Is it better to shoot just one arrow a day?

[Axis Hunter]

If your instinct is trained and is written in your muscular patterns and in your mind, do you need too shoot a lot of arrows still, or just one good one?

[Ragnarok Forge]

Bryon Fergusons book says one perfectly shot arrow is far preferrable to many improperly shot arrows.  

If you have everything dialed in and your form is good then you don't need to shoot a lot of arrows every day.  I like to practice at roaming ranges.  Everything from 5 yards to 40 yards.  I walk around the woods and stump shoot, or just move around my yard and shoot from varying ranges, with no second shot from the same distance.  Your skill is perishable.  I have found the first one to go is the ability to hit at various ranges well if I don't practice.

[reddogge]

If you can string your bow and just shoot one arrow and stop then you have more will power than I do.  I have to fling a bunch when I start flinging because it's so darn fun.

[Terry Green]

One shot a day????

Is this a trick question? ?????       :D

[BobCo 1965]

Originally posted by Axis Hunter:
If your instinct is trained and is written in your muscular patterns and in your mind, do you need too shoot a lot of arrows still, or just one good one?

Maybe once in a while one arrow a day may work. But how many arrows is needed to keep your strength, muscle memory, form, and instinct in tune may require many many more depending on what you want out of archery.

[eagle feather]

My problem is, my first arrow is rarely perfect! nor my 2nd, 3rd ,4th.....    
I THINK my form is perfect but the arrow just doesn't seem to agree.

[s_mcflurry]

What Bob said.  Conditioning and muscle memory are being sacrificed with one arrow per day.  Shooting one arrow between retrieving is fine and is more of a "have your cake and eat it too" sort of deal.  You force yourself into making that one shot count but still get the benefit of conditioning and muscle memory.

[bolong]

If I only shot one arrow a day I would lose all my strength at my age. I shoot at least 40 or 50 everyday, sometimes more.

[McDave]

Howard Hill shot many, maybe hundreds, of arrows every day.  When he wasn't actually shooting arrows, he would often pretend to shoot arrows and visualize the path of the arrow through the air to the target.

About 8 months ago, I started shooting just about every morning with some friends.  We vary between stump shooting at unknown distances and target shooting at known distances.  I would guess I shoot about 50 arrows every day.  My shooting has improved a lot since I started shooting with them.  Before, I would probably average 5-10 arrows a day, which I don't really believe is enough to hone your form.

Interestingly, when you shoot at the same archery range every morning, after a while there isn't any such thing as an "unknown distance" anymore, even though it is a rather large range covering many acres.  Even if you throw a tennis ball out in the middle of a field, you have walked across that field enough times, and shot at enough other things in that field, that you have a good idea of how far away the tennis ball is.  This was brought to my attention when I shot at another archery range recently, unmarked distances, and didn't do anywhere near as good as I did at my home range, since I wasn't familiar with the territory.

[Axis Hunter]

Usually my first shot is the best that was why i was wondering. Whenever i go out to practice i probrably still end up shooting 20-25 shots or more

[stiknstringer]

Instead of shooting just one good arrow a day, why not shoot many good arrows.  

[71flh]

I travel a lot for work, sometimes for up to two weeks at a time. When I return I have to start over from 5 yards and work on form, then at 10, then at 20 then I go out and do my walk through range. I don't have the option of shooting just one arrow, I shoot whenever I can as much as I can.

[ncsaknech1ydh]

I agree with you 110% McDave, I shoot instinctive and try to give no thought at the distance that I am shooting, but in the back of my mind I know every single foot from here to there and there to here from shooting over many years in my back yard. I use judo points out in my back pasture once in awhile, and that does help.

Axis Hunter, a fellow trad ganger suggested to me a while back that I shoot one arrow at a time, then go to the target or whatever I am shooting at, and shoot that one arrow again, use only one and you will find you will be shooting much more consistant, and the better you are shooting, the more fun you will have. It has worked wonders for me.

Just my opinion, but if you arn't shooting at least 20 arrows per day I would think your muscles used for shooting the bow would lose there tone. Again, thats just my opinion. I shoot about 20 arrows in the morning before work and 20 at night before dark, I think it helps different situations in that in the morn the sun is at my back and in the eve it is in my face. Sometimes I shoot after sunset for practice in low light conditions.

[eric-thor]

yes its a little bit of a trick question but i think one perfect shot is better than 100 bad . but i cant just shoot just one even if its a perfect shot .

i start out blank/blind bail for at least 3 sets of 3 . before i shoot for targets. than im havin fun and working on keepin things on the track im workin on . i like to finnish up with a perfect shot as well .

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by eric-thor:
 i think one perfect shot is better than 100 bad .

Maybe so....but if you are trying to learn to shoot, you aren't going to improve very fast shooting ONE arrow a day whether its GOOD or BAD.

How good of a basketball player you going to be by shooting one shot a day?

How good a golfer you going to be by hitting one golf ball a day?

How good a baseball player you going to be by swinging the bat once a day?

How good a field goal kicker you going to be with one kick a day?

You can't learn anything by not doing it.

Once you learn to shoot, and get to the level you want, it doesn't take a lot of arrows to keep the rust off.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
 

Originally posted by eric-thor:
 i think one perfect shot is better than 100 bad .

Maybe so....but if you are trying to learn to shoot, you aren't going to improve very fast shooting ONE arrow a day whether its GOOD or BAD.

How good of a basketball player you going to be by shooting one shot a day?

How good a golfer you going to be by hitting one golf ball a day?

How good a baseball player you going to be by swinging the bat once a day?

How good a field goal kicker you going to be with one kick a day?

You can't learn anything by not doing it.

Once you learn to shoot, and get to the level you want, it doesn't take a lot of arrows to keep the rust off. [/b]

Yes, what Terry Green said, and the thing that all of the above have in common is they know how to use the right form and consistent practice.  Now that I am getting more used to drawing and releasing consistently without thinking about it, I am seeing bigger jumps in accuracy improvement with fewer arrows shot.  25 shots with consistent form and release is better than 250 with poor and inconsistent form.

[TRAD101]

to me that would be like taking one run down the ski hill or playing one hole of golf, even if they were perfect I could see no reason to stop with one.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

Only way I could stop with one arrow is if my bow cracked on the first draw, as I don't have a backup bow at the moment.

[s_mcflurry]

I'm also a firm believer in failure.  Success gained through failure is invaluable to me.  I've become a better shooter because I've so many terrible shots before the bullseye.

[eric-thor]

terry i really wasnt promoting only shooting 1 arrow a day . that wasnt my point at all . just that quality is better than quantity . i used to shoot 150 -250 arrows a day and i stunk but i was havin fun . after 5 yrs and seeing a few others shoot much better .i started the mission of figuring out how to improve my shooting and now i shoot less arrows than ever ,but i learn more every day and shoot better than i ever did when i shot much  more volume.

i still love to shoot but i have more fun shooting than looking for my arrows.