mordecaia

anyone else relate to this? I took up archery about 3 years ago- only really gotten really serious the past 2 years. Anymore Im feeling so @#^D*&&* overwhelmed with the whole technical aspect of it. Something that used to be so enjoyable, any more seems to be becoming a chore. Bare shaft tuning, paper tuning , spine, foc, tiller tuning, group tuning, adjusting a rest in 15 different directions to get the perfect flight, doing this and doing that to get the " perfect set up" ...... and yet still being a novice compared to probably the majority here sometimes I want to take my bow and throw it across the yard cause Im still not at that perfect set up. Ive basically got to learn and do it on my own cause out here in the " boonies" aint no pros or shops worth a hoot and the trips to 5 shots are few and far between. Heck I just want my arrows to hit where I aim them - or at least close- no matter what Im shooting, FPs or Broadheads- at a target or at a deer. Somehow Id like to just enjoy archery again without it being so complicated.
Just blowing off steam but seriously the way so many talk/ argue / disagree about so many things it just seems so overwhelming at times to someone who just wants to be good at shooting a bow.

Arthur P

Don' t let the verbal sparring on these forums get your goat. Most all of it is the result is there being more than one way to dance this jig and a lot of folks seem to think their way is THE way. Of course, my way is the only TRUE way to do it.

Really though, archery and bowhunting can be complicated as building a nuclear reactor or as simple as a bent stick with a string.

I' ve been at this game a long time and, quite frankly, I don' t buy into a third of the stuff that' s going on in the sport these days. Short bows with a godawful reflex in the riser and low brace heights, single cams, hybrids, fall away rests, high rolling sights, mechanical this' s and thats' s, light arrows, speed, speed and more speed....

I officially resigned from the arms race over a year ago. It got to the point where I got flat pissed when I missed the 12-ring on a 3D target, and that' s when I figured out I wasn' t having fun any more.

When I shoot a compound these days, I shoot a long, round wheel bow with a deflexed riser and generous brace height. I don' t have any sights on the bow. I use my God given fingers to release the arrow. My arrows lope along in the low 200' s and they' re so easy to tune I can do it blindfolded. When I hit a 12-ring now, I know that ' I' did it, without having to share the glory with speedy arrows, mechanical release and sights. That' s a lot more satisfying to me. Even at that, I' ve mostly gone back to my recurves and longbows now and they are just as enjoyable to shoot as they always have been.

I truly doubt you' re the only relative newcomer that' s being overwhelmed by all the technology. In fact, I' d be willing to wager serious money (I' m an archer so I don' t HAVE any money, but I' d bet it if I did) that there have been a lot of people that have pitched the entire idea and given completely up on bowhunting. In my opinion, all this emphasis on gadgetry and technowhiz fooferaw is having a terrible effect on the future of the sport. Lots of people are making lots of money and that seems to be all that counts. For the moment, anyway.

Of course, I don' t have a crystal ball to read the future, but I' ve been awful worried about the future of archery for quite a long time now. And I know there are going to be a lot of venomous posts disagreeing with me, but those are my honest feelings on the subject.

As for you though, you might be ready to locate yourself an old recurve that draws 45 pounds or so, maybe some wooden arrows, and just play with it some. See what you think of doing this the old fashioned way. But keep it fun and don' t go getting serious about it! At least not until you build up your confidence some. If nothing else, it will be a break from the frustration of your high tech rig.

TFOX

Mordecia,I know exactly whay you mean.Sometimes we need to just shut up and shoot.

I went thru the same thing yesterday,I couldn' t hit the spot at 30 yards to save my life.IT HAD TO BE THE BOW,ARROW,ANYTHING BUT THE SHOOTER,RIGHT.[:-]Well I had to move something to make me feel better.I moved the rest right,I moved the rest left.I started shooting 1 arrow at a time to see if the arrows were the problem.I did have a couple that were' nt doing thier job but overall it came down to me.I even twisted the cable to get the cam 1/2 exact.I moved the sight in and moved it out also.

Well after some soul searching,I finally calmed down and relaxed.IMAGINE.RELAXING.I shot a 12.Bang,finally.And another,and another and another.That' s right 4 in a row.I shot two 10' s just left on the next 2 shots and then bam 2 more 12' s.I decided it was time to go in while I was still having fun and was RELAXED.[8D]


Did I mention relaxing.

bigbulls

Archery can be as simple or as hard as you want it to be. You are fairly new to the sport so don' t wory too much about getting wound up into all of the hoopla. The best advice that I can give you is to just settle down and concentrate on you and not what everyone else is doing.

Some of the things you listed are simple measurements that only need to be done once. The different tuning methods all get you to the same place but in different ways and one is not better than the other but more of a personal preferance.

Len in Maryland

Tuning can sometimes be very frustrating; but, there can be many ways to reach the ' center' .

Frustrating to me is when my 11 year old son decides he wants to whip my butt on the range. Guess what? On an ' off day' I sometimes have to bear down to beat the little guy. Now that is frustrating![:@]

walks with a gimp

If you want to have " fun" tuning a bow, try it here in Nebraska where the wind blows HARD. Good thing for me is I have a large shop I can shoot in if it' s too bad to go outside. All the new advancements in archery puts more stress on the shooter to do his part because accuracy is great with some of this new stuff on the market. IMO it' s good for the sport and the future of archery. I don' t fish or golf but I know lots who do and they spend lots of money on their hobbies that they can enjoy only for a limited time of the year. Recurves and long bows are good investments for fun shooting without the extra accessories and demands they bring. What ever you shoot just remember where you live and the fact that you can enjoy your freedom to do so. Don' t forget to have fun while shooting!!!

davidmil

Ahhhhhhhhhh..... patiences Grasshopper. You want have all the skills and knowledge of someone who' s been at this business for 30 years. To make archery FUN again... forget that you don' t know everything. Practice .... practice... practice.... only don' t think of it is practice. You' re going out to shoot some arrows and relax. You' re going to try and hit the bullseye 20 times in a row, or get 10 X' s in a row, or stack arrows on a horizontal line 2 inches apart and then 2 inches apart on a vertical line or something like that. Your bow will not get " out of tune or whack" on a regular basis. You' ve been at it for two(2) whole years. You can work on that form for another 10 years at least. I venture to say that all the technical mumbo jumbo is not contributing to you misses as much as your form and skills or lack there of. When you do get your bow tuned again, mark all bolts, screws etc with whiteout or something so you can get it back to that point. Unless you' re really hard a bow tune(once the string stretches in) should give you some extended shooting time..... at least good enough for someone who' s only been shooting 2 years. Right now your bow tune is FAR better than your muscles and abilities. I guess what I' m sayin' ........ it ain' t the bow or all the technical mumbo jumbo. AND... if it makes you so damnnnnned unhappy, put it down for a while. In other words... SNAP OUT OF IT.

Sagittarius

Mordecaia,

You' re trying to do too much and " overwhelming" yourself.
I have never bared shaft tuned and I no longer try paper tuning either.
Once I adjust my arrow rest, string loop, and peep, I shoot a few shots to adjust lefts and rights then elevation. Then I shoot a few groups at different yardages.
If my arrows fly straight and my groups look good. That' s it!
I set up my Bowman over two years ago and haven' t touched the settings since.
Same with my Super Nova I set up last August.
I tend to shoot the most " Murphy Proof" accessories on the market.
At least, imo, they are the most reliable going.
To me, this helps quite a bit with keeping your bow consistantly tuned and trouble free.
Like Arthur, I don' t go for any of the drop-away rests and other gadgets.
They' re trouble waiting to happen, jmo.
Actually Ol' Arthur is pretty sharp when it ccomes to explaining things and making them seem simple.
That is why I, also, enjoy shooting my recurves.


Sag.

c903

You have just been blessed by Arthur P! Can you say, " AMEN?" Can WE all say " AMEN?" .

Although I am skilled in finger-shooting, I won' t finger-shoot a compound unless a field-emergency arises. I' ll keep my 1 sight pin but will keep my instinctive shooting ability well tuned should my sight pin fail in the field. Otherwise, Arthur P has just laid the gospel upon you. He nailed it!

If you really want to enjoy hunting with a bow, " scrap the crap," and go with the basic needs. Too much 3D mentality and gear has made many aspects of bowhunting too damn complicated, even for the most skilled. The pursuit of faddish gear and speed has subordinated accuracy and reliability.

Arrroman

Archery is supposed to be fun. Too often people get sidetracted into using more sophisticated gear than they really need. I believe that you can have more fun if you stay with things that you know are going to work well for you. For instance don' t try to use an extemely low brace height bow because they can be very tricky to learn to shoot with, stay with a higher brace height bow. Likewise a shorter bow has a more acute string angle at full draw than a longer bow, and will be harder to deal with than the longer bow. Choose your arrows from the correct spine chart for the length of draw and poundage of your bow and don' t max the bow out right from the get go, set it in the middle of its range or at least back it off a turn from its peak weight. Choose a quiet, simple rest like a whisker biscuit and you won' t waste very much time in tuning the bow to shoot. The rest is form and practice. Use a simple anchor point that you can easily remember, I like to just feel the cock feather touch my lower lip and I can use this same anchor point with either traditional bows or compounds with great success. Bottom line is this keep it simple and you can keep it fun. Enjoy archery because its the best sport there is.