My first day shooting

[Gnat]

So I picked up a pretty nice used long bow online and went to my local shop to get some arrows and a target. I had a blast shooting in my yard, for the first time since scout-camp as a kid.

I can see why you're all so addicted and I can hardly wait to get out there again tomorrow. Especially since I should be getting a glove in the mail and my fingers are raw!

One thing I realized is how easy it is to lose arrows. My yard is pine-needles and I lost 2 of my 6 arrows after a couple good misses. Any tricks on how to not lose arrows?

Also, I realized I don't really know how the arrow is supposed to rest on the bow...should one of the feathers be aligned with the inner corner of the rest?

Man this is fun.

[Ian johnson]

one of the feathers are aligned opposite the inner corner of the rest, I loose a lot of arrows, I have switched to bright feathers and cap dips, white, red, orange, yellow, lime green, dont use any browns, blacks, or dark greens in your arrow colors if you have a problem with loosing them, get some judos, they skip on top of the groud and are not as easy to loose, then you can go stump shooting and its a lot of fun!

[scriv]

Welcome to the fire.  Your enthusiasm is wonderful.  Glad to see you are getting some protection for the fingers, as long as you are new may I suggest you try a tab as well. You may find you prefer that.  Yes, one feather goes in the general direction of the rest.  You may have noticed that one feather is a different color than the others.  This goes on the side closest to you, the other two are up and down.   Shoot at close range until you improve.  This will help you hang on to your arrows.  Do not be embarassed to shoot at 7 or 8 paces at first.  Good luck!  

[Southpaw]

a scriv said, shoot at close distances at first, then work your way back over time until you get out to 15 - 30 yards and still hit the target.  using a backstop of empty cardboard boxes or  carpeting behind your target helps a lot.  

losing arrows and sore fingers are something we all deal with - welcome to the club.

[buckeye_hunter]

Keep with it!

Shoot up close until you get the feel of your bow to avoid losing too many arrows.  The glove will help in that venture.  Shooting bare and sore fingers is bound to effect your shot.  

Also, usually the different colored feather points away from the bow.

Make sure you have the right brace height on the bow. That can help with the feel of your shot and accuracy.

Like previously mentioned, judos are great to keep the arrow from digging into the dirt and grass. You can get them from online stores like Custom King Archery or 3 Rivers.

Good luck and keep posting any questions you come up with.  This site has more collective experience than you can imagine and you can get any question answered.

-Charlie

[mike g]

We all would like to know how not to lose an arrow....
    My yard is Bermuda grass, and sucks up arrow like the Bermuda triangle....
    So I use aluminum arrows and I bought one of the Arrow detectors for $75, it has paid for it's self Allready....
    Just keep having fun....