Can shooting multiple bows cause problem?

[mountain lion]

This might sound silly but can shooting multiple bows cause you to not shoot accurate with any of them. I was wandering because of the different grips and cast and stuff. I have one recurve and two longbows and I like to shoot them all and it's hard for me to pick and shoot just one. But my accuracy has went down hill, I just figured I would ask and see what everyone thought. Thanks!!

[khardrunner]

For some people for sure. The old saying, "beware of the man with only one gun" does have a lot of truth to it.

I know people who shoot a different bow every day and shoot better than most. For me it's best to have that "go to" bow that I shoot most, though I can play around with others here and there.

[halfseminole]

It's conceivable, but for example I shoot three longarms regularly.  There's my wife's Marlin .22 bolt-action, her grandmother's Sears and Roebuck .22 semiauto, and my Sears and Roebuck Model 300 semiauto shotgun, which I can honestly say I love the most of all.  Each one has a specific way I should hold it and a specific way to treat it to achieve maximum accuracy, but as I have practiced long hours with each, each on is an old, familiar friend when I take it in hand to fire.

What has this to do with trad archery?  How much time do you spend with each bow?  Is it enough time to get it firing perfectly then moving on, or do you hop between bows constantly?  If it's the latter, a bit of continuity might help a lot.

[Jake Diebolt]

I've always been a one-bow man, so it's never been an issue - but there are a lot of guys who shoot multiple bows well, and even multiple arrow setups on each bow.

I imagine the difference in the grip is more important than the cast, but YMMV.

[mountain lion]

I don't shoot one single bow for more than a week at a time. Because I love them all but I suppose I should just pick one and stick with it. When I started shooting trad archery I had a bob lee recurve and that's all I had and I shot it well, then I discovered other bows and started shooting them all and now I don't shoot as well.

[7 Lakes]

Can you eat just one Lays potato chip?

[moebow]

Lion.

I answered your other post too but shooting different bows should not affect your shot.  IF you do the same thing with each type of bow, you might have a very short period of adjustment but overall, IF you do the same thing with each bow, the shot should be the same.  Try NOT to change your form just because the bow/bow grip is slightly different.  

A bow is a bow, your form should remain the same.

Arne

[pcg]

I agree with Arne. You shn't experience more than a short "re-break-in" time with each new bow--I'm talking shooting 4 or 5 arrows max. That's how quickly you shd be able to shoot w/ accuracy when switching. I cycle through about 12 different bows, left and right hand both. Takes a couple minutes to adapt. The biggest challenge is switching between longbows and recurves, particularly if the recurves are center cut.

[JamesKerr]

I don't think shooting multiple bows really effects one's accuracy much as long as the bows you shoot are all familiar to you. Like halfseminole said if you don't shoot any of them long enough to get familiar with any particular one of them then how can you expect to shoot it accurately. I agree with moebow form is form but every bow is a little different, and usually do to the grip requires just a very small change in shooting style. I shoot different bows all the time, but I do have one main bow. I usually just shoot some of my others when I want to shoot something different, but I am very familiar with all my bows.

[JRY309]

I feel if you have good form you can shoot many different bows.It's rare for me if I shoot the same bow two weeks in a row.I like shooting many different bows.

[KSdan]

Have never figured out how to shoot 2 bows at the same time. The crossing strings and slapping limbs make a mess.    

[Hud]

If I switch from LB, or R&D to Recurve which has a different handle, it takes time to adjust. For that reason, I do not switch back and forth. IMO most bowhunters will find they shoot one style, better than another. Fred Asbell has written about this topic several times. I agree with him. John Schulz said, the same thing.

[damascusdave]

The biggest problem with shooting multiple bows, I am finally down to only 13, and only dealing on three or four right now, is that I am always broke when the best deals come up...before I start hunting I settle on one or two bows and stick to that right up until I decide to add more...it all comes down to this...since I am not hunting for subsistence if I am not completely confident I can make a clean kill the arrow never leaves the string...I have one bow that I always shoot well and if I really want a particular animal I will always have that bow in my hands

DDave

[joe skipp]

I have a post similar on page 2 or 3...I shoot my longbow with the swing draw for accuracy but need to shoot my recurves using the push/pull method.

I tried swing draw with the recurve...no...but knowing how I have to shoot both bows, my accuracy is there.

[khardrunner]

I think cast more than anything else is the real issue. Your body/mind learn how an arrow flies from a particular bow as you shoot it over and over. Change that significantly and you might have issues. 150 fps from a selfbow and 200 fps from your ILF will have drastically different trajectories.

[tomcat8910]

Just one for me during bow season. When the season is over I will switch around with my other bows for a couple months. I'm not multi talented!

[mahantango]

I agree that cast, or trajectory, is the main difficulty when switching between bows. I shoot many different bows and build my arrows so that the gpp are as close as possible thus keeping the trajectory relatively the same. Good form is good form. Let the grip tell you how it should be held and all will be good. Life is too short to shoot only one bow!

[Keith Zimmerman]

No problems for me at all.  I can switch to any of my bows with no problems with accuracy.  I shoot from 50# to 70# all the time.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I usually shoot better for a while when I shoot a new bow.

[mike g]

Well I only have one bow at this time.
   Butt at one time I had two bows, My Howard Hill and  Rash Mnt. bow a Recurve and I could shoot them both pretty good....