Newbie Subject....

I was going to put this in my "A little something for the beginner" post, but figured this might be a better location for it.
 
Practice question -- I know you should practice as often as possible, but... is there a certain minimum? A certain Maximum? Should you shoot 20 arrows at minimum, shoot till your happy with your shots 5 times in a row, or something specific? I got a little frustrated and decided that I was just trying to push perfection too fast, so I made myself walk away.
 
Excerise -- My shoulder and arm are sore...not a bad sore, but still sore. I only was able to spend about 25 minutes shooting and I feel like someone removed my arm and beat someone with it then gave it back. So, in regards to that feeling...what are some good excerises for the shoudler/arm/hand for a bow hunter?
I throw hay bales, lift grand kids, and carry around the weight of a dad on my shoulders...but I guess some real excersise might be in order.
 
Shot distance for practice - How far out to start? 15 yards till you make consistantly good shots? What about 30 yards?
 
Varying position - Standard positions for practice? What about angle of shot? Kneeling, standing, falling over from buck fever type of shots?
 
Tree stands - While I probably will never really get a chance here in Colorado for a tree stand... I have never used one and would like the knowledge either way. Are shots from height more challenging? It's a different type of angle that I don't think most would have a continual way to practice.
 
Targets - Currently, I am using an indoor range (complete wall target basically) and I have 4 straw bales stacked up at the house for practice as well. What are some better training targets? Should I invest in a full blown decoy style one? Cow Elk target!!!! Pricey too $$$$
 
broadheads vs field points --  While I am sure I will gain more confidence the more I practice, I still think I will fear wounding an animal and never finding it. Its not a fear I have ever had to worry about with my rifles since I am usually very confident when taking my shots or I just don't take them. An arrow just seems much "less" when compared to a bullet. So, with that explaination... shooting broadheads changes your arrow quite a bit from what I read, at least versus a field point. Mainly in weight on front, so... should I be practicing with broadheads more often once I know I'm not going to send it across my field and bouncing into the rocks?
 
OK, I will stop the questions for a bit...
Thanks in advance
 
Mike

All very good questions,
I don't claim to be any kind of pro at all, but I will tell you about what has worked for me in the past. Keep in mind no matter what advice you get, it always boils down to what works best for you. OK, with that said, here we go.
Practice Practice practice- There is no max or minimums. I start at 15 or 20 yards and shoot until I am comfortable with the consistency of my shots. I usually shoot three arrows per round. This gives my arm more time to rest while I go pull the arrows out. I will not move to a farther distance unitl I can put all 3 arrows in the kill ZONE consistently. If my arm or shoulder gets tired. I stop. Usually I notice my grouping getting worse before I noticed the muscle fatigue. The big part is making sure you are doing the exact same thing every shot, such as, anchor point, breathing, pin alignment, and grip to name a few.
    Workout, I have a regular work out schedule at a gym, but I know guys on these forums talk alot about the rubber stretchy tube thingy for a good bow workout. I can't remember the name of it, I'm sure one of the other guys on here will let you know the name of it.
    For maximum distance, that's gonna depend on you. If you don't feel comfortable shooting past 30 yards, then don't. Just make sure if you set up ground blinds or start using treestands that your shooting lanes are setup for your max distance. IE, 30 yard long shooting lanes.
    Stances, I practice shooting from a seated and standing position as well as from a treestand. Since these are the postions I will most likely use in hunting situation, that's what I practice.
    Targets- For the best realizm you would want to shoot at a full sized 3-D target. I know there are alot of very pricey targets out there. Another thing you can try is the life sized picture targets or burlap targets you can just hang over the front of your hay bales. They are much cheaper.
    Broadheads or field points- I recommend you use the practice heads for your broadheads if you use fixed blades. It just makes sense. If that's what you are gonna take in the field then that is what you should practice with.
    Treestand angles- This one is a pretty lengthy discussion in itself. Basically, the steeper the angle of shot, the flatter your arrow is gonna travel. The best way to see what everyone tells you about it is to setup a treestand in your yard and shoot at a target from differnt angles from 10 all the way out to your max range. From doing that you will be able to tell how your shot is changed from shooting on level ground.

Hope this helps you out, they are all tried and true methods for me. I enjoy every minute I get with a bow in my hand. Another important part is, HAVE FUN!!!

Kraig Osborne
Hunter since birth, NAHCLM, USN

Good response, ko' ... I'll toss in a few observations to merely elaborate a bit on your suggestions ...

Practice - yeah ... I'd say try to shoot at least 10-25 arrows per session ... if POI starts to fall apart and your group is bigger than a paper plate ... QUIT! (for now, and come back later ... tomorrow, or whenever) My son used to try to shoot 200-400 arrows a week, but he's WAY more into it than I have time available ... our area club has a NICE indoor range, and if you're alone there, y'all can move up to five yards if that's whut y'all need to do ... I start there when I've done a major change in the rig ... new sight, new rest, new peep, whutever ... once I'm confident that I won't be breaking any arrows or shootin' out any lights, I back up ...

20 yards is a good range at which to become practiced, confident and proficient ... work from there ... the outdoor/3-D range has a LOT of variety, including a 15-20 foot platform where we can shoot @ three or four different critters ... that's a humbling experience, trust me ...

Workout: the item is called BowFit (there's a link on the home page here), but any sort of rubber-band-type stretcher is adequate ... shorten up the strand to get more resistance ... AND, SPEAKIN' AS A P.E. MAJOR ... exercise BOTH sides of your body ... pull and hold 10 or 20 reps right-handed, then do the same left-handed ... back problems and worse can be a negative result for dedicating only one side of your body ...

Max distance: work up to it ... our outdoor range has a couple of targets as much as 35-40+ yards away, if one shoots from the back pegs ... get the confidence and execution down, then increase your distance ... (and yes, imho, it's OK to use a range-finder ... you will when hunting, so take advantage of that tool ... it'll save you some lost arrows ...

Stance: Yes. Vary your presentation ... the game won't necessarily consider where you are, and whut direction you're facing, when it presents an opportunity ...

Targets: there are some cheaper 3-Ds out there ... less than $100 ... depends upon how fast you shoot 'em up ... decent ones have replaceable inserts ... a target on a bale (or bundle of cardboard -- check your grocery stores and such for packing material) is cheap, but sooner or later you'll want to move to a more definite target base ... watch the clearance sales @ some of the major online vendors ... Scheels, Cabela's, Gander, Warehouse, FleetFarm ... ALSO, check with your area bow club ... when they discard their old 3-D targets, you can prolly get 'em for little or nothing ... invest in a new insert, and that'll take you a long way in target availability ...

BH/FP ... yep ... try to keep the weight of your arrow the same ... some BHs shoot almost like a FP ... but the "practice" heads will give a truer gauge of how tight your groups will be.

Treestands: WEAR A HARNESS!!! Lots of variety out there, again check clearance sales and such ... READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! and ... get some help top put 'em up ... then, try to practice from your selected site ... take your 3-D out there and shoot 'em from different situations ... ALSO ... when y'all set up for real, use a rangefinder to mark various distances, so y'all know your limits (20-25-30+ yards?) and remember 'em ... then you won't need to "range" the Buck of a lifetime when he enters your shootin' zone ... (might even use the 3-Ds @ those spots, to learn how you shoot @ 'em ... then merely substitute the Living Animal for the plastic one, and fill your tag!!!) (Har! If it wuz that easy, we'd all be famous!)

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

mgoodman:

Great questions! 

ko and O have provided you with some great advice.

I'll add a few pieces of advice as well.

First I would start off with a bow and arrow combination that is tuned properly.  You can practice for months and months and still not improve your shooting or accuracy if your bow/arrow combination is not in tune. 

If you haven't already done so, go to a pro shop and have a qualified individual look over your bow and make sure that everything is in order, i.e., tiller adjustments, arrow rest adjustments, draw length, cam timing, nock point, center shot, peep sights, etc.  Once you have all of those adjustments confirmed be sure to paper tune it, which means you shoot an arrow with a field tip through a piece of paper that is held in place by a paper-tuning frame from about 3 feet away.  The person at the pro shop will help you with this.  Paper tuning will reveal how the arrow is leaving the bow; tear-left, tear-right, tear-up, tear-down or straight.  Adjustments to the nock point, arrow rest, draw length, tiller adjustments and cam timing may be necessary to get the arrow leaving the bow straight.  Once you have all of that done you'll be able to practice more efficiently and confidently.

Practice as often as you can without causing fatigue.  In my opinion it is better to shoot 20 arrows every day or every other day than to shoot 200 arrows every 4 or 5 days.  Normally, you will start to get arm weary right around 50 to 70 shots and then your bow shooting mechanics start to suffer.  If you start to develop bad habits in shooting form because of fatigue you are doing more harm than good in most instances.  Once you start to lose your ability to hold the bow steady or your anchor point starts to reposition itself accuracy will start to degrade.  I know I've been there myself.  I always thought that more was better, but I was completely wrong.  If your arm and shoulder are sore, you are shooting too much.

Exercise is important and can be done with rubber bands, the Bowfit or actually just pulling back your bow from time to time to strengthen your shooting muscles.  Stretching is good too, although be extremely careful stretching, because you can easily tear a muscle or tendon if done incorrectly or if your muscles and tendons are tight.  Just ask me, I know!  I normally warm-up my arms and shoulders with a few pulls on my Bowfit and I'm good to go.  Doing anything that simulates the pulling action of shooting a bow is good exercise.

Shooting Distance all depends on if you shoot instinctively or with sights.  If you shoot without sights, 15 yards should be your starting point.  If you shoot with sights, start at the distance your top pin is sighted-in at, i.e., 20 yard top pin, start at 20 yards.  Once you become proficient at putting your arrows in the kill zone at 15 yards if you are shooting instinctively or at 20 yards with sights start moving back in 10 yard increments. 

I have a 20, 30, 40 and 50 yard pin on my Black Gold Flashpoint sight, and I normally shoot at every distance when practicing.  You'll find that once you can hit from 50 yards, those 20 and 30 yard shots seem ridiculously close.  I have been shooting a bow for over 20 years so I am quite accurate at every distance.  However, I personally, would never shoot at an animal beyond 30 yards UNLESS everything was perfect, as in I was able to use a range finder for the exact distance, there was no discernible crosswind, the animal was calm and relaxed and I couldn't get any closer.     

Tree stand shots can be difficult if you have never shot or practiced shooting from above.  Although you may never get a chance to hunt from a tree stand in Colorado -- unless you hun

Agreed Steve as far as the distances but let us not take the short ones for granted. They will be the easiest ones you miss also, just because they seem to be chip shots after practicing at long distances.
 
M,
 Your son and you can do several diff things to get in shape. I mentioned on another post that I use a Theraband to keep my upper in shape along with push-ups. Upper body strength is key to being able to draw and hold on target. Free-weights also work well for getting your arms in shape. Be sure ot stretch before doing any shooting though. Bad things can happen to cold muscles.
 
Follow the advise from the above posts and you guys will do just fine.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Fergot to say ...

When I mentioned the "paper plate" dealie ... when one of our local HSC instructors touches on the archery part of the class (his is ONLY firearms and "core" knowledge ... we've got a different class specifically for bowhunters -- tho it's not required to take that before buyin' a license -- and another one for trapping) one thing he stresses about "practice" is that he won't let his son buy a license until the son can consistently put his arrows in a paper plate, from a reasonable distance ...

Not sayin' y'all hafta do that ... but it's a fair standard of capability that one might consider ... besides, the targets are cheap ... (it's the backstop that's pricey)

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

I used to shoot at paper plates with a red spot the size of a butter dish lid in the center.  Gave me something more to aim at than just a general white disc.  I was lucky enough to find a larger foam rubber piece of boat mooring material.  Is about 3'x3'x8" and weighs around 60lbs.  They used it at a dock for a bumper.  Got it at an auction for almost around $10.  I now paint my red dot on that.  LOL

Love playing that string music and sending a Muzzy flying!

Me, after shooting for so long, the dots needed to be more challenging. I used to insert nickels and dimes into my 3D target and shoot for them. It helped me hold rock steady on target, instead of bobbing into the kill zone. Got a bowl full of dented coins now. Good thing is that it does not hurt your arrows cause the KE forces the coins into the target itself. Just my little variation of a change up pitch.  LOL

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

If you can even just shoot one arrow a day - shoot it!
That helps you be ready to make one shot count!

For me, though, it's kind of like eating Lay's potato chips - I can't shoot just one!

mgoodman,
This is all good stuff. I have picked up a few good points myself.
My 2$ worth:
Some times shooting the same target every day could get boring. Get a shooting partner and have some fun with it. Start w/ large tic-tac-toe and make them smaller over time.
Go to 3-D shoots w/ a friend when you can.
Club in AK we had 5'x6' targets. We hung 30+ balloons (2"- 3" dia.), You had to call the balloon, if a clean miss next shooter shoots, if you hit a wrong baloon- loose a turn. This was great if kids were around. We had a kids nite w/ prizes on a note in some balloons.
Exersize tips were good. Mine is, I hunt w/ a 60# set at 55. I have an 80# I shoot short periods in pratice. After that the 55# is hardly noticed.
Just a few thoughts.
SD

Gary Gray, Rapid City,SD hrd.rock.miner@frontier.com, NRA, NAHC LM

I try to shoot as often as I have time during the off season and shoot from varying distances and positions out to 50 yards. I confine my shots on game to a max of 30 yards as that is where I am most comfortable with my capability for a clean hit. I practice varying size targets also, from golf tees to a full size whitetail 3D target. Play tic tac toe with friends and also shoot an occasional 300 league at my friends shop. As has been said over and over in this forum, there is no min or max amount of shooting. Do what you are comfortable with and shoot as often as possible. From tree stands, if the distance on the ground from base of tree to target is 20 yards, it is still a 20 yard shot from an elevated stand. I have found it helpful to range my shooting lanes from the ground while setting stands and then make mental notes of distances to where I expect to shoot.Most important is to keep it fun. If not fun lay off until you're mentally ready to continue.
Good Luck and shoot  straight,
Steve Albers

Guys,
 Do not forget to stretch before shooting. Especailly on colder days. You can do alot of damage to your shoulders if not warmed up before shooting sessions. Even if it is only one arrow. And yes, the first arrow out of the box is the only real one that counts.  LOL

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

First arrow, Gary?

Not me ... I carry along a full box, besides my quiver full ... I'll shoot @ 'em until either I can't see 'em any more, or everythin' is empty ... HAR! (Same as when I'm rifle huntin' ... until I run outta ammo!)

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

What I meant by that was, when practicing, the first arrow is the one that counts. Just as the first arrow out of your bow when sittinging the stand. The rest are bonus ones.  LOL or follow up shots for the first bad shot. 

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

I gnu whut y'all meant, Gary ... merely havin' fun ...

I had a long string of one-shot (rifle) seasons, back when I wuz younger ... then I had the "adventure" of switchin' to Muley country ...

Took me 19 shots to hit a deer, that year ... them dang bouncin' targets wuz a LOT closer than I thot, and I wuz shootin' over 'em a lot ...

Since then, I've been less inclined to take things for granted, until about the time I split the aitch-bone and tip 'em over ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

Man, y'all just been hard on a brotha lately.   LMAO  

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Oh, I finally managed to figger it out ... had a few "nice" shots since then, but as I said ... I don't count 'em until they're tagged ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

Here's a little bowhunting practice advice from Chuck Adams:
 
 
The best bowhunters can keep almost all their arrows inside 1 1/2 inches at 10 yards and 3 inches at 20 yards.  For outdoor practice at longer ranges, I fashion homemade bull’s-eyes that conform to this ever-enlarging target progression: 4 1/2-inch bull’s-eyes at 30 yards; 6-inchers at 40 yards; 7 1/2-inchers at 50 yards; and 9-inchers at 60 yards.
 
If you’re really into a challenge, try shooting 1-inch bull’s-eyes at 10 yards, 2-inchers at 20 yards, 4-inchers at 40 yards, 5-inchers at 50 yards, 6-inchers at 60 yards, etc. All these bull’s-eyes will appear to be the same size, and this practice tip will help you tighten your basic shooting ability.

 
Regular, week-in and week-out shooting will make you a well-oiled machine. You won’t have equipment surprises during the hunting season, and no doubts about how well you can shoot.  Practice once or twice per week -- 30-80 arrows each session -- and you’ll become a good shot.  More practice than this can wear down your muscles and degrade your mental concentration, and less shooting might not keep you fit or sharp.

 
That's pretty good advice!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve 

That's excellent advice, Steve ... puts some parameters out there for them whut asked questions about "how much/how often/how good" and such ...

But ... WTD are y'all doin' up @ that time of the day? I thot y'all said that since yer life (and workin' one job while startin' a business) has settled down a bit?

Oh ... scoutin' and packin' for all them trips ... um ... nevermind ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

O:
 
Yeah, if anyone should know something about shooting a bow it would be Chuck Adams.  Some like him; some dislike him, but you have to admit that he is one heck of a good bowhunter with a ton of experience.
 
It has settled down in the fact that I don't have to go outside of the house to go to work, but there is always something to do at all times of the day.  I'm usually up until 4 or 5 a.m. most nights.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve