How serious do you take your bow shooting?

[BassBoysLLP]

These days I shoot exclusively in the backyard. When there is a lot of snow on the ground, the bow is in the case. I haven't shot my bow since January, but I'll likely start shooting it again over the next couple of weeks. I have my backyard set up for practice out to 100 yds and often set up a bowhunting training course in the thick stuff. I'm practicing and tuning at least every other day once the snow leaves the yard. I'm a big fan of bare shaft and walk back tuning. I'll occasionally paper tune.

[vanceg]

I'll shoot my bow in September. I have no interest in target shooting, gun or bow. I'll hunt with my hounds year round though.

[hunter_mike]

My amount of bow shooting has been very dynamic over the past few years, dependent on the places I have been living. A couple of the places i have lived, I havent been able to shoot. Now that I bought my house this past august, I have the freedom to shoot in my yard, though I havent shot since november. I climbed my only tree in my yard two days ago with my LW sticks to see if I will be able to set a stand to shoot out of. Looks like I have a nice 25 yard shooting range I can shoot out of in my yard. I have been itching to shoot but the cold weather has kept me from doing it. I'm sure I will be doing more shooting now that its warming up.





Summertime I usually try shoot a few times a week. I'm thinking about joining a summer league at the local archery club on weeknights. I have been in weekly leagues before and they seem to help my shooting a ton because I seem to be more focused when things get competitive.

[kurt]

I was very serious. Ive toned it down a bunch no more traveling too far for tournaments just local ones. 2 winter leagues one animal and one spot and a summer 3-d league. Plus I shoot just about every day I don't have a league maybe few dozen arrows. A lot of guys I see that "work on their own bow" shouldn't and Ill leave it at that. Whole other topic.

An improperly tuned bow will cast an arrow the same every time. It is a machine and knows no difference. If you have ever played around with a shooting machine you would see how it works. It takes the human error out of the equation. It will pound arrows into the same hole no matter what the tune.

I get it. You can duplicate the same bad results over and over......

In this case you both are rightish. A bow will always cast an arrow exactly the same if you remove the human element(which is impossible in a hunting situation), BUT the arrows penetration efficiency is maximized when the arrow flies true. An arrow whipping around in the are is going to hit your target(probably not with fixed blade broadheads) but cannot enter straight on, so it looses a bunch of momentum righting itself out in the animal.

With that said, a true flying arrow is certainly not best for accuracy. I learned from a few great competitive shooters, including a MN state champ, that a nice vertical tear in paper tuning is ideal for target shooting. They explained that a porpoising arrow doesn't react to human error as badly as a true arrow does.

A lot of the vertical tear goes back to the finger charts from years past. Even the older rests that were used back in the day with a release (springy comes to mind) you needed to establish a high left tear. This was so your flecthings would clear the rest. Those days are long gone unless of course if you shoot fingers then a high left tear would still apply.

Great shooters are often not great tuners.

I agree with a lot of these statements. I personally don't worry about tuning my target setup nearly as much as my hunting(which only shoots broadheads). I usually do walk back for hunting setup and group tune the arrows which is a must for me I just number them. I think Bare shaft tuning is alittle over the top for hunting. I would rather work on form. A clean release will have a greater affect on penetration more than the difference between paper , walk back , or bare shaft tuning.

My indoor league avg is about 45-50 x's down for me this year. last year was 50-55x's. But animal round is up. Im just not that serious about spot league anymore.

[Southern Man]

I shoot Montecs with Blazers and can squeeze em in tight farther than I would ever shoot a deer. I don't think one has to be a great bow tuner to shoot well either but it can help. I shoot year round and really enjoy it.

Not trying to cause a stink but, if you can drill the arrows way out there consistently, why would you not shoot a deer that far? A lot of guys say that and I've never understood they wouldn't take the shot. Most will say it's unethical to take a shot over 30 yards with a bow but I believe it's only unethical if you don't have the confidence or question whether or not you can really make the shot. If you know you can make it, why not take it?
My first bow was a Bear wheel bow (about 52lbs pull) I bought back in the mid 80's. I shot fingers, no peep. I could drill arrows consistently at 40 & 50 yards. I shot better at those distances than I did at 20 & 30 yards. I knew nothing about bow tuning. But I would have taken a 40 & 50 yard shot in a heartbeat. I just never had the opportunity.

I'm not a tuning fanatic. I did start bare shaft tuning and then went to paper tuning, which didn't seem to work and have gone back to the bare shaft, one version of it anyways. I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it. I learned mine from a book by Chuck Adams back in the late 80's.

I do take my shooting seriously. I don't practice near enough. I don't worry about speed, it's highly overrated. I shoot a heavy arrow setup which seems to make the tuning a bit easier, with fixed blade, cut on contact broadheads for good penetration and keeping the shot as quiet as I can. I try to keep my setup as simple as possible. To each their own. I don't have to have a perfectly tuned bow. I do think most shooting errors are form related rather than an improperly tuned bow.

[Beast-Mode]

I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it.

x2 That would be an interesting and informative thread.

[Trailcamaddict]

I don't mess with my setup much anymore. I know my arrows, sight and rest are at good setpoints. I will just practice every year starting in July until I am shooting 3 arrows into a quarter sized sticker on my target at 30 yards. I practice until I can do this every time! Of coarse I am practicing shorter and longer shots as well but like to use the 30 yard test as a gauge.

[OH nontypical]

I shoot Montecs with Blazers and can squeeze em in tight farther than I would ever shoot a deer. I don't think one has to be a great bow tuner to shoot well either but it can help. I shoot year round and really enjoy it.

Not trying to cause a stink but, if you can drill the arrows way out there consistently, why would you not shoot a deer that far? A lot of guys say that and I've never understood they wouldn't take the shot. Most will say it's unethical to take a shot over 30 yards with a bow but I believe it's only unethical if you don't have the confidence or question whether or not you can really make the shot. If you know you can make it, why not take it?
My first bow was a Bear wheel bow (about 52lbs pull) I bought back in the mid 80's. I shot fingers, no peep. I could drill arrows consistently at 40 & 50 yards. I shot better at those distances than I did at 20 & 30 yards. I knew nothing about bow tuning. But I would have taken a 40 & 50 yard shot in a heartbeat. I just never had the opportunity.

I'm not a tuning fanatic. I did start bare shaft tuning and then went to paper tuning, which didn't seem to work and have gone back to the bare shaft, one version of it anyways. I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it. I learned mine from a book by Chuck Adams back in the late 80's.

I do take my shooting seriously. I don't practice near enough. I don't worry about speed, it's highly overrated. I shoot a heavy arrow setup which seems to make the tuning a bit easier, with fixed blade, cut on contact broadheads for good penetration and keeping the shot as quiet as I can. I try to keep my setup as simple as possible. To each their own. I don't have to have a perfectly tuned bow. I do think most shooting errors are form related rather than an improperly tuned bow.

In my opinion too many things can go wrong shooting at a wired mature deer at long distances in the woods. All depends on the cover and situation. Wind, temps, cover, and body language of the animal must all be considered when taking long shots. Also cold weather clothing can cause issues. Not saying I would never shoot at a deer past 30 yds I just rarely am presented with what I consider a "quality" shot past 30 yds where I hunt.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[BassBoysLLP]

I shoot Montecs with Blazers and can squeeze em in tight farther than I would ever shoot a deer. I don't think one has to be a great bow tuner to shoot well either but it can help. I shoot year round and really enjoy it.

Not trying to cause a stink but, if you can drill the arrows way out there consistently, why would you not shoot a deer that far? A lot of guys say that and I've never understood they wouldn't take the shot. Most will say it's unethical to take a shot over 30 yards with a bow but I believe it's only unethical if you don't have the confidence or question whether or not you can really make the shot. If you know you can make it, why not take it?
My first bow was a Bear wheel bow (about 52lbs pull) I bought back in the mid 80's. I shot fingers, no peep. I could drill arrows consistently at 40 & 50 yards. I shot better at those distances than I did at 20 & 30 yards. I knew nothing about bow tuning. But I would have taken a 40 & 50 yard shot in a heartbeat. I just never had the opportunity.

I'm not a tuning fanatic. I did start bare shaft tuning and then went to paper tuning, which didn't seem to work and have gone back to the bare shaft, one version of it anyways. I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it. I learned mine from a book by Chuck Adams back in the late 80's.

I do take my shooting seriously. I don't practice near enough. I don't worry about speed, it's highly overrated. I shoot a heavy arrow setup which seems to make the tuning a bit easier, with fixed blade, cut on contact broadheads for good penetration and keeping the shot as quiet as I can. I try to keep my setup as simple as possible. To each their own. I don't have to have a perfectly tuned bow. I do think most shooting errors are form related rather than an improperly tuned bow.

It depends on the situation. I don't mind taking a longer shot if the situation/body language indicates its a good decision. However, most of the time I won't risk a shot over 40 yards. Deer move, targets don't.

[62kodiak]

I shoot Montecs with Blazers and can squeeze em in tight farther than I would ever shoot a deer. I don't think one has to be a great bow tuner to shoot well either but it can help. I shoot year round and really enjoy it.

Not trying to cause a stink but, if you can drill the arrows way out there consistently, why would you not shoot a deer that far?

For me that answer is easy. I cannot speak for anybody else, but I cannot control what a deer does at 40+ yards and a lot of time passes from the moment you release the arrow until it hits its target. The deer could move feet if it was startled by the time the arrow would get to it. 25 yards and less are just higher percentage shots.

[Milk Weed Seed]

I shoot throughout the year off and on. No leagues for me, I think most target guys don't seem to shoot as well on live targets. I build my own arrows and do basic tuning myself. I do a 3D shoot or two in late summer, IMO I am making better kill shots than most of the "die hard target /3D shooters" I see at those shoots. There is a county course by me that I shoot at often, so that helps. Also have a ladder stand set up in the small wood lot, in the backyard too.

[Ridgerunner7]

I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it.

x2 That would be an interesting and informative thread.

It would depend on the bow and cam system. A two track binary cam system you use the rest and possibly some tiller adjustments to bare shaft. A bow with a yoke system you twist the yokes to move bare shaft horizontally. All of this is assuming your initial set up is good and fairly close.

[Black Squirrel]

I tinker a little with the things I know. Do the walk back tuning, and practice from about May through the end of the season. I have a home made archery range out to 60 yards, and a tree that I keep a ladder stand in, for practice.

[Bowhunting Brian]

I'd like to see a thread on bare shaft tuning to see how you guys do it.

x2 That would be an interesting and informative thread.

It would depend on the bow and cam system. A two track binary cam system you use the rest and possibly some tiller adjustments to bare shaft. A bow with a yoke system you twist the yokes to move bare shaft horizontally. All of this is assuming your initial set up is good and fairly close.

proper grip is important when bare shaft tuning, especially when your using a twin track system since there is no yoke to use. you can change your grip a little and see the results on paper change. the best information on tuning is on an archerytalk sticky in the general archery forum. see "The Nuts & Bolts of Archery". Alan knows more about bows than anyone I have seen. the guy is a genius with archery equipment.

[Brad]

I take my bow, equipment, arrows, broad heads, and shooting pretty serious. I have no control over a lot of what a deer can do, but I don't leave loose ends on things that I can control. I shoot a lot and my bow is tuned well. It isn't super tuned but it shoots good through paper, and the broad heads group where I aim together. Anything less than that is unacceptable. I paper tune to establish nock travel and then broad head group tune until my field points and broad heads shoot together. A bow that is out of tune may do the same thing every shot out of a hooter shooter but I am hardly one, and I get nerves when I shoot targets that breath. NASCAR teams don't run cars that make a tick in the engine even if its faster, etc. No weak links.

[ Post made via Android ]