Preface, this is NChunterman from HNI for those who might know me. I picked up a Montana Longbow and I started shooting some this weekend. Man I'm all over the place. Can any of you give me some insight as to how the crap you aim these things? I can hit a small block taget from 15yds, but where I hit it I can never tell. GMMAT is gonna have me out losing arrows on the 3-D course before I know it, so any help/direction would be greatly appreciated.
Practice, Practice, Practice NC!! I'm not kidding either! Before you know It your arrows all of a sudden will be finding their mark. Just get yourself some good consistent form and anchor point, the rest will follow In time.
Steve is right, keep working on your form! I wouldn't shoot more than 2 or 3 arrows at a time, you'll get in a rush and start to shoot to quick and not concentrate! Once that form is where it needs to be everytime, so will your arrows!!! When you get there, as for aiming, I pick a spot, a small spot, not an area, not a small area, a tiny spot. Concentrate on that spot, draw, anchor, pause for a second, release, pull thru and hold my form until my arrow hits its spot. I'll even hold it for a second after the arrow hits just to be sure! All the while concentrating so hard on that spot the entire time I'm burning a hole thru the target! Sure is fun sending arrow after arrow right where your looking!
Read byron ferguson's becoming the arrow. That should help things out a lot, then you can process your own experiences from there.
I got the anchor at the corner of my mouth, each and every time. But where should my line of sight be, down the shaft, above the arrow? I know it's instinctive (sp?) was just curious.
Thats kinda for you to decide. When I'm at full draw, I hardly even notice my bow let alone my arrow! I'm all about that darn spot! Sounds weird, but its true, I went out the other day shooting and tried to have my arrow "lined" up with the target, missed by a mile. Tried again, shot about 4 feet in front of the target! :d :d Some guys look right down there arrow and nail it every time! You just got try different things, there's really no wrong way, just what works for you!
Let me try to explain it like this. When you throw a ball at an intended target such as a baseball catcher or a football at an intended receiver you don't have a sight, you look and throw. The same with "instinctive" archery, you look at a spot, concentrate on it, draw, anchor and release. There is also the "gap" method. Whereas you use the tip of the arrow as a sighting point. I am told this is better using three fingers under and best at 20 yds and less, it can be very effective and accurate. When starting out using "instinctive" it is best to take baby steps. Start at 10 yds and shoot until you get consistent groups. Then move back to 15 yds, then to 20 yds. I would say that the most widely used practice distance is 20 yds. Most instinctive shooters don't shoot past 30 yds as a rule. Except when you get together in a group and start feeling BALLSY, that's when the fun really begins. The absolute best practicing is doing something we call STUMP shooting or ROVING. That's when you walk through the woods and shoot at objects at no specific distance such as stumps, leaves, roots, old soda bottles, basketballs, etc. (see: http://forums.bowhunting.com/yaf_postst2321_Sad-realization-while-stump-shootn-pics.aspx ) Most of all have fun with it, take your time and don't get disgusted or pressure yourself. Make sure your bow and arrows are matched and tuned.
Well I lost two brand new arrows last night in the yard LOL. No idea where they buried up at. I'll shoot a couple of good shots then I'll sail one way off where I intended. I know Jeff and I went over this when I picked up the bow, but should one feather be making contact at the "crease" between the shelf and riser? We talked about cock feather out, but shooting odd out causes the fletching to the bottom off the shelf. How should I orient my feathers? I believe the arrows have a right helical, jeff?
When I shot 3 fletch I always had It sticking away from the riser but from what I've heard It shouldn't matter If the cock feather Is pointing In one way or the other.
From what I understand It shouldn't matter but like I said I never did try It when I shot 3 fletched. If your shooting the correct spine I'm thinking your arrows are bending enough anyway that your cock feather doesn't come close to touching the riser.
I've found that it doesn't matter in my set up! I can switch it up and not tell the difference in flight! As for the spacer, on my Montana I have no spacer, leather rest goes up tight to the strike plate, my arrows fly perfect! On my Whisperstik it has the spacer only because this is the way it came from the bowyer, my arrows fly the same!
good to hear, I think maybe I was a little mentally worried about the fletching contact last night while I was shooting. I'll be back at it tonight.
I've read every book out there, seen most of the instructional videos, and spent 4 years trying every method known to man. With that said, I offer this to any beginner that truly want to shoot well: 1. Light weight bow.... Don't even pretend you can handle a 55lb bow as a beginner, you can't. 45 is reasonable. 2. Start close, forget the bullseye. In fact, close your eyes all together.... Feel the shot.... 3. Bow arm needs to be a rock. A very slight, very slight, push towards the target will help. 4. Double anchor point. The best in the world use the feather on the nose and thumb under the ear. Might as well try and mimic the best, right? 5. Don't release the string. Just relax the back of the hand... If you concentrate on the target, the release will happen... Its natural. 6. Embrace back tension. Its not an easy concept to grasp. You want to be good right? Not just goofing off with a cool toy? Back tension seperates the men from the boys. A lot of the good ol boys will not agree with some of that fancy talk above. If they are a good shot, 99% of them are already doing what I described, they just don't know it. At this point tuning isn't even an issue. You need to be working on form and building the strength to handle the bow. Howard Hill, who is arguably the best that ever lived, wouldn't even allow his students to shoot at a bullseye for 2 weeks. You HAVE to work on form. You can deal with aiming methods later. That's where things get really fun. The crazy thing about trad archery is that it can be extremely simple or extremely complex. Its very strange. But damn, its fun!
Ditto. Well said. I have tried to change my anchor to a low anchor, but i just cant. I started anchoring with my index finger in the corner of my mouth, way back in the late 70s and cant break the habit. One of the first things to work on is a good anchor point. A trad bow will not break and give you a valley to play with, like a compound, so you need to be pulling the same every time. And to add to the push with brace hand; I always tell the new person the feeling you will get is, pushing toward the target with your brace hand and pulling the string back with your back muscles (aka back tension). I like to call it the push pull feel. One thing i dont quite agree with is the idea of an untuned bow and arrow. Ive seen that drive the beginner crazy. They try and try to fix a problem that they assume is a form problem, that is actually created by an over/under spined arrow. Id have someone tune the bow and arrows to the bow, just so you know the bow is not causing problems with arrow flight. That is just my two cents. Then practice, practice, practice. But keep the sessions short. It is easy to get tired shooting a trad bow, and if you keep on, you will develope some bad habits. Much different than a compound. A compound you can shoot for some time with out getting tired due to the let off. Not such with stacking bows.
Yep, Burnie is right, if you know someone that can help you with spine and nock point you will be in good shape. Unfortunately, for me, I didnt have anyone around and I sucked so bad for the first few months I couldn't tell if it was me or the bow! It was both! lol
Thats a great advice that DC gave, especially the release. I knowingly don't release or let go, it just happens! Get that form down and everything else just falls into place, it really does! You could be trying to fix a problem of poor arrow flight by cutting shafts or changing tip weights when its something in your form thats making the arrow kick or hit right or left! Good tuff guys!
When I finally starting using back tension I started shooting pretty decent.. It was hard for me to understand and it came last. But the funny thing is, if you use proper back tension, all the other things on my list will happen automatically. In my opinion, Rick Welch is the best traditional shooter in the world. Rick is just a good ol' boy from Arkansas but he is a sight to behold. He has won the ASA and IBO World Championships. That speaks volumes. I've seen him show up to 400 person shoot and win 4 different divisions. He is the man to beat at any tournament, period. He has a pretty good instructional video you can find at 3 Rivers. Don't fool with Volume I, it was no good. Volume II has some pretty good stuff and is worth the price. He also has a school that I would love to go to and have heard nothing but great things from. Rod Jenkins in another guy that is one of the best out there. He has won the IBO World Championship with both compound and longbow. The man can flat out shoot. If you search some other sites you will find lots of posts by Rod on form, etc.
Thanks for the replies. I moved up to 10 yards tonight and shot alot better. If nothing else it was a confidence booster. Thanks again.
