Should I expect compound accuracy?

[JEFF B]

how good do you think you are with the trad bow? if you think you can drive tacks do it if ya can't oh well sh.t happens but only the depth varies    

[DaveT1963]

For me personally, I did not get into trad archery to she how accurate I could get with a bow.... I got into trad archery for the challenge of seeing how good of a hunter I could become.  at 14 yards my tags usually are punched.

[reddogge]

If I wanted to have pinpoint accuracy I'd be shooting my .270 Winchester but I hunt with a traditional bow without sights and live with its and my limitations. But that's the game we play.

[woodchucker]

Honestly, What differance does it make???

If you can put your arrows in a 6" group, at ANY UNKNOWN range, out to 30 yards... OR???

You can stack your arrows in a 1" group, BUT... That group is about 6" low or high, because you "miss-estimated the range" "used the wrong pin" "dropped your bow arm" "awkward shooting position" "release scwed up" the list goes on!!!!!

[Brock]

I cannot shoot as accurately as often as when I last shot a wheeled bow in 1989...but I dont try to either.

I have practiced to hit a shiny staple in cardboard at 20 yards....I rarely hit it but frequently I would come within 1 inch of it.  As my eyes deteriorate in old age..or aging years....makes it harder to focus intently on small spots...but can still come pretty close to an arrow hole or mark on a target or a quarter out to 15-18 yds on good days...on bad days I need to be 10-12 yards.

A big part of traditional archery is that it is personal and if you are not FEELING IT at 20 or 30 yards...there is nobody that will tell you to NOT stalk in closer to the animal until you are comfortable.  That is all part of it...if I could get a dollar for every deer or bear or hog I have had within 5 yards I could pay for a hunt out west.  The challenge is within yourself....how close CAN you get rather than how far can you shoot.....how selective can you be on animals rather than shooting everything that walks....how quickly does the animal die rather than as long as you find it is a good day.  As some said...for those of us that focus more on hunting than target prowess...accuracy is still important and needed it is just my benchmark of that range is reduced.  If I took EVERY shot I thought I MIGHT make...I would be regular PBS by now...but I wont take the shot if I have any second guessing.  It is just me...

like I said...practice in close...work your way out slowly.  I try to be able to put 10 arrows in a row in the same 6 inch circle or better.  If I do it at 10 yards then I go to 12...if at 12 then move to 15...if 15 then move to 18...and so on.  If I miss...then I go back to 10 and start over but only doing 3 shots per location.  If I make bad shot I go back to 10 yards and drill one in the bullseye and then stop so I end on a good note.

not how everyone does it...but that is how I do it.  I have contemplated doing like Jimmy Blackmon and relearning using his style of shooting down the pipe...knowing your max and min POINT ON distances with arrow flight never deviating more than 4-6 inches...and as long as you know that you can shoot about anything and not worry about it at all.  More accurate and has done him very well.

Just pick one style and give a sincere try...after a bit if not feeling it..then try another but give your body and mind time to adjust and learn it before giving up.

Keep it fun...and good luck.

[northener]

No you will not achieve compound accuracy. No worries though. Traditional bows excel at hunting distances, period.

The two bows are worlds apart in function. I also think,the mindsets of the archers behind the bows are different too.

[Bobaru]

This whole thread is "are you a hunter or are you a shooter?"  Hunters hunt, pretty much.  The thrill of the hunt oozes out of them.  Shooting is something else.  Nothing against it, it's just not the same thing as hunting.

So, why would any shooter bother with a compound when they can pick up a nice .270  with a Leopold scope?  Well, maybe because you can't use the .270 during archery season.  Okay.  ...  Seems to me though, if your goal is tack driving accuracy, you'd sooner ditch the compound and pick up the .270.  ....  

So a person has to think out what it is they really want, then go there.  Me?  I really love hunting.

[Flying Dutchman]

Sometimes I train at 27 yards only. I shoot three arrows on a row. Target is only 4 inch in diameter. I can hit that frequently with two out of three arrows, on a good day all three go in.

I can hit a balloon at 55 yards (50 meter)


But more important is I can hit at different ranges. At the moment I have 5 different targets on my training field. At 11, 22, 33, 44, and 55 yards.
To give you an idea for size, on 44 yards I use a Rinehardt 18-1 target.
I start at the first, when I hit it, I go the the next. Trying to shoot that perfect roundof 5 arrows. Best result till so far, several times, is 6 arrows. But it gives you a thrill hitting all targets on that different distances in a row with your first arra!

Try that with a compound!

[mgf]

Dewayne Martine won Vegas this year with a recurve and John Demmer recently shot a 299 in indoor competition. Some would call that "tack driving".

I don't see any reason to not expect "tack driving" accuracy on the range.

That should translate to "pretty darned good" under hunting conditions at the distances you would take game.

A stick bow isn't going to shoot like a decked out compound or a rifle but I don't think it should be used as an excuse for poor shooting either.

[Kevin Dill]

I long ago gave up the idea that repeatable tack-driving accuracy mattered to my hunting success. I need accuracy in quantities of one (arrow) and that's enough. Perfection for me is a close shot, good arrow and animal down quickly. When I find them I can put a mental tack under the entrance wound.

   

[Trond]

Originally posted by mgf:

A stick bow isn't going to shoot like a decked out compound or a rifle but I don't think it should be used as an excuse for poor shooting either.

I don't think anyone here are searching for an excuse for poor shooting. But I believe that if you  expect the kind of accuracy you can get out of a compound, it could easily ruin the fun of traditional archery. Shooting a stick bow is a way of life, and is way more than just flinging arrows into a target. IMHO

[bear bowman]

I guess I should explain my reasoning for this post. Many of you have answered my question. I can hold nice groups out to about 25 yards. Past that, not so well. Most of that is form related. Some of you have stated that trying to drive tacks takes the fun out of it which is kind of why the question was posed. I love shooting my bow but at times I put way too much pressure on myself and the fun isn't there as much. I can't wait until I get to carry my stick into the woods this fall. I'm already dreaming of it.

[Kevin Dill]

bear bowman:

The best way to beat that pressure is to go afield with nothing but blunts and judos. Stump shoot...rove...shoot at whatever strikes your fancy. Don't think about accuracy; think about making it fun.

I recall a 3D round many years ago...a round robin tourney final. I watched a guy blow an easy 25 yard shot at the last target. I thought his head would explode. On the way to the clubhouse I watched him slam-dunk his TSS Quadraflex into a rusty 55 gallon trash barrel and walk away. I think that's about when it sunk in for me: this stuff is supposed to be fun...not stress...not based on what I can't do.

[Trond]

X2 on what Kevin says!

Of the compound shooters that I normally see, the average is they have been hunting for about three years, so they think they know everything there is to know, because they saw it on TV. Some can shoot tight groups at the indoor range, most do not ever shoot an arrow from a tree stand. They set their pins at twenty yards and set their tree stands either right on the deer trails or the nearest possible tree, so what does the bow sight do? I was told by one that they do that so some else does not put one up between them and the best spot.  Almost every year, I hear about someone not being able see his pins through his peep, so he takes a guess without it and hits high and wide.
I tried compound for one year back in the early 70s, I could shoot hunting arrow groups as accurately as I could with BW and Hoyt FITA bows. I found that target groups and a single good shot on a live deer are not the same thing. I am better with a stickbow. It seems that judging all things hunting by target groups is getting to be more common. Try only counting the first two arrows. The real advantage of the traditional bow, for me a longbow, is shot versatility and shot timing. That takes practice, like anything else, but it is an area of shooting that can be improved on for many. As a predominately ground hunter, that is what makes or breaks a successful hunting shot for me.

[Pat B]

Kevin, that guy should have thrown himself in the 55 gal trash can and laid his bow gently on the ground. It was he that screwed up, not the bow. As a tool the bow does what it is told to do.

[ThePushArchery]

With a solid repeatable form and a robust aiming system like gapping or stringwalking, accuracy potential is near the average compound shooter.

The things that John Demmer and DeWayne Martin are doing with barebow competitive archery scores are ridiculous. John recently posted a 582 score for an indoor 600 round.

Most if not all compound shooters at my bow hunting club only would dream about that type of score with their hunting compounds.

2" groups at 35 yards are definitely achievable. Mark Lynde, John Demmer, Dewayne Martin are proof from what they consistently do on the IBO circuit.

Discipline, practice, and a full understanding of how to micro-tune your rig are things that shouldn't be overlooked.

Some shooters come to trad to get away from that stuff for a more simplified approach to this sport we all love. I never shot a compound, and my passion lies within how far can I push the accuracy factor with a recurve.

Whatever path you walk, have fun and don't forget, we are not making a living by shooting our bows. So it shouldn't be stressful, unless of course you're shooting at the IBO world championship or national indoor championship  

[The Whittler]

The bow be it compound or stick is only as accurate as the shooter, it's as simple as that. I have been to a lot of 3d shoots and seen the ones who in their words if they are not winning they are not having fun. 2d place is nothing it don't count.

Some days you got it some days you don't. For me it's about having fun with friends and family. What more could I ask for.

Can you expect the same accuracy?  Yes.  Can you achieve the same accuracy?  No.

[BAK]

You can be accurate enough, but no, it makes no sense to believe you can shoot a bare bow recurve or longbow as accurately as a front sighted, rear sighted, trigger released wheel gun.

If you can't be ok with that, well you know.