# Shooting in the Wind



## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

Drastic measures for drastic conditions. Take an index finger trigger release and put it on punch amatic.


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## XForce Girl (Feb 14, 2008)

I put a wind bar on my bow. AAE makes them.

So far so good. 
I think just practicing in strong wind would be a great benefit.


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## ontargetvail (Jan 8, 2014)

I use small diameter arrows with low profile vanes and a heavy tip. I also tune my bow to shoot right at the max speed allowed. I either switch to a thumb or punch a matic. I also practice in windy conditions in order to get use to it and not stress about it on tournament day. By practicing in the wind I get to see how my set up works. It has helped me.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

XForce Girl said:


> I put a wind bar on my bow. AAE makes them.
> ....


What is the "wind bar"?

I couldn't find that on AAE's website.

Thanks,
Allen


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## XForce Girl (Feb 14, 2008)

aread said:


> What is the "wind bar"?
> 
> I couldn't find that on AAE's website.
> 
> ...


I didn't see it on their website either but they sent me one to try. 
Here's a picture from Amazon of the Wind Bar.

http://www.amazon.com/AAE-Cruzer-Wind-Bar-White/dp/B00W1RU75S


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

The Wind bar, I can't really see anything different.

When and where I could I've knelt on the ground.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

XForce Girl said:


> I didn't see it on their website either but they sent me one to try.
> Here's a picture from Amazon of the Wind Bar.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/AAE-Cruzer-Wind-Bar-White/dp/B00W1RU75S


Thank you!


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## chilipowder (Nov 1, 2012)

Wind does not influence my choice of hinge or thumb. I execute the release the same as a calm day. 
Mental is also no different. I welcome wind as I know many other archers stress about it. It is out of my control and I do not worry when my scores drop. Shoot each shot one by one. Physically it is more taxing as I know I will need to pull harder into the stops at times to give myself a better aiming opportunity, along with resisting the wind pushing the bow. Sometimes I weight the bars much more, sometimes I don't. I can be patient in wind and will hold my shot longer before letting down or releasing, and hence is why sometimes I do not add weight to the bars (to keep my form reasonable longer). I do 'practice' in the wind as I have no choice, however I am confident in my form and execution. Shooting in calm conditions when I can is important to me, so I can keep form and execution correct.


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## yeroc (Jan 11, 2007)

last 3d i shot the wind affected me.shooting a 33" wind kite stabilizer doesnt help matters.i had troubles to say the least.made me want to go back to thumb trigger and put my hinge away for the day.i dont shoot in the wind.if its windy as all get out ill head to the indoor range instead of the outside


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

I don't let the wind bother me...I actually enjoy it. I here "Oh, no- the wind" from time to time at the range and to me it's just an excuse to shoot poorly. 

Learning to shoot well in the wind isn't all that difficult. What's difficult is "knowing" the conditions...that just takes experience. When I say knowing, I'm talking about learning to read the wind...learning to listen (wind passing over the grass, trees, bushes), look (how much is grass bending, trees moving)- understand direction and how it effects flight (full value vs/ quarter value). I've seen guys out there with a wind gauge and look at a chart/notebook to try to figure out hold or sight movement. The problem is by the time you gather all your data, the conditions change. You have to read it, know your right- hold off the right amount- you have a few seconds before it changes...at least where I am.

What release to use- shouldn't matter. Practice with all the releases you have in your bag all the time and it won't make a difference what the conditions are.

So, what do I do---nothing, just shoot. I don't bother with caring too much about the wind in front of me, I'm more concerned about the wind half way down the range. Sure, if the wind is blowing me and the stab all over the place I'll let down but most of the time I just wait til I'm back on target, hold off as much as I need to compensate for drift- let it fly.

You have an advantage if it's windy all the time where you are-- you get used to judging wind by feel, sound of it moving across the grass, trees etc. Learn to hold off what ever is necessary

mental game? Learn to trust yourself, learn to love the wind, rain, heat, skeeters....and you'll easily gain a few points just with the mental part.


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## rohpenguins (Dec 2, 2012)

I use a shorter heavier stabilizer set up. I also set my release a little hotter because I tend to be a little more tense when fighting the wind. The big thing is to know your clicks and bubble so you don't have to try to hold off center. At the end of the day remember your competitors have to shoot in the conditions. Practice in the wind rain and cold not just on calm 70 degree sunny days.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

In the last year or so on a windy day I have found that I actually shoot my hinge really well using my same perfect day method and can shoot really strong. The 3d shoots that I attend are in the woods so wind really isn't a big issue.

I can say that back when I attended a local shoot with 3d targets out in the field I was still a index finger shooter who just pulled the trigger and I put up some really high scores on not just windy days but really bad days. I was shooting 345 fps with skinny hunting arrows and mini blazers, I totally just punched the trigger as the pin blew by or paused for a moment or whatever worked on that target and I could aim dead on without holding off to the side and hit 12 rings. I don't shoot that tournament anymore now that I am a hinge shooter and have considered going back to see how I could handle the wind with my hinge.


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## xtreme76 (Sep 9, 2013)

I just shot Saturday in 20mph winds with 30-35mph gust. 3-d about 1/3 dense woods, 1/3 open field and 1/3 open woods. Their were a couple targets with a tunnel effect and I think I let up 4 times each of them. I didn't take a trigger with me or I would have been probably gave into the temptation to switch. I also was using a longer stabilizer for the first time in a long time. What I found was I tried to time between gusts and then break the bow apart and was really aggressive in execution. It was windy enough I had a hard time getting drawn with the blade on a couple targets (arrow blowing off). It was also deceiving in that some shots I would be protected but the target was not, and I would sure enough miss to the downwind side despite a great hold and execution (duh). It was a learning experience for sure, but is the last time when given the option I choose to shoot in the afternoon vs morning . I definitely improved in dealing with the wind by the end of the shoot, now if I could only get better at yardage, those 5+ yards short estimations are killers.


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## bigHUN (Feb 5, 2006)

for windy days my quadraflex works really well with my cascade release set to hot


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## Tony Bagnall (Sep 8, 2012)

I shoot in the wind and use an anemometer to check the wind speeds and thus have some clue as to the effect of the wind on my arrows... I dont believe that they are not allowed at shoots... I havnt seen anything that says they are BUT!! i havnt used it at a shoot.... just check the range wind sock....


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## animal killer (Sep 16, 2009)

My trick to shooting in the wind is trying to read the wind, shoot aggressively in between gusts and for the most part try to shoot some in the wind and see what my arrow drift is add some clicks and know as much about.my setup before a windy day as I can


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## RCR_III (Mar 19, 2011)

I use the same exact set up for windy conditions as I would any other time. I have my arrows set up for good FOC and they're heavier arrows with low profile vanes to give me the best luck down range. 

I read the wind and listen for gusts to try to shoot in between them. I've practiced a lot out in the wind to see what happens downrange and it gives me an idea of what I need to do as far as holding off or things like that. 

To me, the stabilizer on the bow makes no difference compared to the actual bow. The bow acts like a sail and will be pushed around more so than a longer or shorter stabilizer.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

You know I have thought about this a lot this week and last year I shot at least 40 3d tournaments which is my primary thing and I only had one of them where I had arrows that got blown where it hurt my score and it was only on 2 of the 40 targets that day. So for me shooting in the wind isn't something that I spend time setting up my equipment or execution for.

If I was shooting in a area where most of my shooting or competitions were in windy conditions I would be shooting skinny arrows such a vaps and with low profile fletching and I would work on my aiming and execution to handle it.

This whole thread has shown me that I have a huge hole in my game because I am spoiled and in the woods all the time.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

you guys that use gauges and change your sight settings need to come out to Buffalo on a fun day. The day where the wind conditions change every 10-30 seconds, not only in intensity but direction...where you have wind at one direction at the shooter and another direction 50 on out. You simply don't have time to many any adjustments. If you can't hold off, you dropped points.

kind of funny watching the grass blow one way at YOU and see the flags at 30 different than 50, different than 70....makes for a fun day...lol


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## Travis Shaw (Feb 28, 2011)

For me I am not going to start punching just because it is windy. I have worked to hard to stop that habit altogether. I don't want to start a bad habit again.


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## kkromer (Sep 14, 2004)

I'm more aggressive overall with the shot. I set up harder against the wall on the back, melt my front hand into the riser with a little more forward pressure and really focus on pushing the pin through what I'm trying to hit. You've got to read the wind, and have somewhat of a feel for it, but over all you just have to be more aggressive, and don't be afraid to let down, a lot.


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## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

Normal shooting in the wind just wont work for me. I have been blown 24" off a 20 yard target. If I just kept going with the firing engine, I would be looking for arrows.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I visualize it as the difference between driving a finishing nail with a tack hammer, and driving a 4" spike with a framing hammer.

-Grant


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## archeryshooter3 (Apr 12, 2011)

To answer the question about the wind bar, it's simply a small diameter stabilizer usually a .6 inch tube instead of a .8 or 1.0 inch tube. It also isn't as long as you would normally shoot, like 20-26". this it seems to be less affected by the wind. Sometimes they may have extra weight to help reduce sway.


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