Dubbya

I'm just wondering what everyone does when you get to a point where you feel like you can't (or aren't) getting any better. I shoot every day recurve and compound and with my compound I feel like I'm not improving anymore. I consistently shoot 3" groups at 40yds and 50yds I'm about the same, but I have been shooting the same size groups for a really long time. Is there a way I can practice or drills to do that can help me improve? Your help is appreciated.

Dr Andy

3" groups at 50yds? Take a couple days off, go fishing knock off a couple tall-boys and be happy. That's great shooting!

davidmil

YUP, if that's what you really want to do, you can get better. BUT, do you really want your life reduced to nothing but shooting. What are you doing this for... money, glory, tournaments, hunting .?????? You're already ahead of the average Joe with a Bow, no matter what they say on the internet. To go beyond where you are you'll need to start all over and really "Become the arrow" Grasshopper. It's all mental at this point. Your equipment is tuned at this point or you wouldn't be shooting what you are. The last phase is becoming the arrow in flight. It's a total mental game. Every action of the shot sequence has to become a law of nature. You must duplicate it every shot. It's not about 100 arrows during a practice round, it's all about THE ARROW. The mind and body must be tuned too in all aspects, sleep, rest, food and muscle tone. You have to ask yourself, is that really what I want and why do I want it. You can already kill anything on the planet. We're assuming you have the equipment tuned to your body, optimum draw length, weight, arrows etc and then comes the mind games. Realize of course that concentration can be dashed in a moment when a thought of them or me comes into the equation. There will always be someone better coming along. To what purpose to you really desire to become the greatest. It's all in the mind.... it's all in the mind.

Dr Andy

Like I said go fishing!

Dubbya

I guess you're right David, to be honest I don't really want to devote my "entire" life to archery as I have lots of other hobbies and there are a lot of things life has to offer. I guess hunting and a little 3d are all that I do, and yes I'm efficient enoughfor those. I guess it's kind of like shaving off the the last 3 or 4 strokes to become a scratch golfer... it depends on whether or not you really want to devote the time. Thanks for pointing that out.

JoshKeller

have you tried a true back tension release?

GMMAT

dwd....

I'd say your golf analogy is spot-on. I went from an 8 hcp to a +2 in about 3-1/2 yrs. That took touching a golf club every day. I qualified, last yr., for the state mid-am.....and finished in the middle of the field (out of 244).....and finished 19th in our county tournament (260 players).

I'm just not willing to devote the time it would take to get back to the plus hcp status. I know it's in me.....but I love my wife and son too much to devote the time AWAY from them it would require.

So......I took up BOWHUNTING!......lol

Now that there's crazy, huh?????

Jeff

Elkcrazy8

It has pretty much been summed up already, To take it to the next level requires alot. Back tension can and will improve you the most with the least, but from there comes a BUNCH of mental training. It all depends on what you want out of archery. My family up and left partially because of my obsessions. I now have lots of time to kill and shoot about every day year round. Archery is not really a sport or a skill, it is a discipline, it is about mind control.

Sounds like you are shooting pretty good though. A good lethal group at 20 yards is a consistant 4 inches. You seem beyond that. Good luck to you this season.

Davoh

I don't know about you guys, but I'd have a much easier time getting my wife to shoot a bow then go to the golf course....

Rick James

If you are shooting honest 3-4" groups at 40-50 yards, you are already close fortrue world class shooting. If you want to be a better archer, your improvement will come in the form of consistency, repetition, and the mental game that will allow you to do it under lots of pressure in a tournament with lots of people watching. The difference between what you are doing now and what people at the elite level do is that their bad shots aren't as bad as yours or mine, and they have the mental game to maintain focused under pressure.They still shoot less than perfect shots. You say you can shoot a 3-4" group at 40 to 50 yards, can you do that for 45-60 arrows without a single flyer? When you do shoot a flyer how far out is it? What happens for you on a 5 spot NFAA face, or 450 vegas face target? It is a huge commitment to make it to that next level. With proper coaching you can learn how to maximize the time you do have available though, that is the best thing I have learned. Lately with 70+ hours a week of work I haven't been able to shoot as much or practice as much. The practice that I do have time for though still allows me to continue to excel because I practice the right things. I guess my main thing is how bad do you want it, why do you want it, and if you really do want it, get a coach that can helpyou with consistency, repetition,and mental game. That is my advice.