Hitting form

ghound

Member
Sometimes when i practice i over do it, i will happily shoot away for hours and then when i pick up the bow the next day i can hardly hit the paper, and lately i have went off the boil.
So i have been laying off the practice the last few weeks, just a casual hour here and there with no scoring but with shot concentration, and it think it has helped me come back to form.
I had a round yesterday, it felt right, no soreness, lots of energy, mentally strong, grouping well and split 2 arrows on the first end ( 4 in total to repair) no wild shots, didn't hit my best score but it was still acceptable, and best i have shot in weeks.

So what's your routine for practice with the longbow for comps etc, do you have off and on days, do you also go in and out of form? Do you use any of the big elastic things in-between practice, swim, work out etc etc?
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
At the moment I'm just able to shoot on Sunday mornings as we have to shoot outside (though the range is finished now so this'll change soon), so not really much chance to practice without scoring as we have a club shoot on every Sunday.
 

DavidH

New member
Don't worry ghound, you're not the only one going through a bad patch. I'll admit to being a fair weather archer. I'll cope with the cold but rain and snow give me no pleasure whatsoever. The body clamps up and the shot is never relaxed when its bad weather. the die-hards will call me a wimp, I know:)
 

ghound

Member
Well my luck held out yesterday and i won the Northern Ireland indoor championship with me longbow:jump::jump::jump:
Not bad for my first season in longbow, and i have the bragging rights for the next year:stirthepo:stirthepo

Now i need to get a handle on this outdoor shooting caper..
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Congratulations ghound. Very well done, what was your score?

- - - Updated - - -

Congratulations ghound. Very well done, what was your score?
 

ghound

Member
Congratulations ghound. Very well done, what was your score?

- - - Updated - - -

Congratulations ghound. Very well done, what was your score?

Thanks Raven, my score was poor at 363. I thought had everything prepared for the comp, arrows and bow were perfect, in practice i was knocking out mid 400 scores, but with my lack of experience i never took into account the pressure of a major comp!!


I think if i do a few more major comps the nerves will go away, and the scores will come.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Admittedly I haven't done major comps, but I have done a few longbow comps last year and tbh after a few you begin to realise why have nerves. After you do a few comps you start recognising the same people so it begins to be like shooting at a larger club and you start catching up to people. About half of my PB's for outdoor shoots are at different clubs, some are even at two way shoots, yeah figure that out two way shoots are harder due to climate changes after every three arrows so why do I shoot better at them than compared to a one way shoot where things are more consistant.
 

ghound

Member
Do you shoot instinctive Raven, maybe the 2 way suits you?
My next shoot is an albion in april, haven't done an outdoor shoot yet but i'm guessing with it being a BLBS it's going to be a 2 way shoot?
 

DavidH

New member
Well my luck held out yesterday and i won the Northern Ireland indoor championship with me longbow:jump::jump::jump:
Not bad for my first season in longbow, and i have the bragging rights for the next year:stirthepo:stirthepo

Now i need to get a handle on this outdoor shooting caper..
Well done champ!
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Yes I do shoot instinctive, so perhaps that is why I can get better scores at 2-way.

Which Albion shoot is it? I do enjoy BLBS shoots, or just generic longbow shoots. Being BLBS I would assume it would be shooting 2 way as that is the whole purpose of BLBS, also though they don't mention it in their rules I think its to drink sherry too as ALL longbow shoots have sherry (save the one we are having where Port is served). Are you planning to do the Yorkshire longbow open? 2-way York shoot. Really difficult, but really fun.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
York is 6 dozen at 100ys, 4 dozen at 80, 2 dozen at 60. they run a double National along side it as well.
 

Hudzi93

New member
Do you shoot instinctive Raven, maybe the 2 way suits you?
My next shoot is an albion in april, haven't done an outdoor shoot yet but i'm guessing with it being a BLBS it's going to be a 2 way shoot?
I'm gonna be shooting the Albion round too in St Andrews!! This will be my first ever tournament as I've been doing archery only 2 months, and I haven't even shot outdoors yet. I'll be shooting barebow recurve.
 

ghound

Member
I'm gonna be shooting the Albion round too in St Andrews!! This will be my first ever tournament as I've been doing archery only 2 months, and I haven't even shot outdoors yet. I'll be shooting barebow recurve.
Good luck with it Hudz, probably a hard one to start with though!
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
I don't mind though, I'm just going there to have fun and get the experience of a tournament as I might not get another opportunity for a while. Will be be shooting together though or are longbow separate from recurve shooters?
In my experience longbows are generally grouped together, though barebows and a few recurves may be mixed in as well.
 
Top