How to read a paper tear
A paper tear is named for where the nock end of the arrow passed through the paper, relative to the tip. A tail-left tear means the fletching end went through left of the point. That single convention decides every correction below, and it is where most people get turned around — plenty of published advice names tears the other way round and then gives you a fix that makes the tear worse.
The doctrine on this page is what we tune to on our own bench, and it is the same logic the Tune Wizard above walks you through step by step. All directions are written for a right-handed shooter. Left-handed shooters mirror every left and right.
Horizontal tears: cams chase the tail, the rest runs away from it
This is the rule worth memorising. Move the cams toward the tail. Move the rest away from it. The rest is a micro-adjustment, never the primary fix, and it should never travel more than 1/8" from your bow's recommended centershot. If you need more than that, the problem is upstream.
| Tear (right-handed) | Cams / string centre | Rest | Spine suspect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tail LEFT | Shift LEFT | RIGHT, 1/16" steps, max 1/8" | Too STIFF |
| Tail RIGHT | Shift RIGHT | LEFT, 1/16" steps, max 1/8" | Too WEAK |
The order of operations
Doing these out of order is why tunes do not hold. Work top to bottom and do not skip to the rest.
- Shoot three arrows. If the tears are random, the problem is form or bow torque, not the setup. Fix that first or you will chase your own hand all afternoon.
- Rule out nock position. Rotate the nock one fletch position — 120° on a 3-vane — and re-shoot. If the tear changes, you have a nock indexing or vane clearance issue, not a bow issue. This step costs thirty seconds and saves entire sessions.
- Get the bow in spec. Cams in sync and in time, centershot at the manufacturer's spec. A bow out of spec cannot be tuned into spec with a rest.
- Correct cam lean using your bow's own system — see the table below. Every platform does this differently and using the wrong method is how limbs get damaged.
- Micro-tune the rest, 1/16" at a time, only after the cams are synced and timed.
- Then suspect spine, and confirm it with a bareshaft before you buy anything.
Vertical tears
Same principle, different axis. Cam timing comes first here too — a tail-high tear is very often a timing problem wearing a nock-height costume.
| Tear | In order |
|---|---|
| Tail HIGH | 1. Inspect cam timing 2. Nock / D-loop DOWN 3. Raise the rest 4. Trim arrow length 5. Decrease tip weight |
| Tail LOW | 1. Inspect cam timing 2. Nock UP 3. Lower the rest 4. Longer arrow 5. Increase tip weight |
Got a diagonal tear? Fix one axis at a time, horizontal first. Chasing both at once is how people end up further from a tune than they started.
Cam lean correction by bow
Step 4 above depends entirely on what your bow was built with, and the answer is not the same across brands or even across model years within a brand. This is the correction system for 196 compound models in our database. Where a platform is not listed, we do not guess — check your manual or your pro shop, because using the wrong method on the wrong bow can damage a limb pocket.
| Brand | Model years | Correction system | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowtech | 2020–2026 | DeadLock pocket screws (no press) | 38 |
| Elite | 2021–2026 | S.E.T. limb-pocket pivot | 28 |
| Hoyt | 2020–2025 | HBX cam spacers (HBX has no yokes) | 29 |
| Hoyt | 2026 | XTS wedge (no press) | 10 |
| Mathews | 2016–2024 | Top-hat spacers | 40 |
| Mathews | 2025–2026 | Limb Shift — no yokes, no top hats | 6 |
| Prime | 2017–2026 | Center-track cams — lean minimised by design | 38 |
| PSE | 2024–2026 | EZ.220 cam shims | 5 |
| PSE Sicario FDS | 2026 | EZ.220 shims — it also has split yokes, but shims are primary | 2 |
Bowtech DeadLock (38): Alliance, Alliance SS, CP28, CP30, Carbon One, Commander, Core SD/SR/SS, Eva Gen3, Honor, Honor SS, Patriot 38/40, Proven, Proven 34, Reckoning, Reckoning 35/38, Reckoning Gen2 SD, Revolt, Revolt X, SR, SR350, Solution, Solution SD/SS, Specialist II, Specialist II 38/40.
Elite S.E.T. (28): Allure, Artus, Carbon Eon, EnKore, EnVision, Era, Ethos, Exalt, Exalt 35, Exalt XL, HNTR, HNTR XL, Omnia, Remedy, Terrain, Varos, Verdict, Verdict 37/40, Victory 37/40.
Hoyt HBX cam spacers (29): Alpha AX-2 29/32/33, Alpha X 30/33, Axius Alpha, Axius Ultra, Carbon RX-5 and RX-5 Ultra, RX-7 and RX-7 Ultra, RX-8 and RX-8 Ultra, RX-9 and RX-9 Ultra, REDWRX Carbon RX-4 Alpha/Turbo/Ultra, VTM 31/34, Ventum 30/33, Ventum Pro 30/33.
Hoyt XTS wedge (10, 2026): AX-3, Alpha AX-3 29, Alpha AX-3 29 SD, Alpha AX-3 33, Alpha AX-3 33 LD, Alpha AX-90, Carbon RX-10, Carbon RX-10 SD, Carbon RX-10 Ultra, Carbon RX-10 Ultra LD.
Mathews top-hat spacers (40): Atlas, Avail, Halon 6/7/32, Halon X Comp, Lift 29.5, Lift 33, Phase 4 29/33, Prima, TITLE 34/36/38/40, TRX 34/36/38/40 and G2–G5 variants, Traverse, Triax, V3 27/31, V3X 29/33, VXR 28/31.5, Vertix.
Mathews Limb Shift (6, 2025–2026): ARC 30, ARC 34, Lift RS, Lift X 29.5, Lift X 33, Lift XD.
Prime center-track cams (38): Black 1/3/5/9, Centergy, Centergy Air, Centergy Hybrid, Form, Form 38/40, Form XL, InLine 1/3/5, Logic CT3/CT5/CT9, Nexus 2/4, Patriot, Patriot Pro, RVX 32/34/36, Revex 2/4/6.
PSE EZ.220 shims (7): Mach 30 DS, Mach 33 DS, Shootdown Pro, Sicario FDS 33, Sicario FDS 35.
The equivalence most people miss
A paper tear, a bareshaft, and a broadhead are three ways of asking the same question. For a right-handed shooter these are the same diagnosis and take the same fix:
Tail-left tear ≡ bareshaft impacts RIGHT of your fletched group ≡ broadhead impacts RIGHT of your field points. All three say cams left, rest right, spine possibly stiff.
There is a trap here worth stating plainly, because it catches experienced archers. With a bareshaft or broadhead test, the rest moves to the same side as the impact — bareshaft hitting left means the rest goes left. With walk-back tuning it is the opposite: drift left means the rest goes right. Two tests, two conventions. Knowing which one you are running is the difference between converging on a tune and oscillating around one.
Paper distance
Start at roughly 6 feet. A clean bullet hole there proves very little on its own — the arrow has not had room to misbehave yet. The target is a clean bullet hole at 12 feet. That is what proves the tune.
Walk-back and modified French tuning
Walk-back is a different diagnostic from paper. It measures progressive, absolute drift rather than position relative to a fletched group. Hang a plumb line, put an aiming mark near the top, and shoot your 20-yard pin at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards.
Drift left, move the rest right 1/16". Drift right, move the rest left 1/16". Re-sight, repeat. You are done when the arrows stack on the line at every distance. Modified French tuning is the same idea compressed: one shot at about 2–3 yards, one at 10–20.
Common questions
What does a tail-left tear mean?
For a right-handed shooter, a tail-left tear means the nock end passed through the paper left of the tip. Move the cams or string centre left, move the rest right in 1/16" increments up to a maximum of 1/8", and treat the arrow as possibly too stiff. Left-handed shooters mirror it.
Should I move the rest or the cams first?
Neither, first. Confirm three consistent tears, rule out nock indexing by rotating the nock 120°, and get the bow into spec. Then correct cam lean with your platform's own system, and only then micro-tune the rest.
How far can I move my rest when tuning?
No more than 1/8" from your bow's recommended centershot, in 1/16" steps. If a clean tear needs more travel than that, something upstream is wrong — usually cam sync, cam timing, or spine.
Does a tail-high tear mean my nock point is too high?
Not necessarily, and assuming so is a common dead end. Inspect cam timing first. If timing is good, then move the nock or D-loop down, then raise the rest, then look at arrow length and tip weight in that order.
How do I fix cam lean on a Mathews?
It depends on the year. Mathews from 2016 through 2024 use top-hat spacers. The 2025–2026 platforms — Lift X, Lift RS, Lift XD, ARC 30 and ARC 34 — use Limb Shift and have no yokes or top hats at all.
What distance should I paper tune at?
Begin around 6 feet, but judge the tune by a clean bullet hole at 12 feet.
My bareshaft hits left. Which way does the rest go?
Left — the same side as the impact. This is the opposite of walk-back tuning, where drift left means the rest moves right. Confirm which test you are running before you move anything.
This reference is the doctrine behind the Tune Wizard above — a free tool from The Forge by Sparrow Expeditions. Built by archnerds, for archnerds.