The PSE Theory **quick thoughts and mini review

   thanks to Jon Brown of PSE for helping me acquire a Theory to review.

first thoughts .....

WOW nice lookin' bow! it is a a mid range / perhaps slightly higher than beginner ILF recurve. I think it is better than a Samik  cast riser that is similar in price point, i like the riser more than Sebastian Flutes of similar price as well. the cartel Phantom and Mybo Rio are probably good comparisons. it is a clear step up from the PSE Summit G2.

some things i like are
1. nice finish, a two tone riser, mine is black and red. It is also available in Black and Blue.
2. comes with a glossy manual, my X Appeal came with a seemingly photocopied leaflet.
3. comes as a full set with limbs ,riser, tools, and a string.
4. stainless bushings for all accessories, although i will be using it for Barebow Pinshoots it is nice to have good attachment points.

I don't dislike anything on the bow, it has good limb pockets, tiller and alignment were both good out of the box. the grip is plastic and it is pretty basic,but comfortable , serious archers will likely cover it and or build it up.

It is noticeably heavier than my X Appeal, this I think is good as I will be shooting it Bare.

thats about it, i have not fully tuned it yet and have only blank baled a couple dz arrows to see how it feels....and it feels good.

Stance and its importance in the coil.

   While coaching I have noticed several archers are having a hard time lining up with a open stance.

This is slightly odd since we teach NTS at JOAD, NTS  suggests an open stance is best for the system. While I don't agree with all of what KSL says I do agree on this point.

   When lining up slightly to a little more than slightly open it is actually setting your posture to help get a good coil and in turn good alignment, especially the bow arm.

 When we set the bow arm alignment when getting into set set up by pulling your bow shoulder into position you get a little "precoil" then there is room to get the final coil when bringing your release arm into alignment. both become harder from a neutral position, worse in forcing the shoulders into alignment while neutral it can(not for everyone) cause the bow shoulder to pop up. we all strive for perfect alignment and a low  shoulders. Proper care in the set setup ,after a good stance, will help everything come together.

  Remember that NTS is a system, every facet needs to be done correctly, and if the last step was done correctly it should make the next step easier to do.

    

wholly moley...traditional is FUN

I have been playing with a PSE Ghost traditional hunting recurve. what a hoot!!!!

ya ya I know its ILF so not a trad as purist like....I am not a purist!all the bits that matter are in the bow, crowned shelf, no berger button hole, no stabilizer or sight holes....so in execution it is no different than shooting a self bow., I shot some 3D with my wife over the weekend, and I shot about 200 points lower than my compound.....but I had an X worth of fun on every shot!

My good buddy JB of PSE helped me get into a PSE Ghost, it is great!!!! he also  got me into a new barebow, a PSE Theory. this turns out to be a very nice choice for competitive bare bow. it a slight bit heavier in the riser than my X Appeal. but for a non stabilized  bow this is a benefit.

......more on that later!

SPEED and why it helps left and rights......

     I was speaking to a JOAD student last night and they mentioned wanting to go up to 50lb limbs on her compound, but that she would wait until after a selection event this weekend.I mentioned that it should gain her a couple points providing she can handle the weight without her form changing to another coach. This was overheard by another parent and a conversation ensued. They thought highs and lows would maybe benefit but not so much on a know distance event, but absolutely on unknown(3D /FITA Field). I said it would help a little on left and rights and they thought I was out of my gourd.

  As it turns out....I am completely inside my gourd. Left and Rights should be helped for EXACTLY the same logic as Highs and Lows. lets start with the traditional view that speed will help in the vertical, and I DO believe this is mostly a benefit for unknown distance. If you have a faster arrow it simply has a flatter trajectory solely due to being under the influence of gravity for less time.

   This is really for apples to apples comparison, say a Easton Fatboy cut to 28.in 80gr tip should be somewhere around 312gr. out of a 40# it will be going slower, out of a 50# it will be faster..(and probably fly better due to being closer to optimal spine) I think the real benefit to having a very fast IBO rated Bow is you can shoot a heavier Arrow at the same speed as a slower bow. but for now we will stick to a 312gr arrow.  now a 312 gr arrow will fall at the same rate as a 500 gr arrow, this is where speed comes in for distance, the faster the arrow the less time it falls.

   ok, so how will a faster arrow be better for left and rights? simply put it is under the influence of wind for less time, and as I said a heavier arrow at the same speed as a light one would be better than lighter arrow, because a heavy arrow resists the wind better than a light one.

so , perhaps minimally, a faster arrow should group better ALL other things being equal.

    so for the earlier mentioned student going up to 50# limbs should help overall score, since she is so light in DW now she is shooting a good arrow for 50#, of course 10# more of energy being produced will change the feel and feedback of the bow. a heavier arrow would tame this but her current arrow is more than adequate for the job.

isn't Physics fun????

 

my first 70m recurve match

I have been shooting recurve only for a couple month now,I shot my recreational barebow at an IBO Qualifier and qualified for Worlds a couple weeks ago. until a couple weeks ago i had never shot my full sighted rig at more than my 30m pin distance. my plan was to not shoot any compound for the summer, tow do 2 things, one, try and become a competent recurve archer, and to build on my experience to make me a better coach.

 I decided  to try an out door match, Ace Archers in Foxboro Ma holds an event every year called The Ourdoor Archers Cup.i signed up. it was a 1440 single  distance event over 2 days.

I had a GREAT time, and 10 of my JOAD kids shot as well, our head coaches were there for support.

  I am pretty new to recurve  and I must say 70m was eye opening, my form is still sorting its self out and 72 arrows a day is more than I have ever shot. the shooters on my bale were very kind and patient with me and supportive on my first day. I started out ok and representative of my experience level.

  There was supposed to be open practice from 8-8:45, this didnt happen and we got 2 official ends.

   What was NOT expecting was to find my string alignment had settled down and gained some consistency, honestly up to this point it was all over the place and had my aperture way out.this started about half way through the first 6 ends.

   This settling in to a rhythm started having my string/nose/chin become way more consistent. unfortunately with the sight so far out i started hitting to the right..way right. I gave it some clicks and was still way out. so I started aiming off and brought them in. so between ends i moved my sight. here's the funny bit.....i moved it to where i was holding off so yup? more out. so naturally i was still to the right....so i moved it more....dirt.dirt,dirt. then i realized what i had done. it was a rushed brain fart, nothing more, the damage was done, so i moved it back and things were good.

    this is about the time I got tired, it was very humid and it dragged me out, I started making weak shots and hitting low  right, a few more in the dirt, with just a few ends to go i aimed at the edge of the bale at about 10 o clock and hit closer to the center. long day lessons learned. a good experience, I was happy all things considered.

  day 2. we got the half hr or so of practice,  sight was moved WAYYYYY in. didn't miss a scoring ring until ends 5-6 where I still hit the face but was just out of the 1. shot was feeling good, hit some 10's and a few yellows. I was 43 points higher than the first 6 on Saturday.

    second 36 arrows were not quite as good, it was a long weekend, and I had a couple weak shots, then I concentrated on only making a strong back tension release and I didn't have to aim off at all. the second half was about 55 higher than my dismal second on Saturday.

  I can see what recurve is gaining popularity , it is immensely challenging, thoroughly frustrating , highly rewarding , brutally unforgiving and FUN.

  as always I was shooting My trusty PSE X appeal with Xpression limbs, and Easton Carbon ones, thanks to Morses Sporting Goods in Hillsborough NH and Jon Brown and PSE for making the dream possible.i have also strated using AAE 's excellent line of recurve accessories  check em out!

stagnant....

its been a while since I blogged.

I have two new bows set up and ready, 2017 PSE Xpression 3D's for me the string angle and feel of the 3D's are better for me, i sold all my beloved Dominators.

  JOAD is going well, we had some attrition but gained some new kids.

  i will be running....
indoor
  Xpression 3D 28.5" 57 lbs white
  CBD 3D ML 1.5/8 scope small ring 4x CBE Flatglass
  Easton  Fatboy 500's
 Tophat LL Apex 120's
  Blazers
  Stan Jetblack hinge
  Vibracheck 30" Pro Carbon 5 oz w 15" 8 oz on the side

outdoor
  Xpression 3D 28.5" 60lb Platinum
  CBE TekTraget 1 5/8 scope large dot 4x CBE Flat /3D up pin (no lens 3D)
  Easton Carbon one 450 120 OR 110 up front depending
  175 Easton Diamond vanes
   Stan Jetblack
  VibraCheck 30-5/15/8''

  still messing with stab weight. Xpressions feel heavier than the doms.

for Olympic recurve i will be shooting a
36LB set of long PSE Xpression limbs
25" X appeal Riser, no clicker yet
30" front w 5oz
15" v bar w 4 ox each side
larger AAE KSL brass tab w codorva
660  Easton carbon one w a wrap and 110 upfront and 175 easton diamond vanes.

I personally feel a bit un inspired at the moment, this is an ebb and flow with me. I will be taking my level 3 NTS Coach cert next month.

i was lifting weights 3-4 times a week, and shooting the other days, my shooting was very much more consistant. i need to get both going again, i feel crappy.

   we had some issues with my wonderful dog Berger getting bored and digging holes and chewing rocks, so i made a concious decision to walk her in the mornings, and then we chuck it in the afternoons with the occasional evening walk as well.

   snow shoeing was great this winter, and was my only saving grace exercise wise. i got an impinged nerve in my shoulder/pec and it made benching impossible and was weal with squats and dead-lifts too so stopped lifting, i am now feeling i should revisit. but am very scared about pinching my nerve again as it was impossible to sleep.

it is time to pull my head out of my ass.

some thoughts on back tension....

it is a fact that a pure backtension shot it the best way to eliminate the you in your execution. by that i mean inconsistency in the commanded shot...or punched.No matter how slow the squeeze of a finger or thumb it is being punched.sometimes you float like a butterfly some times you sting like a bee.
   this is not to say someone cannot close to master a on command shot....these people are extraordinary and would be even better if they would take the loss in points until they built their shot....wont take long.
  I am feeling rambly all, sorry.

    here is the issue with shooting back tension, and it is an issue with punchers too. we as archers can get lazy....I said it .I am guilty of it. it can be insidious, sneakin into an arrow every few ends...next thing you know you are shooting terrible and dont really know why. get real close to a bale and go through all the steps of a classic shot sequence( or yours if you wish) set your feet, nock the arrow,set and hook,set up,draw/load....THATS IT!!!! this is really where the shot become poop.....I am finding that most of the time people start using the arm to help a bit ,maybe towards the end of a match, and over time the draw starts to happen with the arm more.
   this is not to say the back is not involved at all, but it is not being loaded.when this happens the shot is slightly helped by changing your hip rotation of some such nonsense that changes the angle of the hand to loop to make up for the loss of alignment.as a matter of unimportance, I would say that it is BECAUSE the back is still involved some they dont notice they are not using it totally.

    what? now alignment is an issue?....probably. i say probably because there are freaks that hold like a rock, and squeeze it off consistent enough to makeup for poor alignment.but yes as the failure to load the back in-turn causes alignment issues. the load of the back and the rotation of the drawside scapula has to happen to allow the bow shoulder in for good bone alignment and to turn your parallelogram into a wedge.

a hinge will not make you use back tension, a wrist caliper does not mean you cant use back tension.....but i will say you cant have back tension with out loading the drawside back.


so when you get inconsistent, blank bale and sound of the steps of your shot with your eyes closed.it should shed some light on whats what.