Archery Confidence: Searching for Swagger

[Howard Mee]

Hoyt RX-7 Ultra and Hoyt integrate rest.
Option Archery Quivalizer and Option Archery Canyon Pounder

In 2009 I bought my first pro series bow. Confidence grew and I felt like I could hit anything. Laced an antelope at 60 while shooting from my knees. Shot my first elk that year and a pile of other animals over the next 5 years.

In 2014 I bought a new bow and my confidence TANKED. Assuming that I was the problem, I met with an archery coach, logged hours and hours and hours of shooting every summer. Struggled to find consistency but managed to cont. to kill animals but the bow and I just didn’t fit together.

So here I am… trying to get my archery swagger back. I’m gonna journal my experience with the Hoyt. Quality, constructive feedback is welcome!

***Update 7/30/23*** Hoyt RX-7 Ultra Review

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[Howard Mee]

Attached everything. Waiting for the bow shop to open and get everything setup.


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[ResearchinStuff]

Do the cold bow challenge

 

[realunlucky]

Big sky has an archery shoot that would build some confidence in a new setup

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[sndmn11]

If you and the bow don't "fit" get a new one. No reason to roll around with a $1500 bow that is a compromise in trust and doesn't flow with you.

You could probably trade that bow and take in a little cash for a 2023 aluminum anything.

 

[Howard Mee]

Big sky has an archery shoot that would build some confidence in a new setup

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Do you know the dates?


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[Howard Mee]

If you and the bow don't "fit" get a new one. No reason to roll around with a $1500 bow that is a compromise in trust and doesn't flow with you.

You could probably trade that bow and take in a little cash for a 2023 aluminum anything.

100% agree. I’m maybe not too smart?
I shot a couple bows that my buddies owned: wrong draw length, 20 yrs old, all kinds of bad setups and I shot pretty dang well. That’s when I realized I wasn’t the problem.

I’m passing the old bow on to my son to see if it works for him. So far so good.


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[realunlucky]

Do you know the dates?


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Here you go

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[Howard Mee]

Thanks for the info. That’s a great idea


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[ddd-shooter]

Attached everything. Waiting for the bow shop to open and get everything setup.


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“Waiting for the bow shop to open”
That’s a great highlight to my best advice for you.
If you have the funds, ditch the pro shop.
If you REALLY want confidence, start doing your own work. Seriously.
Buy a fletching jig. Learn how to fletch. Tinker with arrow builds. Get a feel for good arrow flight. Get an ez green press. Learn to tune your bow. Properly.
Learning WHY the bow shoots well (or doesn’t) will help you learn how to be confident, because you will have put in the hours and hours it takes to be proficient.
That’s where you separate the people who use bows sometimes from the serious archers. I’d rather you have a $400 total set up that you know how to tune than a $2500 set up that you don’t…

I always give people who want to be serious a few pieces of advice:
-Learn how to work on your stuff
-Shoot every 3d archery course you can and learn what it is like to shoot in front of a crowd under pressure. It’s the closest thing to buck fever I’ve found.
-shoot a few times a week ALL YEAR LONG
-continue shooting one arrow at a time during season

 

[Howard Mee]

[mention]ddd-shooter [/mention] I agree. Totally agree.


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[sndmn11]

100% agree. I’m maybe not too smart?
I shot a couple bows that my buddies owned: wrong draw length, 20 yrs old, all kinds of bad setups and I shot pretty dang well. That’s when I realized I wasn’t the problem.

I’m passing the old bow on to my son to see if it works for him. So far so good.


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Is the RX7 Ultra new? Or is that the bow you don't get a long with?

 

[Howard Mee]

[mention]sndmn11 [/mention] The Hoyt and the Option Archery stuff is the new gear.


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[sndmn11]

[mention]sndmn11 [/mention] The Hoyt and the Option Archery stuff is the new gear.


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I'd shoot in the garage at a blank target with the sight off 20 times a day for a couple weeks.

 

[stanginthe11s]

I'd say you have 2 options. if it's the only bow you have and you like it, get to know it. take it for walks, tell it how pretty it is and learn how to hold it lol.
if you have other bows, ditch her for one that appreciates you. I've been there, still have a bow that wants to be held differently. it's annoying having to change grip or to remember this one likes a high hold or low hold. sometimes it's not worth it. just my opinion. that said, look at the angle of the grip compared to your old bow, your problem may lie there.

 

[Billy Goat]

I can't believe Sam didn't move this to the archery forum.

 

[Howard Mee]

I'd say you have 2 options. if it's the only bow you have and you like it, get to know it. take it for walks, tell it how pretty it is and learn how to hold it lol.
if you have other bows, ditch her for one that appreciates you. I've been there, still have a bow that wants to be held differently. it's annoying having to change grip or to remember this one likes a high hold or low hold. sometimes it's not worth it. just my opinion. that said, look at the angle of the grip compared to your old bow, your problem may lie there.

The Hoyt will be my only bow and I’ve promised to take it on many many walks in the mountains


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[Howard Mee]

I can't believe Sam didn't move this to the archery forum.

Some one will. I use Rokslide from my phone and I couldn’t find the archery forum . Maybe I can get in a computer and move it.


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[Insomnia]

“Waiting for the bow shop to open”
That’s a great highlight to my best advice for you.
If you have the funds, ditch the pro shop.
If you REALLY want confidence, start doing your own work. Seriously.
Buy a fletching jig. Learn how to fletch. Tinker with arrow builds. Get a feel for good arrow flight. Get an ez green press. Learn to tune your bow. Properly.
Learning WHY the bow shoots well (or doesn’t) will help you learn how to be confident, because you will have put in the hours and hours it takes to be proficient.
That’s where you separate the people who use bows sometimes from the serious archers. I’d rather you have a $400 total set up that you know how to tune than a $2500 set up that you don’t…

I always give people who want to be serious a few pieces of advice:
-Learn how to work on your stuff
-Shoot every 3d archery course you can and learn what it is like to shoot in front of a crowd under pressure. It’s the closest thing to buck fever I’ve found.
-shoot a few times a week ALL YEAR LONG
-continue shooting one arrow at a time during season

The other end of the spectrum: I hang out at my pro shop with the bow tech when I'm not working, and he lets me use the shop's equipment for my personal stuff. There are a lot of cool people in archery, and you can meet a lot of them by going to your local shop or range often.

 

[Howard Mee]

My local archery shop is a good place. They treat people really well IMO. They've always done good work on my stuff. Peep sights are about the only adjustment I can't do without a press AFTER the initial set up. I would still like a press, since we have a 1/2 dozen shooters in our yard on a summer weekend but in the meantime the bow shop treats me fair.

Good point. Thanks!