Little Tweaks That Led to Big Gains

[LostArra]

Shoot and score a Vegas round every week or two. Humbling.

 

[Billy Goat]

Shoot and score a Vegas round every week or two. Humbling.

Because everyone shoots 2" groups at 20....

If shooting standard dia (.244-.246) that's a 300.

Everyone on the internet does it, that's just archers moa.
Not as common in the real world.



Only 30 shots, try it.

 

[JPeters218]

One thing I think is important, is that you have to want to get better, more than you want to be comfortable. Improving usually means changing. And changing isn’t comfortable.

I feel like most people have maxed out their scores/ ability for the way they shoot. And they said they want to get better, but most aren’t willing to try something that’s different in order to improve. They just hope


That being said, I’ve got a few. These are all in order of how I progressed in my shooting.
- The first was switching from an index to a thumb release. For whatever reason I was just more consistent with a thumb.

- The next thing I did was traded in my old mission for a new lift 29.5. As weird as it sounds, that was the single biggest different if anything I’ve done. My league scores immediately jumped from low 280’s to low to mid 290’s. I think it had to do with actually having a solid back wall. (I liked my mission, but it wasn’t until I shot it next to the lift that I realized how mushy and unrefined everything was).

- The next thing on my journey was switching from command shooting, to a surprise release. I used to pull my pin up from the bottom, but I’d get stuck below and find myself shooting below and raising my bow into the X. I trained myself to actually shoot really well that way, but it took so long to make the shot go off that I’d be running out of breath every single shot.
Learning to just trust the float and stare at the X is a super weird thing to learn, but it was actually a blast. Shooting got a lot more enjoyable when I didn’t have to hold my breath and force my pin up every time

- Now the last, and very recent thing I’ve done is pushing w my front arm and pulling with my back at the same time to shoot. When I switched to surprise, I’d just pull back with my release hand. This still worked well, and I shot good, but it’s really easy to torque the bow, or pull yourself off target. (I shot this way for about a year, I even shot a 300 this way. But I just wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be).
Then at leagues about 3 weeks ago, I started pushing with my bow hand while I was pulling, and man what a difference that’s made. My x count has doubled, and I’ve shot 3 299’s in a row. With my lift 29.5 and 5mm hunting arrows going over 300 fps

 

[3forks]

Shoot and score a Vegas round every week or two. Humbling.

I agree with this… Anybody can aim for center on a 3D target and make a pretty good shot.

Trying to shoot a 300 score on a Vegas face will exhaust you mentally. And… It will also give you target panic at some point

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Shoot one shot a day every day, 365 days a year. Why just one? Because that’s all you’re gonna get in the field so you have to make that one shot count. That first shot needs to be your best.

I also don’t range when i do this. Just walk out, estimate which pin, and shoot.

Probably have to have the basic mechanics down to do this though. But your form and accuracy will decline the more you shoot per session as you fatigue/lose focus. I’ve been doing this for years now and shooting at game has become as instinctual as it can get.

 

[Skerhunter]

Having a shot process and following it for every shot improved my shooting the most. Making conscious decisions throughout the entire process cleared up any bad habits/inconsistencies and helped me focus when shooting an animal.

Another noticeable change was when I started using my middle finger as my trigger finger. It allowed me to keep a very consistent anchor point no matter the position and a lot faster to find with extra layers on in the tree stand. I don’t think it improved my shooting a lot, but it sped up my shot process.

For tuning getting a micro adjustable rest was a game changer!

 

[CB4]

Some little tech type things that helped me a lot -

• Nock fit
• Micro adjusting draw length/d loop length.
• Micro adjusting peep height
• Understanding sight axis

Form/Shooting things

• Maintaining some tension in my back and having a shot process.
• Both eyes open
• For me, which is against Joel Turners advice, I focus heavy on my aim. In relaxed way where I'm not forcing the pin into it but I'm letting my mind bring to pin to where I'm looking. If that makes any sense.

I still suck comparatively, but I'm much better off that I was before.

Almost all of this is what I was going to put. A 1/16" change with your peep up or down or D loop in or out changes more than you would think.

FIW - what Joel teaches is to let your mind automatically return the pin to center but it sounds like you like to slap that trigger instead of talk slowly through it lol. so you are kinda on a path to what he does

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

Some good thoughts here, thanks guys. I've been trying to focus on little things as many have said. Bow grip, release grip, and shot/release process are definitely front of mind for me right now. Great time of year to shoot from 10 years in the basement and really hone in on that stuff while outside shooting waits for warmer weather.

One thing I am likely going to tinker with based on feedback is D loop length, peep sight position, and I think i may try a new grip as well. I bought my VXR off the Slide, and it came with a torqueless grip. It's well made, but I think I would prefer something that's not quite as rounded.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Most tweaks, tricks, and hacks don't do crap if your mind is the weak link. Doesn't matter what tune or gear you have if you're moving before the arrow clears the rest.

Video yourself, and make sure you have a surprise shot break on every shot. If you're blinking or grabbing the bow or flinching in any way, you need to train your mind first. I like ShotIQ, personally.

 

[wyodog]

Good stuff guys. There 2 things that I find important for me.
1) Have a good fitting bow. Draw length, peep height, grip. I micro adjust these things until I find my Goldilocks set up.
2) Have purposeful practice sessions. Work on 1 thing at a time. Grip, release, stabilizer weight, back tension, the list goes on and on. Experiment with different things but have a plan when you do it.

 

[doverpack12]

Having a shot process, drilling that process all year while only making good executed shots. Let down if needed and start over.

Total Peep or Hamskea peep sized so in bright full sun you have a sight ring reference and in low light you still have a reference. Of those two the total peep is much preferred. I used the hamskea a long time and it worked great to prevent horizontal impact shift from sun glare, it was more sensitive to rotation than I liked.
Total Peep maintained the sun glare advantage and is not sensitive to a little rotation.

 

[Arrow870]

I shoot and older Mathew’s MR7 and it has a wood inlay handle where the wood meets the metal there is a small ridge and I have always put the nails of my pinky and ring finger in the groove for consistency so when I draw it takes .5 seconds to feel my nails in the groove to know that nothing has changed from the last shot, my nails don’t make me a better shooter but the fact that in my head I know that time after time theres something I can count on being the same …having that feeling of consistency is the confidence I need to shoot good groups and make the best shot when the opportunity presents itself

 

[S.Clancy]

1. Run sprints then shoot at 60+.
2. Handheld Release
3. Shoot less arrows per session. It is easy to get in bad habits just shooting 100 arrows.

 

[snowynock]

My question(slight derailment, apologies), what benefit does shooting with both eyes open give?

Now my contribution -

I did an intro archery 2/3 years ago with my local BHA chapter and the archery coach at the range gave us a rule of thumb I abide by - the rule of 3 seconds.

Every time I enter the line and nock an arrow I give myself 3 seconds to breathe and aline myself with the target in view - when I come to full draw, I hold for a minimum of 3 seconds when anchored to prevent shooting the second I come to full draw(sometimes my target panic gets that bad), upon release - I hold my bow static for 3 seconds. I've found that this has greatly improved my aim. Also before each time at the range - I make a mental note of 1 thing I want to practice and focus my entire session on that 1 thing. Maybe it's not rushing, maybe it's my grip, maybe it's my follow-through, maybe it's trusting the float, etc.

 

[jeremy.b]

Simple process thing: moved 50%+ of my practice time to shooting shots with random distances/angles/obstacles. Even small variations each day seemed to really help. Also, when a shot was missed (aka not perfect), it was never the equipment, and would expose an area where my shot sequence was lacking.

Next best thing: dialing overall draw lenght/D-loop length to give a balance of maintaining form/anchors even when in compromised body positions. In my case, I find more consistency with a more open stance for weird shot angles, compared to just standing on the line, where a more closed stance is more consistent for me.

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

My question(slight derailment, apologies), what benefit does shooting with both eyes open give?

Now my contribution -

I did an intro archery 2/3 years ago with my local BHA chapter and the archery coach at the range gave us a rule of thumb I abide by - the rule of 3 seconds.

Every time I enter the line and nock an arrow I give myself 3 seconds to breathe and aline myself with the target in view - when I come to full draw, I hold for a minimum of 3 seconds when anchored to prevent shooting the second I come to full draw(sometimes my target panic gets that bad), upon release - I hold my bow static for 3 seconds. I've found that this has greatly improved my aim. Also before each time at the range - I make a mental note of 1 thing I want to practice and focus my entire session on that 1 thing. Maybe it's not rushing, maybe it's my grip, maybe it's my follow-through, maybe it's trusting the float, etc.

I am going to implement the “focus on one thing per session”. This is something I’ve come across time and again.

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

I know there are probably some who don’t care for the GoHunt brand, but Trail Kreitzer with them seems like a very genuine guy. He has his own podcast now and has a few archery oriented episodes which I have found to be thought provoking. The first one is actually what spurred me to start the thread. Check out “The Game Trail Podcast” episodes 13 and 27. Good stuff in my opinion.

 

[ddd-shooter]

I agree on practicing well @Billy Goat .

Two years ago I decided to score every arrow I shot using an easy point system I created. I try and shoot ten shot sessions, two arrows at a time. That allows me to really focus on each shot and think about them as I retrieve my arrows. The scoring has been huge to see how I improve or regress over time and with different things I’m tinkering with.

Shoot all year long, and especially during season.

Shoot ONE ARROW. You don’t get a second chance in competition or with animals.

Shoot a 3d course with someone better than you and really try to compete.

Stop looking to improve some teeny tiny piece of equipment thinking that it will give you a meaningful improvement in skill.

Practice is what improves an archer, and only after a lot more practice than you think is necessary, are you knowledgeable enough to know where to tweak.

 

[Nick Muche]

Here's one very few seem to grasp... get your bow dialed and don't change anything, for years.

 

[Marble]

Here's one very few seem to grasp... get your bow dialed and don't change anything, for years.

Yeah, this right here. I shoot Hoyts. Once I have them dialed and have a few hundred arrows through them, they are solid. Might take me a month or two of constant shooting and fine tuning.

A lot of guys are constantly screwing around with their zero. Minor left right adjustments or vertical.

Removing back bars, changing their weights or lengths, different releases etc. All these make a difference. Shoot the same equipment, with the same release. Everything will be the same . Consistency is they key to shooting a bow well.

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