Adjusting your bracing height is an important part of setting up your bow – and can be overlooked by beginners.

Before adjusting the bracing height on a recurve bow you should find out what the recommended bracing height is for your bow. If you don’t know the recommended bracing height, then this is a rough guide:

64˝ 8 1/8˝–8 3/8˝ (21.0 cm–21.6 cm)
66˝ 8 1/4˝–8 1/2˝ (21.3 cm–21.9 cm)
68˝ 8 3/8˝–8 5/8˝ (21.6 cm–22.2 cm)
70˝ 8 1/2˝–8 3/4˝ (21.7 cm–22.5 cm

The bracing height measurement is taken from the throat or narrow part of the grip, to the bow string.

To adjust the bracing height, de-string the bow and add twists (either clockwise or anti-clockwise) to the string to increase the measurement, or untwist the string to lower the measurement.

To tune the bracing height, start with the bow at the lowest recommended bracing height. Shoot 6 arrows plotting their group size and listening to the sound of the bow. Put no more than five turns in the string and shoot another 6 arrows.

Continue doing this process until eventually you will notice that the bow starts to sound quieter, and the arrow groups get smaller. When the bow starts to get noisy again, and the arrow groups get bigger, you’ve gone too far. Keep adjusting until you get the best groups and sound.