A day of firsts

[BTH]

My friend Juan, NorthernCaliforniaHunter, got his new longbow this week. He came down to my place for some setup and shooting his first arrows ever with a bow. We started out fletching some arrows I had in my shop, setting up the bow, and going over the basics of achieving good form (the form clock, back tension, and the double anchor.)

 

His new bow is a longbow made by SiegeWorks Creations. The specs are 49# at 28". From the looks of these pictures (those are full length arrows) he's drawing quite a bit more than that       I'm thinking more like 55# or so at 30"   :eek:   He was POUNDING the arrows into the block!

 

A good time was had and new trad archer born  

[vermonster13]

Good deal.

[bowhunterfrompast]

[jrchambers]

take more pics of him at anchor, i wish i hadsome of me, looks helpfull as far as comparing consistancy.

[Apex Predator]

Great job on the mentoring!  Looks like he needs to find a consistent anchor.

[unclewhit]

Great weather for flingin' a few ain't it?
Looking good there Juan.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

Thanks! I can't say enough about today. WAY COOL.
What was neat was getting schooled on form, which really made all the difference. I'm taking my first baby steps, but all the same it was quite obvious to me when I had missed a step, and when it all flowed "right", including proper anchoring (as in the second picture).
   I was surprised to be hitting the block at all, and by the end of the hour or so session I was hitting the block from across the yard! Maybe not something to write home about on the grand scheme of things, but to me it was nothing short of amazing, considering I wasn't referencing anything to the target, i.e. pins, sights or cross-hairs, my attention focused completely on the point of impact. TOTALLY different from anything I've ever done, and I am a seasoned hunter. In fact, it was liberating.