Friday, March 28, 2008

Draw Weight

A lesson learned here. Too much draw weight is not a good thing. Accuracy suffers, and you can form bad habits. Target panic can even creep in. Set a bow's draw weight to where you can easily or comfortably draw a bow. You should not have to lift the bow or wrench your shoulders or grimace to get a bow drawn back.

If those are signs of your draw then it is time to rethink your draw weight. Don't let ego get in the way of a comfortable draw weight. Remember the name of the game with archery is being accurate.

One of the benefits of a lower draw weight is being able to hold the bow longer.
Another is being able to hold the bow steadier. When your muscles fatigue, you tend to shoot before you have gotten your bow aimed like you should, or rushing your shot.

I watched a lot of archers through the years at tournaments sky drawing and just in general struggling to draw the bow. It looks so awkward and uncomfortable. Hopefully this will get you in the area you need to be to become more accurate and not feel so rushed in your shot.

Just relax and have fun, which is a lot easier if you are not getting too heavy of a draw weight and fighting every inch of the draw, struggling to hold the bow steady and so forth. Have a great weekend and be safe.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

One very simple change for accuracy.

Peep sight. Yep that easy. Find a peep sight that fits the outer edges of your sight when you are at full draw. That will help ensure that you are anchoring the same and act more like a rifle sight. Maintaining the same repetitive form over and over is a great way to achieve better accuracy.

I started buying sights that have a round sight pin housing and fitting the peep to it and my score went up for 3D competitions.
So i told a few others about it and theirs did too. So i said yep it works and how easy was that? Too easy I thought. I enjoy shooting more when i have an easier time being more accurate. The sport of archery is not quite as frustrating to me.

Before you get to thinking that I think I came up with the idea, I did not, otherwise I might have been able to quit my day job and manufacture peep sights for a living. I advise archers to read about and study better shooters to achieve higher levels of accuracy too.

Hopefully this tip will help somebody, because in archery you really do need to buy something new and better once in awhile. Just like the wife needs some extra shoes to go with that one dress.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

High or low let-off?

High or low let-off?

Many hunters really like the higher let-off of 80%. Many target shooters like the lower let-off of 65%. What is the difference? Holding weight pure and simple.
Most hunters shoot heavier draw weights like 65-70 pounds or so. Most target shooters draw 60 pounds or less. The less weight you are holding, generally the longer you can hold and aim.

I think it mostly boils down to comfort. Everyone has different strengths and shooting styles. Some people get on the target and bam the shot is gone. Others aim and aim and aim. A lot of people claim to get a crisper release with lower let-offs especially at lower draw weight. I think you get the idea.

I know many archers that i have spoken to or read about prefer a certain amount of holding weight. They use whatever let-off to get there. Again I think it is mostly a comfort thing. If you are only having to make one shot it does not matter as much, but when you have to shoot hundreds of times like at the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas, lower draw weights and higher let-offs seem to make more sense.

I suggest visiting with a pro, or going to a local bow shop and visiting with them about your shooting. Then try out some different let-offs and holding weights to see what you like the best. Because as I stated I really believe it is about being comfortable.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

How long has archery been around?

Centuries. Archery has been a means of surviving for hunting food. War weapons to ward off enemies and protect ourselves. Archery can and has been a very primitive weapon.

Look at some of the Amazon tribes. They still use a bow and arrow to hunt everyday for survival. The bows they use are extremely primitive by todays standards, but very effective.

Todays modern bows offer so much more power and have added a greater distance to the effective range at which they can be used and it amazing. I love to watch archery videos on YouTube. you can find many different aspects of archery on there. Things like Fred Bear and Howard Hill for one.

Another site is Archeryhistory.com. has many tibits of information about the history of archery and photos and videos.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Range set up day!

Today is the day we usually set up the range and prepare for the upcoming 3d tournament.
This one will be an ASA qualifier so we will only set up 20 targets. It is always a challenge to set up new shots or something that is thought provoking. It is good to challenge ourselves as archers, but again not make a shot so difficult that a beginner can't have fun too.

Not being left handed you tend to not think that way. We set up a great shot one time...for right handers. My friend is left handed, and during the tournament we came to this shot and he stated I can't make this one. Huh? I says. So I look at it from his perspective and walla.. there is a big tree right in the arrows path. So then on we started learning to make shots for short, tall right and left handers.

Anyway, the 3D course can be a fun place. Safety first though. Gotta have good lanes and clear paths. Marked and numbered targets and trails, and lastly colored stakes so everyone knows where to shoot from so the competition is fair for each class.


Off to the range so we don't have to work till dark thirty.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Archery is fun!

Yes it really is. Archery can be shot by anyone. Men, women, children and so on.
I love to read on ArcheryTalk.com and have even seen a guy without an arm shooting a bow and it took some thinking, but he was doing it by using a release triggered by his mouth and a strap around his shoulder to anchor the string. Kudos to that guy.

There are many types of archery, 3D, field and indoor are the main ones that come to mind. There are so many different equipment variables that it is almost mind boggling. ArcheryTalk.com is a great place to start learning about archery in general along with pse-archery.com forums too.

If you are looking for a family oriented sport, archery is great. Loads of walking, sportsmanship can be learned, and strengthening from pulling a bow. Kids can learn archery in school with either a 4H club or the NASP program which is largely sponsored by Mathews Archery and their Genesis bows.

Get the family out and go shoot some arrows this weekend, I hear the weather is supposed to be great!