How often do you practice

[Big Fisherman]

Our deer move their heads.  Sometimes they look right at you.  Not a good time to either release the arrow or let down the string.  Many trad shooters--many practice methods.  I believe Ferguson shoots many arrows per day and he is fairly accurate...Hm

[Wallcrawler]

I take one arrow with me and shoot for a half hour or so 2-4 days per week.  I shoot my one arrow walk to the target or run, throw the arrow to a random spot and repeat until out of time or I start to fatigue.  This way it's a heart rate builder to mimick the way I may feel in the wild since I don't hunt in a blind or a stand.  I used to shoot groups but I would always shoot too fast when i did that.  This works for me in the my preperation for hunting Montana Elk.  I actually don't shoot in the winter at all because i don't like the local indoor range and shooting in the deep snow and cold does not appeal to me.

[snag]

I like to practice. So, it makes it pretty easy for me to set aside time everyday to shoot some arrows. But now I am not just shooting arrows...I actually concentrate on my shot sequence...from my position and alignment through to completion of the shot. Each day these parts are growing more and more apart of my shot.

[the force]

shoot everyday 100 shots or so

[rp65]

Two to four times a week if it works out with my job schedule. I shoot any where from 40 to 60 arrows per time, unless freinds come over then who knows how many.

[Roy Steele]

Everyones a little different you have to deside that one.
  I shoot when ever I feel like it but most of the time I only shoot around a dozzen arrows.Other days I may pound the target for an hour.

[D. Devall]

Originally posted by OkKeith:
I shoot everyday for as long as I have time for, 10 min. before I leave for work, 15 min. during my lunch break. Hour and a half before I mow the lawn, 3 hours after I finish.

I shoot bulls-eye targets, 3D targets, bales, stumps, field rats, treelimbs, pop cans... anything that sits still long enough (and is legal or in season).

I understand that for some folks archery is a
very mental game. Anytime I try to get too far inside my head, my accuracy suffers. Yes... good form is important, but nothing helps you shoot a good arrow like shooting arrows.

I believe that for some archers, over thinking the process leads to all these mental glitches people have (target panic, yips, whatever). Anyone ever see a kid with target panic? I haven't and I have seen some young men and young gals that were pretty salty with a bow. If you would like to see what pure joy in the flight of an arrow looks like, watch a bunch of kids fling arrows at targets. It can be refreshing, and maybe give you back something that might have been lost in the process.

I am a hunting archer. Olympic styles or target methods don't work for me. I have tried them, there are some good things to think about in these methods, but for hunting they sorta break down in my experience.

I don't want anyone to think I am telling ya how to do it. Everyone's process is different, but it seems like we get too locked in on the idea that any arrow not dead on perfect is a failure. I don't think so. I learn just as much (if not more) when I miss as I do when I hit where I want to.

Shooting arrows is fun for me! Other than flyfishing there is really nothing else I would rather do (my girlfriend says there is nothing ELSE I do, but she likes to fling arrows and flies as much as I do).

My "method" is, if it hurts, stop for a while or get a lighter bow. If it ain't fun anymore, go play golf for a while. The more arrows you stick in a target the more likely you will be able to repeat the action. I don't "schedule" practice. I shoot arrows whenever I don't have to be doing something else (yes, I know I am lucky to have a life/career/homelife that allows me to do that, but it's not by accident).

I suppose to sum it all up. Have fun, shoot as much as your life lets you, and value every second of it. I you miss, or don't hit quite where you were meaning, jerk another arrow out and fling it! Introspection is OK, but don't get analysis paralisys.

OkKeith

i compleatly agree with that.

[joe skipp]

I take off one month from shooting...June 15th to Aug 1st. This is when bass season opens here and I'm out chasing them around the Reservoirs and Farm ponds.

Once I pick the bow up again, it stays in my hands every day. Even if I get to shoot maybe 10 arrows one day, I make the most of every shot. On days I'm off from work, maybe 50 arrows a day.
When hunting season opens, I still shoot every day. Warm up in the morning with a few arrows, then shoot around 20 during the mid day lull.