spicolie

I just started practicing last summer and I got 6" groupings at 20yds. I am not a bowhunter by any means yet. I practice off of an 8' shed but I hunt out of a fifteen foot stand. Does it make much difference to you guys, if so should I practice out of the stands I hunt in the offseason. I got out in the woods last season But I missed an opportunity because of darkness. I ended up getting him first day of shotgun. I feal that getting a whitetail with a bow is the biggest challenge of all.

Nomercy

6" groups at 20yrds isn' t bad for a beginner, one thing I might make sure of is that you' re shooting a release? I was a 8" shooter at 20yrds pulling fingers, I bought a release and shot 12 groups at 20yrds under 4" with five arrows, scoring 24x' s. It was absolutely amazing the difference it made.

I' m also going to suggest carbon arrows if you' re not already shooting them, there' s jut no comparison in accuracy/trajectory, and you never have a straight alluminum arrow after they' ve been shot once, a carbon is either straight or broken, and they' re a LOT tougher, put an alluminum into a tree trunk and it' s a new arrow, put a carbon into one, assuming you can get it out, it' s fine.

It' s best to practice from the height you' ll be hunting at, but the difference isn' t much really, from 8ft to 15ft, you might not notice the difference (since you' re already a 6" group, if you were a nock-breaker, it would be fairly different, but you' ll be fine). A lot of guys never practice from an elevation at all, so the fact that you are is pretty impressive for a beginner.

How often do you shoot? Archery isn' t like rifle hunting, any hunter with a good gun can put 20 rnds a year through his gun and never be inaccurate enough to cause a problem out to 200yrds, but if an archer practiced like this, he' d never get accurate enough to hunt at 20yrds...it' s good practice to shoot twice a month in the summer, and once or twice a week in the early fall before season, then shooting during season is also important. Practice practice practice. You' ll cut your groups down in a hurry if you shoot that often.

skeeter 7MM

Good advice above, if you haven' t got a release get one! It makes the release the same everytime. I would also suggest having a string loop installedd, it does make a difference and reduces noise and wear on the string. 6' groups at 20 isn' t hunting ready IMO, b/c you can be assured it will grow under the pressure of live animals. Try and strive for 3-4" before you hunt a rule is double your group size on game and if your in the ball game you should be considered ready at that distance(6-8" on deer is the vitals). Also it is good to practice from up if you plan to use a stand, however the result of shooting high isn' t due to elevation but rather improper form when in a tree. Try and bend at the waist not the arm(shoulder to your target) by doing this you will not increase the draw length(which results in shooting high). I practice and hunt mostly on the ground however I do bear hunt in a stand and my POI doesn' t change one bit from the ground to my stands which are 15 feet up, it is all technique and takes practice. If you hunt in a tree stand always wear a safety belt!!!

Other things to consider. Make sure the arrows you have are the correct spine for your setup. Try different arrow and head combination, make sure your bow is tuned to these combinations & properly spined. An untuned bow will cause many erratic problems and tight groups are less achieveable, you can take it to a proshop, have a buddy who knows his stuff help or do it yourself. Do a little research on Easton Arrows website, it is under tuning guide(which talks about spine, flight problems, tuning and solutions). Have somebody who is a knowledgeable bow shooter watch you for form and help you achieve the same anchor, release and follow through each time...this is something that will make you a better shot. You need to get the proper form and get to that point everytime it will result in good groups, confidence and success. Most bow shooters have check or reference points that ensure this happens each time they draw the bow, this not something that can be described but rather you' ll teach yourself(and everybody has different ways/checks). If you don' t have a peep sight installed, get one(acts like a rear sight on a gun) and when starting out is a very good piece of equipment to have. You can also add stabilizer to help steady and weight the bow properly, any proshop should be able to help you with this task. Make sure the draw weight and length match you. Draw length & fit is very important to technique and grouping. Also make sure the poundage you are set at is not too much, this can also result in wandering shots. Pulling a bow uses muscles that you never knew you had and over time you can increase poundage as you gain muscle and endurance power. A bow set at 50 lbs shooting tight groups is a much better option than 70lbs and all over the map.

Lastly keep practicing!

wimp

Keep at it, I' d suggest getting those groups down to 4" before hunting. It shouldn' t be hard at all with a well tuned bow and a release. At 20yds you' ll be pulling 2" groups. Good luck.

Stump_MN_Hunter

In my opinion...6 inch groups at 20 yards is not efficient enough for hunting. At that consistancy, you will have a big chance at losing/wounding and missing deer. Never know, it might be big ben that you put a bad shot on and never find but ends up being coyote lunch. But don' t worry one bit.....we all shot like that or worse when we started. I know I did. When getting ready to bow hunt....practice, practice, practice, practice and then practice some more. I did that same thing and can shoot 2" groups at 20. Most days...LOL I' m not saying that being able to hit those groups makes me a good hunter, but atleast knowing I can shoot that takes that one thing out of the equation. I would also suggest that when your practicing....setup shots you know you will take in the wild. Confidence only gives rewards.