New to Archery

Yellowstoner · Jan 31, 2019

Just bought a PSE Drive 3B and am super excited to archery hunt this fall for the first time. I've got the 10 yard bag setup in the basement already, and am planning on shooting every day. I'm going to try to follow through with John Dudley's School of Nock videos on Youtube. Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for "don't miss" podcasts or youtube instructional videos for form and building good habits while shooting. For this first year, I'm going to be using a trigger release, but I would expect that I'll move to a tension release next year.

Thanks!

406LIFE · Feb 1, 2019

Best advice if you've never shot, get some lessons in person. Will save you many headaches later on.

JMG · Feb 1, 2019

Lessons are a good suggestion.

Just like throwing a ball or shooting a basketball ... a good follow through is important. After you pull the trigger on your release ... hold the bow in the same location, until you are certain that arrow has cleared the rest/bow.

Do NOT drop the bow to watch the flight of the arrow, wait until the arrow has actually hit the target.

dirtclod Az. · Feb 1, 2019

Watch the arrow Thru the animal.Picture (Target)
your Arrow going all the way thru.
Keep practicing that.Don't point at a target.
Point thru the animal.

COEngineer · Feb 1, 2019

Yellowstoner said:
I would expect that I'll move to a tension release next year.

I have never even tried one, but I don't think many hunters use tension releases because of the awkward positions you can find yourself in. Maybe if you are a treestand hunter and know you will be shooting from a set position. If you are spot-and-stalking or even using a ground blind, the trigger release is probably a better choice. You might find yourself squatting to shoot under a limb or kneeling or sitting or leaning over a rock ledge...

OhHeyThereBen · Feb 1, 2019

I agree with above. Probably the biggest thing that I still struggle with is follow through.

But since you're starting from scratch, you'll want to have someone help you out with your form, like 406 said. It's far easier for someone else to point out your form flaws than it'll be to sense them yourself. Archery (just like shooting any projectile) demands repetition and repeat-ability. Once you get the base down then you can move those basics on to shooting from sitting/kneeling/standing and all sorts of other positions you'll find yourself in in the field. If you don't have any buddies with bow experience that you trust, it'll be worth every penny to head in to an archery shop for lessons or pointers.

JMG · Feb 1, 2019

One other thing to help anyone is .... when you practice shooting your bow (say at a 3D archery shoot), have someone video you with your phone from the side and then directly behind you as you shoot. This is a great way to see your own form. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video is worth a million

.

Yellowstoner · Feb 1, 2019

Thanks for the tips! I definitely will be videoing myself as time goes on - just trying to not develop bad habits at this point. More than anything I'm looking for specific podcast episodes/youtube videos/etc... to listen to while I'm at work that are predominantly focused on improving shooting mechanisms. I hadn't heard that about back tension releases being poor for different shooting angles. I'll definitely look into it before switching - that's a long ways down the road though.

Ajax2744 · Feb 2, 2019

If you can I would love to a resistance release to start with. It will help with your follow through. I shoot one for practice then switch to a thumb trigger for hunting. But like others have said a lesson from a reputable pro would go a long ways. As far as podcast John Dudley is hard to beat for technical info. His school of nocks is great and definitely would help

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