Chase2

I stopped bowhunting/shooting 25-years ago. I practiced daily and thought that I was an OK shot, but never considered myself a good shot with a bow. This spring I decided to get back into the sport and started checking out bows/set-up. After visiting severa local shops, talking to shooters/hunters and shooting 5-6 bows several times, I settled on a Mathews LX. My new set up is an LX (set-up at 65 lbs.), Mirage Drop-away, Xtreme 400 sight, shooting CX 300's and use a Tru-Ball release (I have never used a release before). Aside from the price of the equipment, the biggest change I have seen is the accuracy of the equipment. After a few weeks of shooting I am shooting much better than I ever did 25-years ago. I shoot at a Block in my back yard and it is not uncommon for me to be able to shoot 3-4, 2" groups of 5-arrows at 20-25 yards. My first group at 40-yards was about 4". From what I have heard, this is pretty average for a back-yard shooter.

I am VERY happy with my set-up and equipment but what is the standard for being considered a "good shot" today? At what point does a modern archer reach the point of being considered good?

deadshot

chase welcome back to the brotherhood of bowhunters sounds to me like your on your way to being a very successful bowman, all i can add is practice practice and more practice..

DaveH

Archery "minute of angle" groups are 1" for every 10 yards i.e 1" at 10 yards, 2" @ 20 yards and so on. From what you've said, you're right in there and would be considered a good shot in my book. There's room for improvement though since those groups can be made much tighter. I have friends who can shoot 40 yard groups with the arrows touching--now that's GREAT shooting!

Rob/PA Bowyer

I don't suppose there is a standard. At one time all that was said was if you can put all your arrows in a 6" pie plate at 20 yards but I don't think that's where an archer/bowhunter should feel satisfied.

I'd consider you a good shot, although I am not satisfied if I had shot the same. Course I'm my biggest competitor and that's where the standard is, within myself or perhaps yourself. The real proof comes on live game. Rather than being satisfied on a particular group, more importantly we should be confident in our abilities when the moment presents itself. Practice like your hunting and you'll be a good shot....when it matters.

BGfisher

Sounds like pretty AVERAGE shooting for a good archer these days. The "minute of angle" theory is probably what most of us use. I've been shooting for 30+ years and as I age my shooting is not as good, but I still hold "MOA" on most days. On others it's half that. I won't even talk about the bad days. Yes, the equipment is a lot easier to shoot these days. No doubt about it. Man, where was this stuff 25 years ago when I could really shoot?

IL-Cornfed

Ditto DaveH, bowhunter MOA is the standard for a good shot.

Chase2

Thank you for the responses and confidence booster. My goal is to be able to pack my groups as tightly as can be done and that will come through practice. However, I know and appreciate that shooting at deer is much diferent than shooting at targets. When I was a kid I used to shoot at a shop owned by a member of the US Olympic Archery Team. He could robinhood arrow after arrow BUT he could not hit a deer. I never forgot that lesson.

It is good to be shooting again. I find a zen like quality in shooting my bow. It is a great way to relax.

Thanks again.