# how many years experience



## jimrau (Dec 27, 2006)

Years are a poor indicator. I did so many things wrong for the first 50 years of shooting. The only thing I did well was to have fun. I was over 60 years old when I took my first lesson from a good certified instructor and it made a world of dilfference. You can do things wrong for a long time and never get much better. 

It is improtant to practice, but it is more important to practice correctly - and have fun.


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## MGB (Dec 21, 2008)

jimrau said:


> Years are a poor indicator. I did so many things wrong for the first 50 years of shooting. The only thing I did well was to have fun. I was over 60 years old when I took my first lesson from a good certified instructor and it made a world of dilfference. You can do things wrong for a long time and never get much better.
> 
> It is improtant to practice, but it is more important to practice correctly - and have fun.


+1 on this.


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## VA Vince (Aug 30, 2005)

Practice is key and good practice at that. Not just shooting to shoot but trying to make good shots. I started shooting targets in the winter of 2005. I have shot a few Vegas 300's in practice and at last years LAS tourney I shot my first 300. Now my best X count is 28 but usually I shoot around 20X's on that face. For me now its all mental. I have shot it and know I can shoot it but that dang brain tells me to let down on some shots and I dont. Its a tough target for most but its my favorite. Keep practicing and try not to think about the score, just make good shots and you will get that 300. Heck, shoot a round on the blue face for encouragment than work hard on that vegas face.


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## oldpro888 (Dec 31, 2010)

i agree with the posts. I had a female student who was shooting 300s in a few months, combination of athletic ability, concontration and understanding of what target panic is. My opinion for what it is worth, any shooter not shooting high 290s never sits in the spot before a shot sequence, and shoots with TP. get with someone who understands a proper shot sequence, and get in your mind around that a 10 is a miss. Good luck. 300 30x tournement target in my pic.


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## Monster X (Oct 19, 2010)

I have been shooting 1 year and 3 months.


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## SteveID (May 6, 2008)

I had been shooting for about a year and a half. I had never been serious about it until this past April or so. I started shooting a hinge in May and working with a guy and I could see myself improving quickly. Having never shot indoor, I started out the year with a 298. It took me about 12 rounds before I shot a 300. If you think too much about shooting a 300, you'll have a harder time doing it. It sounds cliche, but if you just lose yourself in pounding the spot, you'll forget what end it is and before you know it you'll knock out a 300. 

Every time you get to the 8th or 9th end and you are clean and you start to feel the pressure starting to build, you are getting better. To me, that is the most important part of my practice, and it's the part of practice that you can't replicate unless you get yourself to that situation.


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## vegashunter55 (Dec 7, 2009)

I'm hoping to shoot my fourth Vegas Shoot and I still haven't shot a 300. Twice a 299 in competition. I shoot BHFS in the flights and finished 2nd flight the first year and first flight the last two, 17th and 15th place. I will see what this year brings.


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## jbw59 (Jun 27, 2010)

I have to say that my two problems are concentration and holding the pin steady. the concentration will always be a work in progress. The pin wobbling either indicates I'm either overbowed 55#, or just strength. My latest goal was to shoot a round with no 0s. Shot a round yesterday lowering my zero's from 6 to 2. I do have flashes of getting better. The last 3 ends were 23,24 25 with 5x's. I know I can get there but the idiot behind the riser is killing me. I'm hoping a new stabilizer will help with the wobble.


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## 148p&y (Aug 8, 2005)

Yeah the stabilizer should help. What kind of release are you shooting jbw59? I've been shooting for 32 years but only been shooting correctly for 3 years. I use to shoot a thumb trigger and punch it when the pin hit the white. I could hit 300 but the x's weren't good enough to win. I switched to backtension and worked my butt off for a year and I'm finally seeing the results. I was lucky I had some good shots around me that I copied what they did but I finally had to settle on what works for me. The one thing in my shot routine that helped me the most is not allowing my self to take a bad shot. If sight picture doesn't feel right, the grip feels weird let down and start over. hope this helped good luck.


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## jbw59 (Jun 27, 2010)

I'm using a T.R.U.Ball wrist release. I've read a lot about back tension releases and it is a lot of work to be consistant. Different tension on different fingers etc.. I just think at this point, I need the fewest number of contact points and variables. I like the wrist release. I'm going to start with the stablilizer. Maybe at some point I might try a backtension release but I don't want to move backwards. I'm making some progress now. I've got to get better with the bow first. A release is fine tuning. That has to come later. Thanks for the help.


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## Monster X (Oct 19, 2010)

Trust me, If you switch to a back tension your scores will improve. I have been using a Tru Ball sweet spot, I tried a BT Gold by Tru Ball last night. I will have one on my next order. Its not as hard as you think. Back Tension releases are a good learning tool. Use your back, not your finger. Of course I got a friend that has been helping me the whole way.


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## 148p&y (Aug 8, 2005)

people make back tension sound so bad people are scared to try it. Your scores will dip but they will come back higher then ever. I honestly don't shoot it properly I actually pull through with my arm/wrist not back muscles as long as its a surprise and you don't anticipate the shot it will help. The sweet spot monster x has is a great back tension with a built in safety.


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## X Hunter (Jan 11, 2007)

Actually the release is the most important part... If you dont have a steady constant and stable release that you dont have to worry about, the bow will never hold the way you think it should.... As long as you are using a release that you have to consciously think about to set off(the brain telling the finger to pull the trigger) you will always have trouble.

Unfortunatly for most they say "I've got this" and a few months later they have severe target panic and eventually give the sport up... Truly the best advice would be to bet something like a Carter evolution or some type of hinge release without a clicker and spend the next month or two at 5 yds blank baling, and the fist few weeks even with you eyes closed... This way the only thing you have to worry about is the release... It takes time for your body to learn this, and your scores will go down at first but over time they will climb back to par and continue from there... 

Trust me its not the funnest thing you will ever do but if you want to really get this sport for all it has to offer you need to do it right from the start... And if I can go fom target panic so bad that I cant hit the target to a National Champion anybody can do it 



jbw59 said:


> I'm using a T.R.U.Ball wrist release. I've read a lot about back tension releases and it is a lot of work to be consistant. Different tension on different fingers etc.. I just think at this point, I need the fewest number of contact points and variables. I like the wrist release. I'm going to start with the stablilizer. Maybe at some point I might try a backtension release but I don't want to move backwards. I'm making some progress now. I've got to get better with the bow first. A release is fine tuning. That has to come later. Thanks for the help.


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## jbw59 (Jun 27, 2010)

OK, I stand corrected. Thanks for the help. I went through some target panic and you guys helped me through that. I think I will take your word for this as well. There is no way I'm going to give up this sport. If I have to step back to get better, I guess it's best to step back now while the scores aren't that great to begin with. I still don't understand how a back tension release works but I'll start shopping for one. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.


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## bfisher (Nov 30, 2002)

I hope you guys can forgive me, but I can see some confusion for a lot of new shooters when discussing these "300" scores.

I've been shooting for almost 4 decades and a Vegas round has always been 60 arrows for a possible 600 score. When I see postings mentioning a 300 score I am assuming that the NFAA 5 spot is what is being referred to, as this is also a 60 arrow shoot with a 300 possible score.

The only reason I mention this is because I think guys that post these scores should state which venue is being shot so that those with less knowledge would understand better.


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## SteveID (May 6, 2008)

bfisher said:


> I hope you guys can forgive me, but I can see some confusion for a lot of new shooters when discussing these "300" scores.
> 
> I've been shooting for almost 4 decades and a Vegas round has always been 60 arrows for a possible 600 score. When I see postings mentioning a 300 score I am assuming that the NFAA 5 spot is what is being referred to, as this is also a 60 arrow shoot with a 300 possible score.
> 
> The only reason I mention this is because I think guys that post these scores should state which venue is being shot so that those with less knowledge would understand better.


Hmmm... A Vegas round to me has always been 30 arrows, scored 300 30x. Not sure why it would be any other way, as this is how it is done at Vegas.


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## 148p&y (Aug 8, 2005)

I'm new to this vegas stuff but I thought it was only 30 arrows, our club has a 450 round for vegas but never heard of a 600. I dont think the target would last 60 shots


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## Spoon13 (Feb 20, 2007)

The NFAA recognizes 3 different Vegas rounds. The 300 (most popular), the 450, and the 600. So in essence, all of you are correct.


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## bfisher (Nov 30, 2002)

So I would have to assume that whether it's 30, 45, or 60 arrows being shot is set up by the individual leagues in a particular area or club. What a wonderful sport. 38 years of shooting compounds and I'm still learning things.


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## Spoon13 (Feb 20, 2007)

Correct. It is up to the club or area as to what they want to do but there is a little flexibility.


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## Splix (Jun 9, 2010)

I bought my first bow in July 2010, shooting indoor at 20 yards since Sept. '10. My biggest thing that helped me progress was listening to people and taking their advice. When i first started shooting I was using a truball wriststrap trigger release, shooting mid 280's, after a couple of weeks, started shooting mid 290. The one thing everyone said about my setup was to get away from the trigger release asap, so I did. Knowing full well of the "terror" that a back tension is to learn, I did it anyways. First time I shot a back tension I scored my game (5 spot) and shot a 297. While learning, I had a couple of releases that frightened me because it went off early, unexpected, etc. and I developed some target panic from that. Started shooting 289-295 for the first week or so. After I got over that and trained my form to not flinch, anticipate, punch the release I started hitting 298-299. I shot my first 300 49x the weekend after thanksgiving. My biggest thing was, and still is sometimes, anticipating the shot and tensing on release. It was so frustrating not knowing why I would shoot 4x then my 5th shot would almost miss the 4 ring completely. I figured out my problem by having my wife video record my shooting from multiple angles and just watching it over and over again. 
Now my biggest thing is trying to figure out what arrows work best for me. Right now I'm shooting carbon express line jammers. Someone gave me some Easton X7 2612's to try, but I didnt like them too much. I'll be trying anything and everything recommended to me until I find what works best for me. 
I hope this helps and give you some tips on how to shoot well quickly


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