FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS

We all know what instincts are…it’s where our bodies act or react without
conscious thoughts from our brains.
We’ve all had someone toss us something when we weren’t expecting it. Our reaction (our instincts) is to catch the object with no conscious thought about it.
I was at a baseball game with my family last night when I noticed how the people sitting behind home plate instinctively ducked when a foul tip came back towards them even though there was a protective net. Their brains
didn’t have to tell them to try to avoid the ball, their bodies reacted instinctively and immediately to get out of the way even though there was
there was no possibility of them getting hit by the ball.
This morning, I read an article that talked about making our brains work better. One part of the article described how we should listen to our feelings. You know, that gut instinct that tells us the phone call we just
got telling us we won a million dollars, just doesn’t feel right and that we shouldn’t give out our credit card number to the caller.
This all got me to thinking about how this applies to archery. Yeah, yeah, I know…archery is about all I think about. So? Anyway, I came to realize that through practice and repetition, we can make our bodies know what to do, without conscious thought, every time we pick up an arrow and snap it on to our string.
Why is this a good thing to try to accomplish? Because our mental energy should be focused on one thing and one thing only when we come to full draw…and that is aiming.
If at full draw our minds start to think about things like our stance, our grip, or our release hand, we’re taking the mental energy away from aiming, which is where is should be directed.
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who is in a bowling league. He told me he had bowled nine strikes in a row the night before but blew the tenth frame because he got nervous. And guess what he told me. When he got into position, all he could think about was getting a strike. His body knew how to approach the line and deliver the ball…he had just done it nine times in a row. But his brain betrayed him. He stopped thinking about where to aim on the lane, missed his mark, and left the 10-pin standing. He was so flustered, he even missed the spare. Had he focused on hitting his mark
(AIMING) and just let his body do what it knew how to do, he may have had his first perfect game.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of that big-racked buck that enters a shooting lane at 20 yards and stops broadside only to bound away unharmed because the hunter was looking or thinking about the antlers rather than
focusing on aiming for a spot and letting his body do what it’s supposed to do. I once watched a video of an Olympic Silver Medalist archer miss a nice buck at 18 yards. He had literally shot tens of thousands of arrows in his
life but his mind failed him because he simply didn’t focus on aiming.
Now don’t get me wrong, we still need to think about our stance, our grip, or our release hand but when we come to full draw, we need to re-direct all of our conscious thought towards aiming while our body instinctively and
automatically goes through the mechanics of sending the arrow on its way.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

UTILIZING THE PINS ON YOUR SIGHT - Most open pin sight set-ups come with three pins usually “stacked” on top of one another. They vary in color and sizes. Experiment with different combinations to find the set up that works best for you. The top pin is to be sighted in at the closest range, the middle pin sighted in at mid-range, and depending on the power of your bow, the bottom pin sighted in for long range. My pins are set at 20, 30, and 40 yards respectively. I have a pin set at 40 yards because I constantly practice at that range and am confident that I can hit what I’m aiming at from that distance. Plus, my bow is fast enough that the animal won’t have that much time to react to the sound of my arrow being released. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll still take the 20 yard shot over the 40 yard shot any day! If you aren’t comfortable at the 40 yard range, do yourself, your fellow hunters, and the animal a favor, pass up the shot. I like to get the game I’m trying to harvest in close. Since I am the most comfortable taking a 20-yard shot, my top pin is centered in the sight housing. For a shot within 22 ½ yards, all I have to do is center my sight housing in my peep sight (which centers my pin in my peep sight) and put the top pin on my target. But this also means that my 30 and 40-yard pins are below center in my sight housing. But that’s ok…for shots using those pins, simply raise your bow to use either your 30 or 40-yard pin and center the pin in your peep sight. Remember, your pins won’t be centered in the sight housing but since your pin is centered in your peep sight, you’ll know that your pin will be where you want it.

Cabin Fever?

The weather is getting warmer (slowly) and buds are starting to appear on plants...Mother Nature is beginning to emerge from her winter nap.
While I look forward to the leaves turning into their various colors, the weather turning more crisp, and the deer beginning their mating rituals each fall, there's something about spring that gets the archery blood pumping in me more so than normal.
Maybe it's the fact that I can get out of the indoor ranges and out onto the 3D courses. Maybe it's the spring scouting excursions that I love to do. Maybe it's the promise of yet another archery season on the horizon. Maybe it's knowing that millions of fawns will soon be born. Maybe I'm looking forward to matching wits with a new generation of mature whitetails this fall.
Whatever it is, I know that spring brings with it the anticipation of a new round with nature.
What that means for archers that haven't touched their bows since the end of last season is that it's now time to get them out, get them ready, and start practicing.
Go over your bow and make sure all the bolts and screws are tight. With an odorless lubricant, go over those cams and wheels. Ensure that your string and cables are in good condition and wax them up. Replace them if they are in need of it.
The weather is soon going to break and now is the time to begin practicing for the upcoming archery season even though it's only April! Don't wait until a few weeks before the season opens to dig out that bow. Even if you think that'll be enough time to be ready, it won't be...trust me!
So dust off those bows and get out there...nature is beckoning and it's a call I can't resist.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

3D TARGET PRACTICE - A lot of archers utilize 3D targets to hone their skills prior to archery hunting season. This is a good thing to do for a number of reasons. It gets you outside into nature, you get some exercise (which we all need), you get to work on your shooting form, and you get to shoot at targets that are life-size and in settings that most represent real shots you will be taking. Personally, I’d like to see more 3D courses that offer shots from elevated positions to give us more practice shooting from stands but that’s another topic for later on. If you’re shooting a 3D course for a score, you always want to aim for the bulls-eye. But, if you want to actually practice realistic shots on 3D animals, you don’t always want to aim for the bulls-eye. The ideal position for a deer to be in when you release the arrow is exactly broadside. On most 3D targets, the bulls-eye is near the spot you want to aim for. I say near because I feel a heart shot taken on a real-life deer will be much lower on the animal’s body than where most bulls-eyes are on a 3D target. The second best position a deer to be in is quartering away. In order for our arrow to pass through the vitals of a deer, out arrow must enter the deer’s body further back. Please excuse my poor illustration above but it serves the purpose. The red line (A) shows the arrow path if you were to aim where the bulls-eye is on the 3D target. Notice that all vitals are completely missed. But the green line (B) shows the arrow path if you aim a little behind where the bulls-eye would be on a 3D target. Notice the vitals pass-through. While it’s important to select an aiming point on the outside of the animal, it is of more importance to picture the path of your arrow as it penetrates and passes through the animal. And remember, the narrower the shooting angle, the more compensation needed. When shooting 3D targets and you’re faced with a similar situation, make a quick mental calculation of your arrow path to determine your penetration point.

PA State Indoor Archery Tournament

Not only do scores count but so do bulls-eyes. I took 4th place in the PA State Indoor Archery Tournament. I missed out on taking home a medal because I tied for third but didn't have as many bulls-eyes as the other guy. My son McLane didn't get a medal this year either but in fairness to him, he moved up an age group and classification. We had fun but were exhausted after the shoot was over.
Sometime this week we'll change our bows over to our hunting set-up to shoot 3D.

Top - Half of the lanes at the tournament.

Bottom - The foursome on our lane. My son, McLane and I are on the right.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

Adjusting your sights - The ultimate goal in archery is to get a consistent three-arrow grouping in the middle of the target. Ideally, each arrow should hit in the exact center of the target. To get closer to that goal, we need to sight in our bow by adjusting the sights.
NEVER adjust your aiming point to compensate for where your arrows are hitting.
ALWAYS aim for the exact center of the target and adjusts your sights accordingly.
Once you have attained a relative grouping of arrows WHILE AIMING AT THE CENTER OF THE TARGET, then you'll need to adjust your sights. For our demonstration, let's assume a consistent three-arrow grouping that is hitting above and to the right of the aiming point. To bring the grouping closer to the aiming point, move the front sight up and to the right.
Always move the front sight in the direction from center where the arrows are hitting the target.
Shoot more three-arrow shots and continue adjusting the sights in this manner until the grouping is centered on the target.
Remember, if you are relatively new to this sport, your grouping may be quite large. Keep working on your form and shooting until you get a consistent three-arrow grouping that you can cover with your hand. Once you are at that point, it's time to start adjusting your sights. Keep practicing and you'll see your groupings getting tighter and closer to center.

Last Night of Archery League

Last night was the final night of our indoor archery league for 2009. I shot a 579 out of 600 and finished in 4th place...missed 3rd by 1/2 game. The good news is my anchor point was more stable but I'm still working on it. My son McLane, shot a 557...his second highest score ever. Shortly after the PA State indoor tournament this weekend, we'll change our set-ups over to shoot 3D. It's the same set-up we hunt with.