# I want to be better. A lot better.



## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)

So i shoot often. Typically 5-7 days a week at my house and I have improved a lot since I started but I feel like I am stalled out and have days of major regression. Living in the PNW this time of year makes it very difficult to practice because it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home. To combat this I have moved my target inside the garage where I have no more than 9 yard to shoot from. My outdoor range is up to 60 yard.

What I shoot:
70lb E35
Draw 29.5"
Arrow is BE impact 

Current Skill:
Good day at 60 yards is a 5 shot sub 3" group
Bad day at 60 yards is a 5 shot 12" group
Most of the time it is in-between that and i normally shoot 2 to 3 arrows at a time. typically 2 arrows are close and one is out. or one is good and one is out
Also as a session wears on the impact point changes and I have rounds of awesomeness and rounds so ugly it makes jabba the hut look good.

What I am looking for:
I am looking for close range training drills that will improve my consistency and accuracy.
I want to improve the quality and efficiency of my practice outside as well. (sometime it feels like the more I practice the worse I get. Then I get mad and practice even more)
Once the days get longer I want to start improving my up and down hill accuracy. (any drills here would be great)
I want to do more drilling and less shooting if that makes sense

Final Outcome:
I want to be shooting laser beams with bulletproof form by next year.


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## Supermag1 (Jun 11, 2009)

Practice where every arrow counts. In hunting or competition, every shot counts and we normally only get one shot so practice that way and only shoot one at a time (no make up shots). Another thing I've found that helps is shooting spots, sure it seems easy to hit what you're aiming at from only 20 yards but try to hit that tiny fita x ring at 20 yards 30 times in a row and then tell me how easy it is. If you only have 9 yards to shoot, get some of the reduced size faces that las sells and do it that way.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

1st - Written Shot Sequence. How are you going to get there if you don't know where you are going.
2nd - Practice your shot sequence - you will improve your consistency more than if you just practiced your shot. It's a subtle difference, but a big one.
3rd - Blank bale & Bridge - This is where you work on a single part of your form at a time. This thread may help you understand how to use the blank bale: http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1985316&highlight=blank
4th - String Time. You won't get good with a dozen or two arrows a day. To be good, you have to spend a lot of time shooting your bow. However, don't overdo it. Shoot only as long as you can execute a good shot. Fatigue is an enemy to good form. It will help if you turn down the DW on your bow as much as you can or get lower DW bow. It will allow you to shoot more with less damage to your shoulders.
5th - Learn to fit your bow to YOU. A twist or two in a string or cable can make a difference on how your bow holds. Learning how to do this takes a lot of time & access to a bow press. While adjustments for fit are less important than your form, it makes form & execution much easier. Note: this is different than tuning for arrow flight. Better is better for arrow flight, but tuning for bow fit is much more important.
6th - keep your expectations in check. It takes a while to develop the skill & consistency you want. A few years ago I worked like a dog to get good at indoor. I was shooting 60X scores in practice. First tournament, I was on the line facing a left handed former Vegas winner. I was going to show him how it was done. :embara: I developed a case of TP that I'm still working to control. When you shoot competition go only with the expectation that you will shoot your form. A good shot is one that you execute perfectly by your shot sequence. How it scores is irrelevant. False expectations is one of the big reasons for TP.

Good luck,
Allen


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## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)

Thanks for that article. Blank Bale and bridging make a lot more sense to me now.

I will work on the items you have laid out and I have been playing around with bow fit and the more I play the more I realize what I don't know but it is improving.

I am going to try and get some pics this evening and maybe you could offer some pointers on form?


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## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)




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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

Double the distance between you and the camera, and redo this photo, so we can see the floor, can see your shoes, can see ALL of the bow.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Your form actually looks pretty good. However, it's the classic leaning back a few degrees which indicates your bow needs to lose a little draw length. Experiment with about 1/4" shorter to start. If that helps, go a little shorter in very small increments. Shoot for a couple of weeks, see how well you are executing your shot sequence, then another 1/16" shorter to see if you can do better still. Keep going shorter until your execution starts to get worse. 

Chance are you will soon start to feel too short. Give it a couple of weeks and if it still feels to short, increase the DL.

Download the nuts&bolts of archery for more information on form & tuning. It's got a lot of good information.
Hopefully someone will provide a link for you. I'm at work right now and can't spend the time to find it.

Allen


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## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)

Ok here is the photo


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## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)

I noticed the slight lean as well. I will play with my draw a little.


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## Brock-80 (Aug 20, 2015)

Couple more questions. 

First I changed my strings since they were pretty beat up after hunting season. 

I started paper tuning and found that some arrows shot bullet holes and some did not. I did some nock tuning and got a few to start shooting well. But then I started to wonder if the bullet was the one that was not right. I also checked my poundage and found it to be 3lbs over spec.

So I started playing with draw length and I untwisted cables and twisted the bow string, this brought the bow back to spec for the poundage. But when I did this I now have a consistent right tear.

I am going to shim the cams now but does this make sense? Is it because there is less tension on the cables now so that tension is no longer hiding the cam issue. I struggled with this before and was able to get rid of it by turning the cable guard but the bow was not in spec based on the poundage.

Are cam shims the right approach at this point?


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

Brock-80 said:


> Couple more questions.
> 
> First I changed my strings since they were pretty beat up after hunting season.
> 
> ...


Yes. Right paper tear, install more skinny shims to the right side of the cam, and install wider shims to the left side of the cam, so the top cam physically moves closer to the right end of the top axle. Make the total width of all top axle shims the exact same total width, as before.


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