At least they are in a vertical line…

I didn’t do much shooting today. I spent a lot of it talking with people about bows. Held a bow with a metal riser for the first time and a bow with a carbon fiber riser. I worked on my hand and elbow position. Also tried to make sure my back posture was correct. I start to arch and lean backwards with my upper back when I start to fatigue.

There was a guy who just started shooting in September that I talked to. He got his own bow in January. We were talking about buying a bow and the differences in the heavier, metal bows compared to the club’s wooden recurve bows.  He even let me shoot it 😀

The picture above is from when I shot using his bow. Also had a brief conversation with a guy who owned and shot with his own flat bow. It is made out of wood and looks like a long bow, but is a Native American design. He got it at a flea market for $20 without a string.

SF Archery Bow

I play to get my own bow in late April or May, but I will probably have to start researching now as stores don’t usually have the lower end items in stock. I’m really enjoying archery, but I won’t invest a lot of money into it yet. I’ll buy some economical equipment to begin with. Though I hope to make this a lifelong hobby, there is the possibility that it could be like curling for me. I love curling, but the expense of being part of a club as well as getting to a club in general has dropped it from my pastimes. A broom, curling shoes… would have been poor investments…

Much like my ice skates. So far used them only once each year that I have owned them.

Hart House Archery Club

March 14, 2013 7:05 to 7:43PM

27# no. 9 Two Nightbloom and one Peanut

3ax6 (18 arrows)

3ax1 (3 arrows) using SF Archery bow, 32#

First end.

To add to the “elbow up” cue for my draw arm, the same coach has identified how I hold the string as an area to improve. I have been holding the string in between the joint of the two most distal phalanges (tip of the fingers). However, my hand has been cupped with the big knuckle joint bent. My hand should be flat and flush with my wrist and forearm. I had to adjust the spacer on my finger tab because with the correction in form, I was having trouble holding the string.

I did not see improvement when I made the correction because I had become too used to my bad technique. After a workout at the gym, I did feel fatigued and had trouble stabilizing my aim during a couple ends. When it got less busy towards the end of the session, we shot 6 arrows per end. I really felt the strain then.

I sent one arrow into the net. Sailed clear over the buttress.

March 12, 2013 – Hart House – 6:45 to 7:55PM

27# no. 9 Bow – 1 Avalon and 2 Nightbloom arrows

3ax3 (9 shots)

Made hand correction. Too much info processing. Next end was not good with shots all over the place.

3ax5 (15 shots)

Switched to 6 arrows per end. Found another Avalon and used 2 Harmonium arrows

6ax6 (36 shots)

Hit the X! Worth 10 pts.

6 arrows plus my finger tab.

At least it’s a good grouping…

Better.

Still having some errant shots.

Switched targets because someone took my position.

Switched again. Another interesting target.

Decided to aim at the smaller target. First arrow sailed completely over.

I need to keep my draw arm elbow up. I didn’t realize how low my elbow position was until one of the coaches gave me feedback. She cued me a few times which helped me get used to the feel. There were times that I thought I had my elbow up relative to my previous draw position, but it was not enough. The elbow should be in line with the arrow or higher than it.

I’m not pleased with my performance in comparison to my Reading Week sessions. Shooting six arrows at a time was better because I could make adjustments. I saw marked improvement. Whereas shooting three arrows is not enough. I do not have a good feedback correction loop when I have to wait a few minutes in between rounds.

Time: 6:45pm to 7:45pm

Bow: 27# no. 9

Arrows: Avalon (1) and Harmonium (2) [Couldn’t find the other two Avalon arrows]

3×11 (33 shots)

Switched bows because two guys were hogging no. 9

Bow: 22# no. 2

3×1 (3 shots)

Finished with no. 9

Bow: 27# no. 9

3×1 (3 shots)

One in the gold, one in the red, and one at the top of the buttress. Don’t know what happened there…