Archery Iterations or Steps as a new bowhunter

[Aperventure]

I'm curious to get people opinions of the steps or iterations that a new archery hunter goes through? I'm at the point now where I'm wanting to challenge myself past 50 yards
timeline is
1 bought bow package & arrows with full set up from archery shop, shot in backyard & at shop
2 shot at club summer friday night shoots
3 joined archery club
4 first 3-d shoot
5 got advice from members about shot process & things to do or avoid. definitely want to keep doing this.

still running original bow set up and now I'm thinking of maybe upgrading equipment
-5 pin to slider as I'm now getting past 50 yards and holding over on the level isn't viable anylonger
-increasing draw weight
-buy off the shelf arrows vs get custom (where to even start?) as I'm now losing / breaking them more often since shooting more and course has rocks and sticks etc. infront or 3-d targets. I could tell you the spine & field tip weight, but not the arrow weight?
-chronograph for arrow speed for sight tape? I tried the arrow speed app but my club is near a freeway and there is too much background noise for it to work.
-what else should I consider?

where are some places to get coaching on shot process? is online/virtual a reasonable or does it need to be in person?

 

[v1pe]

Definitely think that you're on the right track. First upgrade I would consider would be a dropaway rest if you don't have one. Slider sight will also be a nice upgrade for you. What draw weight are you at? I would slowly increase 1/2 a turn (or more) in your limb bolts once a week until you get to 70, assuming you shoot every day.

As far as starting to set up stuff at home and tinkering, I think building arrows is a great first step. You can research various options, but I think you can't go wrong with the OMP Phoenix jig.

You will probably want an arrow saw next (you can typically buy shafts pre-cut or have your shop cut them). I recommend the Mod Saw - it works well and doubles as an arrow spinner.

Pick a shaft, get some vanes, and start experimenting. What arrows are you running now? If you like your current setup, buy the same vanes, and you can now repair stuff.

Chronograph is probably a good next step after that for sight tape building, but unless you are tweaking your setup a lot you can probably get by with just borrowing one to get set. I would try to find someone at your club or a friend who might have one, unless you plan to mess around a lot or also do rifle handloads or something.

If you have a newer bow with off-press tuning capability, a press and draw board would probably be your lowest priority.

 

[Aperventure]

Definitely think that you're on the right track. First upgrade I would consider would be a dropaway rest if you don't have one. Slider sight will also be a nice upgrade for you. What draw weight are you at? I would slowly increase 1/2 a turn (or more) in your limb bolts once a week until you get to 70, assuming you shoot every day.

As far as starting to set up stuff at home and tinkering, I think building arrows is a great first step. You can research various options, but I think you can't go wrong with the OMP Phoenix jig.

You will probably want an arrow saw next (you can typically buy shafts pre-cut or have your shop cut them). I recommend the Mod Saw - it works well and doubles as an arrow spinner.

Pick a shaft, get some vanes, and start experimenting. What arrows are you running now? If you like your current setup, buy the same vanes, and you can now repair stuff.

Chronograph is probably a good next step after that for sight tape building, but unless you are tweaking your setup a lot you can probably get by with just borrowing one to get set. I would try to find someone at your club or a friend who might have one, unless you plan to mess around a lot or also do rifle handloads or something.

If you have a newer bow with off-press tuning capability, a press and draw board would probably be your lowest priority.

Thank you! Glad to hear you think it’s the right direction.

Bow came rig drop away rest don’t seems like slider is next then building arrows.

I’m at 55lb now and shoot weekly not daily so I’ll revisit that in my schedule and see what I can eliminate or hire-out so I can shoot daily.

 

[fulldraw1972]

I recently seen a video that elk shape, Joel turner and MFJJ did on shot execution.
Something Joel Turner said made me stop and think. He had said we go to the gym to get our reps to build up strength. We go to the range to get our reps to for our brain.
If we just go through the motions at the range it can do more harm than good when it comes to executing good shots.

 

[wyohayes]

I think at this point in your journey a coach or coaching on shot process is the number one thing you could do for yourself. While I haven't bought Joel Turner's ShotIQ course I do think he has a lot to teach. Though, if you had a good local coach I think that could be better. Either way though, form/execution coaching will pay dividends for a very long time and you could get in front of bad habits that will be harder to break as time goes on.

As for gear, I personally would start with arrow building over anything else. You'll save money, maybe, but you'll also better understand how your arrows are impacting flight and what shoots best in your bow. You could start with a fletching jig, grain scale and squaring tool, then add arrow saw.

I have a slider and I, personally, don't know how I would actually be using it without my chrono/custom sight tapes. I suppose I could do the whole marks on the white tape and figure out which metal tape it is but I much rather use software and make custom tapes. Chrono is pricey though ($500).

Agree on comments above to get up to higher draw weights. Tune your bow/learn about tuning too.

 

[wesfromky]

What type of release are you using? Might look at other types - training with a tension or hinge can help your process/form, even if you hunt with something else.

 

[kcm2]

The best upgrade for you is practice. Practice your shooting. Practice sneaking up on animals in the woods. Bowhunting is most exciting at close range.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Skip the chronograph unless you're just enamored with collecting (mostly) meaningless data. You can "shoot in" a sight tape without knowing your arrow speed: get your arrow hitting behind the pin at two different known distances (20 and 50-60 yds are common choices) then match the distance between those pins to the sight tape.

Don't get hung up on achieving a particular draw weight. Work up slowly to avoid bad habits and possible injury and stop before it gets to be a struggle to draw and hold. Higher draw weight does speed up the arrow, which creates a flatter trajectory and more penetration potential, but "light" and "slow" bows have been killing animals for decades.

Off-the-shelf arrows are generally fine if they're spined appropriately and cut for your draw length. There are also plenty of online custom arrow builders if you want to select each individual component. I would recommend keeping it simple: standard diameter (.245"/6.5mm) shaft of moderate gpi (grains per inch) with a 50 gr insert, 100 gr point/head, unlighted nock, and 3 Bohning Blazer vanes. Bass Pro Blackout, Black Eagle Outlaw, Easton 6.5, Gold Tip Hunter, Scheels Vendetta, and Victory VForce shafts would all fit that description.

 

[northernalpine]

1. Shoot more. A lot more. Make it easy to shoot. Shoot bare shafts in your garage. Get a foam target and even if you can only shoot 20 yards in your backyard, put small stickers or dots to make it harder. Getting a dozen slow, clean shots after dinner each night is worth more than 150 shots over 2 hours at the range every Saturday. Nothing like BBQ’ing and slinging arrows while you cook. Work towards stacking arrows at short distances and performing on-demand.
2. Build your own arrows. You’ll learn more building 2-3 dozen arrows than any other non-shooting action. Think of it as investing in your archery IQ because you’ll walk away with knowing exactly what you have in your quiver and why. AZ EZ Fletch and the OMP are cheat codes, it just depends on what makes sense budget-wise.
3. Don’t buy an arrow saw — for the cost of a Mod Saw you could buy 1-2 dozen match arrows or 3-4 dozen practice arrows that will keep you shooting. Which route you go is for you to decide. Most shops will cut arrows for free if you buy from them or will only charge you $1-$2 if you bring them in. If they charge more than that, find a new shop.
4. Hit the classifieds for your new sight when you’re ready to upgrade — sounds like you’re ready and this is a good upgrade. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, you can easily save a couple hundred bucks that pays for your arrow building setup.
5. Shoot more. Break out a tripod or make a setup for your phone, record videos of yourself shooting targets and 3D, call your shots verbally. Look at the video and see what looks weird, what’s inconsistent, and describe what happens. Make notes. Use your notes to focus on the things you can fix. If you can’t fix something, get a coach.

 

[Aperventure]

I recently seen a video that elk shape, Joel turner and MFJJ did on shot execution.
Something Joel Turner said made me stop and think. He had said we go to the gym to get our reps to build up strength. We go to the range to get our reps to for our brain.
If we just go through the motions at the range it can do more harm than good when it comes to executing good shots.

That makes a lot of sense, quantity without quality is harmful. I will check out Joel Turner. thank you!

 

[Aperventure]

What type of release are you using? Might look at other types - training with a tension or hinge can help your process/form, even if you hunt with something else.

good question! This is something I had t thought of changing, let alone to improve form thanks for the suggestion.

I’m using a wrist release with trigger right now and will research tension or hinge releases and enquire at my club about them.

Thank you!

 

[Aperventure]

The best upgrade for you is practice. Practice your shooting. Practice sneaking up on animals in the woods. Bowhunting is most exciting at close range.

Good point! It’s easy to forget the general reason I started archery; to get more time in field due to longer seasons and have more and closer interactions with elk during the rut.

Not to shoot to 100 yards
Not to buy a lot of gear…

Thank you for the reminder!

 

[Aperventure]

I think at this point in your journey a coach or coaching on shot process is the number one thing you could do for yourself. While I haven't bought Joel Turner's ShotIQ course I do think he has a lot to teach. Though, if you had a good local coach I think that could be better. Either way though, form/execution coaching will pay dividends for a very long time and you could get in front of bad habits that will be harder to break as time goes on.

As for gear, I personally would start with arrow building over anything else. You'll save money, maybe, but you'll also better understand how your arrows are impacting flight and what shoots best in your bow. You could start with a fletching jig, grain scale and squaring tool, then add arrow saw.

I have a slider and I, personally, don't know how I would actually be using it without my chrono/custom sight tapes. I suppose I could do the whole marks on the white tape and figure out which metal tape it is but I much rather use software and make custom tapes. Chrono is pricey though ($500).

Agree on comments above to get up to higher draw weights. Tune your bow/learn about tuning too.

I’ll enquire at my local club about a local coach and, check out Joel Turner.

regarding arrow building the reasoning you describe makes sense. the question I have is it seems analogous to load development and then once one get the right bullet, powder, amount, etc then reloading for rifles. I’ve purposely avoided that when there is reasonably good ammo available over the counter. Are arrows different?

Clearly I need to spend some time on here next understanding the arrow building process as well.

 

[Aperventure]

Skip the chronograph unless you're just enamored with collecting (mostly) meaningless data. You can "shoot in" a sight tape without knowing your arrow speed: get your arrow hitting behind the pin at two different known distances (20 and 50-60 yds are common choices) then match the distance between those pins to the sight tape.

Don't get hung up on achieving a particular draw weight. Work up slowly to avoid bad habits and possible injury and stop before it gets to be a struggle to draw and hold. Higher draw weight does speed up the arrow, which creates a flatter trajectory and more penetration potential, but "light" and "slow" bows have been killing animals for decades.

Off-the-shelf arrows are generally fine if they're spined appropriately and cut for your draw length. There are also plenty of online custom arrow builders if you want to select each individual component. I would recommend keeping it simple: standard diameter (.245"/6.5mm) shaft of moderate gpi (grains per inch) with a 50 gr insert, 100 gr point/head, unlighted nock, and 3 Bohning Blazer vanes. Bass Pro Blackout, Black Eagle Outlaw, Easton 6.5, Gold Tip Hunter, Scheels Vendetta, and Victory VForce shafts would all fit that description.

Good perspective on the chronograph… after reading this and comparing to what’s reasonable to accomplish before Sept I think practicing with what I have now and improving my shot process, dialing in an approx draw weight, and shooting much more often with goal of daily would be much better use of time than trying to change to sight tape. Thank you!!!

This is great and a big help to me for off-the-shelf arrow selection vs building my own. Thank you!

 

[Aperventure]

1. Shoot more. A lot more. Make it easy to shoot. Shoot bare shafts in your garage. Get a foam target and even if you can only shoot 20 yards in your backyard, put small stickers or dots to make it harder. Getting a dozen slow, clean shots after dinner each night is worth more than 150 shots over 2 hours at the range every Saturday. Nothing like BBQ’ing and slinging arrows while you cook. Work towards stacking arrows at short distances and performing on-demand.
2. Build your own arrows. You’ll learn more building 2-3 dozen arrows than any other non-shooting action. Think of it as investing in your archery IQ because you’ll walk away with knowing exactly what you have in your quiver and why. AZ EZ Fletch and the OMP are cheat codes, it just depends on what makes sense budget-wise.
3. Don’t buy an arrow saw — for the cost of a Mod Saw you could buy 1-2 dozen match arrows or 3-4 dozen practice arrows that will keep you shooting. Which route you go is for you to decide. Most shops will cut arrows for free if you buy from them or will only charge you $1-$2 if you bring them in. If they charge more than that, find a new shop.
4. Hit the classifieds for your new sight when you’re ready to upgrade — sounds like you’re ready and this is a good upgrade. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, you can easily save a couple hundred bucks that pays for your arrow building setup.
5. Shoot more. Break out a tripod or make a setup for your phone, record videos of yourself shooting targets and 3D, call your shots verbally. Look at the video and see what looks weird, what’s inconsistent, and describe what happens. Make notes. Use your notes to focus on the things you can fix. If you can’t fix something, get a coach.

Thanks for the reply.

Heard loud and clear the shoot more as book ends for success, both the opening and closing, the alpha and omega.

Videos and making notes during and after each session is valuable. This year I participated in the exo experience challenge and they had us reflect a lot, and ask / answer questions about shooting and situational shooting so i will build on that. Thank you!!

after reading your reply and others here, and comparing to what’s reasonable to accomplish before Sept I think practicing with what I have now and improving my shot process, dialing in an approx draw weight, and shooting much more often with goal of daily would be much better use of time than trying to change sight to slider or build arrows this year. Thank you!!! Those can be winter 26-27 skills to develop.

regarding arrow building the reasoning you describe makes sense. the question I have is it seems analogous to load development and then once one get the right bullet, powder, amour, etc then reloading for rifles. I’ve purposely avoided that when there is reasonably good ammo available over the counter. Are arrows different?

Clearly I need to spend some time on here next understanding the arrow building process as well.

 

[v1pe]

I’ll enquire at my local club about a local coach and, check out Joel Turner.

regarding arrow building the reasoning you describe makes sense. the question I have is it seems analogous to load development and then once one get the right bullet, powder, amount, etc then reloading for rifles. I’ve purposely avoided that when there is reasonably good ammo available over the counter. Are arrows different?

Clearly I need to spend some time on here next understanding the arrow building process as well.

I wouldn't say that arrow building and load development are directly comparable. Rifles are not tuneable like bows are so load development is more concerned about accuracy than arrow building is. If you are within the right arrow parameters for your set up, you should be able to get it to tune. They are somewhat comparable in regards to what configuration of vanes will steer whatever broadhead you are planning to use.

I'd say the main thing for arrow building is tweaking your arrow weight (change arrow type, length, components) to get the speed you want out of your set up, and then figuring out how to get the FoC that you want. Also, vane configuration in regards to steering your broadheads and what kind of arrow/vane noise you are concerned with.

Look into the arrow ballistics study for both 2025 and 2026 to understand some of the minutiae about different arrow setups.