My Adventure In Longbow

[HUNT 24/7]

As some of you know from my introduction thread    My Introduction Thread  
 I am new to the world of bow hunting & shooting, I plan to use this thread to post my progress as a new longbow shooter, and to ask the many questions I know I will have.


Heres what I'm running

Bow #1 - Root Feild Master recurve, 45lbs at 28"
         I plan to use this bow untill I have    
         established good form & some muscle
         memory, then I will move to my Hill.

Bow #2 - Howard Hill "Wesley Special"
           
My personal goals are:

1) To attend as many 3D shoots as I can to improve my shooting & just have fun.

2) To become a good enough shot to pass my bowhunter education course in August 2010.

3) To become a good enough shot to take my bow bear hunting in spring of 2011, & hopefully get to use it    

4) Continue to hunt, shoot & enjoy my longbow.


Hope you enjoy the ride, I know I will.

[SpankyNeal]

That's a BIG jump from 45 to 70#! Just don't try and go too fast to that Wesley bud - a torn up shoulder will shorten your adventure for sure! Will follow your trip with interest - best of luck!

Ken

[JRY309]

That is a pretty big jump in draw weight,might be nice to have a bow in between those like 55-60#.I would work on my form with the lighter bow so as not to devolope any bad habits with the heavier bow.3D shoots are a lot of fun and good practice.Maybe pick up Masters of the Bare bow III,a lot of good info in it on shooting.Best of luck to you,traditional archery is a lot of fun and enjoyment for me.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good for you. Chase those goals. I would also recommend adding some in-between bows to your collection in order to build-up. However, if you are very fit and healthy, you might be able to go to a 70# bow straight away, particularly if you've been shooting heavy compounds. My mates Tony and Matt did that, and they are superb marksmen with their heavy longbows. But they are bush-tough, too.

[David Mitchell]

Just be aware that heavy draw weight bows can have a bad affect on your shooting if you are not very careful--short drawing, etc.  You really don't need that weight unless you plan to hunt cape buffalo    I hunt with bows in the 48-55# range for all my hunting.  I have killed a couple of nice bears with those weight bows.  Have fun and take care of your shoulders.  I hope you will take a few minutes before you start shooting each session to do some warm-up range of motion exercises before you just yank back those bows and start flinging arrows. Very few archers do and it's really tough on your shoulders and you'll pay the piper later if you ignore them.

[straitera]

In your corner Wes. Have fun!

[Spectre]

Not to mention the difference in grip between your recurve and your Wesley.

[hunt it]

Welcome Wes. If you don't already know Herb, check out Herb's Archery he's a nieghbour of yours in New Brunswick. Hangs out here once in a while.

[HUNT 24/7]

[HUNT 24/7]

Originally posted by hunt it:
Welcome Wes. If you don't already know Herb, check out Herb's Archery he's a nieghbour of yours in New Brunswick. Hangs out here once in a while.

Hey thanks, I will look him up for sure.

[HUNT 24/7]

Well I was out to the bow club on Monday night for some shooting & for the first time, I decided to shoot the 3D course & keep score.
 
 I shot a 77 out of 200 on 20 targets. I was fairly pleased with that & the fact that I didn't totally miss any of the targets, some of them are small!! haha. I had a couple 10's also.  The targets are between 10 & 25 yards.

 I plan to go to mens night & shoot the course with the guys on Thursday night. I'll let you know how I make out with the nerves of being a new guy & the only traditional shooter there.

I think it will be a good time, & it will be nice to meet the guys.

Wish me luck!
haha

[HUNT 24/7]

I just checked out Herbs website & was surprised to find out I grew up across the river from him.
 I look forward to meeting him & learning from him.

Thanks for the tip, I had no idea there was anyone

[HUNT 24/7]

Well I went to league night tonight & just as I thought, I was the only traditional shooter there.
 I shot a 61 on a very tough course & had a great time meeting some of the guys, looking forward to next week all ready.

 I also brought home my "Wesley Special" tonight, I will take some pics as soon as my bow stringer gets here, it is pretty hard to string without it.

[Quickblood]

Buckle up, it'll be a great ride.

[HUNT 24/7]

Went't out tonight & shot the course again, 71 little better.

[HUNT 24/7]

Here are some pic's of my Hill
   

<<<<>>>>>>

[HUNT 24/7]

I also took some pic's of the club tonight. The back wall is 23 yards. It can get a little trickey shooting between the posts at tight angles......just ask one of my arrows haha.

[Jerry Wald]

good for you - welcome - remember get good form that is duplicatable first.

jer Bear

[HUNT 24/7]

Well I had a good shoot tonight, I didn't run the course, just played around with both bows trying different styles of shooting.

 I was shooting at soda cans at around 10 yards or so (I don't use yardage, just a estimate) & I was drawing back anchoring & holding for a bit then releasing the way I always have been. I was shooting ok for someone that hasn't been at it very long, maby 2 or 3 out of 10 shots, I was pleased with that.
 
 Then for some reason I tried just staring at the can, kinda drew my bow back toward my eye, I was bent over a bit too & just let er fly when my hand got to my face never taking my eyes off the can & SMACK! I hit it!

 Thinking it was just a fluke I kept shooting like this & I swear on my life I was hitting the can 6, 7, 8, times out of 10. I was even shooting the bottoms of the cans quite consistently & my groups tightened BIG TIME!!!

 After I shot the poop outa the can I just walked around the range shooting at random distance targets & I was shooting better than I ever have, WAY more accurate.

 I hope this wasn't just a fluke tonight & tomorrow I can't hit crap, because I'm so excited about my shooting tonight I probably wont sleep HAHA!!!

 The only reason I came home is because my finger tips are SOOOO sore! & I'm shooting with a tab to boot.

 I just hope this isn't a poor way to shoot either, I have no idea, but it sure was fun tonight!

Night all, time to dream about more good shooting                  

[HUNT 24/7]

I got my "Hitting Em Like Howard" DVD the other day.
 I am now in the process of learning the Howard way of shooting, so far so good, not quite skooting quarters out of the air yet haha!