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Taking recurve out of hibernation

Are you peaking ( moving head to check arrow upon release) or plucking reason I ask is at that distance which is great you should be a tighter group I’m not knocking you at all I think your doing great but there’s always room for improvement even for us experienced guys. Are you split finger in corner of mouth or 3 under Gapping or instinctive or point of aim Or canting or straight up and down
This is what I do when I’m practicing. I pretend I’m out hunting so I’m in a stance wether I’m sitting on stand or saddle or ground. I pretend for every shot there is a deer so I get in my minds eye that the repetition I do will help in the long run
I turn to DEER and pick a spot and draw back and pick a spot again I anchor split ( going 3 under will bring arrow up to eye closer and you can sight down the shaft in most cases) and then I count to 3 in my head and release keeping my hand to my face and watching the flight of the arrow and upon impact I then relax I do this from 5 to 40 yards which I will never shoot past 30 and conditions got to be perfect for that to happen especially in deer woods cause branches and leaves have a way to jump right in front of you
 
No offense taken. I think I’d be better with more practice tbh. A dozen arrows a week for what, maybe 4 weeks, is nothing when trying to smooth out technique. I should be tripling that at the very least, I just only get to pick the bow up like, literally a few minutes at a time, usually enough for one arrow that I’ll leave in the target until the quiver is dumped. Sometimes that’s overnight.
But to get to the point, my shot sequence is like this:
Pick the spot I wanna aim at
Bow is canted maybe 20-30 degrees, arm outstretched (not totally straightened) and I point the arrow tip at the thing I wanna hit
Three fingers under the nock
Close left eye and draw back til my index finger touches my right cheek corner, just under my eyelash
Release when my natural motion puts the point right on what I want to hit (often my fingers release before I’m aware, surprise release)
I try to keep my hand by my ear (where it usually ends up) until I hear the thwack
I do not drop the bow and I try to keep my eye shut until I hear the thwack

I do think the surprise of releasing the recurve vs the longbow is taking me off guard. When I try to hold it and aim longer though, I get more inconsistent releases.
 
I should also add that right now, 10 yds seems like a hike. I’m a bit stressed at 10 yds with this thing. Again, more practice might help.
I’m trying to make everything repeatable when the shot feels good. Sometimes I open both eyes by accident. Often I can’t pick a spot small enough like I do with compound. And I practice compound one to two arrows at a time, have for years, shooting 2” groups at 20 yards consistently.
I also push/pull the compound from the center, whereas I only pull the recurve.
 
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My wife took the kids to dance class so I had a few extra minutes. 8 yds.
I definitely group better when aiming at a bigger target. Same with compound. I have an easier time picking a smaller spot within a spot than aiming at a smaller spot overall. I think it’s because the majority of my actual training from an archery instructor was shooting at deer targets and technohunt. He taught me everything about bowhunting pretty much, but wasn’t big on wasting time. Shoot at deer because deer are what you want to shoot. So I’ve never really been keen on practicing at small circles, though I do it out of necessity. I also have an easier time aiming and executing at actual deer. So maybe that’s all that matters lol. I’m not making excuses, I’m making observations.
This felt good though. Three arrows in a small group and one flyer that was totally me freaking out on release for whatever reason.
 
it sounds to me your snap shooting and slightly over drawing and that can be inconsistent which can lead to frustration so what I can say is this keep both eyes open (it really helps in long run) pick spot draw back and change your 3 under location from that high on your face to using your top or middle finger at the corner of your mouth and maybe putting your thumb at the base of your ear lobe as a consistent reference point then count to 3 before releasing keeping same form all the way the shot and release and are the arrows spined for this bow and have you bareshafted ? I would stay at 5 yards until you can put 4 arrows in a group and move back couple yards at a time and repeat
Consistency will be your best friend Now this is all a suggestion ….. but this is what I do with new and old shooters
 
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Did everything you said, adjusted anchor to where base of thumb hits right in front of ear base though. any further and I was feeling adverse string pressure. Everything else you said helped me get me this group at 5 yds after I got home this morning. That extra 3 yds really made a difference. Funny how that works with stick bow. Error is magnified a lot.
Arrows are probably underspined. Haven’t gotten to an archery shop with this bow yet but my plan is to get some hunting arrows set up and just practice with those until I can drain this hexagon at 10 with broadheads. I’m not in a rush. Having fun learning.
 
That’s great. Baby steps is key. You’ll be ready to hunt by next season just keep at it. Even if you shoot one arrow a day just follow the same steps. You need to train your minds eye. It’s easier for you to figure out what arrow works best for you vs bow shop unless it’s a trad shop. What’s your current draw weight arrow spine and point weight draw length string type silencers or no because everything can affect tune If you give specs a lot of us can get you on right track


Ps. You mention at base of ear is your elbow pointing upwards? Try to keep draw and elbow in a straight plane as much as you can
 
Razorbak66 said:
That’s great. Baby steps is key. You’ll be ready to hunt by next season just keep at it. Even if you shoot one arrow a day just follow the same steps. You need to train your minds eye. It’s easier for you to figure out what arrow works best for you vs bow shop unless it’s a trad shop. What’s your current draw weight arrow spine and point weight draw length string type silencers or no because everything can affect tune If you give specs a lot of us can get you on right track


Ps. You mention at base of ear is your elbow pointing upwards? Try to keep draw and elbow in a straight plane as much as you can
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Elbow straight
Trad and compound shop nearby
Also spent 20m talking to 3R Archery today about arrows. Great info from them. Turns out I’m right on with spine but I upped my field points to 125 and I’m shooting much straighter.
25.5” draw on my tallest days, about 40# at full draw. Arrows right about 28”.
 
You are on the right path !! sounds like a 600 spine shaft I’m assuming but I would sacrifice one arrow and bareshaft you might find you might need a heavier point weight and with that draw weight and your draw length you might need 175 to 200. Either way keep at it and baby steps
 
Razorbak66 said:
You are on the right path !! sounds like a 600 spine shaft I’m assuming but I would sacrifice one arrow and bareshaft you might find you might need a heavier point weight and with that draw weight and your draw length you might need 175 to 200. Either way keep at it and baby steps
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3R suggested 500 spine, 125-150 point weight and 2-blade BH’s, three 4-5” shield cut feathers. Almost identical to what I’m shooting now. I asked how heavy I could get up front, he said 200 would be the absolute max before I start noticing diminishing returns. I have a bare shaft laying around from a bad shot, so I can get some heavier tips and play a bit.
 
Yes you can get away with it but I feel a 600 spine would be better with 150/175 for a 40# bow and yes you can use 500 spine but you will need to go heavier than what they recommend but that’s my opinion
 
Razorbak66 said:
Yes you can get away with it but I feel a 600 spine would be better with 150/175 for a 40# bow and yes you can use 500 spine but you will need to go heavier than what they recommend but that’s my opinion
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Bow is 45# max, calculated to about 40# at my full draw. Does that make a difference in your recommendation(s)? I’m open to trying different things.
 
The draw weight at your draw length makes me want to say get a test kit from 3 rivers or ask around if someone has a 600 spine shaft and some heavier weights and test the 600/500 spine shafts bareshaft from 5/10/15/20 yards and see which one flys the straightest at those distances. It will show which one corrects itself the best and flys the best and that’s the one I would go with personally I feel the 600 spine with 150/175 tips is gonna be the one. Normally I wouldn’t even recommend 500 spine unless you have a 47# draw weight at your draw length
 
Razorbak66 said:
The draw weight at your draw length makes me want to say get a test kit from 3 rivers or ask around if someone has a 600 spine shaft and some heavier weights and test the 600/500 spine shafts bareshaft from 5/10/15/20 yards and see which one flys the straightest at those distances. It will show which one corrects itself the best and flys the best and that’s the one I would go with personally I feel the 600 spine with 150/175 tips is gonna be the one. Normally I wouldn’t even recommend 500 spine unless you have a 47# draw weight at your draw length
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Thank you! I think the bow shop has a great trad guy, I will call them next. Maybe they have a “test kit” ready to go. I know they sell the points and shafts at least.
 
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