Archery Talk

Looks like you're shooting it pretty well!

 

Good shooting!

 

Thanks!

20yds but all I'll be doing for a while is practice practice practice to get better

 

That’s it.

this season was my first archery season. I shot until my muscles failed 5 times a week for months until season started.

I ran a mile then forced myself to shoot a dozen arrows

I drew and held my bow until I couldn’t hold anymore.

it helped.. I shot a nice muley in Montana and was fairly confident in my shot as soon as I released. Plus I had to hold my draw for a decent chunk of time with confidence I wouldn’t fail.

the adrenaline shakes are the only variable lol

 

congrats!

 

Thank you!

 

yes, finally, now we can all relax...

 

Holding at full draw is something I need to work on. I blew an opportunity at a nice bull this year partially do to that.

 

Yea the Muley I shot I had to hold at full draw for way longer than I wanted to. by the time I sent the arrow I was nearly at my breaking point

 

Severely underestimated the amount of influence wind imparts on an arrow. Spent two hours on the range this morning and the wind only continued to pick up. My holdovers for shooting, say, my .308 are not the same for an arrow

Had a blast though.

 

Yeah wind can really affect flight. I practice out to 100 yards and try to find a spot on my range that’s out of the wind or wait between gusts to launch and arrow. That seems to help. Hunting on the other hand in wind, don’t know. I try to keep shots under 30 yards

 

Well I finally broke down and bought a bow. Super excited to start getting into it both as a way to extend hunting seasons and a way to connect with my daughter on something that’s just “ours.”

Going to start hitting the backyard everyday and see where it takes me. Starting at 15 yards and I can get back to 30 in my yard. Figure I’ll stick to 15 for quite a while, lol.

 

I'm an archery noob as well. Shot it for the first time this week. It'll only take you about 5 minutes to get addicted

 

gifts, are always great, no matter what time of year. 2 gifts were given to you, and 1 to your daughter. ya gotta bow, thats 1, and you are going to learn it with your daughter, gift # 2. Your daughter gets 1, for YOU spending your time with her, afield......

 

I know the answer will probably be different for everyone based on lots of factors but what’s everyone’s goal as far as number of arrows shot per week? I’m new to this and can get to 30 yards eventually, in my own yard, so that makes it easy to get out there. I’m aiming for 50 per day 5x’s a week. Goal is to get out hunting this coming fall. Seem reasonable? Puts me at like 9-10k by hunting season.

 

With time and family commitments I hope to get half that! I have bowhunting for 8years and I think if you can get that much shooting in before season, you will be good to go! Now, before you start on this venture I would strongly recommend backing off the amount of arrows to focus on proper mechanics. Quality vs. Quantity. Once you nail the mechanics of your shot, repetitions will then be key to set the muscle memory of your shot.

Check out Nock ON on YouTube. He is my go-to everything archery related.

 

Great advice. I have a great range and instructor in the area that I’m thinking about hitting up once a month to make sure I’m not getting squirrely too. Hoping the combo of lesson and practice gets me where I need to be.

 

Careful, I did the same thing when I first bought my bow and I ended up having to take two weeks off to let my shoulder heal. It got to the point where I was just sore enough that I was unable to shoot accurately because my form was shot due to the pain.

I backed down to 8-10 arrows per day. Focused on my draw (practicing the really sloooooow draw as well as the draw and hold), focused on my breath, placement of the string on my cheek, shot from elevated platform, do a 20 pushups then try to slow draw and shoot, etc.

Quantity of arrows is not going to make you a better archer. Focusing on all the small details and making them subconscious actions is what will make you better.

Prime example, I never practiced sitting down.. never thought of it. I did practice from a kneeling position. So, while im in Montana I have a nice muley about 40 yards away..im sitting cross legged, leaning back into the brush for cover, fully drawn. When I sent it, the cam was touching my knee and killed the energy. It was a position I wasn't used to shooting from.. the group of does came out when I wasn't really ready so I had to fall back and into the brush to stay hidden. Thankfully she gave me a follow up shot a few minutes later and I got her at 43.5 yards.

 

More awesome advice! Thanks for the real world situation too.

 

Lol I started last year, so I took the advice I got from these guys and a couple friends I hunt with that are seasoned bow hunters. Despite my best efforts, Mother Nature provided me with something I was in no way prepared for.. So know that going into it lol