• Help Support TNDeer:

Finally shooting the bow again... can I make it?

catman529

catman529

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
29,472
Location
Franklin TN
Think I can shoot good enough by deer season? I plan to shoot every day until my arm starts to get tired, unless I am out fishing all day.

Haven't shot in months - not since probably last deer season, and I never was good enough to take the bow past the backyard (I did almost shoot a spike in the backyard last year).

So I am starting at 10 yards and when my groups are tight and consistent I will go out to 20, and then 30.

Here are the first 9 shots (only 3 arrows at a time) on a brand new target -

imagejpeg_2.jpg


And then 10 thru 12, at which point I stopped -

imagejpeg_2-1.jpg


I had to push the arrows back through the target so you could see them... almost passed through the cheap foam.

Again, these are at only 10 yards.

So lets say I am doing anywhere from 10 to 20 shots a day, from now till bow season, do you think I might be accurate enough to shoot a deer at 30 yards every time?

Been slacking long enough, now I want to kill a deer with a bow for real....
 
Going about it all wrong only shoot a few shots a day never tire your arm your form will suffer leading to bad habits i would shoot from atleast 20 if not 30 it will make those shot shots seem effortless
 
ImThere said:
Going about it all wrong only shoot a few shots a day never tire your arm your form will suffer leading to bad habits i would shoot from atleast 20 if not 30 it will make those shot shots seem effortless
Click to expand...
yeah I am not shooting till my arm is tired, rather until I can tell its almost gonna tire out and then I stop.

You think I should go to 20 or 30 yd right now or work my way up there?
 
ImThere said:
Going about it all wrong only shoot a few shots a day never tire your arm your form will suffer leading to bad habits i would shoot from atleast 20 if not 30 it will make those shot shots seem effortless
Click to expand...

I disagree with shooting till you get tired. I believe in building the muscles and then dropping down to hunting poundage. Over the last month or so I have had my destroyer turned up all the way @ 70lbs
Been shooting with a focus on holding the pin as steady as I possibly can for as long as I possibly can. I dropped it down five lbs at the beginning of the week and now it feels light as a feather. I like to build good muscle memory and rely on good mechanics regardless of if its the 1st or 100th shot.
 
ImThere said:
Going about it all wrong only shoot a few shots a day never tire your arm your form will suffer leading to bad habits i would shoot from atleast 20 if not 30 it will make those shot shots seem effortless
Click to expand...

I disagree with shooting till you get tired. I believe in building the muscles and then dropping down to hunting poundage. Over the last month or so I have had my destroyer turned up all the way @ 70lbs
Been shooting with a focus on holding the pin as steady as I possibly can for as long as I possibly can. I dropped it down five lbs at the beginning of the week and now it feels light as a feather. I like to build good muscle memory and rely on good mechanics regardless of if its the 1st or 100th shot.
 
I almost always shoot from 30 to 40 yards when I practice. I think you should be shooting from there now. when you get to shooting from farther out those 10 to 20 yard shots seem a lot easier. Dont get me wrong you need to shoot up close so you know your sighted in up close but those longer practice shots are confidence builders. i usually fling no more than 3 or 4 arrows a day but i shot all year
 
I start out every year shooting at 20 yards...about 15-20 a day. Nothing special, you just want to get your form established. That is the most important key. Then I will move to 30 yards for a week or 2. Then to 40 yards for a while. From then on I try to just shoot long distances....it makes the short shots a walk in the park. I work my way up to shooting 30 or 40 times a day. Eventually when shooting at a deer, your form and everything else just come natural. Good luck!
 
redblood said:
start lifting weights on the side. it will make it easier
Click to expand...

Yep me too. And another thing I HATE doing is running. Though it pays off when the season comes around when looking at sweat control. I can go MUCH further with everything on my back before I start to feel it coming on. But yes, working out definitely helps
 
I shot a few today at 20 yards. Groups were actually similar to 10 yds. Holding the bow steady and releasing at the right moment seem to be the toughst points to sharpen but that's why I'll be shooting every day. Now I'm going fishing......
 
Form and release consistency needs to be your focus. Shoot at twenty 10 isn't far enough and your bow looks way out of tune.
 
I disagree with anything that says his bow is out of tune. You can't judge arrow flight by the way it sticks in the foam-particulary when it isn't weighted down and and move with each impact.
 
scn said:
I disagree with anything that says his bow is out of tune. You can't judge arrow flight by the way it sticks in the foam-particulary when it isn't weighted down and and move with each impact.
Click to expand...


Good point. It also being a bag target which is generally lighter than say the big block target that I shoot it's going to jump especially being thumped from only 10yds away.
 
scn said:
I disagree with anything that says his bow is out of tune. You can't judge arrow flight by the way it sticks in the foam-particulary when it isn't weighted down and and move with each impact.
Click to expand...

I agree, I use to use those targets and they were hard to judge what was going on.

Good job catman, have fun and dont over do it.
 
Actually, it is one of the light styrofoam targets covered by a thin plastic target cover. I have a couple that I fine tune broadheads on. Once you shoot a "channel" in one, ther is no telling how the next arrow is going to "stick".

I freaked myself out one year right before the season with the same thought that you had that something was out of whack due to the weird angles they were sticking in the target. I had to get out my paper tuning stuff to prove to myself that it was the target and not the bow.
 
Hollar Hunter said:
redblood said:
start lifting weights on the side. it will make it easier
Click to expand...

What exercises do you find the most beneficial for bow shooting besides shooting?
Click to expand...

For 15+ years I have been using a training device made by the Bowfit Co. It consists of a release type strap, and hand (riser) feature and rubber tubing. It is available in various weight ranges all the way up to their "Safari" model which will simulate a 100# bow. The resistance can be varied by the length of tubing you pull against, and even doubling the tubing.

It was designed by a licensed physical therapist. I know of one pro shooter that used it to rehab from bow shooting injuries. You basically are able to draw using the same muscles that you use while shooting your bow. The very beneficial thing about is that you can do the exercises almost anywhere. And, by drawing from your "off" side, you are able to build those muscles up just like you do do in shooting. I have been told that balancing those muscle groups can really aid in not having back/shoulder problems.

I like them enough that I have one here at the house by the "TV" chair and one at the office. I have found it REALLY helps me get and stay in bow shooting shape. It is really beneficial later in the fall when the practice time slacks off due to hunting. While I try to shoot throughout the season, the reality is that when hunting gets serious the practice opportunities drop off.

They have a website, and Cabelas has been carrying them.
 
Shoot a few shots a day but 1-5 times a day just when you think of it grab your bow and pull it back and hold for as long as you can, then pull back half way and hold as long as you can... but when you actually shoot you never want to have to strain.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top