Well it's been a week since I've been on the forum. Busy week but now it's the weekend. Picked up some gold tip arrows and I've started practicing for next season. I zeroed my sight in and was wanting some tips on proving accuracy etc. below are pics from my first 8 shots after I zeroed my sight. I'm noticing that a relaxed hand for the release helps. Breathing control and being relaxed helps keep me accurate. I'm a newbie and any tips would be appreciated. I have a 6 in stabilizer on my bow. I'm using a whisker biscuit.
Set up a rhythm, and make sure your grip on the bow is extremely loose. Watch some videos of how the pro's shoot and see what you could improve. Have someone take video of you shooting and post it, then we can tell you what you might be doing wrong. The most important thing is to practice often. You need to get your muscle memory down. If you're close to me (I also live in Georgia) I'd be more than willing to go shooting with you and give you some pointers.
What distance are you shooting? Try to have someone near you who is a seasoned archer coach you. Keep a relaxed hand for your bow grip. Have mental checklist that you go through every shot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Couple of questions brother: What distance were you shooting? What poundage and draw are you shooting and what bow? Have you tuned the bow? And here are a couple suggestions I have 1. Make sure your anchor point is exactly the same each shot. If a kisser button helps then put one on. Two reference points like the kisser button in the side of your mouth and the string touching your nose are better than one and you will be more accurate 2. Keep your grip the same each shot. Let the bow rest in the meat of your hand and don't try to hold the bow, let the pressure of the draw hold it against your hand. 3. Focus on your form each time, make sure to do the same thing each shot. 4. Hold true after shot. Don't look at the arrow, don't trip the bow, let the arrow fire and hold your arm exactly out where you fired until the arrow hits the target. 5. Don't pull your release, slowly squeeze each time until the bow fires, it should surprise you when the arrow fires. 6: practice shooting close, like 10 yds at one of those sticky targets or a 1" piece of tape. Shoot as often as you can until you can put every arrow into the piece of tape you're aiming at. Stop when you start feeling tired. 7: After your absolutely positive you can hit at 10 yds. Move back to 20. And every week or so keep moving back until you run out of room or pins. 8: Don't rush moving back. Get so comfortable in each yardage that you know you can hit the tape without a second guess. 9. Once you are very comfortable at 20, 30 and 40 yds. Move back to 60. Get out of your comfort zone. Only once your out of your comfort zone will you begin to truly become better. You'll be amazed at how soon you'll be shooting tight groups at farther distances if you focus. Good luck man!!! “In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen.” -Theodore Roosevelt
It's nice to know there are archers in GA. I just wish I could find a few around the Augusta area. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Im shooting 20 and 30 yards. 50 lbs and a 27 in draw. 50 lbs is really light and I'm not sure if I should up it or leave it for now to work on form. Yes. The pro shop I bought my bow at tuned it all for me. I zeroed my sights yesterday and have been working on consistent groups at 20 and 30 yards.
In that picture were you aiming at the center bullseye or the individual spots surrounding the center. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Individual spots around the bullseye. There were 8 small targets and I shot 8 arrows. Three were bad shots the other five felt smooth.
The first picture is before I zeroed. Good grouping I think. It was at 20 yards. The second picture is when I zeroed it in at 20 yards. I had two bad shots, pretty sure I changed my sight picture on them.
Question... Should I focus on my pin or the target? When it comes to shooting rifles with iron sights, you focus on the front sight post, not your target. The target will be blurred but you'll be more accurate. Taking my marksmanship skills from rifles I'm wondering what fundamentals are universal.
It can really be either one. Personally I pick my spot on the target, then focus on that spot. Do whichever makes you more comfortable.
Instead of showing us pictures of you target and arrows, if you want some real advice, we need to see a video of your form. while you're shooting. Get the video camera fairly close so we can see what your hands are doing, how your feet are set up, how your holding your bow. If you're not using the proper from, you'll never be able to be consistent.
remember practice does not make perfect only perfect practice does... make sure you are using proper form..
I'm not sure of whats been covered but here is how I go about things. First up, the bow setup itself. This is the single most important part of being able to shoot any bow accurately and consistently. Make sure your draw length is correct for you and your preferred anchor point. Get your draw length close to what feels best and is most comfortable first, then establish an anchor point that you feel most comfortable with at full draw. This could be the corner of your jaw, the nook under your ear, etc. Whatever it is, make sure its perfectly comfortable and repeatable. You may then need to tweak your draw length accordingly to further the comfort and consistency level. Also, with your anchor points, use a kisser button and make sure the tip of your nose makes contact with the string. It should just touch the string. This is a good indicator of draw length issues in my opinion. If its off your nose, you may have an issue with your bow arm or draw length is too short. If its smashed into your nose, the opposite. Those things are IMO, the most important and I won't shoot an arrow until I get those things nailed down exactly. You should be able to close your eyes and draw your bow, settle into you anchor points. When you open your eyes, the peep should be lined up. If not, move the peep until it does. This may take a bit of trial and error, but in the end, its well worth it. If your bow is tuned half decent (paper tuned), start at short yardage and shoot groups of three arrows at a time. Do so until you are confident you can shoot good groups at short range. Then step back 10 yards are repeat. What you might notice is that the arrows tend to lean to one side or the other of your target. If so, move the rest a tiny bit in the direction they need to go. Then shoot again. Once its lined up correctly, back off another 10 yards and repeat. This is walk back tuning and IMO, will get you very close to a good tune. Also, set the poundage light and work your way up as your shooting muscles get stronger. But, don't go overboard. If you're hunting whitetails, you don't need 70lbs to kill a deer cleanly. Sure you might be able to shoot heavy poundage but its not needed. I can shoot 70lbs, but I hunt at 63lbs because I can draw that all day long when I'm cold and stiff from sitting in a tree all day. Plus it saves wear and tear on your shoulders, etc. As for shooting. Some things to think about at each shot. Your grip. As others have noted, use a relaxed grip. DO NOT hold onto the handle like your riding a bike. Your fingers should be relaxed and barely, if it all, touching the grip. If you don't have one, use a wrist sling. It negates the fear of dropping the bow on the shot. Your release hand should also be relaxed. Don't squeeze your hand into a fist on the release. Any tension you introduce into your shot will be translated into the shot itself. One of the biggest issue I see with most folks, even seasoned vets, is too light of a trigger on the release. I prefer the heaviest trigger I can find and shoot a Scott Rhino XT with the heaviest spring. This does a couple of things. One, you do not have a fear of it going off at the least bit of pressure or accidentally hitting it when you're drawing and settling into your anchors. You should be able to lay your finger on the trigger with zero issues of it going off. Secondly, it helps promote a clean squeeze of the trigger, like your shooting a rifle. Finally, as you get more comfortable with shooting, practice drawing your bow and using your back muscles to hold the weight of the bow back. At full draw, squeeze your shoulder blades together, toward your spine. As your doing so, aim and slowly squeeze the shot off. I believe most refer to this as modified back tension release. What this will help with, as your shooting muscles strengthen, is holding the bow at full draw for longer periods of time. This will come in handy when you have to draw and hold the bow on a deer for a longer period of time. It also promotes a more surprise, and smoother release. Most of all, be patient and don't over shoot yourself. Shoot until you start feeling tired and stop. Don't keep shooting because you'll have a tendency to start shooting worse and then start making changes that are only due to your fatigue. Oh, and have fun. Welcome to archery.
