Turning a disaster into another addiction

[bfriendly]

my Xbow has been outta commission With limbs starting to split and I’m not sure how much longer it’ll be. Going nuts without it, I’ve been shooting my sons PSE Infinity. I’m a lefty but shoot a bow right handed. I’m am slap wore out from all the shooting I’ve done over the last week or so. But I am hooked! I have a bad right shoulder and have to anchor my first Knuckle against the right side of my chin.......that’s as far as I can go but my thumb actually sits under my chin quite well when I set it right. I just bought a new bow that’ll max out at 55# and my best length has been 25“ so when I get mine, I can let my son have HIS BOW BACK!

 

[bfriendly]

Top photo is second group from my knees at 35 yards. I was pretending I was in my ground blind . Second was from 20

 

[KevChap]

Nice job.. get a kisser button. Don't cost much and makes a huge difference to get that anchor every time

 

[KevChap]

Be surprised how much the level in the sight and a solid anchor improves accuracy

 

[alwayslookin]

What bow did you end up buying?

 

[Josh B]

Yeah shooting a bow is much more fun and challenging. I got my first bow kill at 16. 26 years ago. It's fun to just get with your buddies or family and shoot.

 

[bfriendly]

I sat in a ground blind yesterday for a few hours with my sons bow. It’s a small space and I practiced different scenarios, drawing back a bunch of times.....from my knees seems most comfy in there, but the arrow is well below the site line so I learned clearances if nothing else.
I got a cheap “Leader Accessories “ bow kit......great reviews and it was $150 new with the basics, including release aid. At a max 55#, I‘ll have it set to it’s max weight instead of backing off on a 70# bow which was actually cheaper. Supposed to go 296fps which is fast enough I think.
I have right arm/shoulder issues and that’s why my draw length is set at 25”. At full draw, the d loop is in front of my mouth by an inch or two EZ so no kisser buttons for me........I checked. My pointer knuckle anchors in the corner of my mouth where typically the string sits.
I am Currently working on getting the Bubble in the middle, but my grip is pretty good as I haven’t welted up my arm in quite some time......Getting past that part was what made shooting a bow so much fun, rather than being afraid of it and not wanting anything to do with it.

i shot twice at 40 yards and actually hit the target both times which is a miracle since I could barely see it.....I’ll need a scope before I try to reach out to 60

 

[bfriendly]

Any sight/scope recommendations? I’ve never used a fall away rest, but that’s what’s coming with the bow. The accessories are not great, but if it shoots good, I’ll upgrade the sights and rest.

 

[Jim Thompson]

Welcome to a lifelong addiction thats good for you!

Dont worry about those 30 and up shots. Get really really good at everything under and at blind placement and you will be in the money

 

[Josh B]

I have a drop away rest now but the whisker biscuit works great. It just tears up your fletchings over time. I stayed with a 5 pin sight for fast shots. I don't want to be adjusting knobs if a big one pops up. I'm sure my first bow wasn't anywhere near 300 fps and I killed plenty of deer.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Keep practicing. With your shoulder, you've really got to be creative to make sure you anchor the same every time. Especially when you've not shot in a while. This is why I recommend practicing with one arrow once your bow gets dialed in.
It looks like right now, you shouldn't ever consider shooting at anything at 35 yards, and based on your draw weight and length, if you did get proficient at that distance, that'll be your max yardage anyway. Get you some moderately heavy arrows and shoot a fixed blade head to help with penetration.
Practice practice practice. Also, I would recommend once your crossbow comes in to stick with it until your shoulder is fixed - if that's possible.

 

[bfriendly]

Keep practicing. With your shoulder, you've really got to be creative to make sure you anchor the same every time. Especially when you've not shot in a while. This is why I recommend practicing with one arrow once your bow gets dialed in.
It looks like right now, you shouldn't ever consider shooting at anything at 35 yards, and based on your draw weight and length, if you did get proficient at that distance, that'll be your max yardage anyway. Get you some moderately heavy arrows and shoot a fixed blade head to help with penetration.
Practice practice practice. Also, I would recommend once your crossbow comes in to stick with it until your shoulder is fixed - if that's possible.

I’ve been taking a bunch of on line lessons and trying to work on one thing at a time.....cept maybe a constant anchor point which I am trying to make part of my “routine “. With a short draw length I am thinking I need shorter arrows(26”)? When you say moderately heavy arrows, how heavy? And is that gonna really make them spine or bend? When I checked, the 29” arrows I have were easily 5+ inches past my riser, so a 26” arrow should still be plenty long and safe. I had 1(one) 26” arrow but only got to shoot it once....it was fast and high and pretty much exploded when it hit the plywood. You can see from the photos I am shooting different arrows. I have a set coming and plan to number them and hope I can find a few that I can count on to act the same.

One thing not coming with the bow is a vibration damper.....any suggestions?

 

[bfriendly]

Oh and you can bet on two things...
1 I’ll keep practicing and start competing with my kid as we will both have bows(maybe he’ll shoot his more often too)!
2 The crossbow IS my hunting weapon and when I’m hunting I’ll have that.....if I ever get it back

 

[ddd-shooter]

I’ve been taking a bunch of on line lessons and trying to work on one thing at a time.....cept maybe a constant anchor point which I am trying to make part of my “routine “. With a short draw length I am thinking I need shorter arrows(26”)? When you say moderately heavy arrows, how heavy? And is that gonna really make them spine or bend? When I checked, the 29” arrows I have were easily 5+ inches past my riser, so a 26” arrow should still be plenty long and safe. I had 1(one) 26” arrow but only got to shoot it once....it was fast and high and pretty much exploded when it hit the plywood. You can see from the photos I am shooting different arrows. I have a set coming and plan to number them and hope I can find a few that I can count on to act the same.

One thing not coming with the bow is a vibration damper.....any suggestions?

All arrows have a spine. It's the measure of the stiffness of the deflection of the arrow shaft. All arrows bend in flight, but the stiffer the spine, the less they will (simple explanation).
You can shorten them if you like, but if you don't have a constant anchor point, I'd wait until you get it figured out. Too long is not a real problem. Too short is.
I'd say get you some .400 spine arrows from any good manufacturer and cut around 28" or so. Again, longer is fine. With a hundred grain broadhead, you'll be 350-400 grains which will be moderately weighted for your setup.
To be fair, my wife draws 50 pounds, shoots 27" draw and her arrow is around 450. She blew through the deer she killed this year, even with a marginal shot. Mechanical broadhead helped.

I wish I could help you with your anchor point. That's your biggest hurdle right now. The name of the archery game is consistency and right now you don't have any.
Anything you wanna do vibration wise is good, it's all about the same nowadays.

 

[alwayslookin]

Never heard of that bow so I looked it up - wow, looks like a great price on a solid platform with good specs.

You've got some great advice on this thread.

Good luck, hope ya stick sumthin with it!

 

[bfriendly]

Thanks guys I am a sponge soaking this all up. I can’t stand sitting waiting on he UPS GUY! It’s out for delivery! Trip d I am working on my anchor, but my right forearm is longer than left and my Right rotator cuff is shot out.......I am sore and outta shape but loving it all! Instead of the string at the corner of my mouth, my pointer first knuckle sits there. By incorporating my thumb under my jaw, I am pretty consistent with that spot. I can’t pull it back any farther than that without using my whole upper body. I also have trouble getting my finger over the trigger past the tip......meaning I’m using my fingertip to release. A stiffer trigger may help cause this one is hair and not adjustable.

 

[Andy12]

Go to archerytalk and sign up
It’s free
Plethora of information there

 

[ddd-shooter]

Thanks guys I am a sponge soaking this all up. I can’t stand sitting waiting on he UPS GUY! It’s out for delivery! Trip d I am working on my anchor, but my right forearm is longer than left and my Right rotator cuff is shot out.......I am sore and outta shape but loving it all! Instead of the string at the corner of my mouth, my pointer first knuckle sits there. By incorporating my thumb under my jaw, I am pretty consistent with that spot. I can’t pull it back any farther than that without using my whole upper body. I also have trouble getting my finger over the trigger past the tip......meaning I’m using my fingertip to release. A stiffer trigger may help cause this one is hair and not adjustable.

Most release aids have a means by which you can shorten them. Have you tried to shorten the release?

 

[Jim Thompson]

Thanks guys I am a sponge soaking this all up. I can’t stand sitting waiting on he UPS GUY! It’s out for delivery! Trip d I am working on my anchor, but my right forearm is longer than left and my Right rotator cuff is shot out.......I am sore and outta shape but loving it all! Instead of the string at the corner of my mouth, my pointer first knuckle sits there. By incorporating my thumb under my jaw, I am pretty consistent with that spot. I can’t pull it back any farther than that without using my whole upper body. I also have trouble getting my finger over the trigger past the tip......meaning I’m using my fingertip to release. A stiffer trigger may help cause this one is hair and not adjustable.

I meant to post this the other day and got sidetracked. I wish like hades I had this kind of info 3 decades back. This is a great series that breaks down every step of the shot from feet to head draw and release.

Dudley is a little mono tone, but take the time to watch this series and you will be happy you did. Here's the Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/nockonarchery/videos

This is Ep 1 and there's 9 I think

 

[bfriendly]

So I get the bow and set it up til I get to the drop away cord.....an Archery talk thread and a few videos later, I was installing it and taking it outside. Got it sighted in and eye tuned best I can with what I got. I’m gonna take it somewhere and get it tuned up right....maybe me too.
I found a great review on this setup and they love the bare bow, but the Accessories are junk and I am finding that to be true. Even the fall away isn’t as fast as it was New and I’ve only shot it maybe 50 times. I put marks on my release and am working hard on my anchor. I tried 26” and it is definitely too long so back to 25” draw.....no 1/2” settings. That also makes the peep sight further away from my eye. This one has 3 strings and I’m gonna change it out too. I had to make myself put it down......GOODNESS I got a long way to go!