# Consistency



## Wyotarget (Mar 17, 2013)

How does one build consistency in your shooting?

In the winter months i shoot 3-5 times a week 100+ arrows, in each session. I'm trying to build consistent higher scores this year. I shoot an average in 442-444 in a 450 Vegas end with around 50% x count.

Some days even multiple in a row, I will shoot i446-448 ends. How do I move this to being my new average.


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## EPLC (May 21, 2002)

Wyotarget said:


> How does one build consistency in your shooting?
> 
> In the winter months i shoot 3-5 times a week 100+ arrows, in each session. I'm trying to build consistent higher scores this year. I shoot an average in 442-444 in a 450 Vegas end with around 50% x count.
> 
> Some days even multiple in a row, I will shoot i446-448 ends. How do I move this to being my new average.


Are you actually keeping track of all of your scores? I ask because "average" can be very subjective if you don't actually record every score. In any case, you are shooting quite well.


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## RCR_III (Mar 19, 2011)

Little things add up to help the averages. Like was already said, keeping track of your shooting. And not just the scores. Shot placement each and every shot really helps you see a trend. Then you can analyze that and see what could help a certain spot or a round. Putting notes with each session helps too. See how you feel, what you've changed. 

And then something I really feel helps a lot is concisously keeping track of each shot. Thinking to yourself, "Was my set up correct? Did I go through each step the same? How did each step feel? How did the shot feel?" 

Then analyzing that as well. It's been said a lot that nobody is perfect and everyone has bad shots. But the ones that score better and place higher consistently can minimize the bad shots by realizing the instant it happened what actually went wrong, then fixing it for the next shot.


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## Blue X (Dec 22, 2007)

consistency in score boils down to how consistently you can perform your shot sequence. If your practicing 1000 arrows a day looking at score for your control in your training, all you are going to do is stay +/- apx 2%. With that being said, if your looking for consistency in score, practice consistency in shot sequence.

Blue X


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## Bees (Jan 28, 2003)

Wyotarget said:


> How does one build consistency in your shooting?
> 
> In the winter months i shoot 3-5 times a week 100+ arrows, in each session. I'm trying to build consistent higher scores this year. I shoot an average in 442-444 in a 450 Vegas end with around 50% x count.
> 
> Some days even multiple in a row, I will shoot i446-448 ends. How do I move this to being my new average.


your forget about the score and pay attention to what makes the arrow hit in the center. 
then figure out what your doing wrong on the ones that don't hit the center. 
it's a double edge sword, because it is possible to make a good shot( not do anything wrong) and still miss. 
It's in the game and there isn't any fix for it.


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## Joe Schnur (Mar 22, 2012)

You have some great advice here consistency in the main aspects of your shot are irreplaceable. Stance anchor grip and front shoulder position . Do it the same on every shot and don't worry so much about score it will come that last bit by eliminating all variation. I shoot 10 yd 300 games daily on scaled targets it feels tougher than shooting 20 as the center is sooooo small.


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## CarlV (Mar 12, 2008)

Bees said:


> your forget about the score and pay attention to what makes the arrow hit in the center.


 good advice


> then figure out what your doing wrong on the ones that don't hit the center.


IMHO there's a much better way of thinking of this. Forget the shots that don't hit the center, but instead figure out what you did RIGHT to hit the center. Build on success, not failure.

IMO


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## Tooltech (Jun 19, 2011)

I find that the following technique helps me a great deal:

Stand within 6 feet of a larger target ( 16" x 16" ) get your feet in a neutral to slightly open stance ( left toe just behind right toe ball socket / right hand Archer ). Draw smoothly and anchor. Feel the anchor to assure complete seating. Feel your grip to assure comfort and control. Inhale to expand the chest and carefully aim on a small spot on the target. Close your eyes and feel that every thing is in perfect alignment ( feel the force...). Execute the release and pause keeping your eyes closed. Imagine the Arrow dead center of the selected spot. If the Arrow is not dead center adjust your foot position followed by the grip then the anchor. Adjust one feature at a time. Soon you will be hitting the center of the spot. Use only one Arrow because this will force you to reposition for every shot.

When I start wandering on the target at longer ranges ( 50-100 yards ) I go back to the aforementioned drill. Some days I shoot the blind bale drill all day or even all week. Remember that the Arrow and Bow are the constant, you are the variable. Good luck...


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## Tooltech (Jun 19, 2011)

Another area to focus on is breathing. I have found that the following technique steadies my shot:
1. Arrow loaded, Peep checked for alignment ( never moves however, I check it every time )...
2. Attach the release to the D-Loop and tension the bow at low ready...
3. Inhale through my nose while drawing, anchor, exhale through my mouth...
4. Inhale through my nose, acquire the center of the target, settle and release...hold on target, exhale through my mouth as the Arrow sinks into the center of the " X-Ring ".


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

1. Focus on process 
2. Don't tinker with your equipment. Can't be consistent if you keep changing things. 
3. Focus on process. 
4. Plan your practice and practice your plan. Take notes. 
5. Work on something every practice session. If your not working on something your not practicing. 
6. Focus on process. 
7. Proper diet, exercise and rest
8. Get out of your comfort zone as much as possible. 
9. Focus on process. 
10. Find a top notch coach. 

Opinions vary 
02.


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## Pkeller (Nov 7, 2010)

I have heard that actually writting don your shot sequence and analyzing that in depth can help. This will help you understand what you need to do each time to get the same shot. It can also help you find any errors


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## dua lam pa (May 29, 2014)

Consistency is gained thru meaningful practice .
Score is meaningless in practice unless used to track personal performance. -


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## dua lam pa (May 29, 2014)

Pkeller said:


> I have heard that actually writting don your shot sequence and analyzing that in depth can help. This will help you understand what you need to do each time to get the same shot. It can also help you find any errors


Do you have Dons address ? 



:wink:


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## Wyotarget (Mar 17, 2013)

Thank this will help


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

The only way to improve is to have proper focus. Currenty, you are lacking in this field.

So lets define what focus isn't.

Focus is NOT improving your average score
Focus is NOT improving your game day scores/podium finish

If you want to improve your score you have to focus on ONE thing-- and score isn't it.

So, what is the 1 thing YOU want to focus on:
Grip?
Follow through?
maybe rushing the shot?
need more weight on middle finger or many more on the top?

Focus- it's what's important.

"build on success not failure"...well, maybe

The only problem about forgetting or not building on failure is this. Failure can teach you more than success. You learn what not to do or more importantly, how to identify what went wrong. If you fail to use the "failures" as your learning process, when a bad shot happens you may not understand the "why/how"...it will just be logged as a bad shot.

On my hook, I've got a bad problem with using too much middle finger causing a flawed shot. It took a while to identify it but once I did, soon as the string clears my fingers- I know if the release is good or not. If not...I make sure it will be on the next one. Had I not spent time identifying the reason for the failed release...I wouldn't be able to cure the problem quickly.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

one thing that really helps is one arrow drills. Just one arrow in the quiver- shoot, pull, repeat.

When you do this, try it at 10 yards- with no site. get a 1" sticker...shot it. When you can hit it regularly- step to 15 yards.

Most people don't want to go backwards on distance but adding this drill to your sessions will start to help with making consistent shots and building a shot routine. If we're only shooting one arrow, we'll tend to make it count.


Have the mentality of only one arrow...don't shoot groups and your scores will pickup


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Consistency, oh my. For 30 some years I had none, I shot and shot and had no idea that there were so many things wrong with my form and bow and arrows. The first thing for me was equipment, just getting a decent bow the bowtech gurardian and some gold tip arrows and a scott silverhorn took me from freakish poor shooting to actually experiencing some decent shooting. Then I ran into some good shooters in my area and I saw first hand what really good shooting really looked like and I began working on my shooting form, soon after I made some really big jumps and now I consider myself a accomplished amateur shooter.

To me one of the biggest contributors to my Consistency is my confidence that I am going to make a good shot every time I shoot my bow, this confidence is many layers deep and just isn't one little thing. It is the many years of developing muscle memory that I can count on to feel just righ, it is the solid mental approach that allows me to step up and make a solid shot regardless of the pressure, it is knowing that I group tuned my arrows to hit the same hole, it is the fact that my bow is tuned good enough to shoot bare shafts out to 30 yards and hit a 12 ring. All of these things add up really Consistent shooting day after day shot after shot.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Now here is a little thing that I have been working on for a while and to me it may have to become 100% of my set up from now on because I have used one for lets see 2 seperate times this year and am now on my 3rd little trial and it is proving to be something that is beyond valuable.

Nose Kisser:

I took a little metal nock that came with a kisser button and I put it on my string between my d-loop and my Peep this early spring and positioned it so that my string still touched my nose on the tip but the little metal nock touched the top edge of the tip of my nose. That spring I had some of the best shooting I had ever experienced where I simply didn't miss for a week at a time on several occasions. I Shot my final tournament with my 8190 string set this summer after winning out of open a in only 4 tournaments and being on the podium with a 20 up score with that string set and the nose kisser, I put on the new string set and I decided to go without the nose kisser for the last month and a half because when I tried to remove it from the old string I bent it up and it was sharp on the edges. You know I shot ok that last month and even won a few tournaments but something wasn't right, I just wasn't shooting as good.

I got a new bow in late august and this allowed me to set up my old specialist as a true indoor bow and I started shooting and I was just not shooting that good, I figured it would take a while to get back into the indoor grove but I just couldn't really get dialed in and over a week and a half I just wasn't a very good shooter. At times I was banging x's but then I dropped way to many. Then one day a week just before my stroke I spent 10 minutes putting on a nose peep by using a eliminator button AEP and holy crap I only had 20 minutes of shooting left that day and there it was. I went home that night thinking there was no way that the nose peep could be the one thing missing from my shooting for a few months but I came back the next day and I shot a vegas target and holy crap there it way the shooting I knew I was capable of all along.

For me coming to anchor is something that I have to search around for unless I am using the nose kisser, When I am using a nose kisser I come to anchor and within a fraction of a second I am perfect and my anchor feels absolutely solid without feeling around for it because it is right there where it is supposed to be.

When I say my shooting is good compared to without the nose kisser what I mean is that without one I bang the x most of the time dead on with the occasional outside looking x and after shooting for a hour I will have missed 3 or so x's. With a nose kisser I produce three holes inside the X just like a pro shooter and for the most part all of my shots are on the inside of the x and I mean all of them. When I do have a poor shot that feels horrible the arrow is still touching the line on the outside looking in but that is it. Without a nose peep I have many shots that felt good that simply are on the outer edge of the line and I have no idea why.

Now here it the funny thing, I have been struggling with my new bow the insanity cpxl. It is my new 3d bow and I really haven't shot it that much but it is just not really that accurate like I want it to be but you know what I have shot it for a few weeks and I still don't have a nose kisser on it. I am going to put one on after school tonight and shoot it and see what happens.

To make one I suggest getting the aep ones because they are tapered to the outer edge a little like a flying saucer but to get started go to your bow shop and see if they have some little rubber ones laying around, all bow tech bows come with two of them on the strings and you can just cut one off and then use super glue to glue it back on. then use dental floss or some very thin serving to keep it in place on top and bottom.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Nose kisser, little known tip, but out there. I had this 2002 Hoyt UltraTec, black with flames, with Command Cams. Some one put it on lay away and never came back. I got it bought for $250.00  Enter R.B. R.B. is one of those guys who can set you up in his garage and have you on out to 60 yards. Amazing, his lines on the floor and guide marks and then his string tied Nose Kisser. He says; "Nose touches, head is in same position each time." I didn't shoot it a week and entered the I.A.A. Outdoor Championship. The only problem was, it was a Two Day event and I missed the first day. Using that nose kisser of R.B's. I shot a 890, the best score I ever shot for a 900 Outdoor. I forget his name, a older feller, but after the shooting for the day he kept after me until I sold the bow to him, even I threw in the Bodoodle Pro 550 arrow rest. I doubled my money back 

I don't know how many times I thought of making a nose kisser, but a lot and have never done so.


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## Pkeller (Nov 7, 2010)

dua lam pa said:


> Do you have Dons address ?
> 
> 
> 
> :wink:


Lol. I wish I had his address, sounds like he is key to the whole thing! :wink:


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I think a trip to a hardware store might be a place to find a o ring that might make a good nose kisser. Some of them are a nice thick o ring and have a small hole the size of a string. The nice thing is you can totally just cut it and then super glue it back together and not have to press the bow when trying them out. Then just serve on top and bottom to keep it in place.

I put one on my insanity cpxl last night and within a minute or so I moved it and found the perfect spot for it and holy crap my bow shot well, I had been struggling with it because I am to the point where I expect to hit a asa 12 ring every time at 40 yards and I just wasn't like I could with my old specialist.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I went to aep and found the little pro tech buttons and you can get 100 of them for 25 bucks. I still think if you use your head and go to orshelins you can find a o ring or you can go the bow shop and look for a bowtech and take one of the eliminator buttons off of their string.


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## Bees (Jan 28, 2003)

I use small rubber bands, put them on the bow string, slide them where I want them, then knot them up good and tie them down with serving material. I also use loop material if I want a physically larger or harder kisser.


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

The Koreans are shooting 1000 arrows per day, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, uphill both ways in the snow with a stretch band attached to their 60# limbs. You are falling behind.

Get a good coach, do what they tell you to do, and focus on shooting right. Do not obsess about practice scores as practice is supposed to be where you work on doing it right, not shooting bullseyes any old way. I only compare competition to competition, and my goal then is to shoot 1 point better than last time under the pressure. No pressure shooting is not good for comparison because you might lose some score briefly to improve form, you might be more or less rested that day, and there is no performance stress, no one jostling you at the line, no clock running, no equipment to quickly fix, no decent shooter or Olympian on your bale you are concerned about staying up with.

Also, an emphasis on score can limit form progress if you don't feel like giving up quirks because you are trying to maintain a certain score level. It might be in your long term best interest to lose a little score now if you build better technique which over weeks or months raises your performance.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Azzurri said:


> The Koreans are shooting 1000 arrows per day, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, uphill both ways in the snow with a stretch band attached to their 60# limbs. You are falling behind.
> .


I thought we were done comparing Koreans to us...or was it us to Koreans?


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## Wyotarget (Mar 17, 2013)

I use serving string and have both a lip kisser and nose kisser made from serving


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