Recurve Bow Setup: Step-by-Step Guide from Box to First Arrows

Short Answer: Setup Before Tuning, and Manufacturer Spec Wins

A recurve has four distinct phases between the box and good shooting: assembly, baseline setup (brace height, tiller, rest, nocking point, centershot), tuning, and sighting. The single most common beginner mistake is jumping to tuning — bare-shaft tests and micro-adjustments — before a safe, repeatable baseline exists. The second rule: every generic starting number in this guide is a starting point, and your bow's manual overrides it. Sources genuinely disagree on some values (nocking point height is published anywhere from 1/8" to 1/2" above square), and safety limits differ by manufacturer (Hoyt allows 4 limb-bolt turns from bottomed-out; MYKAN says 3). The workflow below is built from the convergent order used by Easton, Archery Australia, Archery GB and the ANZ coaching manual, verified September 2026.

📋 Key Takeaways

📑 Table of Contents · 22 sections · View contents ↓

• Short Answer: Setup Before Tuning
• Recurve Setup Baseline (interactive sheet)
• What You Need Before Starting
• Identify Your Recurve Type
• Attach and Inspect the Limbs
• String the Bow Safely
• Brace Height
• Arrow Rest and Shelf
• Nocking Point
• Tiller Baseline
• Limb Alignment and Twist
• Centershot
• Plunger Baseline (If You Use One)
• Sight, Stabilizer and Clicker
• Match Arrows to the Bow
• First Safe Shots
• What NOT to Tune Yet
• Setup Troubleshooting
• When to Move to Full Tuning
• Keep a Setup Record
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Sources & Methodology

What You Need Before Starting

A bow square, a bowstringer, your string (matched to bow length and strand count), and a clean flat workspace. Optional but useful: an Allen-key set (for limb-bolt bows) and tape plus a pen for marking limb centers. Do not substitute a knife, pencil or improvised tool for the bow square — every baseline measurement in this guide uses it.

Identify Your Recurve Type

Three systems, three assembly paths. Bolt-down takedowns (the Samick Sage class): limbs seat on limb bolts and tighten by hand — snug, never wrenched. ILF risers: limbs slide into dovetail pockets until the detent clicks; the limb bolt adjusts weight and tiller. One-piece bows skip assembly entirely — stringing and measurement only. If you don't know which you have, the limb-attachment point tells you: bolts = bolt-down, dovetail-plus-detent = ILF, no joint at all = one-piece.

Attach and Inspect the Limbs

Identify the top limb from the limb label, align the dovetail or bolt holes with the riser pocket, and push until the detent button engages with an audible click (ILF) or the bolt seats fully (bolt-down). Hoyt's manual describes the click explicitly and notes it's normal for the limb to have some vertical movement before stringing. Then inspect: no cracks, no delamination, no obvious twist in the limb, and the string grooves are clean. Stringing seats everything properly.

String the Bow Safely

Always use a bowstringer. Hoyt's manual prints it as a WARNING; hunter-education material calls the step-through method hazardous to both you and the bow. The larger string loop goes on the top limb, the smaller on the bottom. Slide the top loop about six inches down the limb, fit the smaller loop into the bottom groove, stand on the cord with both feet, pull the riser upward, and seat the string in the top groove. Before removing the stringer, verify the string sits properly in both grooves. Give the string a one-to-two-inch pluck with no arrow to seat the limbs.

Brace Height

Brace height is the distance from the grip's deepest point (the bow square sits in the throat of the grip) to the string. Generic starting ranges for common lengths: 62" bows about 7¾"–8¼", 66" about 8¼"–8½", 70" about 8¾"–9". These are starting points — the Samick Sage's own spec is 7½"–8¼", Hoyt traditional recurves 7½"–8½". Start at the LOW end of your manufacturer's range, shoot a few arrows, then unstring and add 3–4 twists to shorten the string and raise the brace height. Repeat until the bow shoots smoothest and quietest. Easton's caution: stay inside the range — extreme brace heights over-stress the bow or slap your bow arm.

Arrow Rest and Shelf

Install the rest before the nocking point — Archery Australia states the order explicitly. For a stick-on rest, align its hole with the threaded plunger hole in the riser window; if your riser has two holes, the rear hole takes the plunger. For a shelf-only bow (many traditional takedowns), the shelf itself is the rest — verify the strike plate area is clean. Whatever the system, the rest's contact point should sit above the grip's pivot point.

Nocking Point

Two nocking points, always — top and bottom — with the arrow nocked between them. Starting heights genuinely vary by source: Easton says about 1/2" above square, Lancaster 1/4"–3/8", Archery Australia ties it to tiller (~1/8"). Pick one default, label it a starting point, and use tie-on serving material — Hoyt explicitly does not recommend metal clamp-on nocks, and Archery Australia says brass sets are for setup only. Leave roughly 1/16"–2mm between the bottom of the nock and the bottom point so the string's closure at full draw doesn't pinch the nock. Test nock fit: the arrow should hang on the string and stay put when you rotate the string with your fingers.

Tiller Baseline

Tiller is the difference between the top limb's base-to-string measurement and the bottom's. Positive tiller (top greater) of about 1/8"–1/4" is the standard baseline: the arrow sits above center, so the bottom limb works slightly harder. Adjust by turning bolts equally and in opposite directions — one turn off the top, one on the bottom — then measure, because equal turns don't guarantee equal limbs (modern ILF limbs are often pre-tillered). Respect the manufacturer's bolt limit: Hoyt warns 4 turns from bottomed-out, MYKAN 3. Some bows must be unstrung to adjust; check your manual.

Limb Alignment and Twist

With the bow strung, sight down the string: it should bisect the riser's center line, referenced against the limb bolts or the tiller-bolt holes (Archery GB uses the rear bolts). If a limb looks twisted, do not try to correct it yourself — take it to a shop. Periodically check the ILF detent screw; Hoyt notes it can loosen with use and should be re-tightened without over-tightening.

Centershot

Centershot means the arrow, sitting on the rest, aligns with the string's vertical line — but the correct baseline is slightly OUTSIDE it: the arrow point 1/16" to 1/8" (or about half an arrow width for beginners) outside the string, per Easton and Archery Australia. To find the reference line, mark the exact center of each limb with tape and a pen a few inches from the riser, and align the string over those marks. This baseline prevents the arrow leaving the bow angled, which is what causes left-right sight drift at different distances.

Plunger Baseline (If You Use One)

A cushion plunger has two separate jobs: its depth sets static centershot, its spring damps the arrow's flex. Every source converges on the same starting spring: medium tension, about the pressure of a ballpoint pen's clicker. Set depth so the arrow sits at the centershot baseline above. Don't tune spring tension yet — that's a tuning-phase variable.

Sight, Stabilizer and Clicker

Only if your setup uses them. Sight: the vertical bar must be truly vertical to the string — check with a level — and the pin starts over the arrow's centerline. Clicker: about 1–2mm of arrow point should sit under the clicker at full draw, positioned vertically, never pressing the arrow onto the rest. Stabilizers are assembly-level: mount them, but their tuning value comes later. None of these are required for a first baseline — many beginner bows skip all three.

Match Arrows to the Bow

The chart needs your actual draw weight measured at your draw length — never the limb label — plus arrow length and point weight. A mis-spined arrow cannot be fully tuned around, and an arrow that's too light is a safety problem: Hoyt's warranty excludes arrows under 5 grains per pound of draw weight. Use our arrow spine calculator for the starting range, then confirm with the shaft manufacturer.

First Safe Shots

Before the first arrow: brace height inside the manufacturer's range, string seated in both grooves, limb bolts snug within their limit, and a spot inspection of the string for wear or fraying. Shoot at close range first. If anything rattles, buzzes or slaps your arm, stop and re-check — do not shoot through it. The goal of the first session is a repeatable bow, not a tuned one.

What NOT to Tune Yet

Do not touch: bare-shaft testing, paper tuning, micro nocking-point changes, plunger spring tuning, or broadhead tuning. Do not chase group tightness with equipment changes while your form is still settling. Archery Australia's phrasing is the guide: the basic setup is sufficient for a new archer to shoot and improve — tuning comes after "a reasonable amount of time" and consistent accuracy. One exception: if the arrow is visibly porpoising or slapping, re-check the baseline first (nocking point, brace height), not the tuning variables.

Setup Troubleshooting

• String slaps your forearm or wrist — brace height too low; add twists toward the middle of the range. Check the string grooves are clean.
• Arrow nocks keep pinching — bottom nocking point gap too tight; widen toward 1/16"–2mm.
• Arrow flies with visible fishtail — centershot or spine mismatch; verify the outside-the-string baseline and re-check the chart with your measured weight.
• Loud or harsh shot — brace height below the sweet spot; work through the twist procedure.
• Bow "pulls" high or low — tiller off the 1/8"–1/4" positive baseline; measure and correct with equal-opposite turns.
• Arrow rest arm visibly past the shaft — trim or re-set; an over-long arm causes clearance contact (Easton).

When to Move to Full Tuning

When you can repeat a consistent shot — consistent anchor, consistent groups at close range, no form changes session to session — then tuning becomes meaningful, and it starts with the nocking point. The full procedure — paper tuning, bare-shaft planing, walk-back — lives in our Bow Setup & Tuning guide. Easton's governing rule for that phase: change one variable at a time.

Keep a Setup Record

Write down: brace height, tiller (top and bottom), nocking point height, centershot baseline, plunger tension, arrow length and spine. When the string creeps or something shifts, the record tells you what changed — and it makes the tuning phase start from a known state instead of a guess. The baseline sheet above exists for exactly this.

The Three Baseline Relationships, In One Picture

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & Methodology