Another beginner asking questions

[Jipstah]

 Hi,

I got back to archery yesterday but changed from compound to trad. archery. I have a few questions regarding my bow and arrows. Also some on the shooting itself.

The bow is probably 20-30 years old and it says on the side that it's 25# 27" 64". So it's 25 pounds on a 27" draw length and the bow itself is 64" long? Theres no marking on it of it's maker, only "Sherwood jousi" which translates to Sherwood bow.

It has a pin, but since I wanted to shoot instinctive, I just moved it out from the way. I read alot from all the styles of shooting, and decided to practice using the so-called "split vision" style. As far as I understood, it means that one eye is focusing on the target and and the second one is focusing on the arrow (sort of). Don't know if it's my equipment (arrows) or my technique, but I've only been able to get about 4 inch "stack" from 8-9 yards. Since I don't have a shooting range near me, the max distance I can shoot is probably 15 yards I'm afraid that when I can't change the distances and places, I'll start to aim with the arrow shaft (subconsciously).

I don't know what my financial position is (meaning mostly: will my mother let me take money from my bank account ) but as soon as I can, I will be getting new arrows (and bow) since at the moment I only have one. First I thought about getting wooden arrows, but since I can use carbon (right? ) I might get them. Someone could explain the benefits of each type? I also have a friend who is duck and goose hunter big time. I would probably get goose feathers from him so could i.e order wooden or carbon shafts, buy a machine that I can put feathers correctly on the shaft (don't know the name) and use goose feathers?

I've been going moose and deer hunting with my grandfather since I was 6 and for a few years with a gun (since I was 12) and hunting with a bow would be really cool. Obviously I can't hunt with the bow I have now, but what kind of a bow would you recommend for me? Since I'm not really a powerhouse and here in Finland we can't even hunt whitetail deer (only a smaller type of deer) I though that would 45 pounds would do the job? Here in Finland we have this shop, Mukkanuoli, which handcrafts longbows and recurves. They're in my price range and I would like an opinion on my first proper bow, recurve or longbow?

Sorry if theres any mistakes in there, I don't speak very good english. Thanks in advance and happy shooting everybody!

This topic is also posted in bowhunting.com forums

[adb]

No worries... your English is better than my Finnish.

As far as shooting "style" goes, I'm an instinctive shooter. In other words, I "see" nothing other than the tiny spot I'm trying to hit. I DON"T look at the arrow, ever. My total concentration and vision is on the spot where I want the arrow to go, period. It's like throwing a baseball. Do you look at the ball? No. You look at the pocket of the glove of the person who will be catching it. Practice your fundamentals like: stance, draw, anchor point, and release. Then, when those become subconscious, look at the target. Pick small targets. Aim small, miss small. I think Ishi said something like that. I practice in our backyard quite a bit, and I use judo points to shoot at pop cans out to 20-30 yards. A nice small target, and it makes a nice whack when you hit it.

As far as bow type goes, pick something to match your hunting conditions. I wouldn't take a 72" longbow into a tree stand. As far as draw weight is concerned, 45# will kill a deer. It's like any other weapon, you have to hit it in a vital place to kill it cleanly. Carbon arrows? Not worth the extra money, in my opinion. Get some wood shafts, and make your own. Carbon arrows out of a longbow just doesn't seem to fit, does it?

[Jipstah]

No worries... your English is better than my Finnish.

As far as shooting "style" goes, I'm an instinctive shooter. In other words, I "see" nothing other than the tiny spot I'm trying to hit. I DON"T look at the arrow, ever. My total concentration and vision is on the spot where I want the arrow to go, period. It's like throwing a baseball. Do you look at the ball? No. You look at the pocket of the glove of the person who will be catching it. Practice your fundamentals like: stance, draw, anchor point, and release. Then, when those become subconscious, look at the target. Pick small targets. Aim small, miss small. I think Ishi said something like that. I practice in our backyard quite a bit, and I use judo points to shoot at pop cans out to 20-30 yards. A nice small target, and it makes a nice whack when you hit it.

As far as bow type goes, pick something to match your hunting conditions. I wouldn't take a 72" longbow into a tree stand. As far as draw weight is concerned, 45# will kill a deer. It's like any other weapon, you have to hit it in a vital place to kill it cleanly. Carbon arrows? Not worth the extra money, in my opinion. Get some wood shafts, and make your own. Carbon arrows out of a longbow just doesn't seem to fit, does it?

From what I've read (doesn't mean in no way that I'm right) that fully instictive shooting may be inconsistent sometimes. It may be faster, but I think that split-vision will be a little more consistent (atleast when I have yet to create muscle memory from shooting).

I also forgot to ask one question, when shooting a longbow/recurve do you use the push and pull way of releasing? Since many people don't have a "wrist strap" on their bow that would prevent the bow falling (atleast on compound, you only hold the bow on your palm and don't grap it with your fingers) can you really use the push in the push and pull way of releasing?

[Kegan]

First of all, a 4" stack (which I assume means group) at 8 yards for never havign shot before is an excellent start. So don't worry about that. A longbow will never be so easy that anyone can pick it up and be Robin Hood.

Next, don't worry about aiming subconsciously. Split vision is a varaint of gap shooting. Both are excellent for all around shooting, and I prefer it 400% to instinctive. If you're intersted in a "primer" on shooting though, I have one here: www.economicalarchery.webs.com. It even has a couple pictures for clarity

Now, for your gear. Start long and light. The bow you have is probably perfect to start learning on. After that, you'll want to look into a heavier bow to practice on before you finally get to 45-50# for big game hunting. Unfortuntately, it will probably take a few years to build up to that with confident accuracy. You'd actually probably benefit just by building your own. You can increase your draw and practice until you can draw enough to hunt, at which point you can decide whether you want to jsut build a good hunting bow of your own or buy one. Whether you use a recurve or longbow is entirely a matter of what you prefer. See if you can shoot both. Just go with your gut, as it's the arrow that kills anything, not the bow.

As for the arrows, start with something like wood or aluminum at first. I prefer carbons, and unlike adb, I think that a footed carbon is worth it. Only thing tougher is hickory, but easier to get a matched set. However, getting new carbon arrows to match your lighter bows as you build into hunting weight will cost an arm and a leg, and should be best held off until you are actually preparing to hunt.

In the end, just take it slow and have fun! Don't expect too much too fast, just enjoy yourself

[adb]

After I reach my anchor point, I continue to pull my shoulder blades together at the same time as I start to relax my drawing hand. I follow trough slightly with my hand, so my drawing fingers end up somewhere around my ear. All this happens for me in a more or less smooth motion, with minimal time at full draw. I can consistantly hit a pop can out to 20 yards using instinctive shooting, which is my personal hunting range.