KodiakArcher

I think I'm just doing this now to make RD feel better...

RDHunter

Yeah .... I've been waiting to see this one , thanks Kodiak
At least in this one , I'm in the top five

mobow

Put yer arm down, you won't smell it anymore!!

Man, this is close.....Only 1 mesely little ole X seperating 2 and 3.....Pretty sure we know who's got the top spot, but who's gonna be the first to lose?? I got my money on the buckeye, but it wouldn't take much of a slip to get beat......Rick's hot on his tail.......

buckeye

Does taking it so seriously (shooting everyday and the coaching)take any fun out of the venues for you? I used to take my shooting pretty seriouslyand I would get a bad case of burn out every year from it. Now I just shoot to shoot and let the arrows fall where they may and I enjoy myself much better these days.

I only shot one local 3D shoot after the IBO Indoor Worlds last year, I just had enough of shooting for a while. Other than some hunting practice I never picked my bow up from last March until our HNI league started a couple months ago.

I'm about 11 days fromthe Indoor Worlds nowso I am going to bepracticing a lot this week. I shot 22 and 27 yard drills for 2 hours tonight fine tuning my pins for Cleveland. Another couple days of 22 and 27 yards I will sight my 5 yard pin in for those close rascals they like to throw in
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Rick James

It takes the fun out of indoors for mesometimes. I really am not that great of an indoor shooter compared to the guys locally (lots and lots of 60Xand 450 vegas shooters), but I absolutely hate to lose and really want to hit that point where I can develop the mental focus to shoot a perfect game. It is inspiring to be at a league night and watch 2 or 3 guys shoot a perfect game in the same night.........I really want to be there at some point.I also shootindoors because it makes me a much better 3D shooter. Right now I am pretty motivated to shoot some foam and get outdoors........still waiting on lots of gear before I can do that though.

For 3D I really don't get burned out. I don't take 3D quite so seriously and manage to have a LOT more fun outdoors.........I am a much better 3D shooter than my indoor scores would indicate because I find it much easier to make one perfect shot at a time outdoors than 30, 45, or 60 indoors over and over.I can honestly say I have made 30 or 40 consecutive perfect shots on the 3D course several times........I cannot say that for indoors. I relax a lot more on the 3D course and enjoy it because of the change of scenery and other things to occupy your mind (like harassing APAJaws [8D]),and also love the road trips to shoots and the time spent with the crew of local guys that I shoot with.

I also really enjoy field archery because I can also hold myself together pretty well for 4 consecutive shots per target. Ican manage to put up some pretty competitive scores on a field course as well.......much higher than my indoor scores would indicate. It's because I dont' take it so seriously and can manage to shoot a few good shots and then move on to the next target. Much more relaxing for me.

My coach works with me in a way that I normally do not have to shoot every day, his coaching style is geared towards quality of practice, not quantity. He would tell me 60-100 arrows a week split between 3-4 days a week is enough as long as I am practicing the right things. I am putting in more time than normal now because I am trying to work some bad habits out that I picked up during my time off since beginning of last september. Once I am really back in the saddle I expect to shoot a 3D event once a week, and then 3-4 days a week practice on picking numbers combined with 20-30 arrows shot per session.

wihunter402

Could you guys explain your 10, 22 and 27 yard "Drills"? Do you have a good book on coaching you could recommend? I have never looked into getting a coach because I did not think I would ever get to that point. I never thought I would be getting a target bow set up and shooting targets keeping score and sucheither. What does a coach charge? Howwould I find one? Yellow pages? Just looking for a little help. Thanks to all who answer.

Rick James

My 10 yard drills are basically scored vegas 450 games from a distance of only 10 yards. This basically allows you to build confidence in your hold so that you can have 100% confidence in aiming and executing, and no longer have to worry about holding steady. When you can learn to trust your float and know that a well executed shot will hit that X it will increase your performance as well as boost your confidence. Confidence is important because if you don't know whether you will hit that target you probably won't. When you know you are going to hit the X and you know that you are in control of it........your chances of hitting that X increase dramatically.

Believe it or not, the secret to shooting well for the average guy isn't a steady hand with no sight picture movement at full draw, it is in trusting the float and worrying about executing strong shots subconsiously while staring a hole through the X. Most people hold well enough to shoot good groups, it is the inconstencies we experience while trying to hold dead still when we begin to time the shot for a punch or driveby, etc and cause those flyers. It is the flyer shots that seperate the pros from the joes.........we all can shoot a good group about the same size though if you remove the flyers.

Some of the best reads I have learned on this stuffare by George Ryals. You can read a lot of that on the following links as well as some other good stuff that I find helpful.

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=463271

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=463232

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=453859

If you are serious about finding a good coach I would look up a NAA or NFAA certified coach. If your serious about this I would be willing to help find a good reputable one in your area.

buckeye

I have never used a coach before so RJ would have to fill you in with all of the coaching intricacies...

My drills consist of a piece ofthick paper(like craft paper) that I draw two lines on and attach to my bag target. One line is vertical while the other line is horizontal. I will start sighting in myelevation at 22 yards (my desired yardage for that 1stpin)first by aiming at that horizontal line. Once I can fine tune my pin and I am nailing that line consistently I will back up and do this again at 27 yards (my desired yardage for my 2nd pin).

After I have the 27 yard pins elevation just right I will shoot the vertical line next starting at 22 yards. Once I have it pretty close at 22 I will drop back to 27 and fine tune the windage. With concentrating on just windage or just elevation it seems to increase my accuracy quite a bit and expedites my sighting process.
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wihunter402

Thanks Matt and Scott. I will give some of that a try. I have a 13 yard range in my basement and it is a great way to shoot when the weather is nasty and I don't feel like driving to the club. I like the idea of sighting in vertically and horizontally seperately. Makes sense.

Matt I will check out those AT threads too. I know what you mean about confidence. I have been preaching that to my son for years. I wondered how someone holds so damn steady. I always seem to float some. Guess that is more normal then I thought. As for a coach I am not going that route at this time. If I do decide I want to get into that part of archery some time down the road I will give you a ring.

Thanks again both of you,
Dave