Question For The Trad. Archers

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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So I' hung up the compund about a month ago (for a while and started shooting a recurve, I love it. I shoot every day in at a small range I made in my house, about 10 yards (nothng spectacular) and once a week I get to go the the archery range and shoot it is about 20 yards..I've really got the bug bad, I love it. I was just wondering what is considered to be a good grouping at the distance of 10 and 20 yards,with no sigths of course, just so I know what to strive for. My (all in the bull notion is a long way off) Thanks.
 
Well what a question, good = 6 inches, really good = 3 inches and Howard Hill grouping, forget it. Enjoy trad archery it sure is a blast.
 
Welcome to the world of traditional archery, it's all fun from here on out. I have been shooting a recurve for about 12 years now. There are days I can keep my arrows in a 2-3" group at 20 yards and then there are days it's like I have never picked up a bow before in my life. Those bad days I just hang it up and try again the next day. When shooting traditional, when your bow and arrows are tuned in, when you miss the target, the problem isn't your sight, your mechanical release..., is all between the ears. If you haven't already go on tradgang.com, what ever you need to learn or know, you will find it there.

Happy shooting. Bow season will be opening Sept 1st for me :D
 
when I got back into it I was happy to get them(6)in a paper plate, then once I could do that I started to move back. Best thing I've done for my accuracy is to practice at 40 yards. When I shoot at hunting distances it seems like a cinch. Don,t get me wrong, I never take a hunting shot that far(40yds.) it's for honing my form(wich still sucks:o)
 
The question is, what are your goals for your archery? Do you want to hunt? Do you want to compete? Do you want to pick up a new skill? In all cases, the only answer that is appropriate is "as tight as you can." As far as hunting goes, what do you want to hunt? The goal is to get all arrows in the "kill zone" at the maximum distance that you would normally take a shot. If your goal is to take an elk with a bow, then you accuracy goal is significantly looser than if you want to take a squirrel with your bow, but you may be able to get closer to the squirrel (maybe not). For deer hunting, all within a 6" circle is sufficient. Take it down to 3" if you want heart shots, but 6" will get you a repeatable "double lung" shot. Of course, even here the ultimate goal is, as tight as possible.

I shoot a compound with a sight- so it is not really a fair comparison- but I don't shoot multiple arrows at the same bulls-eye when shooting broadheads, because I am tired of refletching my arrows. Even field points are tough on fletchings lately. My goal is to have every arrow shaft touching at least one other arrow shaft at 20 yards. I'm no expert (I've only been shooting for 3 years), and many shoot considerably better than me, I just thought I'd inject a bit of perspective.

Good luck with the long bow, that is a step that I have not taken yet. I guess I am still in training wheels.

One more thing, when you are practicing and your groups start to open up, and they will, stop for the day. Trying to pull them back together will teach you bad form, as at this point you are practicing while fatigued and will develop poor form to compensate for the fatigue. Better to end early and on a good note.
 
Thanks, for the advice everyone, I can hold really tight groups with a compound at 20 yards but the recurve is a differnt animal...one that I like, it's so simple. I have another question I was looking at a shorter bow the martin rebel recurve it's 52 inches long I've read that shorter bows are less forgiving than longer bows, is this true? if so why? THanks.
 
I have another question I was looking at a shorter bow the martin rebel recurve it's 52 inches long I've read that shorter bows are less forgiving than longer bows, is this true? if so why? THanks
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There is not as much mass to help absorb some of the excess energy, and the string angle creates more "pinch" when shooting with a finger style release
 
My resume: I have 30 years of archery experience.
I have been making Traditional Bows for 25 years.
I have been making Primitive Bows for 15 Years
I can hold a 4" group at 25 yards with Primitive (all natural material bows, and Wood arrows) Some days I shoot Much better.

Now heres the advise: if you want to shoot good at 10 yards, practice at 50 yards.
I frequently practice at 150 to 200 yards.
No I don't hit bulls-eyes at that distance. In fact I pretty excited when I have all my arrows on a stack of hay bales.
I teach children, and the first thing they ask when we go to there first organized shoot is "why are all the targets so close" They usually out shoot the adults.
I am not advocating hunting shots at great distance. Just practice.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I'll try and find a place where I can shoot at that kind of range. Also what is meant by pinch???
 
RescueRiley said:
Thanks for the help guys, I'll try and find a place where I can shoot at that kind of range. Also what is meant by pinch???
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When drawn, a shorter bows string angle increases to the point that it leaves less room for your fingers. When your fingers interfere with the arrow your accuracy decreases.
 
Thank you...Sorry about all the questions, For all of you that take your bows with you on your trips in to the woods how do you transports the bow's that don't take down, seems like they might be a bit unwieldy, and it seems some people prefer longbows to recurves, I was wondering what the pros and cons of each are. Thanks.
 
I shoot mostly very long bows. 70" nock to nock is preaty standerd for me. I drive a jeep. My bows don't really fit in side, so I made PVC bow case that mounts to the roof rack.
 
i can usually keep 6 shots at 20yards in a two-three inch area, but i have good form and have shot longbows and recurves for a long time. the best thing you can do is find an archery coach. try shooting 5 spot targets with your bow, it will help you gain more consistancy
 
My normal shooter is a Martin Bamboo Viper, I do pretty well at 20yrds about 3-4inch groups. Like others I shoot at about 40-50yrds(longest my backyard is) while at home and then move to 10 and 20 to get my groups tighter. I would just say practice,practice,practice. I shoot 3-4 days a week, its great it almost makes me want to put my Alpine away......almost:D

Oh I am 6'4 with a 32 inch draw length(hard to find bows for me) and the Martin does well for me being a little longer bow and the "pinch" is not bad.
 
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