Traditional Archery

So......I am having a real urge to try my recurve's for still hunting, maybe some tracking when we get some snow.

 A few things have changes since last year when I declared I would not hunt anymore. One is I had a nagging cough , possibly from some mold issues in the house. That seems to be gone for a few months now. Second is the apples in the orchard adjacent to my hunting patch is looking decent this year.

I had  put up a double stand near a trail when I first started hunting this area, mostly for my wife to feel secure. It was on a leaning tree and over a few years it has gotten to the point of  having a down angled bench, no beuno! So last year I knocked it over but couldn't find the key to the lock. I recently cut the lock and moved it to a better spot about 80 yards from where it was , it now is on a well worn path from a swamp to the apples.

 This will still be a stand for Kim. In the years since setting up the double I hung a fixed about 50 yards from it on a junction of 3 trails that pass thru a stone wall. until last year I had only been in that stand a hand full of times that I haven't seen deer, at least within gun range. Last year I only went 4 times before the cough got uncontrollable. Never saw a deer that season, apples were non existent so feeding trails were different.

   I did recently get a new hunting compound a PSE Decree, it is wicked fast and holds surprisingly well. I got it used for a steal, it took all of 3 shots at 20-30-40-50 to get my Easton Da-Torch's hammering! I plan on using this rig when in the stand, I have potentially 30 yard shots and my instinctive recurve skills are only trust-able to 25 y at the moment.Shooting Swhackers out of the Decree,they are the best flying broadheads I have ever used.

  I have a hard time sitting in the stand and have always enjoyed still hunting the swamps with rifles, this season I will do it with a PSE Nighthawk 40# with a 3 arrow Quickee quiver and Easton Traditional Axis and 100g Muzzy's

   I can consistently hit an 8" circle at 20 and would push to 25 if conditions are right. Really, I dont expect to see anything more than 20 anyways due to the thickness of this swamp. I used to live at a farm in Mont Vernon NH and was jumping deer when getting to my stand fairly regularly, twice having deer giving me the eyeball at 15 yards. Had I been using a recurve with a nocked arrow a  shot would have presented itself. this experience is what got me thinking about recurves.

I do intend to  mess around with a fixed crawl to try and get point on at 23 yards or so. If this occurs I should be good for point on from 15 to 25. then perhaps sit a stand with the 'curve. We will see.

    You may be thinking  ...PSE Nighthawk? I thought you were shooting a Ghost! I am and I love the feel of that bow, but it is not drilled for a bow quiver, and a trad version or cat quiver cost as much as the Nighthawk, which also shoots awesome, has a good feeling grip and accepts a Quickee!

    Since I am still building my student bow stable, any bows I get are multi purpose , should I get  a nice quiver for the Ghost, the Nighthawk will still get shot by someone at some point.

Anyways.....have a great day.

I am please to say I will be at OBX trying to slay some Spanish mackerel next week...wish me luck!

Field Archery....best of both worlds!

    I have been loosing arrows for over 25 years , in that time I have shot many styles and formats. My favorite is a Field Round, NFAA to be exact.

    In my 30's I was all about 3D, making SOYT points etc. in my NH league, IBO qualifiers and the like. All 3 D with a little indoor. I discovered Field at my current club many years ago. It was a situation of one of the indoor regulars said, "well you like 3D you should try it" I did and      WOW!

 I think field has all the good bits of all the other formats.

      It is generally Known distance and has a uniform distance and face size anywhere in the country. Generally it is shot on a trail through the woods. This doesn't mean it is boring or the same. Up hill /down hill can cause you to cut a few yards off. Distance is measured with a string or tape, so a severe angle cuts horizontal distance. This adds challenge and separates the greats from the goods. Also,some are open some are tunneled, some brightly lit some dark. so every Fields round will have the same distance and target face combos making up the 28 (usually 2x14)stations.

     In 3D, sometimes it takes the better part of the day to shoot 30 targets, one arrow each. For those who like to shoot lots of shots, Field is a no brainer. 28 targets 4 arrows each 112 arrows! not quite a full FITA outdoor match but a bunch!
 
     Full outdoor FITA is precision repetition, but not a lot of variety for a Compounder. With Field you have from 20 feet to 80 yards (240 feet) and the 80 could be down a hill up a hill, side hill or flat, as could the bunny (20ft).

     One of the things I like best about field is it is social like 3D or Golf, you really get to know the other shooters in the group. There just is not much time for that in FITA.

     In theory, if you had 80 yards, you could set up  a practice course with every target/distance combo with only 4 buts and some different colored steaks for each station.

     Some stations will be straight up shoot 4 arrows from X distance. Some will be fans, a fan is 4 markers at a said distance and you shoot one arrow from each. walk ups are the last type of station. a walk up is  4 arrows with one shoot from the furthest distance with the next 3 shots being progressively closer. the bunny is a walk up IIRC its 35' 30' 25'20' and then the 80 is a walk up too.


     I fully believe that Field could have a resurgence in the North East , it was once much more popular. It is still popular in the Mid thru  Coastal West. 3D sadly has reduced the amount of available shooters to fill a Sunday match. Entry, at even the state Championships, has been in the low teens the last few years. there are only 2 current NFAA Field clubs in NH Pioneer and North Branch Bowmen. for years i have been saying" its a shame more people dont shoot Field, its the best" then for what ever reason I don't go......looks like part of the problem is me.


TRY FIELD!!!!!!  I think you will enjoy the trail aspects if you are usually a Target Archer, and the volume of shooting if you are a 3D person.

best to you all,
Handsome

PS
the NH NFAA State Championship is this week at North Branch Bowmen in Keene/Sullivan.i hope to see you there!

   NFAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

The NH Bowmen Outdoor State Championship is next weekend.  You may shoot either on Saturday or Sunday.  Each day you will shoot a 14 target field round, and a 14 target hunter round, for a 28 target score.  You may shoot just one day and take that day's combined score, or you can shoot both days (no additional charge for the second day), and count your best field round score of the two days, and add that to your best hunter round score of the two days.

To qualify for a State Championship award, you must be a New Hampshire resident, and be a current NFAA member.  If you are not both of these, you are welcome to shoot as a guest.  Here is the link to get your yardages:  https://www.nfaausa.com/wp-content/uploads/Range-and-Target-Guidelines-for-NFAA-Rounds.pdf 

WHAT:  NFAA Outdoor State Championship, scoring (1) (14) target field round and (1) (14) target hunter round

WHEN:  Saturday and/or Sunday, August 12 & 13, start time:  0800-1030 am each day.

WHERE:  North Branch Bowmen, located at: 19 Ferry Brook Rd, Keene, NH (right on the town line) GPS Lat./Long.  42 58.874' N   72 14.604' W

COST:  $20.00 for shooters 15 and older, and $10.00 for shooters 14 and younger

CONTACT:  Dan Deyo at:  603-209-6721, orbarebowdan@yahoo.com, or Mike Wright at:  603-209-8007, orbarebownh@aol.com 

Coming soon to Pioneer Sportsmen....3D!!!!!

  the Archery Chair at Pioneer Sportsmen is actively trying to grow the archery aspects of the Club.

    we now have a 15 target 3D practice course set up

we will be hosting a IBO NE known distance event next year!  of course  , club membership involvement is required . we need to spread out the practice course and  set stakes. we are bidding on a range from IBO worlds, hopefully we get some nice targets!!! if not we only need to but 15 and replace some cores. if you are a NFAA  shooter and have not tried 3D due to not wanting to guess yardage this event will be for you.

the IBO worlds are this weekend, I qualified but will not be there, time and schedule are a bear to manage. i will be shooting the NH Field /Hunter State championships hosed this year by North Branch Bowmen. my goal for the shoot is to relax into my shot and not "help" my release.

have a great day

Why be tentative? get aggressive!!!!

      I have noticed a couple things while coaching the JOAD Tournament Team last couple of weeks.

Several archers are approaching the shot timidly, by this I mean they are either getting to anchor, getting the thumb post engaged or actually drawing their bows (Recurves) very cautiously .

This is problematic  for several reasons.
 First, it means they are aiming before they are at full draw position. all of them are focused on keeping the pin in the middle through out the cycle. This alone will fertilize any punching or other shot anticipation issues you may have. the facts are , if we want to shoot a good execution then we must be set at anchor and transferred to hold before we aim. if we aim first  we waste all that holding time. hold is finite, it gets worse the longer you hold. so why waste precious energy before we are even at full draw?

   So for compounds, pull the bow back, get to your anchor fast, get the trigger engaged fast, nose on string fast etc. then transfer to hold, this is a separate and feelable transfer, like a half a beat in the process. but it is vital, as Coach Frank says....HOLD FOR GOLD. any time trying to hold the pin in the middle before you are in hold/aiming is not only not helping...it is hurting.

   The  next tentative action noticed is once we are at full draw we ease the pin to the middle. this too should be  on the quicker side. this IS an understandable trait.it is a throw back to when we start to get better as new archers, and a building block of target panic. when new we shoot command style most likely. then  as we try and get better we try and hold middle and punch. the shoot /center is ingrained in our subconscious.  what moving  slowly into the middle means is you are not ready to shoot the shot yet. this alone illustrates why it is wrong, we should hold center and let the shot happen, we should never MAKE the shot happen. so get to the middle, settle in for expansion to shoot when it will.

  To touch on trigger engagement, it should be part of getting to anchor,it should be separate and prior to hold and expansion. for some of the same reasons as getting slowly to full draw position, you are increasing movement the longer you take to get the thumb engaged. also by aiming before you get the thumb on you are begging to punch it. the mind centers the pin then as you move the thumb to peg it says "we are ready" PUNCH. beyond the punch its self, beyond the waste time/energy, if you are moving your thumb and applying quick violent trigger you are moving your anchor. Imagine wiggling your release all over your jawbone as you are expanding....unlikely to have any consistency.

 For the recurve side of things, and this is for target style archery not instinctive, slowly drawing your bow increases the intensity of the draw cycle, reduces the muscle memory aspects, makes it much less subconsciously repeatable, and reduces the likelihood of a good transfer to hold. drawing your bow is actually one of the less critical steps, if set /set up hook and grip are OK you should be able to just draw to anchor, if you pull to anchor slowly you are actually less likely to come to the same spot. Also, you are going to get tired a lot faster. Draw should be the easiest step to do subconsciously.

   These thoughts are all on the pre release portion of the shot, you should be aggressive in the shot as well.....that is for another time.