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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Beckers, Bows and Arrows! Let's see your "stringed instruments" :)
- Thread starter granitestateofmind
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OK, monitor differences, I guess. On my monitor, it looks like half the bow components are a hot pink, not red.
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Noice, dres. I'll give you a holler in a day or two. Got a couple releases you (both) can play with if you like. Nice lookin' arrow accelerator. I was shooting mine this evening....all over the map. Some days you got it, some days you ain't. Today I definitely did NOT. Even flubbed one completely and put it through the, erm....backstop - i.e. the shed door. Ah, well. Better to shoot poorly than not shoot at all.
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So, I got to the archery place (technically it was Scheels but they have a lane and they actually let me sling some arrows) I tried some recurve (wasn't too thrilled with them) tried some longbows (was less thrilled than the recurve) and tried some compounds. Tried a Matthews but wasn't really too keen on the way the grip felt, tried a couple of Hoyts, those were better than the Matthews, and I tried some Elites. The Hoyt I liked the best was the Carbon Spyder FX, however it was a bit smaller than the Elite Impulse 31 which I actually was shooting the best with.
I had my draw length measured (28"), I was shooting 50lbs and I was actually thinking that for target I'd rather shoot a bit lower to start with (the Impulse only goes down to 40 the Hoyt goes to 30) but it was perfectly doable to shoot it. I was shooting with a release aid and they were giving me some pointers along the way.
I had my draw length measured (28"), I was shooting 50lbs and I was actually thinking that for target I'd rather shoot a bit lower to start with (the Impulse only goes down to 40 the Hoyt goes to 30) but it was perfectly doable to shoot it. I was shooting with a release aid and they were giving me some pointers along the way.
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That sounds great Clear! if you decide to hunt be sure to check your local regs on pound limit. Most have a "no less than **lbs" You will shoot way different at higher draws and of course everything flies and moves different as well. Another thing to keep in mind is your tip weight as it affects flight as well. Basically you want your field trips for practice the same as your broad heads for hunting.
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Good going, C-bear. Definitely release aid with compounds - world of difference. Sounds like you got a pretty good handle on what you like and don't like. I have an old Hoyt that I lurve the grip on. My Mission Riot, OTOH, has a pretty generic hand perch. I didn't really love it at first, as it doesn't have the "pocket" and very positive placement that my Hoyt does. But, the more I shoot it, the more I'm OK with it. Might try and build it out at some point with some hard rubber mat I have, as the Mission bows don't have many aftermarket grip options (none that I know of). One thing about the Matthews is that there are a few different options for aftermarket grips....so if you otherwise liked the bow, see if you can find a grip that suits you. My old Hoyt actually came with a couple different grip options, depending on how high one wanted their wrist to be. I liked the narrow throat, high wrist option personally. Just be aware that for a lot of mid-priced bows there are a shit-ton of fit options.
It's not perfection, but this setup is a joy to shoot and pretty accurate, even for a left-eye dominant, right hand shooter. Diggin.
It's not perfection, but this setup is a joy to shoot and pretty accurate, even for a left-eye dominant, right hand shooter. Diggin.
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Good, in that you are being consistent.
Bad in that you just toasted a pair. Don't know what they cost up there, but if it's like down here, that's about $90/dz cut and fletched, that's $15 down the drain.
I shifted to a 5 spot target after I robin-hooded 6x in 1 day. Back then, I'd shoot up to 300 arrows a day (competitive archery).
Bad in that you just toasted a pair. Don't know what they cost up there, but if it's like down here, that's about $90/dz cut and fletched, that's $15 down the drain.
I shifted to a 5 spot target after I robin-hooded 6x in 1 day. Back then, I'd shoot up to 300 arrows a day (competitive archery).
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Should I consider this a good thing, or a bad thing?
Jeremy
Hell, yeah! Maybe you should try shooting at 20 yards instead of 20 feet
. Seriously, tho - get a 5 spot target, if you're being that consistent.....or it's gonna get costly. Pretty impressive considering you've had that bow for, what....less than a couple weeks?
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Hell, yeah! Maybe you should try shooting at 20 yards instead of 20 feet
Seriously, tho - get a 5 spot target, if you're being that consistent.....or it's gonna get costly. Pretty impressive considering you've had that bow for, what....less than a couple weeks?
Thanks for the tips guys. It is hard for me to say that I am being that consistent only having a bow for 6 days. Thankfully the shop I bought it from spent some serious time with me setting the bow up. I don't have much to compare it to but it feels great when I shoot it.
Also, Amanda's dad and brother have shot with me since I got the bow and are helping me as well. It is great not needing to learn by myself. Friday night we challenged ourselves to slow down and focus on a single point by breaking bottle caps stuck to the target.
A new target is in the plans for sure. Maybe a few. First on the list is a Morrell Super Duper. That seems big enough to have more confidence to stretch out my ranges since I only trust myself to shoot at 10-12 yards with this home made "target".
There should be a quick video of this incident up here soon.
Jeremy
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First thing, nice shooting.
Second thing - Get a bigger back stop. You will inevitably kick one of into lala land. You almost had a flyer early in the video. From the looks of the area behind your target, a flyer will be difficult to locate, unless you get lucky and stick it in a tree. It should, at the least, be a 4x8 sheet of plywood standing upright behind your target butt. A better one would be to get a couple of pieces of old, heavy carpet to hang behind the target. Hang them double thick. The first layer slows the arrow down, the second layer will trap the arrow. Check with a carpet layer. They always have carpet they removed from houses when they replace it. Many times they ju give it away. The easiest back stop is a frame made out of 2x4s and then use a couple of 1x4s screwed into the top cross piece with the double layers of carpet sandwiched between the 1x4s and the 2x4. This is also an easy style back stop for throwing knives and tomahawks.
Third thing - and this is for a little down the road as you get more comfortable with archery in general, and this is where the back stop will help as well ---
To practice deer (anything else. too
) deer hunting, stack/hang several targets so you must adjust your your body position to aim at the individual targets. During a hunt you will not be able to shuffle around for a perfect shot as ANY noise will spook the deer. SO you PRACTICE for not shooting while in a perfect stance.
Also build a raised platform so you can simulate shooting from a tree stand or down hill. 20 yards flat and 20 yards with an 8 or 12 or 20 ft drop requires different aim points on your target. Again, you can practice shooting "down" at targets at different ranges in a less than perfect form stance.
You can also place targets out at different ranges to simulate your deer NOT standing at PRECISELY 20 or 30 yards. If you are using fixed pins (typically 5, sighted in at 10/20/30/40/50 yds or 20/30/40/50/60 yds), practice sighting by guesstimating where your pin would be if your target was 2X yards away by standing between your 20 yd and 30 yd marks at 2X and practice how far above or below your desired point of impact that you need to hold your 20 or 30 yd.
Lastly, PRACTICE manual range estimation. Determine how many paces at your normal walking speed are required for various ranges - 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. As you walk down a street or sidewalk, pick out an object, estimate the range to the best of your ability, pace it off and see how accurate you were. Practice makes perfect. During a 1 mile stroll down the road, you can get 100s of "practice guesses". I got to where I could estimate within a yard or so out to 50 yards and +/- 2 yards out to 100. I've never actually taken a shot that far in hunting, but being able to estimate longer ranges will help in determining how much further you need to stalk up to your target or how much more patience you will nee to WAIT for the deer to come to you. It was also handy in "unknown distance" tournaments, where you approach a target and have to shoot from an unknown distance marked with a stake in the ground. And pick different size objects to use. A rabbit at 10 yards appears about the size of one of our deer at 40 yards.
Second thing - Get a bigger back stop. You will inevitably kick one of into lala land. You almost had a flyer early in the video. From the looks of the area behind your target, a flyer will be difficult to locate, unless you get lucky and stick it in a tree. It should, at the least, be a 4x8 sheet of plywood standing upright behind your target butt. A better one would be to get a couple of pieces of old, heavy carpet to hang behind the target. Hang them double thick. The first layer slows the arrow down, the second layer will trap the arrow. Check with a carpet layer. They always have carpet they removed from houses when they replace it. Many times they ju give it away. The easiest back stop is a frame made out of 2x4s and then use a couple of 1x4s screwed into the top cross piece with the double layers of carpet sandwiched between the 1x4s and the 2x4. This is also an easy style back stop for throwing knives and tomahawks.
Third thing - and this is for a little down the road as you get more comfortable with archery in general, and this is where the back stop will help as well ---
To practice deer (anything else. too
) deer hunting, stack/hang several targets so you must adjust your your body position to aim at the individual targets. During a hunt you will not be able to shuffle around for a perfect shot as ANY noise will spook the deer. SO you PRACTICE for not shooting while in a perfect stance. Also build a raised platform so you can simulate shooting from a tree stand or down hill. 20 yards flat and 20 yards with an 8 or 12 or 20 ft drop requires different aim points on your target. Again, you can practice shooting "down" at targets at different ranges in a less than perfect form stance.
You can also place targets out at different ranges to simulate your deer NOT standing at PRECISELY 20 or 30 yards. If you are using fixed pins (typically 5, sighted in at 10/20/30/40/50 yds or 20/30/40/50/60 yds), practice sighting by guesstimating where your pin would be if your target was 2X yards away by standing between your 20 yd and 30 yd marks at 2X and practice how far above or below your desired point of impact that you need to hold your 20 or 30 yd.
Lastly, PRACTICE manual range estimation. Determine how many paces at your normal walking speed are required for various ranges - 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. As you walk down a street or sidewalk, pick out an object, estimate the range to the best of your ability, pace it off and see how accurate you were. Practice makes perfect. During a 1 mile stroll down the road, you can get 100s of "practice guesses". I got to where I could estimate within a yard or so out to 50 yards and +/- 2 yards out to 100. I've never actually taken a shot that far in hunting, but being able to estimate longer ranges will help in determining how much further you need to stalk up to your target or how much more patience you will nee to WAIT for the deer to come to you. It was also handy in "unknown distance" tournaments, where you approach a target and have to shoot from an unknown distance marked with a stake in the ground. And pick different size objects to use. A rabbit at 10 yards appears about the size of one of our deer at 40 yards.
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last season, with my mcshitty off the shelf PSE Brute, with basic peeps sights, i could readily group under 9 inches, mostly at 6 inches at 50 or 60 yds...
30-40 yds, i was in danger of "robin hooding".
hate that
i use shitty arrows, from wal*fart, and basic everything.
now, what should i be looking at to level up?
i understand there are some interesting compound bows to look at.
optics - circles on circles - magnifications - no rubber band loose noode, more...
hell, you can even go all stabilized and counter weighted.
what's good in life conan? i mean, archery land? let's pretend also that money is no object
30-40 yds, i was in danger of "robin hooding".
hate that
i use shitty arrows, from wal*fart, and basic everything.
now, what should i be looking at to level up?
i understand there are some interesting compound bows to look at.
optics - circles on circles - magnifications - no rubber band loose noode, more...
hell, you can even go all stabilized and counter weighted.
what's good in life conan? i mean, archery land? let's pretend also that money is no object
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- Apr 8, 2013
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Money can't be an object if you really get into it. You can easily spend more on a bow setup than a good rifle. You don't have to, of course, to kill an animal. It's a huge subject. My advice would be to not listen to anyone who tells you "Brand X" is the best, and the like.
I'd spend time shooting with people who know what they're doing, learn what you can, and try all the bows and equipment you can. That way, you'll learn what works for you, and you can take it from there.
Learn to tune your bow, and you'll be a step ahead.
I'd spend time shooting with people who know what they're doing, learn what you can, and try all the bows and equipment you can. That way, you'll learn what works for you, and you can take it from there.
Learn to tune your bow, and you'll be a step ahead.
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i've been shooting for 15 years (in serious way, much much longer my whole life). long bow, recurve, mongolian even. those are fun, and i'm pretty good...
compound bow with basic sights, i can "deer" cleanly at 50 yds easily, better than most people with a rifle... i'm not interested in hunting for this exercise.
i'm interested in being a technician
what i want, for lols, is a target bow, compound is acceptable, that is technologically capable of giving me more accuracy
i have seriously hit some limits on the compound bow i have. it's not even $400 "complete".
i shoot with people that have spent $$$$ on bows, and they group under an inch, reliably, at 60+ yds.
it IS the equipment to a point. in certain cases, you have to admit, the gear is holding you back.
i literally cannot see what i'm shooting due to the "pins" being wider than the 40-60 yd target center. they block the center.
let's talk about pin point accuracy. money is no limit
''a friend has a system, with class optics, circles in circles sighting, and magnification even corrected to his prescription.
he's also one of the best archers in my area - he wins a lot. last year, he took the tourney for the region
he CAN outshoot me with my own bow, but not by much, and not at all with longbow, but that said, a cheap bow will hold you back.
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Gear can hold you back, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. It's just that gear in archery, as you know, is very personal to the shooter. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. A lot has to do with your own preferences, as well as how well you work with certain systems.
I'll tell you - if I were you, I'd be asking this of the guys you know who can reliably group under 1" at 60 yards. That's better shooting than any professional I've seen or heard of.
EDIT - the optics your friend is using. It sounds like he's just using a clarifier lens. Not uncommon for indoor shooters, in particular.
I'll tell you - if I were you, I'd be asking this of the guys you know who can reliably group under 1" at 60 yards. That's better shooting than any professional I've seen or heard of.
EDIT - the optics your friend is using. It sounds like he's just using a clarifier lens. Not uncommon for indoor shooters, in particular.
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I used to shoot indoors with a leggy Hoyt Medalist compound (IIRC....it was a long time ago and it was some version of a Hoyt target compound) and a 6x scope. Tiny, tiny peep aperture to get the scope in focus. Hard part is holding steady on the X - optics magnify tiny movements wildly, and the more power your lens has, the more it exaggerates movement. Never shot a 300, but I did shoot quite a few 297's and 298's, even a couple 299's. X count was usually 35-45 (out of 60 arrows, for those of you not familiar with 5-spot and Vegas). I am by no means that fantastic a shooter, but the equipment helped. That bow was VERY smooth and consistent, even though it was more like lobbing arrows at the target than firing them. Never shot it at anything other than 20 yds., tho. It would have been nice. I don't see that well out of my shooting eye and now, even shooting 30 yds. requires a little guesswork as I really can't see the bag that clearly. Optics would be good - for target shooting. I would think they'd be near impossible to use for hunting.
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Good equipment is important, I agree with that, BUT, IMO, the most important item for good shooting, is TIME. You need time to practice, practice, practice. To be really good, you meed to MAKE time to practice. You need time to shoot slowly, so that you can determine why ARROW X did what it did. Time to make changes slowly. NEVER change more than 1 thing, be it equipment, setup, stance, release.
Back when I was shooting competitively in the BHFSL division (Bow Hunter Free Style Limited - "pins and fingers", finger release with tab or glove, 5 fixed pins, Max 12" stabilizer), I routinely shot in the high 290s, hitting 300 4x in competition. Got beat out on Xs every time I shot 300. Just the caliber of competition I faced in Texas.
That's not said to be bragging, but is necessary for background. To shoot that well, I would shoot over 300 arrows per day 7 days a week, unless it was pouring down raining. During INDOOR season, 80% were 20 yard shots. I still shot outdoors 1 or 2 days per week. During OUTDOOR season, the percentages were reversed. Distances were 3 yards to 80 yards. The people that were beating my ass all the time were doing that much or more. I lived down in south San Antonio, below Kelly AFB. The nearest range was 26 miles away on the far north side of SA. I would drive there every day after work. I shot in 2 indoor leagues and at least 1 tournament every weekend.
I also probably could have won more tournaments, but I refused to shift up to "telephone poles". Large shaft diameters give you more slop for "line cutters". The arrows I shot were 18s (0.28125") indoors and 20s (0.3125") outdoors. That's in 64's of an inch shaft diameter. The maximum shaft diameter allowed is now 27s, or .422". Someone shooting a 300 with 18s - 22s impresses me a hell of a lot more than someone using 25s - 27s.
The second most important thing you need for shooting well is PATIENCE. Shooting fast leads to lower scores. I don't mean shooting glacially slow, taking the maximum of 1 minute per arrow or 5 minutes per end like some arrogant assholes do in tournament, just because they can. I mean that you must have patience and CONCENTRATE on EACH shot to make sure you do the same thing each and every time. I have seen outstanding archers shoot 300s using no more than 2 minutes per end. I have seen crappy scores come out of the glaciers.
The third thing you need is DEDICATION. You MUST be willing to dedicate ALL your spare time to archery. Shoot every tournament you can. Shoot 1 tournament on Saturday and find another for Sunday. Shoot in a league to simulate competition and have someone to shoot against. Shooting against someone else, no matter how crappy they are THAT NIGHT, forces you to concentrate to do the best you can every time.
A little "dedication" story. When I got transferred to Newport RI for Navy Department Head School, I found the Tiverton Rod & Gun Club just off the north end of Aquidneck Island. They also had archery I&O. I would go up and shoot with them on when I had time from school. One day, the guys I was shoot an outdoor round with were debating which weekend shoot they were going to go to. They were also trying to decide if they were gonna "go all the way to New Hampshire" for the All New England tournament. One of the upcoming weekend shoots was just over the state line in Massachusetts, about 14 miles away on a Sunday. The other one was on Saturday, just over the Narragansett Bay bridge in Warwick, about 30 miles away. The ANET was in some little town in NH about 140 miles from the Naval Base at the extreme south end of the island. I had been pretty quiet during all this discussion (unusual for me) and one of them asked me what I was going to do.
I said, "I'm gonna shoot Warwick on Saturday, MA on Sunday, and I'm going to NH the next week. Y'all don't know how good y'all have it up here. In Texas, we can't have a shoot the same day as some other club that is within 150 miles of each other. Down there, I'd drive 90 miles south to shoot in Corpus Christi on Saturday and then drive home, and then to drive to Austin or Waco, 100 or 160 miles north away for Sunday. And y'all are bitching that the Regional tournament is over 100 miles away this year." There was a reason I waxed everybody's ass every time I could go shoot.
The fourth thing you need is an "I don't care if I get beat as long as I beat my last score" attitude. Don't worry about what the other quy (or gal) is shooting. If you concentrate on beating yourself, the good scores WILL happen.
As I said, good equipment helps, I can attest to that. I was routinely shooting around 230 with my "Bear Whitetail Hunter" (now an ancient piece of junk), went to a PSE hunting bow and gradually crept the scores up to 270s. Got a custom Viking and the first time I shot it, I broke 290. Sweet bow.
But your best equipment still needs to be you and your attitude. Money can't buy those.
Back when I was shooting competitively in the BHFSL division (Bow Hunter Free Style Limited - "pins and fingers", finger release with tab or glove, 5 fixed pins, Max 12" stabilizer), I routinely shot in the high 290s, hitting 300 4x in competition. Got beat out on Xs every time I shot 300. Just the caliber of competition I faced in Texas.
That's not said to be bragging, but is necessary for background. To shoot that well, I would shoot over 300 arrows per day 7 days a week, unless it was pouring down raining. During INDOOR season, 80% were 20 yard shots. I still shot outdoors 1 or 2 days per week. During OUTDOOR season, the percentages were reversed. Distances were 3 yards to 80 yards. The people that were beating my ass all the time were doing that much or more. I lived down in south San Antonio, below Kelly AFB. The nearest range was 26 miles away on the far north side of SA. I would drive there every day after work. I shot in 2 indoor leagues and at least 1 tournament every weekend.
I also probably could have won more tournaments, but I refused to shift up to "telephone poles". Large shaft diameters give you more slop for "line cutters". The arrows I shot were 18s (0.28125") indoors and 20s (0.3125") outdoors. That's in 64's of an inch shaft diameter. The maximum shaft diameter allowed is now 27s, or .422". Someone shooting a 300 with 18s - 22s impresses me a hell of a lot more than someone using 25s - 27s.
The second most important thing you need for shooting well is PATIENCE. Shooting fast leads to lower scores. I don't mean shooting glacially slow, taking the maximum of 1 minute per arrow or 5 minutes per end like some arrogant assholes do in tournament, just because they can. I mean that you must have patience and CONCENTRATE on EACH shot to make sure you do the same thing each and every time. I have seen outstanding archers shoot 300s using no more than 2 minutes per end. I have seen crappy scores come out of the glaciers.
The third thing you need is DEDICATION. You MUST be willing to dedicate ALL your spare time to archery. Shoot every tournament you can. Shoot 1 tournament on Saturday and find another for Sunday. Shoot in a league to simulate competition and have someone to shoot against. Shooting against someone else, no matter how crappy they are THAT NIGHT, forces you to concentrate to do the best you can every time.
A little "dedication" story. When I got transferred to Newport RI for Navy Department Head School, I found the Tiverton Rod & Gun Club just off the north end of Aquidneck Island. They also had archery I&O. I would go up and shoot with them on when I had time from school. One day, the guys I was shoot an outdoor round with were debating which weekend shoot they were going to go to. They were also trying to decide if they were gonna "go all the way to New Hampshire" for the All New England tournament. One of the upcoming weekend shoots was just over the state line in Massachusetts, about 14 miles away on a Sunday. The other one was on Saturday, just over the Narragansett Bay bridge in Warwick, about 30 miles away. The ANET was in some little town in NH about 140 miles from the Naval Base at the extreme south end of the island. I had been pretty quiet during all this discussion (unusual for me
) and one of them asked me what I was going to do. I said, "I'm gonna shoot Warwick on Saturday, MA on Sunday, and I'm going to NH the next week. Y'all don't know how good y'all have it up here. In Texas, we can't have a shoot the same day as some other club that is within 150 miles of each other. Down there, I'd drive 90 miles south to shoot in Corpus Christi on Saturday and then drive home, and then to drive to Austin or Waco, 100 or 160 miles north away for Sunday. And y'all are bitching that the Regional tournament is over 100 miles away this year." There was a reason I waxed everybody's ass every time I could go shoot.
The fourth thing you need is an "I don't care if I get beat as long as I beat my last score" attitude. Don't worry about what the other quy (or gal) is shooting. If you concentrate on beating yourself, the good scores WILL happen.
As I said, good equipment helps, I can attest to that. I was routinely shooting around 230 with my "Bear Whitetail Hunter" (now an ancient piece of junk), went to a PSE hunting bow and gradually crept the scores up to 270s. Got a custom Viking and the first time I shot it, I broke 290. Sweet bow.
But your best equipment still needs to be you and your attitude. Money can't buy those.