How Often Should I Practice?

[lknhuntress]

How often do you guys think I should be practicing NOW in preparation for this season hunting?

And, how many arrows should I shoot at each practice?

Thanks for your help.

[drockw]

That depend on how good you want to be. What range are u looking to be able to take a deer from???

Backyard practice is much different than shooting deer as well.

[Madjac20]

Originally Posted by lknhuntress

How often do you guys think I should be practicing NOW in preparation for this season hunting?

And, how many arrows should I shoot at each practice?

Thanks for your help.

Right now, I practice maybe every other day, skipping no more than 2 days. I don't go by the quantity of arrows as the quaility of the shot. In other words..100 shots with bad form does not come close to 5 shots with good form. If your not in the groove with a particular session-shot go inside, think about what you may have been doing wrong and come out tomorrow flinging.

[lknhuntress]

Originally Posted by drockw

That depend on how good you want to be. What range are u looking to be able to take a deer from???

Backyard practice is much different than shooting deer as well.

Probably 20-25 yrds.

[7danny]

I agree with above, work on form, the rest will come once form is good.

I am goig to start video rec my practice so I can review it and have others view it to help me get form down tight.

If you can shoot with someone with more experince so they can help you achive good form.

Form and good shots more important then quantity. Practice as offten as you can. Also try shooting from difrent postions, try shooting with obsticles in way like tree branch. More then likely you will not be presented with best shots, so practice like wise.

[WisconsinBowHunter]

everyday is a great day go practice. you should think of it not as practice but an enjoyable time.

[IL-Cornfed]

As with ANY workout, you should work to build muscle memory and flawless form. For some it takes a LOT more work than others. However, you should shoot as often as possible.

[kwilson16]

Every other day is a maximum for me. You have to give your muscles time to recover. There are times when taking a couple of days off can be very beneficial. When you're tired, form suffers.

Use some of that time to do off-season scouting, tuning, fletching, contacting new landowners etc.

During the season, it is always a good idea to shoot 2-3 arrows before heading to the stand on afternoon hunts.

[drockw]

Originally Posted by lknhuntress

Probably 20-25 yrds.

Then I would strive to shoot 3-5" groups at 30 consistantly. And I mean a true 3-5" average. Try to eliminate all errant flyers out of your system. This will take muscle memory and repitition by practice. Perfect practice, not just flinging arrows. Pretend every shot is a deer an pressure yourself like it's the buck of a lifetime.

If u can achieve the 4ish" group average at 30, than striv to better it by tweaking YOU and YOUR shot process.

Lots of people might say a 5" group is too big at 30 yards, but being a competitive shooter, I will tell u from truth that most people cannot keep a whole days worth of arrows in that kind of group.

Remember, that one bad shot is likely to appear when staring at an animal u intend to kill.

Have fun with shooting, but also work to get better, not just "good enough" as many say they are...

[GMMAT]

LOL...

I haven't shot my bow in MONTHS.

You can probably get ready with a compound bow in a couple weeks of solid shooting....shooting 25-50 arrows/day (at the range you're talking about). It may take you a little longer, if you think shooting that many arrows will tax you....and you need to work up to it.

Don't sweat it.