The last few weeks I’ve been very shaky while shooting my bow.
The draw is smooth, not too heavy. Holding the draw is fine, easy to hold. Yet I am having trouble holding still. I have not had a good range session in weeks. I have GOT to get over it.
Anyone out there got any tips for this? I’m not sure it quite qualifies as target panic, but maybe it is?
After nearly ten years of not shooting archery, I purchased a PSE Brute X this past February. Unsure if I would stick around, or if I’d go into a bow buying frenzy after a few months, I made two decisions. The first being to get an entry level bow, and the second being to get one rated at 60lbs draw weight, and save the heavier 70# bow for when I was ready to upgrade to something like a PSE Freak or EVO.
Taking a step back, let me say that I believe way too many archers and bowhunters are hung up on numbers. Sure, your draw length, weight, arrow weight, kinetic energy and arrow speed (FPS) all play a vital role in the overall performance of your bow and arrow flight; but let’s face it: My 60 pound bow at 30 inches of draw will kill a deer just the same as a 70 pound or even a 40 pound. Taking this into consideration I decided when getting back into the sport that I wouldn’t care about the numbers, and just shoot to improve my skill, and to have fun.
Keeping that in mind, I’ve shot my bow with the draw weight remaining exactly where it was when it came off the rack in the pro shop, and until last week, I had no idea what that weight was. The limbs on my bow were rated for a 60 pound draw and they were backed off one or two turns, I had room to crank up the poundage.
As it turns out, the original limb setting was producing a 61 pound draw. I had the bow cranked down to the max and am now getting just a hair under 65lbs on the draw. I shot a full session at that weight last night and man, I did not think 4 lbs would make such a difference. My muscles are a bit sore today!
The PSE Madness Pro adjustable Cam on a Brute X
I’ve been shooting a compound bow (again) for about the last 4 months. Since it had been something like 10 years since I last shot one, I knew I was going to be in for a lot of work to get back to the same proficiency I was at when I stopped shooting.
Last night at the range, something clicked. I was thinking back to when I was shooting before. It was a bow that was purchased for a teenager, and I stopped shooting it because I outgrew it, and never purchased another. The draw length on it could only go so far,. and my arms had gotten significantly longer. I had to bend my bow arm elbow in, to bring the riser back towards me so my release hand would anchor in my favored spot.
Back in February, I bought this bow and it came with a factory preset of 29″ on the draw. I had tried/shot it before purchase and it all felt right. My bow arm was bent similar to before, but I didn’t think much of it – that’s just how I shoot. Then last night when I was evaluating my form, making sure I was locking up in the same position every time, letting the string touch my nose as the same spot, feet in the same position — my bow arm is bent in, bringing the riser closer to me…
I started thinking that it must be taking quite a bit of energy from the muscles in my arm to hold the bow out with my arm bent like that. This bend in my arm is probably less than 10 degrees, but it’s enough. I bet if I straighten it out I can get at least another inch out of my draw, and be a bit more accurate with the bow as well. Thankfully the PSE Brute X comes with a modular cam that allows for quick and easy draw length adjustments.
I tell my dad my thoughts, and he gets out his Allen set and we adjust the cam module accordingly. I just went from 29″ to 30″. I picked up the bow, nocked an arrow, drew and held on target. The first thing I notice is a perceived feeling that the bow is lighter. I’m guessing this is due to my arm being out straight and not using so much muscle to keep the riser where it needs to be – there is no bend in my arm and all I have to do is push it out there. The second thing I notice is my sight picture is floating less. Not that it really floated a whole lot, it was manageable, but this was noticeably better. The last thing I noticed was that on release, the bow recoiled top limb forward/down.
Before the adjustment, on release the top of the bow would kick back towards me, and to the right. I’ve tinkered with various things like stabilizers and my grip (both the grip itself and how I hold it) trying to tame that lateral movement of the bow. I think I found my answer. After paying attention to the release at 30″, the bow sort of recoils into it self. It’s a straight up and down shock parallel to the riser, like it should be. I can’t feel any indication that its torquing to the right, and right after the limbs settle, the top of the bow rolls gently out forward as the nose of the stabilizer falls to point at the ground.
Another benefit I found: I’m hitting much more consistently now too. It was a good range session.
When I was a teenager my dad bought me a compound bow. I shot at targets mostly, and got fairly good at it – even bowhunted a bit. Then at 20 or so I just sort of stopped. This past February, some ten years later I picked up a new compound bow and have been hitting the bails once if not twice a week since.
I hit the ground running and have branched off from strictly shooting, to doing a bit of my own bow tuning and as of about a month ago, arrow building.
I purchased a Bitzenburger fletching jig, some Fusion 2.1″ vanes, and some bare arrow shafts and went to town. After having some issues and finally breaking down and calling my dad, I find that I bought the wrong jig set – I got the one with the right-helical twist in the clamp instead of the straight clamp. I returned the whole thing and got the right box and that made the process with the short vanes a whole lot easier.
I’ve fletched up the same dozen shafts about 3 times now, partly due to error and partly due to the fact that I am currently experimenting and have discovered a few things:
