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DixieCrafter

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Over the years I have seen a myriad of problems with archers and their equipment, as an example, improperly spined arrows to name one!

[size]In your opinion: What do you think is the number one problem with archers and their gear?[/size]

I'll start it off! In my opinion the number one problem with archers and their gear and it's really big one: DRAW LENGTH!

I continue to be amazed at the number of people who are shooting a bow with the improper draw length! Usually it's on the long side! You have to have the draw length absolutely correct and spot-on! To me it is the foundation on which to build your form and shot process!
 
I'll have to agree with you there. I think a lot of people shoot bows that are way too long for them.

I think a lot of archers are trying to pull too much weight also. Just because you can pull it back once doesn't mean that's what you should have it set on. My accuracy went up when I started lowering the poundage.

Also, I see a lot of people grip the bow way too tightly.

I'm no pro by a long shot but these few things stick out to me.
 
Draw length is #1. I do have some customers that are older that shoot really well with too long draw, but that's the way they have shot for years and don't want to change. Improper spined arrows is a close 2nd. Too many shops still rely on the Easton chart, which is one reason expandable broadheads are so popular.
 
​Here's a perfect example!

In the following narrative the names have been changed to protect the clueless!​

Wade and I have been shooting together for a while and we're traveling buds this year on the ASA circuit and several local shoots! Wade is a great guy and on some days he is a great shot!!! He has two top ten ASA finishes in his respective class this year. But, poor old Wade is plagued with lots of inconsistencies in his shooting!

At a recent local shoot Wade started strong with six 12's in a row and 8 of them in the first ten targets! The first ten targets were on mostly level ground and the next 15 were on rolling terrain and this is where the wheels began to come off with left and right inconsistencies! That day Wade shot 8 12's and finished 30 down!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm........? What's going on here? For about as long as I have been shooting with Wade I have told him that most of his problems are from an improper draw length! Well you see Wade is a little resistant to change and a lot on the cheap side! Even if he sees that a small amount of money can fix a problem for him, he is sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow to warm up to the idea! Of course it doesn't help that Wade has a wife that has a voice like nails on a chalkboard and acts like a ankle biting chihuahua doling out the chin music!

Wade has been shooting a C4 set on a 30" draw length and when you watch him shoot he is making all the classic moves to accommodate a bow that has too long a draw length! The wrist is bent using a hinge, his stance is closed and often reversed, the string is digging into his face hard with lots of face contact on the string, and the string is dug into nose so far it flattens out his nose like a Mack truck bulldog!

The problem is that Wade "looks" like he should have a 30" draw! Wade is 6'3" tall! To the trained eye it is very obvious that Wade is narrow in the chest and has short arms. For the sake of this discussion I probably don't look like my draw length should be very long, because I'm 4" shorter than Wade and much wider through the chest.

Measure me for draw length and you get 29.5" and when you measure Wade, he barely makes a 28.25" draw length and the poor guy has struggled with a 30" draw setting for a long time!

Wade finally got tired of leaving points behind for no explainable reason and about a week after we got back from TX, Wade has an epiphany and decides for himself that his problems aren't going to go away on all on its own!!! Attaboy Wade, that light bulb of innovation has finally lit up and you're headed to the Mathews dealer for a cam swap! Hallelujah and Amen! I've only been telling him for over a year that this could really help him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once Wade got the cam swapped out the difference it made has been utterly phenomenal! Most of the left and right issues are gone! He does have a lot of catching up to do by unlearning some bad habits he picked up! I think old Wade is on the right path now.............a little slow on the uptake, but getting there!

Just goes to show you that old dogs can (and need to) learn new tricks! Countless other shooters never saw or mentioned this problem, and the dealers never paid enough attention to notice the problem!

Watch out for your shooting buddies! :grin:
 
That's a loaded question. And it has no single answer.

You see, you're not exactly listing problems. Instead, you are giving root causes to problems. There's a difference.

Example:

Problem - An archer is throwing shots to the left quite often in their shooting sessions.

Well now we can start listing possible causes to the problem, and then we investigate each one until they can be eliminated or deemed as being a cause/contributor to the problem. It could be a lot of items to check too. That's why there's just not one answer.

The thing people forget is that shooting a bow GREAT, only requires that you do the same thing every time when you shoot it. In its simplest form...that's all there is to it.

BUT...how you get to that point, is going to be quite a journey. There's a lot of common ground to it that we could all agree on though. Incorrect draw length is a major contributor to a lot of problems archers do run into. However, it has also became the "goto" solution to every problem that archers have. Don't believe me? Go to ArcheryTalk and browse back through some of the posts. You could probably post on there that you get the runs after you eat at Taco Bell and at least 3 people will tell you that it was because your draw length was too long. In a lot of cases, draw length could use some tweaking. If most people looked at Reo Wilde while he was at full draw, they would say his draw length is way too long. But he is a multi time champion archer and can flat out shoot a bow and arrow. It all goes back to being able to repeat everything the same exact way every time.
 
UTGrad said:
Wow Dixie...you're really passionate about this post lol
Click to expand...

Yep, UTG I am! This is really a huge problem that plagues many archers and especially the most inexperienced! Offen our ego gets the best of us with more, bigger, and longer is better! Folks sure don't like admitting that their DL is really shorter because it would mean giving up speed! I'll trade speed for accuracy anytime!

I hate it when dealers just don't take the time to get the DL right! It is the cause of so many problems down the road! Yes, I enjoy helping others with what little I know when they are ready!

A rhetorical question: Would you buy a pair of shoes two or three sizes too large? Or too small? I sure as he I want shoes AND my bow to fit! Lol!
 
for archers I think the number one problem is form and I fall in that category I get lazy sometimes and start getting bad habits that I have to correct later..

for their gear I think there are a few

draw length
arrows
draw weight
and I also think people fall into the brand category they want that bow even though it doesn't "fit" them they buy it because they got the Matthews brand or hoyt brand or elite brand etc. to be like their buddies and they don't shop around and find that one bow.
 
DixieCrafter said:
UTGrad said:
Wow Dixie...you're really passionate about this post lol
Click to expand...

Yep, UTG I am! This is really a huge problem that plagues many archers and especially the most inexperienced! Offen our ego gets the best of us with more, bigger, and longer is better! Folks sure don't like admitting that their DL is really shorter because it would mean giving up speed! [color:#FF0000]I'll trade speed for accuracy anytime![/color]

I hate it when dealers just don't take the time to get the DL right! It is the cause of so many problems down the road! Yes, I enjoy helping others with what little I know when they are ready!

A rhetorical question: Would you buy a pair of shoes two or three sizes too large? Or too small? I sure as he I want shoes AND my bow to fit! Lol!
Click to expand...

You would? Those spirals have affected your reasoning. ;) :D :D
 
trying to keep up with Andy, first I had to get a new release, now I have to go out and get a new bow..
THANKS ANDY
LOL
 
TNDeerGuy said:
DixieCrafter said:
UTGrad said:
Wow Dixie...you're really passionate about this post lol
Click to expand...

Yep, UTG I am! This is really a huge problem that plagues many archers and especially the most inexperienced! Offen our ego gets the best of us with more, bigger, and longer is better! Folks sure don't like admitting that their DL is really shorter because it would mean giving up speed! [color:#FF0000]I'll trade speed for accuracy anytime![/color]

I hate it when dealers just don't take the time to get the DL right! It is the cause of so many problems down the road! Yes, I enjoy helping others with what little I know when they are ready!

A rhetorical question: Would you buy a pair of shoes two or three sizes too large? Or too small? I sure as he I want shoes AND my bow to fit! Lol!
Click to expand...

You would? Those spirals have affected your reasoning. ;) :D :D
Click to expand...

Well wiseacre Andy what is it that you are trying to say? I said I would trade speed [size][color:#FF0000]for[/color][/size] accuracy any day! What is your reasoning?
 
DixieCrafter said:
TNDeerGuy said:
DixieCrafter said:
UTGrad said:
Wow Dixie...you're really passionate about this post lol
Click to expand...

Yep, UTG I am! This is really a huge problem that plagues many archers and especially the most inexperienced! Offen our ego gets the best of us with more, bigger, and longer is better! Folks sure don't like admitting that their DL is really shorter because it would mean giving up speed! [color:#FF0000]I'll trade speed for accuracy anytime![/color]

I hate it when dealers just don't take the time to get the DL right! It is the cause of so many problems down the road! Yes, I enjoy helping others with what little I know when they are ready!

A rhetorical question: Would you buy a pair of shoes two or three sizes too large? Or too small? I sure as he I want shoes AND my bow to fit! Lol!
Click to expand...

You would? Those spirals have affected your reasoning. ;) :D :D
Click to expand...

Well wiseacre Andy what is it that you are trying to say? I said I would trade speed [size][color:#FF0000]for[/color][/size] accuracy any day! What is your reasoning?
Click to expand...

LOL....you got me! I guess my reading comprehension suffers when I am trying to operate fully on 1 hour of sleep in a 36 hour period and I barely remember writing that. By the way...you're correct now that I have read it correctly�I would give up speed for accuracy any day. :)
 

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