into the field for some bow hunting. This video will show you how to set up your traditional bow’s brace height, nock point, and arrow shelf. We start by discussing the bow’s brace height and how to determine how high or low to set it. For most long bows and recurves brace height is adjusted by twisting or untwisting the bow string. Next we set up the bow’s arrow shelf by creating a pivot for the arrow. By creating a pivot point the arrow’s contact with the bow is minimized which reduces the influence of bow torque on arrow flight.