Are You Any Good?

[mangonboat]

50 years. If I shoot one bow, only, to get ready for hunting season I'm good enough. When I switch between a half-dozen bows, left and right handed over a 30 pound range of draws, its not so pretty.

[KeganM]

I've shot since I was little. In the last five years I've started trying to become as accurate as I can be. I still struggle with mental focus at times but I'm getting there.

[woodchucker]

Forgot to say... The misses are the most fun!!!
DANG, those arrows do some funky things...??!!!

[highlow]

Been at this hard-core for about four or five years now. This, and other sites, along with a myriad of Ytube videos has helped me get to what I consider being a good shot, not great. Wish I had gotten into this sport a lot sooner. But then again, if I had, I probably would've had to file for bankruptcy.

[Muttly]

Started in the summer of 2013, got my hands on an old Bear recurve.. Kinda got " the itch " for a long bow, got my hands on one, and that was it! Picked up a takedown version of the same bow as backup, which became the go to bow.. I don't consider myself a great shot, but I make shots with that long bow that absolutely amaze me. As long as my form is down..

At this point, I,m a better shot with the long bow than any of the handguns kickin around the house, for the most part. Long bow, it has become mostly automatic..switch over to a recurve,hafta think about what I,m doing a bit..

[gvdocholiday]

I have my days.  Some days I can hit self tossed targets out of the air one after the other.  

Some days I couldn't hit water if I fell out of a boat.  

A majority of the days fall in between that.  

Been shooting sticks for 7years.

With wheels I consider myself a great shot, only shot pro for one season before career choice took me down the path of never getting weekends off.  That's when I transitioned to Sticks.

[Ron LaClair]

75 years pulling bow strings, never owned a compound

[Mr.Vic]

49 years of the addiction. And on my 50th anniversary I'm probably buying me a new bow.

[dirtguy]

I've been shooting trad for 10 years and I'd say I just qualify as "good".  I thought I was good after about three years, but I wasn't.

[Sam McMichael]

This thread has had me wondering how to "measure" good. Since most people are geared to numerical measurement and most of us have done at least some 3D shooting, I figure it can be used as a ball park. (Probably not overly realistic, but what the heck?) I came up with the notion of a score of 160 on a 20 target course. This would average an 8, translating to a kill zone hit on each target. Consistent scoring well below this mark would indicate numerous bad shots. The better shots would be well above this score. Now for you guys that don't do 3D, I guess you will just have to compare arrows loosed to animals collected. Now, why didn't I come up with that scheme to begin with? It just shows what happens when you have too much free time on a rainy day. I wish I did have a sensible means of self measurement, though.

In actuality, most of us need to think of good specifically within our individual distances. Some are good at 15 yards but not good at 25. Most of us who have been shooting for a reasonable length of time do have a range at which we are consistently effective. The trick is hunting within that distance.

I wish I could shoot as frequently as guys like Pavan. 150 arrows daily would have my repaired shoulder and tendonitis wracked elbows howling in pain. I truly salute you guys who can put that much work into the sport.

[elkken]

I used to think I was pretty good, but now I'm just fair ... I have been shooting since the late 50's and started with a little fiberglass bow. I started hunting big game in 1970 and my first kill was a mule deer doe that year.

[elkken]

Sam ... a fine way to measure "good" is something we do at one of our Traditional Bowhunter of Washington shoots. It was named the Viking shoot because the winner gets a Viking hat to wear.

The basics of scoring are pretty simple. If you get a kill zone shot you get 5 points, if you hit anywhere else on the animal you get -5 points, if you get a clean miss it is a zero ... Highest total wins. It can be a very enlightning and humbling experience. It's a fun format and gives you a good idea how really GOOD you are.

[Cwilder]

Started off when I was 15 with a recurve
Switched to a compound Barebow
Moved onto sights
5 years back now with the trad gear
Got in with some great shooters and have improved mine along the way

[Sam McMichael]

elkken, I have heard of that scoring system. Around here I have heard of it referred to as "ethical scoring". That would sure tell us something about ourselves.

[mnbwhtr]

Got my first recurve Paul Bunyon custom at age 12 and hunted that year. Got serious at age 16 Bear kodiak magnum 1965, shooting ever since.

[BWallace10327]

I have been fortunate enough to shoot the +5 -5 scoring at a few shoots.  It was fun, but the +5 was a tie wire ring and often smaller much smaller than the lungs may be, so a good behind the shoulder 8 is -5.  The people who won these shoots also just happened miss and get a 0 instead of a -5 when the shot was a challenge- sandbagging.

[dbd870]

Depends on the day.

[Thumper Dunker]

Originally posted by McDave:
The results are about what I expected, and I think are probably accurate. "Are you any good?" is different from saying "Are you in the top 10th percentile?"  "Any good" to me means a person has a consistent enough shot to be effective at some range, and the shooter knows what that range is. Kind of like "any good" with a hammer means that a person can generally drive a nail without bending it over, and knows what nail to use for the job.

What he said.

[Carcajou]

Been at the longbow for 50 years this year..wow, where did the time go?

[Tedd]

I'm 50. Been shooting since a little kid. I'm probably not as consistent as I should be! Like others stated I really work at it. If work is the right word. Maybe just obsessed searching for a rare perfect shot. My sessions are too long. Sometimes two hours on a weekday evening if there are no chores needing done. Sometimes two or 3 times a day on weekends.  When I'm shooting good I don't want to stop but I'm more likely to be satisfied, unstring and organize gear and make arrows. I've made some changes and have been shooting good this year. When I'm shoot bad I can't stop until it's fixed. That can be really counter productive.
I go through periods where I feel like there is nothing I can't hit and sometimes I'll have  week long slump where I can't keep them in the vitals no matter what.  My best accuracy (or luck) has always been when shooting at deer. I'd say my weakness is not being able to hold concentration on the spot at the critical moment. I'll probably always fight that.
I judge my shooting mostly by that first arrow. They have been really good the last week or so. I switched to a lighter physical weight 1 pc 59 Bear, from a heavy 3 pc. I shoot much better with the lighter weight bow even at  heavier draw weight.
Tedd