I'm a newbie here and ya'll have probably gone over this before but I'm curious as to what your practice regimen consists of? How many arrows in a session and what distances?
It all depends on the day for me. I like to shoot at least one arrow a day. Sometimes thats all I have time for. Some days I'll shoot 100 arrows from the Marquis and then 50 from the Kanga longbow. Or start with the longbow and then go to the Diamond. Some days I only shoot at 20 yds some days I'll shoot a bunch of different yardages out to 100 yds. Some days FPs only some days BHs. It all depends on my mood. Lately I've been shooting at balloons at varying distances when there is a light wind, just enough to keep them moving. Oh yeah... some days from a tree, some days from the ground.
First I would have an experienced archer watch you and make sure your form is right so you don't pick up bad habits in the beginning. I would practice from every position you would shoot from in the field. I do a lot of spot and stalk so having to draw on steep hill sides shooting off tip toes....... Figure out what situations you are going to be hunting in and practice for those situations and yardage and maybe even more.
This is something I really want to improve on this year. Sure it's easy during practice when you are completely on balance to make your shot. It's another thing to be off balance, twisting, turning and bending to make the shot from an elevated stand when your shaking like a little girl.
used to be a lot more, but i'll get the itch every now and then. a few yrs ago used to fire a few arrows at least 5 nights a week. now im lucky if i shoot every other week.
I started simple, I began by shooting 20 yrds and paying attention to my form until I had my body trained to do this almost without thinking. I also would only shoot till my shot started getting sloppy then I would put the bow up till the next day instead of shooting till I was frustrated and sore. I then started working at farthe distances and then moved on to elevated positions and any ackward position I might get into. I just took every step slowly.
i usualy fire about 12 a day in sets of 3 at about 45 to 50ft , and in higher wind conditions ill cut my distance in half .
i usually shoot 30 a day. 10 x 3 arrow groups usually a couple of rounds @25y to warm up then back to 40y. The biggest thing is to put 100% into every shot and to give up once you feel yourself loosing form.
Me practice... for field tips. About 8 yards. A 3-D target of a whitetail... one that looks like a whitetail... last I checked they don't look like the Glen-Del buck. I want to see a shoulder and a blade. 1 arrow at a time. Then walk back to the target.. gather said arrow and repeat about 8-10 shots... once or twice a week throughout July and August.
I just like to shoot... a lot and I like to shoot from really long distances. Shootin' at 70 yards is a lot more fun for me than shooting at 20. My practice for hunting season pretty much consists of 3D's throughout the summer and the weekly summer "dart" leagues that a few buddies and I have. Right now when the weather is lame and there's nobody else to tell me I can't, I keep my bow handy and shoot from the living room, through the kitchen, into the garage and onto the workbench :D
During hunting season I try to shoot on afternoons when I can't hunt, or in between morning and afternoon sits. I will admit there are times when I get lazy and realize I need to get my butt in gear and go fling some arrows to sharpen up. About 2 months before the season (turkey or deer), I will shoot after I get off work until I get tired, or I feel that I am doing more harm to my form than good. A 20 yd. range finally opened about 5 minutes from my house, so I may shoot a little more this summer, than what I usually do during the offseason. If I end up going elk hunting in September, I will probably try to practice a lot more.
