Ok - not to high jack but here goes..,
I'm new to bow hunting myself as well and chiming in that so far in this thread we have lots of things not to do... but what can new archers DO to get better? I shoot every second day.
What's the recipe to get better / more consistent? And what's a decent measurement of success for first year bow hunter? I am thinking my measuring stick is 6 arrows at 30 yards all inside a 4" circle?
And - I live in the sticks so there's only so many bow hunters in my area, and would I trust them to coach me? Naw. Good shooters, but a good coach is rare in all sport.
Online coach? Travel for a pro coach? Another plan?
First and foremost - be honest with yourself.
Getting better and more consistent comes down to reps. There aint a magic technique or device that will make you better... good ol time and reps. The thing is knowing when to hang it up. Habits develop slowly, and if you're a brand new shooter trying to "put the reps in" by shooting 30-50-100 arrows in a go, chances are your form is gonna be broken down by the end of that so badly that youre gonna start to learn bad habits. This is where #1 comes into play. When you feel yourself slipping - whether it's the 100th arrow or 10th arrow - STOP. Maybe you can come back in a few hours, maybe it'll be tomorrow, maybe it'll be 2 days from now.
When youre consistently slapping shafts at a said distance(and starting to aim at different points due to that) its time to move back.
When I consider myself good at a distance is when I can hit a target on the first shot with a cold bow. At 50+ I usually hang up a paper plate 8-11" and shoot for groups on that. An animals vitals are usually larger(or at least the same size) than that on both deer and elk, so if I'm consistently within that plate I got a dead animal at that yardage... obviously we strive for better groups, and smaller is better.
Once I get close to season I'll start hanging a balloon up on the target, I'll go out and shoot ONE shot at some point during the day at my max distance. I have the ability to shoot 60 in my yard, but I realize some may not. Im truly ready when I always pop the balloon. I know that I could just use a plate, but the balloon is reactive and similar to shooting steel - its something different for the mind.
During a hunt we're not spending hours flinging arrows at bags, we're in the woods from before light to after last light. There's no real practice at camp unless you drop your bow, fall on it, etc. My whole philosophy is that I need to be able to put the arrow where it needs to go when the opportunity shows itself. I won't be warmed up from shooting 100 arrows that day. I may not have shot my bow in days or a week.
