Practice

30 June 2009 - Bracing Height tuning

Now playing: Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics

Look at this, over a year has passed since I've written anything in this section!

I wanted to try some "proper" tuning, and having loads of time to do it today, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out 'bracing height tuning'. It's virtually impossible to do any sort of tuning at the club on a Saturday morning as everyone wants to either shoot a round, or simply just chuck arrows up the range - which is fine, but it doesn't really give you the chance to shoot LOTS of arrows at a single new target face and not be interrupted whilst doing so.

Someone suggested that arrow groups can often be better by adjusting the bracing height of the bow, and shooting 1-2 dozen at one height, plotting the result on a sheet of paper, and then trying the same thing again at a different height. The idea being, is that you try the full range of bracing heights that the manufacturer recommends for the bow, and settle on what gives the best results. So, we shoot a distance where the groups are consistent (30m is easy) and prepare for an afternoon of tedium. But hopefully the result will be worth the effort.

So, the bow was set to the minimum BH of 21.5cm and I shot about 20 arrows at the target. The result was rather awful!  Then raised the BH to 21.3cm (keeping the sights exactly the same) and everything went high into the blue and red. 21.8cm achieved a very wide group, but was slightly lower down the target. 22.2cm (my normal BH) was ok, still fairly wide, but more or less acceptable for how I usually shoot. Then I wound it up to a full 23.0cm and all of a sudden the group shrank immeasurably, with almost nothing outside the 8 ring! Then one last try at Hoyt's recommended maximum of 23.5cm, and everything went high and left.

It looks like 23.0cm seems to be the ideal BH for the bow, and this was then verified by a quick 3 dozen at 50m to finish off, and although I only managed 270 (I was rushing things a little) the groups were very much tighter, and the bow was significantly quieter too.

This whole process took about 3 hours to prove a decent conclusion, but it just goes to show that we can practice forever, but if we're shooting with a setup that isn't ideal for us, then there will always be room for improvement. It's finding the time and the decent conditions to be able to do this though - not everyone can do that. I wonder how it'll affect my score come the next competition?

Here's a link to the chart I was keeping throughout the session.

24 April 2008 - 100 yards or bust!

Now playing: Lovely Day - Bill Withers

The reason for not entering anything onto this page lately is not that I haven't been practising recently because I have been shooting every weekend this year, but finding time to shoot in the evenings after work, even though the evenings are getting lighter now, is just increasingly difficult when I don't get home till 7pm. Roll on June!

Anyway, I wanted to start this entry with something about the sounds of sport that we love: like the sound of leather on willow, or the sound of a V10 engine at full chat, or the sound of a ball hitting the back of the net. Then there are the sounds of sport that we hate: like the sound of the final whistle when you're 1-0 down, or as in this evening's case, the sound of a carbon fibre arrow hitting the leg of the target at 100 yards... 

I've got a lot of 100 yard / 90m tournaments coming up over the next month or so, and I've been banging arrows down at 100 yards for the past few evenings, averaging about 6-7 dozen each night. And I have to admit, that given sufficient practice, and with decent conditions things are starting to improve once again. What's also nice is that during Sunday's St George I was hitting around 56-57 per dozen, and over the past two evenings this has gradually increased to around 60 per dozen, with the occasional 70 thrown in for good measure. Let's hope this keeps improving! To achieve Bowman scores, 70 per dozen is the order of the day.

This evening I did a bit of an experiment with two different types of arrows to see if there was any noticeable difference between them at this distance - my first 3 dozen were shot with 610 Navigators, 90 grain ACE insert points, EP16 fletches and G nocks. These arrows have 5 inch wraps on them (Welsh flag design). Most of the grouping at 100 yards were low blues and blacks on the target. Then, using the exact same sight marks, I shot a further three dozen with the other set of Navigators (same length, 610 spine again, 90 grain ACE insert points, EP16 fletches and G nocks. These arrows have 4 inch wraps on them (plain orange). Most of the grouping of these blighters were inside the red, or at worse a blue, but noticeably two colours higher on the target! Can one inch of plastic vinyl wrap make that much of a difference at 100 yards? The fact that my sight mark was rock bottom, and still going too low for the Welsh flag arrows means that I either have to move my sight bar in one notch, or keep those arrows for just shooting FITAs (90m).

Then, at the end of the evening, the inevitable happened - standing at full draw for what seemed like an eternity, I KNOW I should have come down from the shot, and I KNEW that it was going to be a crap shot anyway, but I released the arrow, dropped my bow arm ever so slightly as I followed through and then waited the 2-3 seconds it takes for the arrow to impact the target. Unfortunately, it made the sickening sound of carbon fibre hitting wood, and promptly smashed into two pieces. (see below).

Still, this is only the second ever arrow I've broken in 18 months of shooting with Navigators, so I'm not unduly concerned. It was a bit of a bummer that it was arrow #1 though - how will my OCD ever allow me to shoot them in numerical order now that I have to start with #2? 

27 January 2008 - A scaled down FITA

Now playing: You are my kind - Santana

I should really have been shooting at the Timken Triple today, but last night I felt so worn out, so full of aches and generally lethargic that I decided that getting up at 6:30am to drive for two hours to do a 15 dozen shoot, finish at around 7:00pm and then drive for another two hours home again, was all just a little too ambitious. So for the first time ever I emailed the oganisers and pulled out of the shoot - with any luck they'll have some stand by archers who could take my slot. So after 10 hours sleep last night, and then swimming 500 metres this morning, which really helped my shoulders, I decided to shoot some in the garden this afternoon. 

I found a great little program here which uses PowerPoint to convert targets to scaled versions for shooting shorter distances - in other words it produces a 90m scaled target face for the actual distance you're shooting (ie. 14 yards in my case), and 70m and so on. And using the lovely colour printer at work, I've been able to reproduce some great target faces on A4 paper for the complete range of distances for a full FITA. So it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, and it took me a little over two hours to get through 12 dozen for a "full FITA".

I think the target faces are actually quite accurate too, and the scores are well in line with how I'm shooting at the moment (badly, in other words!) and how I would probably fare if it were a full distance round. 90m was 197, 70m was 253, 50m was 262 and 30m was 305, making a final total of 1017. In real terms that would be a First Class 39 handicap, so it fairly accurately replicates how I'm shooting currently. Fairly happy with the result, but I think a lot more practice is needed.

23 October 2007 - Vegas by night again

Now playing: Set the fire to the third bar - Snow Patrol

Haven't had much chance to practice in the garden lately, and if I'm honest shooting in the dark isn't much fun, but I'm determined that it has to be done at least once a week from now on, so Tuesday nights are practice night!

Shot another Vegas this evening and managed to get 3 dozen in before dinner - they were 109, 112, 109. Then I came back out 45 minutes later slightly worse the wear for half a bottle of wine and a full chicken roast - bad idea! The next dozen was 102 and then a 109. Proof, if it was needed, that (a) the break was a bad idea, and (b) shooting after a few glasses of wine is not to be recommended! Still, it's a 541 which is a PB so it's not all bad. Four 7's and about a dozen 8's and everything else was in the gold, so I'm very happy with that.

22 September 2007 - FITA18 (outdoors)

Now playing: Tell me what we're gonna do now - Joss Stone

The indoor season starts this week, and I'm determined this indoor season that if I'm going to compete, then I want to be competitive. I intend to enter a few more "proper" indoor shoots, and as last season I found it difficult to get the hang of the micro-precision of indoor shooting until well after Christmas, now seems like the ideal time to start practising for what lays ahead. 

So today, to the tune of a few jibes of "why are you only shooting 20 yards?", and "call that grouping?", I decided to shoot a FITA18 outdoors, and establish some decent sight marks all by myself. Seeing as all the others were consistently losing arrows at 80 yards, and making the shooting take twice as long as it should, I set up the target on the kids' side of the field and I probably managed to shoot twice as many arrows as the others! Anyhow, for the unofficial round the dozens came in at 98, 99, 99, 108, 99 making a total of 503. It's a 37 handicap and a D class score so I should be happy with that, but my ambition is to get to C class this season, which is about a 33 h'cap and for this round I'd need to score about 520 to achieve that. Must practice more!

6 September 2007 - Vegas by night

Now playing: Baggy Trousers  - Madness

This shooting at night time is going to take some getting used to! Did my weekly Vegas score tonight under the bright light of 2 halogen floodlights, which was weird to say the least. In the dark conditions I found the target was almost a blur of colour within the orange sight ring of my sights, and very difficult to focus on the gold when there was no ambient light at all. I suppose if I'm going to practice during the evening throughout the winter, then this is something I'm going to have to get accustomed to - you never know, perhaps it'll make focusing on the target under daylight conditions a bit easier! So, dozen scores were 99, 105, 106, 104, 105. Total of 519. The 99 was a bit crap, but I'll put that down to acclimatising to the poor light, and I was pleased to claw a few points back with consistency for the remaining four dozen.

24 August 2007 - Practice for the Vegas Challenge

Now playing: Do me good - Amy Winehouse

This is the last full week before the autumn Vegas Challenge kicks off in September, so I thought I'd get one last practice round in before it starts. Shooting with the family doing "family things" in the background is hard to say the least, and I really find it difficult to focus on the shooting when an assortment of food & drinks are being offered, and discussions are taking place about things like last night's social activities! Anyway, dozen scores were 109, 105, 106, 100, and 103. Total of 523. The 100 was the food break, and it never really got any better after that!

4 August 2007 - Another Short FITA 18

Now playing: (You want to) Make a memory - Bon Jovi

Having spent the morning up at the range practising for tomorrow's club championships, and trying to get some sight marks for the XX75 ally arrows for next week's field shoot, I thought I'd relax in the garden this afternoon and try another Short FITA 18. I think I'm gradually getting the feel of the Helix now, and I was pleased with this morning's 100 and 80 yard shooting, and again later today at home. Dozen scores were 107, 104, 103, 109, 107, making a final total of 530 - much, much better! Nothing worse than a 7 this time, and it felt far more natural coming through the clicker and aiming almost instinctively. This does sound a little sad, but I'm already looking forward to the indoor season and working out where the best shoots are... 

31 July 2007 - A Short FITA 18

Now playing: Will you still love me tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse

I have a number of 40cm target faces kicking about in the garage, so I thought I'd try my hand at a "Short FITA 18" this evening, as my first scoring round with the Helix. I can see now that my scores have indeed suffered since getting it, and I'm going to have to work on getting used to it all over again. Dozen scores were 107, 101, 96, 101, 108. Making a grand total of 513 - nothing particularly outstanding there. The 96 was as a result of being asked where something was in the kitchen whilst I was at full draw, and there were a few too many crap 6's, but it's above the 500 mark and an indicator that more practice is needed. The very first end was OK though, and a good way to start a new face off.

27 July 2007 - Been a while!

Now playing: Miss You Like Crazy - Natalie Cole

What with changing bows and shooting a few tournaments recently, added to the worst summer weather on record, I haven't been able to shoot in the garden very much lately, so I was glad to be able to get some time to myself this evening and shoot some in privacy and be alone with my own thoughts and my bow! Not bothering to score a round tonight, as I'll be doing plenty of Vegas's come the autumn as I've been challenged to a weekly Vegas competition by a good friend - should be a laugh!

So earlier in the week I found a great website at www.targetz.com which have free targets to download, so tonight I had a play on one of their 4-spot faces. These were printed out at the office on a standard A4 sheet of paper, and although the photos below make them look larger, these actual target circles are only 3" in diameter. Just slightly smaller than the gold on a Vegas face. So after a bit of playing on the left hand target, and getting my sight marks correct, the evidence of which is clearly visible on the left hand sheet, I then had a go at seeing if I could hit all eight without missing any. And just made it! The top left and bottom right targets were marginal hits, but they would certainly have been golds if if was a proper face so I'm happy with that. The right hand target face is the fist time I've ever managed to hit four 'golds' on the trot on a brand new face.

Roll on the Vegas challenge, which will be commencing in September.

29 June 2007 - Twice the fun

Now playing: Vegas Two Times - Stereophonics

Got home early tonight, and without the distraction of the family, so I thought I'd pound the hell out of what's left of the Vegas face, and see if I can get two of them in. First round was a 525 made up of 106, 101, 109, 105, 104 and the second was a 533 made up of 110, 109, 102, 107, 105. I'm beginning to realise that getting to 540 is going to be hard work! Looking at the arrow scores for both today's 533 and yesterday's 537 the worst arrows were about three 7's in each round, and quite a lot of 8's. I need to tidy these up to make them 8's and 9's if I want to get that score I'm chasing. 

Working hard on the follow-through still, and have to keep focusing on getting my hands in just the right finishing position to perfect the shot cycle. 

Shooting 10 dozen arrows in an evening was quite an achievement (IMHO) and I'm quite pleased that the weather held off for long enough for me to get them in - it's great to do things twice!

28 June 2007 - Same again please!

Now playing: I want you now - The Feeling

These Vegas's are good! Tonight's was quite interesting as I'd never really considered myself as the sort of person that gets "in the zone" before, but the phone rang halfway through the middle dozen, and I had to talk to a fellow club member about field marking for Sunday's Short Metric match, and the scores clearly reflected a loss of concentration. Dozens came in at 108, 109, 103, 109, 108 making a grand total of 537 which was a new PB but it could so easily have been 540 without the phone call. 540 is the next milestone!

It's very satisfying though, to be able to get over an hours practice in on a weekday evening without having to go up to the range to do it, which would instantly add another hour to the whole process. Tonight I worked consciously on the follow-through, and made a distinct effort to eliminate the dead loose that some of my friends accuse me of having, and if I focus on the bicycle chain technique and make sure my drawing hand finishes up somewhere near my right ear, then the shot nearly always hits either a 9 or a 10. 

I've also got that very gratifying feeling of having totally shot the centre out of target 1 on my first Vegas face, despite having repaired it with tape several times - time for a new one!

26 June 2007 - Another garden Vegas

Now playing: Jean Genie - David Bowie

A madly rushed evening tonight, woeful traffic on the way home, and I was getting anxious that I haven't shot a single arrow for a week and really need to get some practice in before the next FITA at the weekend.

Another "garden Vegas", and after some investigation on how to scale the score for the shorter distance I'm shooting, this time scored all line cutters with the LOWER value, rather than the higher. It transpires that arrows don't even start to deviate from their intended trajectory until they're about 15 yards out of the bow, and as I'm only really "losing" 5 yards it seems too complex to start making allowances for the shorter distance. So instead I've reversed the line cutter rule, and I'm happy!

Dozen scores were 101, 104, 107, 107, 106 making a grand total of 525. Nothing lower than a 7, which was quite pleasing, but I can't seem to match the 111 dozen that I did last week. Still, not bad seeing as I was definitely rusty after a week off.

Then, later this evening I had to create the target list for Sunday's Short Metric league match against three other clubs, for around 50 archers. I now appreciate the work that goes into organising a big shoot, and that's even before I help set up the field for the day, and produce a results sheet after the event! These people are very much the unsung heroes of our sport.

20 June 2007 - A scored Vegas (kind of)

Now playing: Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

Had a fantastic day today - a good meeting with a client in the morning, an unforgettable lunch, and rounded off with a scored Vegas in the back garden this evening - a great day all round.

More than a few benchmarks were set today: I now know that I can shoot 5 dozen in around an hour, which gives me time to get a Vegas in before dinner (sometimes!). Although shot in sixes, not threes. I also have a benchmark score from today of 520 for the 5 dozen (dozen scores of 98, 105, 103, 111, 103) with only one arrow in the blue, which was a bad release. Quite pleased with that all in all, but I know that I need to spend longer on my aim, and relax into the shot more. When totally relaxed, the shot seems to go off by itself, and it's nearly always a good 'un, so I must try to do this more often!

If it was possible to score 520 at the regular distance I'd be very happy, but I need some sort of scaling logarithm to calculate what this score would equate to in real terms, but it now gives me something to beat next time. 

Quite a few firsts today, and went to bed very smiley - more of the same would be good!

17 June 2007 - More, more, I need more!

Now playing: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the indoor season now! How long till October....? 

I shot about 8 dozen at the (now well worn) Vegas target face today, and never scored lower than an 8, which was quite pleasing. I distinctly remember saying earlier in the year that I hated shooting Vegas's - but if I can score 8 or more when we move indoors in the autumn, as it's only 6 yards further than I'm shooting in the garden, then I should be OK. Might try scoring an actual Vegas round next time, and see what I should expect. Still working on my follow-through, and trying to remember the 'bicycle chain' technique as I release. I can see how it makes a difference now - must keep working on this till it becomes natural.

On the outdoor front, having missed  Burleigh yesterday due to the rain, and not being able to shoot 'seriously' for the next few weeks now due to Guildford and the London Youth Games (both of which are juniors only), then it's going to be at least another 2 weeks before I get to shoot properly again. What are the actual symptoms of cabin fever, and can I find a tournament somewhere to shoot in the next couple of weeks at this late stage?

16 June 2007 - Just mucking about

Now playing: She moves in her own way - The Kooks

After shooting a Long Metric earlier today for the AIUK Virtual Grand Prix, and getting all the gear soaking wet, what better way is there to dry it all off than by shooting some some arrows? OK, granted this is only at 14 yards, but it is really nice to hit the gold with monotonous regularity! I took a video of some of these shots, and it's clear to me that I still have to work on my follow-through. Which I guess means practising more!

13 June 2007 - The new arrival!

Now playing: She Loves You - The Beatles

They say that practice makes perfect, and this is something that up till now I've not really been able to do, unless I go up to the range. Which really limited me to only being able to shoot 2-3 times a week due to the hours I work.

Not any more!! I am now the proud owner of a 90cm foam boss, with which I am able to (just) get 14 yards distance in the back garden. The back stop to it is a brick wall, which also really focuses the mind somewhat, and makes sure that I don't miss - carbon fibre arrows don't tend to fare too well when they hit bricks! The sad fact about living in a large city is that unless you're mega-rich, gardens tend to be quite small!

So, after some mucking about with sight marks this evening, and proving to myself that I don't need to move the sight track up a setting to get an accurate mark for 14 yards, I put a Vegas 3-spot target face onto the boss.  After only about 6 sighters I was hitting gold on almost every shot, and shot about 4 dozen arrows with only one blue all evening. Quite pleased with that.  To save on target faces though, I think I might try shooting at playing cards or small posters (where can I get a decent poster of George Bush to shoot at?), this will also spread the impact zone in the centre of the boss, and ensure that it wears evenly. I'll post some photos up here next time.

I'm not looking at becoming a GB Team member at the next Olympics or anything, but I really would like to do better than just First Class next year, and consistently coming somewhere in the lower/middle order in local competitions is something I'd like to improve upon. So with enough practice on my form and accuracy it's certainly achievable. Having spoken to a few archers at other shoots lately, it's something they all seem to have in common - they practice, practice and then practice a bit more!

It's been quite a stressful past couple of days for one reason and another, so it was nice this evening to switch off from everything and just focus on my follow-through, play around with different ways of holding the bow, or just simply enjoy hitting the gold on a tiny target face! I do think however, that this will start to become quite a long part of my journal, as I want to record my experiments and thought processes on shooting, so those of you out there reading all this guff, (and I know you're out there!) feel free to tune to a different channel whenever you feel like!