shooting has hit a plateau...how do I get better?

[J. Cook]

I've been shooting trad for 3 years now.  I improved very quickly in that first year, but seemed to have really hit a plateau in my accuracy and performance.  I shoot respectably, but my groups at 20 yards may be 6-8" in diameter with 4 or 5 arrows.  At 15 I'm money!  At 30, I'm suspect.  So my hunting range is 20 yards max.  That's not a problem for me, but I want to shoot much better than that.  I shoot a few hundered arrows a week.  The groups and shooting I see on this site are MUCH better than that.  I've worked very hard to have my bows tuned to the best they can be.

My question is to you guys that have experienced this -- what are some of the practical things you did to take your shooting to the next level and become extremely proficient in your shooting?

[BobCo 1965]

There are a few things that you can do if you do not feel like you are making progress.

I'd say either video yourself and analyze(if you feel you can), or have someone else take a look.

Or maybe seek a qualified coach, instructor, or someone that you may feel can help.


What personally took me to the next level was finding a coach.

[rightminded]

BobCo is right on. No matter if you have an aiming system or shoot instinctively, you must pick the smallest point on the target that you can see to score well.  After form concentration is the key.

[bsigal]

All of the advice that you have been given is excellent, and I concur with it all.  It seems, from what you have said, that you are shooting a lot of arrows each week.  What I have found that works for me, occasionally, when I have that problem, is to stop shooting for a couple of days to allow the mind and body to settle in and clear.  It works for me occasionally and it might work for you.

[J. Cook]

Thanks guys!  I'll take all the advice I can get.

[brinkwolf]

I was thinking the same thing, take a break for a few days.

[oops sorry]

I think that when we start a venture and see large gains in performance we are beating the big issues (anchor, back tension, pull through and so on) into reasonable shape all at once. None of those items are likely to be perfect at the end of this period. Further gains come from refinement in each of those items. To do this, I think it helps if you can isolate each item and work on it. That is hard to do without an outside observer. A mirror or video might help with form and anchor issues. One thing I found is that when I changed posture and tried to shoot from the knees, I wasn't really pulling through the back and my anchor was floating around. It was like when I shifted the stance that much, I lost the fundamentals that I thought (but didn't) have. It helped to isolate the upper torso.

[NJWoodsman]

Take this for what it's worth, because I'm at about the same level. The coaching I've had has emphasized bale work, having a shot sequence, and working on specific components of form.

The aspect I'm working on right now is "commitment", which means you don't shoot until you have the shot completely set up, and if it's not right, you let down. In other words, you don't let a bad shot go, you let down. I read somewhere recently that this is a tactic elite archers use. It also helps with target panic and snap shooting.

[dragonheart]

Quit shooting groups of arrows for awhile.  Get judos and blunts and go out into the woods and stump shoot.  Forget about distance and go shoot in the field.  You need to shoot some longer shots to get a "minds eye" of the trajectory of the arrow.  Reduce the # arrows and shoot high quality shots, not high quanity shots.

[cbCrow]

I had gotten the same as you feel and what I did is started to shoot only one arrow at a time. I found that when I shot 3D my concentration and mindset was on that one arrow. I shoot 25-40 arrows 5x week but only one at a time from varying distances, plus I do stumpin 2x week.

[LongStick64]

I have to completely agree with NJWoodsman. Serious Bale work and slowly increasing distance by a couple of feet at a time. Bottom line is you do not move back until every shot is as good as the shots you took at 5 feet. Every part of your shot sequence must be worked on. Way too many focus too much on anchor or follow through neglecting to work on the other aspects of their form. Take the time to develop your form on the bale from close in and then work your way back, slowly and patiently. You'll build confidence and a solid shooting form.

[machomanandysavage]

What has worked for me is to focus one one specific aspect of the shot during each shooting session. For example, one day just concentrate on your release. The next, consistent anchor, follow through, picking a spot, etc.

Have a buddy watch your form and see if anything stands out, and then work on whatever the weakness is.

This has helped me out a lot, maybe it can help you too.

[AllenR]

How good do you want to be?

Confident of a 20 yard shot at deer
Confident of a 50 yard shot at deer
Top shot at local 3D
Top shot at national 3D
Field archery
Indoor spots
Olympics

Each of these requires different levels of commitment and somewhat different ways to practice.  For all of them you want to develop consistent basic form and execution.

Everything depends on what you want to do with archery and what you are willing to put into it.

So, where do YOU want to go?

Allen

[J. Cook]

Well, I'm primarily a hunter...but to be the best hunter I can be, I'd like to be proficient at shooting tight groups in the 30 yard range.  I would consider myself a "good shot" and be very comfortable with my level if shooting tight groups out to 30 yards.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Practice, practice, practice, and videoing yourself so you can see your form is a good tool as well.  As far as the groups you see on here, remember that no one ever shows the bad ones.

[FurFlyin]

Kudo's to the Judo's recommendation.  Since getting back into trad archery last winter with my kids, at least one a week I take two Judo points and an empty 20 oz drink bottle.  I shoot 2 arrows, throw the bottle, shoot again, walk away, turn and shoot, etc...  Whether recently or 20 years ago when I trad shot alot, I have never shot from a known distance.  The stump shooting, or drink bottle shooting, or leaf shooting, or insert favorite object, has always helped my shooting.  One of my former pastimes was getting a buddy to roll an empty Skoal or Copenhagen can downhill for me and shoot it or at it over and over.  That helped a bunch too.

[AllenR]

To have confidence in a 30 yard shot, the first thing is to develop precision in your bow hand, placement of your fingers on the string, your anchors, your draw length, your stance (shooting from odd positions comes later) and your follow through.

Since you are doing pretty good to 20 yards, you probably don't have a lot of changes to make. You just need to get these learned to the subconscious level.

With hunting season coming up you probably  shouldn't try to change anything until you've finished up with hunting for the year.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I hope you like to read.  Because I am going to tell you to buy a small book.  All the advice above is really good but needs just a bit of understanding the why of where you are at to help.

I have been at the same point you are for a while.  I have great days and ok days, I can shoot tiny groups at 20 yards or score great on a 3D course and then the next day shoot a lot worse.  I bought and read Instinctive Archery Insights by Jay Kidwell, Ph.D..  I am seeing improvements in my shooting in both consistancy and accuracy.  The book is written about the mental side of shooting your trad bow.  I bought my book cheap on fleabay.  Poke around there and you should find one to buy.

[ncsaknech1ydh]

Like CBCrow, I to shoot one arrow at a time, I've been doing so all summer, and it has greatly improved my shooting, I take the time to walk and get my arrow and relocate to a different shot to reflect on the previous shot. Shooting for me has become even more enjoyble then it was before. Like FurFlyin, I also never shoot from known distances.

Thanks for the tip on the book, I'm gonna get online and order a copy ASAP! The mental part of shooting is definatly my down fall!  

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by J. Cook:
Well, I'm primarily a hunter...but to be the best hunter I can be, I'd like to be proficient at shooting tight groups in the 30 yard range.  I would consider myself a "good shot" and be very comfortable with my level if shooting tight groups out to 30 yards.

I'm right there in the same boat with you my friend. My instinctive eye finally came into focus, and I can nail the kill zone on a 3D buck 5 out of 6 times from 20 yards, with that occasional flyer that leaves me scratching my head (missed anchor point) but I would also like to pull those groups in tighter.
One thing that I did the other day that seemed to help a lot was I moved my targets around the yard in different spots so I was shooting at the same old back drop over and over again. Then I just started picking random locations at unknown yardages and ripping arrows. I really surprised myself when I made it back near the 30 yard mark and was laying 2 of 3 arrows right smack in the kill. That's something I couldn't have thought about doing a year ago. So that tells me that it's there...just out of reach and I have to figure out a way to duplicate that zone every single time.

After reading what I just wrote, the Stump Shooting advice is basically what I just did in my back yard with my targets. Maybe I need to take that same advice my self and go kill some stumps.   :rolleyes:  

I also NEED A COACH.....In the Worst Way!