Starting out...........

[Double Creek]

As most of you know, I bought a long bow a few weeks back and have been shooting alot. My question is this..... Is there there a practice routine I should be doing as a beginner? or just go out and shoot?

Should I be starting a certain distances and just staying there until I master the shot? Help needed......

What would be your suggestion for a beginner......starting with day 1..........

[BobCo19-65]

I think that a lot of things in traditional kind of come to you over time with patience. In the beginning work on form not accuracy. I don't think that trying to force anything really helps much. I firmly believe that accuracy comes with form. Some things that I work on with form are:

1. Pull though the arrow-I have found that if you pull through the arrow (I try to picture me pulling the point directly through the shaft when drawing the bow-sounds crazy) that a lot of things automatically line up. Arms shoulders arrow all form a direct line at the target.
2. Keep back tension-never stop pulling even at full draw
3. Proper stance - open, knees somewhat bent
4. anchor-consistancy
5. staying down on the bow after the shot - follow through, keep bow arm up

Those are a few things that I can think of off hand anyway. I only work on one thing in a session.

[Arthur P]

There are so many points to address that I could write a book on it. Along with the points Chad makes, I'd add a few more.

Make sure you don't whiteknuckle the bow's grip. That's a very important one.

I had a longbow once that I couldn't shoot worth a flip. It caused my hand and wrist to ache something fierce. This was just after I switched from shooting with a high wrist to using a low wrist. I noticed I was really squeezing the grip hard and had a lot of tension in my forearm. Well, I forced myself to relax my grip and BINGO. There it was! When I began drawing the bow, I could feel a lot more pressure from the grip in the web of my hand instead of on the heel. The bow wanted to be shot with a neutral wrist instead of a low wrist! After that, I shot the bow just fine. But I'd have never realized it if I hadn't relaxed that bow hand.

Don't fall into the trap of machine gunning arrows downrange. Your muscles need a good 30 - 45 seconds between shots in order to recharge their energy. If you just fling away, your muscles will fatique very quickly and you could start developing bad habits.

Here's a process that will force you to take your time between shots and let those muscles recharge. Take a few seconds to analyze the shot you just made. Take a couple of deep breaths and exhale slowly through your mouth. Visualize blowing out any tension you feel. If you still feel any tension or stress, repeat the deep breath. Then load an arrow on the bow and grab the string. You always forget the shot you just made. Good or bad, it's ancient history and has nothing to do with the next shot. All that matters is the shot you're preparing to take. Do another deep breath and think of blowing out any thoughts that are not relevant to shooting that next arrow. Concentrate on your spot, draw while partially exhaling, then anchor. As you begin increasing back tension for the release, begin a slow, controlled inhale. That will expand your chest and help you isolate your back muscles for the release. When the sight picture looks right and everything feels lined up, the string will leave your fingers.

Make a pre-shot checklist. Stance, grip, breath control, concentration, back tension. Eventually, you'll begin doing these things automatically. When your shooting begins to go sour - 'when' not 'if' - go back to the checklist.

[Double Creek]

Thanks guys, but you still didn't exactly answer my question, let me rephrase.......

If you were a beginner and just bought a brand new bow, arrows, etc, what would be the first thing you would do on the first day on the range............. How long would you do it, etc.......

What I am getting at is this........should I just be shooting blind bales, concentrating on form, should I be shooting a target at 10yds to try and learn my gaps and learn form, or should I be doing a little of both.........

[Arthur P]

The first thing I do is warm up my muscles and joints. A few shoulder rotations, arm swings and even a few pushups to get the blood flowing. Then I do some stretches on those shooting muscles. Then I will go over to the 10 yard target and warm up my concentration and shoot a few tight groups to build up my confidence before advancing to the longer ones.

Really though, I'd recommend forgoing the target altogether. Shooting at targets can get awful boring, awful quick. And it can get frustrating. I've gotten to the point where I hate shooting at targets. I like being out in the woods where I'm relaxed, with nothing to prove, and my shooting is so-o-o-o much better!

Get a few judo points and go stump shooting. I'd been shooting and hunting with bows for a good 12 years before I ever stuck an arrow in an archery target. Leaves blowing across a field. Clumps of grass. Dried up cowpies (heavy emphasis on the "dried up" part ), plastic soda bottles and soda cans or other such litter... any worthy target of opportunity to shoot at from unknown distances.

[BobCo19-65]

What I am getting at is this........should I just be shooting blind bales, concentrating on form, should I be shooting a target at 10yds to try and learn my gaps and learn form, or should I be doing a little of both.........

Here is my opinion :

In the beginning work on form not accuracy.