practice archery

[pointingdogsrule]

Been practicing for about three straight weeks for archery antelope. Spot & stalk. I've been shooting at 40-45 yards until tonight. Shooting from my knees at 50 yards, I was 8 of 8 in the plate, tonight. Still 4 weeks until the trip so still time to correct those "flyers" and improve muscle memory (hopefully).

good luck to all
the dog

 

[the nikster]

That's a good lookin spread there. Good luck next month!

 

[Devil Diver Down]

Good stuff. I just got done shooting from my knees 30 minutes ago, but only at 20 yards (my neighbors won't allow me to knock down our common walls so I can shoot 40-50 at home ) with good results - everything within 2" of center with a little bit of swirling wind. I can really only shoot 4-5 arrows between the 2 small targets to keep from busting up any more arrows. Of course, my target block is only 10" wide at the side I'm shooting now in the rotation, so there better not be any fliers!

Lately, I find that some days I'm really quick to touch off the release (insert joke here) as I'm just settling into holding on the target. It's a really bad habit because I'm shooting at the general area instead of holding aim on a particular spot. Anyone have any suggestions on correcting that? I've always taken the approach to squeeze when ready - whether that happens rather quickly or takes many seconds.

 

[spook12]

Good luck on your hunt Dog.

Shoot at a smaller ''Bulls eye'' and I bet that group will get even smaller.Just a thought.

 

[muleguy]

Dog, put a half dollar spot in the center of that plate then aim for that. That will improve your spread.
good luck

 

[recon6036]

Lookin' pretty good so far. Good luck on your upcoming hunt!

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Good luck on your hunt Dog.

Shoot at a smaller ''Bulls eye'' and I bet that group will get even smaller.Just a thought.

Spook & Muleguy. Very good suggestions. However, here within lies the problem. Maybe on of you two can help in this area.

At 30 yards or less I do shoot at a small target as you two have suggested. When I move back I increase the target size. I am 54 and the eyes are fading fast... I wear glasses. I have learned to shoot wearing glasses and it is no problem. My fiber optics are .029 (which is the larger size). At 50 yards the pin (fiber) practically covers the black part of the plate. I am not sure I could see a half dollar at the distance because the pin would cover a larger area then the half dollar. All in all, I am not sure that would work. I will try it tonight and see what happens.

Any solutions would be appreciated. Magnified sight? Smaller fiber optics?

Thanks in advance.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[muledeerjunkie]

I qualify this by saying "in my opinion"; if you are four weeks away from hunt time, then don't make any major changes to your bow. Use what you have and continue working on muscle memory, form, etc.

If you feel the pins are just too big and covering most of the pie plate at 45-50 yards, then it'll cover a good portion of an antelope at those distances too. You might want to consider a sight change if this is the case...

I have vision issues and hunt with glasses too. I use a .19 and I'm very satisfied with it; the pins are small and work good in my situation. I've drew my son's bow and the pins on his sight are much larger (I'm assuming .29) and it causes issues for me like you describe. If you're seriously looking for a sight change, then consider a .19 (I use Spott Hogg SDP).

PS - Try using an antelope or cow decoy (made by Montana Decoy) while doing spot and stalk hunts, it might get you closer to that big pronghorn!. I've not used one yet, but will have one in my pack after I draw an antelope tag!

 

[spook12]

Dog try one of those yellow post-it notes.
muledeerjunkie's right IMO,stick with your setup at this point and spend your time just dialing everything in.
That's a nice group for 50 yards,especially considering how big your target is. Even if you can only reduce the size of your target a little, I bet your groups will tighten up.
Good luck.

 

[muleguy]

Dog, I agree with all the advise given-hard to change this late in game-One simple thought you might try if i can explait it correctly. Change your pin so as to cover half of the plate and your arrows hit at the top of your .29 pin. This cuts your pin size in half and you are seeing where the arrows hit.
good luck to you
joe

 

[EODRay]

Dog, I'm glad you posted this question. I am having a similar problem with my pins being too big at further distances.........but don't want to change things this close to the hunt. I like your suggestion muleguy. My peep site aperture is also a little to big. For that, I just make sure the bottom of my peep is even with the bottom of my site ring. I don't try to center it. That has worked well and the muscle memory is getting there by shooting every day.

There is one more thing that has helped tighten my groups: My bow is set to 70# pull. I was shooting 6 arrows at a time and then going to the target......then repeat. I would always have flyers. I was getting tired from the heavy pull back to back. I started shooting 2 arrows and then go retrieve them to give my arm a rest. My shots became much more consistent.
Ray

 

[L. I. Yankee]

50 yds...not to shabby dont change a thing except your target size.....you should be good....

 

[pointingdogsrule]

PS - Try using an antelope or cow decoy (made by Montana Decoy) while doing spot and stalk hunts, it might get you closer to that big pronghorn!. I've not used one yet, but will have one in my pack after I draw an antelope tag!

Thanks, I have a decoy, however, I have used "Be the Decoy" the last two years and I have tagged out. I will try both this year as I like experimenting. Second, after harvesting two bucks, I enjoy just as much, chasing those does and it's a heck of a lot cheaper in Wyoming.

Thanks for all the advise guys... that's why I love this "HUNTTALK". On "Bowsite" I would have been taken to task by someone for something.

good luck to all
the dog