Best advice to new Archer?

[MTbowhunter1984]

What is the one best piece of advice you can give a new archer?  For me I would have to say other that practice, practice, practice which is obvious.  Is that patience is one of the biggest keys to successful bow hunting.

 

[nclonghunter]

Get a good range finder and make certain your arrows are heavy enough for penetration on big game. Then practice,practice,practice.

 

[Rich Z]

Form, follow through, and practice, practice, practice

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Get with an experienced archer/archery teacher who can teach them the correct way to shoot.

 

[rose-n-arrows]

I agree with backpack hunter.  Also, the bow should be a good fit for your body.  If you bought it at a pro-shop, it's probably dialed in.  The arrows must be of an appropriate size/weight for the bow.  Once you are assured your bow is set up properly, it's easier to work on your own quirks.  Trying to pull back an ill fit bow will only lead to poor form. Since you're new, you probably don't have too many bad habits to break.  Hook up with someone who will help you do properly from the start.  THEN practice, practice, practice!

 

[Fullabull]

Learn how to tune your bow yourself, no one knows your bow better then you do. Things can happen when your hunting and if you do not know how to make small repairs and tune you bow, your in trouble!


download the Easton Tuning guide from their web site


good luck

 

[patch1010]

Learn the steps to proper shooting. Here is a good site to start with.
http://www.kslinternationalarchery.com/index.html
The KSL shot cycle, is a good place to start.

 

[BrentLaBere]

Getting someone to properly tune and set up your bow is a must. Cant imagine the head ache of tuning, cutting correct arrow length....ect.....ect right out of the gate. Like others have said, go to a pro shop and have someone set it up for you. Next step is practice practice practice. After getting to know your bow and adjusting to your own shooting style, you can tweak what you want to from there. This is also coming from someone that learned from my own mistakes :-\ .....not the best way by any means. I am constantly reading articles on how to shoot tighter groups and adjusting one small thing for the next year hoping to improve. Biggest thing I would say is stay consistent in how you practice.

 

[Jimbow65]

I agree with all these, Form, practice , tuning, maintaining. In addition to having a good pro shop, a proshop that will teach you how to serve a peep, how to fix a bad fletch, and having the tools and ability to do a lot of it yourself.

 

[CoachNemo]

As a newbie I want to follow this thread for more information.

 

[Garrett Weaver]

Find someone who can take the time to teach you

 

[billg]

as soon as you're comfortable with longer shooting distances, do most of your practice at 50 yds--more if you can. you'll be surprised how easy the 30 yds and in will become.--Bill

 

[MNarcherFF]

I agree with everything said above. My addition would be to practice shooting at different angles and shooting from other positions that standing. Try from your knees, sitting, standing etc.

 

[Fullabull]

Make sure and work towards being able to hold you bow at full draw for at least 2 minutes. The elk are funny and like to hang up with their head in the open looking around while the rest of them is still behind a tree or brush. It's almost like they know where you want to aim

 

[huntelk1]

I agree with MNarcher and fullabull.  If you plan on elk hunting practice A LOT  of steep up and down hill.  Be able to hold for a long time.  Less lbs. Is what I use for turkey hunting and it really pays off.

 

[DIRTYSNOMAN]

I had a pro show me how to tune my first bow. (really i just paid attention) and after updating parts and such i learned how to tune and fix my bow short of restringing it in the field.


Know your equipment fully, every little tuneable item, part and try to think of anything you might need to ever adjust on the fly. Then practice... not only shooting, but after you have your shooting form and habits set, work on practicing making an adjustment then shooting again to know your own skills of returning on target. so that way if you have to take something apart or make a serious adjustment, you can be right back on track and not have to cut a potentially great hunt short to return to a shop.

 

[Alder]

Have a pro teach you good form. Then hang a bag in your garage where you can shoot it from three feet away. Then every day shoot a few arrows with your eyes closed focusing entirely on form. This teaches muscle memory and improve all your other practice.

 

[turbo1967]

If you are just new to archery then You are all on track but if you are new to archery HUNTING than make sure you know what to do after the shoot.things go wrong it happens,tracking,blood trails,quartering up an animal,hot weather meat cooling.it all is important,You may shoot something close to the truck but may turn into an allday job,plan on it.

 

[Dalton Prosser]

Get a back tension and learn to shoot right! Dont be a trigger puncher

 

[northwesthunter84]

Be patient with your shots and shot selection is a big thing to learn.  Some people see big animal/target(elk) and don't take the time to follow through their process that they have spent hours at the range all year working on.  Its amazing what a little adrenaline will do to you.  Also don't go to heavy with your draw weight.  Make it comfortable so that your body can get used to proper form.  And definitely work at different angle.  Also practice at a distances longer than you would shoot in a hunting situation.  This helps by magnifying mistakes and it makes the shorter shots feel like a piece of cake.