Ok, I give up....

[snakebit40]

Well after a year of going out in the yard and shooting at ten to thirty yards I give up. I started my new style of practice seasons, Blind Bale! Tonight was my first night really committing to it. Shot around 100 arrow working on just proper back pressure, I know that's not enough but I thought it was a good start. I can't wait till its just natural and I can just concentrate on what I want to hit. I'm also going to take Rod Jenkins advice, on one of the masters of the barebows, and start out very close. If I feel a shot that wasn't "perfect" back to the blind bale. I'm really excited about this and can't wait to see my hard work pay off. Any practice tips or fun games are welcome. I've went about this all wrong my first year so I'm basically starting over.    

[moththerlode]

I need to do the same , I'm a glutton for punishment though.

[clayton95]

100 shots seems like a lot for one session.  I would do more like 20 - 30 shots at most a day.  Tired muscles equal form mistakes.  You will get it eventually tough just keep at it.  I have been shooting for 25 years and still need to go back to basics once in a while.  

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Worked in bad shooting is a hard thing to overcome but the mind is a great thing.You can do anything with will power it aint easy and if I can beat it anyone can.Same ol thing get a real light bow and control your shot , over and over and over , when that switch in your head gets it the heavens open. It took me about 3 months to beat the panic that was about 7 years ago now if things start looking bad I go light and close. Good luck my friend and never give up know with all your worth you can do it and you will.

[NJWoodsman]

I will repeat the advise given to me by Len Cardinale, who gave Rod Jenkins that method. That is, when you work on your shot sequence on the bale, always cover ALL the components, even if it's an emphasis on one area and just a few arrows on everything else.

It sounds like you're jumping ahead to the Bridge- DON'T. Stick to bale work for a few weeks to overcome old habits.

[TSP]

Don't forget about the fun part.

[snakebit40]

TSP, thanks. What I'm hoping is to start getting the fun in when I start shooting well. I'll let you know on my progress.

[njloco]

I had never done blank bale shooting, and I had shown a friend what it was for the first time, took about 20-30 shots while explaining it. Went home and decided to shoot a little more, I hadn't shot that good since the late 60's early 70's. Couldn't understand why I was shooting that well and then remembered the blank bale shooting done earlier that day.

IT WORKS !

[BuckyT]

Snakebit,

I'm only about a month into trad archery.  I got my new Beowulf Recurve last month.

I had only shot a recurve once in my life back in January, and I got hooked quick.

I've actually picked up on instinctive shooting pretty quickly.

One bit of advice I can give you from a newbie prospective is to try not to think about it or worry about it all.


It's all about having a good time!

Relax, concentrate, and if your arrow doesn't go where you want it, don't dwell on it.  Just make adjustments to your form and release.  Also helps if you have the bow tuned properly.  I sat on this website and read, read, and read while waiting on my new bow to get here.

That was the smartest thing I've ever done!  Really helped me with getting my bow tuned the RIGHT WAY.

Everytime I go to shoot, I get mentally prepared.  I blank out everything else in my life and focus solely on my bow, form, release, and the target of my choice.

I shoot my target and now I've really jumped head first into stump shooting.  I walk around my 3 acres and shoot at pine cones, clumps of grass, flowers, heck anything I want!  I bought some small game shocker points for my stumping sessions.  Keeps the arrows from skipping and they just flip end over end and don't go far from where they hit.  Stump shooting has really fine tuned my shooting.  Aim small, miss small isn't just a saying, it's the truth!

If I were you, I'd get no more than 10ft away from your bale and concentrate on my form and release.  You'll know when it feels "right"  From there it's time to get on out there and start shooting.

Keep it fun!  If I'm having an off day, I just go inside and come back out the next day mentally fresh with no worries.

One thing I learned from shooting a compound for 20yrs is that getting frustrated and staying out there shooting frustrated leads to bad habits...

The same thing rolls right over into traditional archery.

Hope this advice from a "Green Bean" helps.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I just fell in love with the blind bale in the last few days. I have struggled with a premature release for a while now, and the blind bale is already proving so helpful! I still have a lot of things to work on but the bale is where I plan to do all my work from now on. I am trying to get to where I don't think about my form anywhere but on the bale.