....Is thier such a thing? I have been shooting my bow pretty much everyday for quite a while now and i was just wondering, how much shooting can a bow/string/arrows take before they start to get worn out?
You can definetly shoot too much IMO... but it doesn't have anything to do with your bow or string... it has to do with your mind. Shooting too much can lead to you being over-critical of your shooting which does nothing but hurt you in the long run. Everybody has good days as well as bad days... its when you can't settle for a bad day every now and then that you cause problems. I think that too many people are too critical on their shooting to the point that it makes them question everything that they do when it should just be a natural instinct.
Honestly, I don't think you can shoot too much unless you start to develop bad habits. Equipment... bows, strings, arrows... they are ALL going to wear out at some point but you bought them to shoot, so do it! You're going to have to replace them at some point, but I'd like to see a bow get "worn out" :D
You can never shoot too much If you ask me. I shot on the average of 500 arrows a week last year shooting my recurve starting In September and did that through November until It started getting cold out.
I tend to agree with Rybo that you can do anything to much. But I think everyone just needs to do figure out what works for them. I would never shoot everyday as it just doesn't seem neccesarry for ME. As the season draws closer I will shoot about 3 times per week. I might only shoot a dozen arrows during a pratice session if the shots are feeling good and hitting where they should.
You don't have to worry about wearing equipment out. I mean, a string will wear, but that should not be your concern. Just remember that when shooting, it is not quanity, but quality that matters.
I love shooting my bow so I pretty much shoot every chance I get. There might be a day here or there where I'm just not getting it so I'll set the bow down and walk away, then back at it the very next day. My bow isn't going to get worn out, my $12 string might get worn out but I don't mind that part of it, my arrows are pretty much the only thing that suffer, I fletch my own so no big deal there either!
If you shot every single, 100% of your shots perfectly, then no, you cannot shoot too much but reality says that's not the case. We get fatigued and that's when bad habits develop like punching the trigger, creeping etc. Bad practice makes bad habits. Sometimes I shoot 50 arrows, sometimes I shoot one. There are days I step out back and I just don't feel it. I put the bow away as I know I'm not into it mentally and don't want to develop flaws. 10 arrows on a day like that is too many. Why fight it, shoot another day. My muscles know what to do, it's the mental spectrum that you can damage.
I'm not disagreeing with you all that say you can shoot too much but I gotta say that when I was younger and still In school I shot my compound In the summer and fall months all the time. In the summer months If my brother and I weren't practicing we were out shooting carp. If our bow wasn't In our hand there was something wrong. I can honestly say that at 15 years old I knew my bow better then what I did at 20 years old because I shot It more and was In tune with It. Same goes for my recurve. When I 1st got It and started hunting with It In 1996 I was excellent with It!! I shot damn near every day. As time went on I started shooting It less and man did It show In my form and also In my shooting. It went on like this for 7 to 8 years, I was still a good shot but not a great shot like I 1st was. The last 4 years or so I've picked up the pace and have shot It much more again each year. I'm now shooting better then I ever have, even better then what I started out at 14 years ago. Reason being for me Is I'm shooting more, much more then I have been. For 7 to 8 years I shot my bow a good amount but not as much as I should of. Them 7 to 8 years of slacking on my shooting resulted In bad form and nasty habits so not shooting a whole lot can have the same effect as some of you say shooting too much can have In forming bad habits and not catching It, I'm evidence and proof of It. I know there's a big difference between the 2 bows (compound and traditional) and also the person shooting the bow, that plays a big part of It too. What It boils down to Is what works for you. One person saying you can shoot too much Is totally wrong for someone else. Some of us need to shoot that much, others don't. Good thread!
It think i get what you guys are saying about being over critical with your shooting, sometimes if i can't get a good group i will just keep shooting but now think i might just stop and restart another day.
I agree with a lot that's been said, and I experienced it last summer. I was shooting nearly every day, and I would have one great day, followed by a decent day, maybe another great day, and then, BAM...I would have a bad day. I bet I shot 3 times as many arrows on that bad day than I did any other day simply trying to figure out what I was doing. I was changing anchor points, grips, bent arm, locked arm, etc, so much to the point that at the end of the day, I had forgotten how I was shooting the previous days. That was BAD practice, and it hurt, even negated, the good practice sessions I had.
I can only speak for myself but if I get tired I tend to get sloppy with my form and think I do more harm than good. If I'm having a bad day I will just put the bow away and shoot another day. Most sports are more mental than physical so I don't want to reinforce the negatives of a bad day. In the past I have tried to turn a bad day to good by shooting and tinkering. I have never been successful. It might be focus or maybe just tight muscles or whatever. I usually shoot good the next day if I just walk away from a bad day. I don't shoot a lot anymore and tend to shoot one arrow rounds. I like to envision a shot at that trophy of a lifetime. At the least my shooting hasn't suffered from this. I think everyone has to find out what works best for them.
