Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

and man do I suck! I scored an 89 out of a possible 324. and broke 3arrows,and lost1. Any suggestions that might help me improve will be greatly appreciated. I am thinking about using a lighter bow next shoot. I noticed most were shooting bows in 40-45lb range, and I was shooting a 52lb bow. Also most of my misses were shot over the targets.

Rem. 222

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

Not bad. The first 2 I went too I lost 4 arrows each shoot. I shoot AD trads at a about $10/each. Bummer! Just keep at it. Went to a shoot this weekend my 5th and didn' t lose any arrows:D:D. I try to use what I plan to hunt with and use shoots as hunting practice:D

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

Rem,

Try this. Go outside and find a target, hay bail whatever. Stand about 10 yds from it and pick a spot. Draw the bow, anchor and look where your arrow is compared to the target. It should be almost in line under the target naturally by just drawing. If not move it there. Now with the bow still drawn and on line stare at the spot and don' t look at the arrow. When full concentration is met let it go. If you don' t hit the spot I bet you didn' t miss by much. Try the same thing again. Pretty soon you won' t even have to look at the arrow and the arrow will go where you want them to. It won' t take any time to simply look, anchor, and release. One final thing is if you' re going to try the above method is don' t aim the arrow. Just draw naturally and anchor like you always do and then just look at where the arrow is in relation to the target. Let me know how this works.

Chad

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

Don' t let it get you down--having fun is the most important part. 3-D tournaments can be nerve-racking, until you get used to them. Shooing around/with strangers and/or crowds, new terrain, the pressure of competition, etc. Also, if you don' t have a 3-D target or two to practice on, they are (to me at least) a lot different than shooting a flat target.

Work on picking a spot. Don' t shoot just at bull' s-eyes or dots. Learn to focus on a point instead of the entire target--practice picking a spot on animals around the house (don' t shoot them though!), or even on everyday objects such as a road sign (not while you are driving). Don' t shoot marked yardages--get your brain to do the calculating for you. Learn where the rings are on the targets--most all of them have some kind of reference you can look at. If you only have flat targets to practice on, set them at angles now and then. Get used to shadows, leaning targets, quartering targets, etc.

Hang in there--the more you go, the better you will get.

Chad

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

We all have days like that. Once I sat down the night before a 50 target tournament and fletched up 2 dozen cedars. At the shoot the next day, you could track my progress around the course by all the red and orange feathers and cedar shrapnel laying next to the trees. I had to refill my quiver when we took a lunch break! Went home from that shoot with 3 arrows left out of 24.

You see? You didn' t do as bad as you thought. ;)

By the way, that was also the last time I shot that 120 pound longbow at a tournament. Never shot over 65 pounds in tournaments after that.

If you' re shooting good in practice, then you just have to remember to keep relax and enjoy shooting. That' s really what it' s all about. Trying too hard to shoot well and getting tensed up is the #1 mistake most new tournament shooters (even scruffy old veterans, for that matter) make.

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

Thanks, you all know how to brighten ones outlook.

Chad in Colorado
I tried your method and it seems to be working. I figured out that in the past when my consistency wasn' t there, I was sighting down my arrow instead of shooting at a specific spot. Now if I can retrain myself I should improve. I still at times find myself sighting down the arrow, I guess old habits are hard to break.

Rem. 222

RE: Shot my first Trad. 3D shoot,
 

Right on! no method works for everyone but I' ve found that the method I described above will get you on track and then you can apply your own twist to it. The next thing you know you' ll be looking at spots and drilling them from 10-40yds.

Chad