selfbow shooting help!

[stick flipper]

I am new to a selfbow and I have been getting frustrated with my accuracy and consistency. I built my first selfbow in april of this year. It is all osage about 67" long and if it has not lossed much more draw wieght it is about 62#@29. I am needing a pep talk or some reassurance or some advise! I am also wondering how much set your selfbow limbs have taken? How much would be considered alot?

Thanks, Chris

[John Scifres]

Selfbows will take a little getting used to shooting.  Just take your time, perfect practice is a lot better than just a lot of practice.  Finding the right spine is key.  My selfbows generally spine 5-10 pounds less than the shafts say.

2-3 inches of set would be good for your first bow.  More than that and it tends to harm preformance but they atill shoot.

[Crimson mist]

One thing that help me was learning to bend my knees, lean into the shot and cant the bow more than if I was shooting a centershot glass bow

[brettlandon]

I learned you must shoot instinctively to shoot a selfbow.  The best way to determine if you are truely shooting instinctively is to shoot at night with the target illuminated from a source in front of you.  This will prevent you from gap shooting.  Welcome to the club, there's nothing like a stick and string!

-Brett

[Jim now in Kentucky]

Consistent anchor. Consistent release. Consistent grip. Consistent follow through.

See a pattern? 8-)

[osprey1]

Have to first say that I am new to longbows and archery in general but recently built my first hickory 50 lb. flatbow. I was told to practise only proper form for at least 3 weeks. I was also told to learn the instinctive style of shooting and more specifically the Howard Hill style of instinctive shooting. Myself I kinda wished I had started with a lighter bow and working on proper form would have been a bit easier. There has been some great threads here on this subject recently. From my limited experiance I can already see that consistant shooting requires lots of intelligent practise. After you have found your proper form then everything else will come together. Proper form will give you proper "line" (left/right alignment) The up/down alignment I understand to be aquired from practise at different distances. Proper form should be practised at first with no target on the bag. Good luck.  

[Bjorn]

A bow, is a bow, is a bow. There are good self bows and bad laminated bows. Find the right arrow combo and it doesn't matter if it is a self bow, a backed bow or a laminated one.
Like some above said........proper practice and consistency regadless of backed or self, applies to all bows.

[Ted Fry]

Well put Bjorn

[Dave Schneider]

Chris,

The Osage bow I built for my elk hunt is 66" 66# at 29" and has about 1-1/2 inches of set, measured at the deepest set on the limb (about mid limb).  I have some white wood bows that have three inches and another Osage that has reflex.  When you are talking about longevity it is more important how evenly the bend and therefore the set is than the amount of set.  If the set is concentrated you have the risk of the limb developing a hinge.  If it is even then it should be alright.  

Accuracy can be affected by lots of issues.  Arrow spine is quite different from most fiberglass bow and depends on the distant from center shot to the arrow rest and efficiency of the bow.  There are no formals for selfbow arrows but I also draw close to 29" and find 50-55 LB spine works well for most of my 60-65 LB bows.  I have a set of arrows of different spine I use when I shoot a new bow to determine what works best.  

If you are getting good arrow flight there are any number of other things that could be different from what you are use to.  I find handle design has a lot to do with it.

Once you put it together it all makes sense.

Dave

[George Tsoukalas]

Shooting a well made selfbow is just plain fun. They are all I shoot.  I rarely "practice". I often "play" at archery. My advice is "play" at selfbows just like a child would. When I shoot one of my bows I am once again little Jawgie.     Jawge