Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

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dreaming bucks
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Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:08 am

I have been lazy this summer, and have not shot the bow yet, but I'm going to start this week.. I usually shoot about 15 times and I'm good for the day, but others have different ideas on how many arrows to shoot in a session... I know a guy that only shoots one arrow, and he is done.. He said he wants it to be just like he's in the tree and the first and only shot has to count.. But others have told me they like shooting alot to get the muscle memory built up.... Thoughts ?


Treejunkie
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby Treejunkie » Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:18 am

I shoot about 20 a day. Usually twice about 10 arrows each time. I want to get my shooting form back to automatic and I am leaving for Colorado in 5 weeks. :D

I would shoot more but the mosquitos are killer by me. :evil: Makes for good concentration when you have several biting your legs as you are ready to shoot....I guess. :lol:
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby dirt nap giver » Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:20 am

I typically start with 10-20 shots per session, once the form is correct I switch to 1 arrow many times per day. Since my body is "cold" when Mr slob comes in and I haven't shot all day, so I try to mimic the scenario as closely as I can. As the season draws near, I wake up early and put on all my hunting clothes and shoot from the stand to try and eliminate any issues that can be foreseen in my setup. Early morning works best for me in doing this, other wise it's to hot.
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publiclandhunter
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby publiclandhunter » Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:41 am

I shoot maybe three times per-week - 20-arrows per-session. Judge your sessions by your ability to hit what you are shooting. If you shoot too much, you may notice your groups getting worse as you tire.

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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby DevinJD2007 » Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:59 am

I normally will shoot about 20 a morning then again at night and as season gets closer i will cut that down significantally which is normally about 1 in the morning and 1 more at night.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby Zap » Tue Aug 03, 2010 3:37 am

12-15 3X daily........

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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby DropTyne » Tue Aug 03, 2010 3:56 am

I shoot one a day at 3 different yardages, 20, 30, 40.... If they are all good I feel that's all you need. Afterall when the moment of truth comes you usually only get one opportunity. I used to over-practice and found that to be detrimental to my form.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Tue Aug 03, 2010 5:00 am

I haven't shot this summer either. I plan to in the next couple weeks, though. I usually only shoot about 15 or 20 times a pop. I practice up to 70 yards, usually shooting a couple at each distance to make sure the first shot wasn't a fluke, but if I start hitting poorly, I'll stay with that distance and fire a few extras in there to get her down.

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Indianahunter
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby Indianahunter » Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:08 am

I say if you can't shoot multiple times per day which would be optimal then shoot at least ten per day. Just remember practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. If you have lost muscle memory and you tire quickly then don't worry about how many arrows you shoot, worry about the quality of the shots you can make optimally, meaning not tire or shaky. If you only shot 3 to 5 good arrows every single day you are better off then just launching as many arrows as you can in an allotted time frame. I shoot 6 yards in my basement everyday working on Grip, Posture, Form, Draw, Anchor, Bubble,release. Then at least four days a week I go outside and shoot various yardage. I take my time with each shot and take breaks in between rounds. I usually shoot in rounds of 4 arrows (number of arrows for my quiver) and then I break for 5 or ten minutes. If I start getting shaky or my consistency goes out the window then I stop for a while or altogether. No sense in getting frustrated or putting additional pressure on yourself to make a certain yardage, or certain amount of arrows. Depending on my work schedule there have been years where I set a maximum range for myself of 20 yards, because that is the effective range I was comfortable with based upon performance and amount of practice time. This year I am shooting out to 60 yards. Not sure if I would be comfortable taking a deer at that range but the practice is excellent.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby Spysar » Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:34 am

I like to shoot 4 to 8 five arrow groups. I always like to make the very first shot count, just like when you will be hunting. I shoot from 20 to 50 yards for practice.
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby AC Rider » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:39 am

I shoot as much as I can right away in the spring in order to build the right muscles again. Once the muscles are right and my form is right (muscle memory) I can get by with shooting 40 arrows 2 or 3 times per week. The key is knowing when you're getting tired and stopping THEN. When my groups start dropping below the bull I know it's time to quit.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby solocam88 » Tue Aug 03, 2010 11:12 am

I will shoot a few arrows at known distances just to make sure that my bow is still on. Then I will start moving to random distances without a rangefinder to practice my yardage guessing. Being able to plug bullseye after bullseye at a known distance is not a big deal with modern bows, IMO its more important to be able to make quick decisions without totally relying on your rangefinder or a yardage marker.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby The Rav » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:57 pm

I shoot one set of 6 arrows 2 or 3 times a week. Upon shooting the first one I tell myself that this is the only one that counts in the field, the rest is just practice. Usually my groups are pretty tight within about 2 or 3 inches from the center of the bullseye. If I do have any that wander, it is usually the last 1 or 2. As long as the first 2 are good I'm happy. I heard of guys getting off an occasional 2ND shot, but I've never heard of anyone emptying out their entire quiver at a deer.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby virginiashadow » Wed Aug 04, 2010 12:19 am

I am not the greatest shot by far, but I practice shooting a lot. I actually want myself to get tired physically and mentally, because that is the type of thing I will experience in the woods. Sometimes when I come back from tiring runs or workouts I grab my bow and go shoot. I have to really focus on my form and mental focus to make it happen. I guess I am anal about practicing because for many years I hardly saw any deer, and had even less come within range. I did not want to take any chances when my opportunity arose.

This year I switched over to a recurve about 4-5 months ago. The first 3-4 months I shot 100-150 shots a day, 5-6 days a week, sometimes going weeks shooting every single day. I knew I had to ingraine the shot mechanics. I started to burn out about a month ago and backed off. Currently I am shooting 40-50 arrows a day, 5-6 days a week. I am moving to elevation practice here today or tomorrow with my broadheads. I am about to get even more serious about my shooting. I am going to dress in full hunting gear and start shooting from different elevations. I do not want any excuses for missing if a deer comes within 20 yards.
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Re: Practice shooting, how many arrows ?

Unread postby BowtechHunting » Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:53 am

dreaming bucks wrote:I have been lazy this summer, and have not shot the bow yet, but I'm going to start this week.. I usually shoot about 15 times and I'm good for the day, but others have different ideas on how many arrows to shoot in a session... I know a guy that only shoots one arrow, and he is done.. He said he wants it to be just like he's in the tree and the first and only shot has to count.. But others have told me they like shooting a lot to get the muscle memory built up.... Thoughts ?


I enjoy shooting, so I'll shoot 50-100 arrows in a given session. I usually go to a local Scheel's and do the TechHunter. It's pretty sweet and I feel it gives me pretty good practice! If you feel confident in shooting once, then so be it. I don't think shooting isn't rocket science, so if you enjoy shooting...then shoot. If you only shoot one arrow so be it! Either way you got some practice!


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