How to get the most out of my Lights Out for 3D?
02-01-2010, 06:49 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 183
How to get the most out of my Lights Out for 3D?
Obviously I'll never be able to turn it into a full on 3D set-up. I'm a hunter through and through...but I just shot my first 3D tourney and had a blast. Definitely don't have enough money to buy another set up for 3D...what small changes could I make or things could I ad to help me with the 3D course?
My current set-up:
Bear Lights out-58lbs-vapor trail string-28" draw
Boomslang Plus 4 pin sight .019
Hostage Rest
4.5" S-Coil stabilizer
Gold Tip Arrows with Blazers fletched w. a helical 100gr. tips
Tru-fire Patriot release
I don't want to change my whole set-up obviously since I need it for hunting this spring. I don't expect to be a top performer but what would I get the most bang for my buck on improving my equipment? Don't have tons of money to put into it, but if I can add $50-$100 and improve my score decently it'd be worth it. Any thoughts?
My current set-up:
Bear Lights out-58lbs-vapor trail string-28" draw
Boomslang Plus 4 pin sight .019
Hostage Rest
4.5" S-Coil stabilizer
Gold Tip Arrows with Blazers fletched w. a helical 100gr. tips
Tru-fire Patriot release
I don't want to change my whole set-up obviously since I need it for hunting this spring. I don't expect to be a top performer but what would I get the most bang for my buck on improving my equipment? Don't have tons of money to put into it, but if I can add $50-$100 and improve my score decently it'd be worth it. Any thoughts?
02-02-2010, 04:36 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cenral Illinois
Posts: 3,180
Honestly, coming from someone who ONLY shoots 1 bow, my hunting setup, I don't think you should change anything. The more you shoot, the better your scores will be. If you are going to hunt with that same rig, shoot it exactly as you would for hunting. Your confidence in it will be very high come hunting season since you will have shot a ton in the offseason with the same setup. You've got good equipment on your bow as it is, so I think you're ok.
If you are just itching to make a small change, I would change all but your shortest-yardage pin to .10. This will help at longer distances since it won't cover nearly as much of the target.
If you are just itching to make a small change, I would change all but your shortest-yardage pin to .10. This will help at longer distances since it won't cover nearly as much of the target.
02-02-2010, 04:52 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SE Ohio
Posts: 2,531
Not really a whole lot to do to improve the "set-up" the only thing you can really improve is the ARCHER!!! Practice judging distance, as it is probably one of the MOST important parts of 3D. From that point, knowing precisely how your bow shoots at 33 vs. 36yds also is important. If you want to tweak your set-up a bit, adjust pins, but remember what you did to adjust them. I determine where I set my first pin by knowing what I can "get away with" between 5 and "xx" yds. For my bows that I've set up over the last few years, I've set my 1st pins at 22-25 yds, depending on how fast/slow they were. Then I set my second pin based off my first pin to give me "hunting accuracy" safety net. If I set my first at 24, then my second pin is usually at 32yds, and third at 40. This way if I think something is 30yds, I can snug my 32yd pin just under the 11-spot and hope to put it where I want it to fly. That being said, I'm far from a great 3D shooter as I just don't get to do it often enough, but I do at least have a plan.
Beyond that, the only thing set-up wise that I can think of you may benefit from would be a thumb release, as they stop a LOT of trigger punching that we may or may not know we're doing.
Beyond that, the only thing set-up wise that I can think of you may benefit from would be a thumb release, as they stop a LOT of trigger punching that we may or may not know we're doing.
02-02-2010, 04:58 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Burke, VA (raised in MD)
Posts: 1,096
Honestly, coming from someone who ONLY shoots 1 bow, my hunting setup, I don't think you should change anything. The more you shoot, the better your scores will be. If you are going to hunt with that same rig, shoot it exactly as you would for hunting. Your confidence in it will be very high come hunting season since you will have shot a ton in the offseason with the same setup. You've got good equipment on your bow as it is, so I think you're ok.
How about Binos? If you want spend some money that will improve your 3D scores, then invest in a set of quality binos. Two years ago I invested in a set of Leupold Pinnacle 8x42's and I can't stand to be in the woods without them. They can also really help you to pick-out the 3D scoring rings. They will change the way you think about deer hunting - especially if you are not using quality binos right now.
02-02-2010, 06:43 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Middletown PA United States
Posts: 3,625
In the equipment category the only thing I would change is to get a better release and maybe a set of arrows just for 3D.
You say you're shooting Gold Tips, but don't say which ones. GT makes a lot of different models and spines of arrows.
Also, do you plan on shooting any sanctioned tournaments or are you staying with local clubs? This could make a difference on the type of arrows you might want to shoot.
Other than that you can "shoot what ya brung". It's a good way to stay in tune with your hunting bow and just work on shooting form and distance judging skills., which are more important than haggling over equipment changes.
More importantly, keep having fun. That's what it's all about. That and self improvement.
You say you're shooting Gold Tips, but don't say which ones. GT makes a lot of different models and spines of arrows.
Also, do you plan on shooting any sanctioned tournaments or are you staying with local clubs? This could make a difference on the type of arrows you might want to shoot.
Other than that you can "shoot what ya brung". It's a good way to stay in tune with your hunting bow and just work on shooting form and distance judging skills., which are more important than haggling over equipment changes.
More importantly, keep having fun. That's what it's all about. That and self improvement.
02-02-2010, 07:26 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 1,559
I am not a big fan of changing a bow from a hunting bow to a 3D bow and then back to a hunting bow again. That is just much changing and not enough of getting to know your equipment for my taste.
If you want to keep your setup up a "hunting" setup and still shoot 3D, then do just that. I have seen a bunch of very good scores turned in by guys with a pure hunting setup. In fact, at local shoots, I would say guys with hunting setups turn in higher scores on average than those shooting “target” setups in the open class.
Fat shafts will give you a few extra points, but again you are planning on hunting with your bow this spring and do you really want to be swapping arrows around and changing sight settings and all that?
As far as what to buy to help get a few extra points out of your hunting setup, a good set of binos is key. It is amazing how much a good pair of glasses will help you on the 3D course. It is much easier to tell if a target is leaning forward or backwards, or to find a spot to focus on in the 12 or 11 ring.
However, the best thing you can do to start increasing your score in a hurry is to get good at judging yardage. This is what 3D is all about. You can take the best spot shooter in the world and if he not good at judging yardage, he won't be worth a crap on a 3D course. Take your range finder with you when you go shed hunting and start guessing yardage on everything you see.
There are several different ways to get good at judging yardage and if you do some more research, you will have a full day of reading on your hands. The magazine Tournament Archer almost always has a good article discussing different approaches to judging yardage. The simplest one and the one I use the most is to get one yardage that you know EVERY time. This yardage is different for everyone, for me it is 25 yards. That is how far my butt target is from my back door, which I see multiple times a day and have shot millions of arrows at. I would say I can get my 25 yard mark 99% of the time, once I have that it is much easier to judge a 37 yard target from my 25 yard mark that trying to judge the whole 37 yards. Also, as you are looking at your target, if you rock back and fourth slowly you will notice that whatever is exactly in the middle of you and your target will appear not to move side-to-side like everything else. Now all you have to do is judge how far that is and you then know how far the target is.
There is a bunch of ways you can cheat also to guess yardage, but you don’t want to be a cheater do you?
One other thing, if you plan on only shooting local club shoots that have no speed restrictions, then maybe try to tweek your arrow setup to allow you to shoot as fast as possible and still have a hunting setup. There is a big difference where you arrow impacts at when you are shooting 300fps rather than 280fps and you guess a 37 yard target at 33 yards.
Ok, so one more thing. If you are shooting a 3D course that is scoring ASA (low 12's) learn how to aim for that 12. If you aim for dead center 12 and miss your yardage short, you have a very good chance of ending up in the 8 or even the 5 depending on the target and how bad you miss the yardage. Try aiming for 12 o'clock on the 12 ring, if you miss short (depending on how short) you may drop into the 12, if miss long, you have a lot of 10 ring to save you. This is why IBO 11's (IMHO), which are center shots, are so much easier to shoot, more room for yardage errors. Shooting for ASA 12's can make or break you, but in most cases, they break me!!!!
Have fun, enjoy shooting and knowing that you are becoming a better archer for when it matters, November!!!!
If you want to keep your setup up a "hunting" setup and still shoot 3D, then do just that. I have seen a bunch of very good scores turned in by guys with a pure hunting setup. In fact, at local shoots, I would say guys with hunting setups turn in higher scores on average than those shooting “target” setups in the open class.
Fat shafts will give you a few extra points, but again you are planning on hunting with your bow this spring and do you really want to be swapping arrows around and changing sight settings and all that?
As far as what to buy to help get a few extra points out of your hunting setup, a good set of binos is key. It is amazing how much a good pair of glasses will help you on the 3D course. It is much easier to tell if a target is leaning forward or backwards, or to find a spot to focus on in the 12 or 11 ring.
However, the best thing you can do to start increasing your score in a hurry is to get good at judging yardage. This is what 3D is all about. You can take the best spot shooter in the world and if he not good at judging yardage, he won't be worth a crap on a 3D course. Take your range finder with you when you go shed hunting and start guessing yardage on everything you see.
There are several different ways to get good at judging yardage and if you do some more research, you will have a full day of reading on your hands. The magazine Tournament Archer almost always has a good article discussing different approaches to judging yardage. The simplest one and the one I use the most is to get one yardage that you know EVERY time. This yardage is different for everyone, for me it is 25 yards. That is how far my butt target is from my back door, which I see multiple times a day and have shot millions of arrows at. I would say I can get my 25 yard mark 99% of the time, once I have that it is much easier to judge a 37 yard target from my 25 yard mark that trying to judge the whole 37 yards. Also, as you are looking at your target, if you rock back and fourth slowly you will notice that whatever is exactly in the middle of you and your target will appear not to move side-to-side like everything else. Now all you have to do is judge how far that is and you then know how far the target is.
There is a bunch of ways you can cheat also to guess yardage, but you don’t want to be a cheater do you?
One other thing, if you plan on only shooting local club shoots that have no speed restrictions, then maybe try to tweek your arrow setup to allow you to shoot as fast as possible and still have a hunting setup. There is a big difference where you arrow impacts at when you are shooting 300fps rather than 280fps and you guess a 37 yard target at 33 yards.
Ok, so one more thing. If you are shooting a 3D course that is scoring ASA (low 12's) learn how to aim for that 12. If you aim for dead center 12 and miss your yardage short, you have a very good chance of ending up in the 8 or even the 5 depending on the target and how bad you miss the yardage. Try aiming for 12 o'clock on the 12 ring, if you miss short (depending on how short) you may drop into the 12, if miss long, you have a lot of 10 ring to save you. This is why IBO 11's (IMHO), which are center shots, are so much easier to shoot, more room for yardage errors. Shooting for ASA 12's can make or break you, but in most cases, they break me!!!!
Have fun, enjoy shooting and knowing that you are becoming a better archer for when it matters, November!!!!
02-02-2010, 07:35 AM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cenral Illinois
Posts: 3,180
Forgot about the binos, good call guys. They are a part of my routine with 3D, so I didn't even think about that in the equipment category. Binos will help you IMMENSELY. Picking out the rings is one thing, but also being able to tell if the target is leaning can make a world of difference, both quartering and if it tilted forward or is leaning back. Without binos, its really tough to pick this out, and with people shooting and pulling arrows, LOTS of targets get tipped.
02-02-2010, 12:32 PM
#10
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 183
Thanks a lot everyone! I have a pair of binos, but they are pretty cheap so maybe that would be the best investment. I suppose good practice and staying sharp for hunting is more important than placing in "just for fun" events anyhow!