New bow hunter. How much practicing is to much?

[Bearhide]

Is there such a thing?  I got my bow 2 weeks ago and haven't missed a day practicing yet. Started out from 20yrds and now shoot 40yrds. Usually shoot 20 -40 arrows a day some days twice as much. I know I got better real fast, but wondering if it can do damage or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.   Here's my 40 yard shots.

[Lucky1]

 
Looks like you are getting dialed in. As long as you aren't developing any bad habits, I say shoot as much as you want. You want everything to be automatic when your opportunity comes to shoot an animal.

[GameHunter1959]

I have been looking at buying a bow myself. What bow did you purchase?

I live in Graham if you ever want to shoot together. I plan on buying something by the end of this next weekend. Any help is appreciated.

[sakoshooter]

No such thing as too much as long as it stays fun and you keep your form up. Have at it. Nice shooting by the way.

[demontang]

Last year I dont think I missed a day. Just beaware of your form and if your tired and start to get sloppy stop and rest

[jburkett]

I typically shoot 20-25 shots a night. And in mid july, I will only shoot fifty yards or more. I practice out to seventy yards, but won't shoot beyond fifty on an animal.  If you shoot good groups at seventy yards anything inside of fifty will be a chip shot

[Bearhide]

I have been looking at buying a bow myself. What bow did you purchase?

I live in Graham if you ever want to shoot together. I plan on buying something by the end of this next weekend. Any help is appreciated.

I shoot in my backyard that makes things a lot cheaper than going out everyday and paying at the range. I'm blessed to have a big enough yard where I can shoot up to 70 yards.   And the answer for your other question is, I bought myself a bear effect bow, I got a good deal on it on craigslist. Some feller bought it in febuary and shot it only couple times and needed the money real bad, so I got it very cheap for a brand new bow. But again I'm new to bow hunting so I can't give to much advice on what bow to purchase.  My buddy has a bowtech bow so I shot it a few times and got a great deal on the bear effect, and grabbed it. So far I like it, shoots smooth.  Will post pics of my first deer. I'm not holding out, what ever comes out the first legal deer I'm taking that shot. Doe or buck don't matter. 

[bowhiker]

When your form and groups start to fail, then give it a rest.  For mental reasons I try to end my sessions with something positive.  That gives me confidence for the next day and something to build on. Also, shoot at different angles, light levels and different shooting positions.

[KFhunter]

game animals won't be standing at the end of your yard,  so I'd take that target of yours to the woods and shoot up, down, sideways and through holes in the brush.

[GCRocketman]

I'm lucky if I can get in one session a week.  So you're doing good.

GameHunter1959 - I live in Graham as well - you get that bow yet?

[Special T]

If your practicing at home your practicing for FORM. Most people move back on the yardage too quick. 20 yards is perfect for focusing on you form, and consistency. There are lots of cool drills you can do to help form and muscle memory at 20. I h ave seen people develop bad habits BECAUSE they wanted to shoot longer shots too soon. If you can hit a 50 cent piece sized target nearly every time at 20 you have it dialed  and its time to move back.  Good Luck Have Fun.

1-2Doz arrows each night is plenty.

[RG]

game animals won't be standing at the end of your yard,  so I'd take that target of yours to the woods and shoot up, down, sideways and through holes in the brush.

Exactly.  From my experience bow hunting and guiding bowhunters, people don't often miss because they couldn't shoot their bow.  They miss because they misjudged the yardage or weren't comfortable with the angle of the shot.  Hold your bow at full draw for a while on at least a few shots because eventually they will bust you just as you draw and you will have to wait at full draw until they take one more step.  Basically simulate hunting by shooting in the woods at unmeasured yardages.  Go to as many 3D shoots as you can.  When you are walking down the street estimate the yardage to objects then pace it as you walk.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Shoot and keep shooting ..When you start throwing arrows all over the place then quit ..I use to shoot my bow for hours back in my younger days .. I do not shoot as much now ..I just pulled out my bow the other day and shot 3 arrows from 20 to 50 and nothing has changed ..Kinda like riding a bike , once you learn how you do not forget 

[hike2hunt]

My last three elk have been taken from a sitting position. Ensure you are practicing, different positions, kneeling, sitting; if you hunt from a tree stand there's practice to be had with doing that.

I mix physical training into my bow shooting at night. Example being, warm up with a couple of arrows, leave your release on, sprint 50 yards, do 10 push ups, 10 jumping jacks, 10 leg lifts, hold a plank for 20 seconds, then sprint back 50 yards, and shoot one arrow.

The beauty of this, is your getting that heart rate sky high, getting in shape, and learning to control your breathing when you have Mr. Majestic standing broadside at 20 yards and you only have "ONE SHOT."

[dpetrzelka]

I've been putting in some good time on the flat range, and liek you getting good groupings at 30-40 yards. The real test is in the woods at varying angles and without marked yardage.

A buddy and I tried the walking course at the Silver Arrow Bowmen club this past weekend, and its a whole new challenge. Both in estimating yardage and in compensating for shot angle. So much great stuff to learn as you advance.

[RG]

I've been putting in some good time on the flat range, and liek you getting good groupings at 30-40 yards. The real test is in the woods at varying angles and without marked yardage.

A buddy and I tried the walking course at the Silver Arrow Bowmen club this past weekend, and its a whole new challenge. Both in estimating yardage and in compensating for shot angle. So much great stuff to learn as you advance.

That's the best way to improve.  If you guess the yardage wrong you will eat your tag every time.  Been there done that too many times.

[Rainier10]

Tons of great information in this thread.
Practice as much as you can.  When arrows start going all over the place you are getting tired, give it a break.  Good form good form good form and do the same thing everytime, come up with a routine, whatever it is that works for you do it the same everytime then when an animal steps in front of you it will be automatic to draw back, anchor in your normal spot, level your bow, put your pin on target, center in your peep and release.

I used to have a checklist and would go through it randomly and as soon as I missed I would realize that I forgot one of the items on the checklist.  That is when I put them in order and did it the same everytime so I wouldn't forget one of the steps.

Definitely get out a couple of times before the season and shoot one of the 3d shoots, no better practice out there than one of those shoots.  Good luck and keep shooting. 

[dpetrzelka]

Rainier10 - do you have a specific checklist you'd share?
Or does this cover it:

draw back
anchor in your normal spot
level your bow
put your pin on target
center in your peep
and release.

Tons of great information in this thread.

I used to have a checklist and would go through it randomly and as soon as I missed I would realize that I forgot one of the items on the checklist.  That is when I put them in order and did it the same everytime so I wouldn't forget one of the steps.

[Rainier10]

Rainier10 - do you have a specific checklist you'd share?
Or does this cover it:

draw back
anchor in your normal spot
level your bow
put your pin on target
center in your peep
and release.

Tons of great information in this thread.

I used to have a checklist and would go through it randomly and as soon as I missed I would realize that I forgot one of the items on the checklist.  That is when I put them in order and did it the same everytime so I wouldn't forget one of the steps.

Here is the list
draw back with finger behind release trigger pushing forward
anchor in your normal spot and keep tension in back
loosen grip on bow
put your pin on target
center in your peep
level your bow
look back at pin centered in peep and on target
and then squeeze the release slowly, not jerking or anticipating

with lots of practice this becomes automatic and you will find that you will get muscle memory and the bow will start to naturally come up level and everything centered, making target acquisition quicker.

The last thing that I do after the shot is keep the pin on the target as long as I can after the shot and keep looking at the target.  As the bow falls forward I keep looking at the target and grab another arrow out of my quiver and put it on the string getting ready for a follow up shot.  This is great to get used to also so that it becomes automatic.  You made get the opportunity for a second shot in the field.

[Song Dog]

About the only thing I would add is try holding at full draw until you can hold for about three minutes  or longer I don't know how many times I have had to come to full draw and then wait for them to step out from cover before I could take the shot.  Also start shooting from diffrent positions, sitting, kneeling, bent over, leaning around a tree shooting under a tree.  Also I'm lucky to have a ranch style house so I shoot from the roof a lot to simulate shooting out of a tree stand.  Before the season shoot your bow wearing the cloths you will be wearing to make sure nothing is going to catch on the string and if you use a tube to bugle with shoot with it hanging on you so you can get used to pulling it out of the way if you use reeds pratice calling and shooting also.   Make sure you can judge the distance.  Shooting from marked positions is diffrent than shooting out in the field so start figuring out ranges.  Other than that keep at it.  I shoot every day one thing I have learned is shooting while I BBQ it makes ya take a break while ya flip the meat and if your grilling deer or elk it really makes ya focus on shot placement so ya can cook some more.

[Rainier10]

About the only thing I would add is try holding at full draw until you can hold for about three minutes  or longer I don't know how many times I have had to come to full draw and then wait for them to step out from cover before I could take the shot.  Also start shooting from diffrent positions, sitting, kneeling, bent over, leaning around a tree shooting under a tree.  Also I'm lucky to have a ranch style house so I shoot from the roof a lot to simulate shooting out of a tree stand.  Before the season shoot your bow wearing the cloths you will be wearing to make sure nothing is going to catch on the string and if you use a tube to bugle with shoot with it hanging on you so you can get used to pulling it out of the way if you use reeds pratice calling and shooting also.   Make sure you can judge the distance.  Shooting from marked positions is diffrent than shooting out in the field so start figuring out ranges.  Other than that keep at it.  I shoot every day one thing I have learned is shooting while I BBQ it makes ya take a break while ya flip the meat and if your grilling deer or elk it really makes ya focus on shot placement so ya can cook some more.

Especially the part in red.  That is one thing that I really believe in just before the season, shoot in what you will wear.  I ended up having to hunt with camo makeup.  My first hunt that I got a shot on I had a facemask on and couldn't get comfortable with my anchor point.  Since then I just use makeup instead of the facemask.  But I also learned to practice with what you hunt with.  So before the season I put on my gear and backpack and shoot with that.  In the late season I shoot with my gloves on before the hunt to get used to the feel of anchoring and shooting with them on.

[Special T]

I've been putting in some good time on the flat range, and liek you getting good groupings at 30-40 yards. The real test is in the woods at varying angles and without marked yardage.

A buddy and I tried the walking course at the Silver Arrow Bowmen club this past weekend, and its a whole new challenge. Both in estimating yardage and in compensating for shot angle. So much great stuff to learn as you advance.

Glad you Liked the Club I have been Told by a few well traveled shooters that our course is the  most difficult/realistic in the state.

Membership from now to the end of the year is HALF price $15 plus $10 initiation or $20 + 10 for a Family. Just fill out the form from the website or clubhouse door, staple payment to the form and put in drop box at the club house.

[dpetrzelka]

Special T - filled out my application last weekend, just need to drop it off next time I'm there. (its less than a mile from my house)

I've been putting in some good time on the flat range, and liek you getting good groupings at 30-40 yards. The real test is in the woods at varying angles and without marked yardage.

A buddy and I tried the walking course at the Silver Arrow Bowmen club this past weekend, and its a whole new challenge. Both in estimating yardage and in compensating for shot angle. So much great stuff to learn as you advance.

Glad you Liked the Club I have been Told by a few well traveled shooters that our course is the  most difficult/realistic in the state.

Membership from now to the end of the year is HALF price $15 plus $10 initiation or $20 + 10 for a Family. Just fill out the form from the website or clubhouse door, staple payment to the form and put in drop box at the club house.

[issaquarcher]

Some great tips in this post for you. I'll echo the following:  Go to as many 3D shoots as possible. It's the best simulation of hunting for judging distance on the fly and the pressure of making a good shot. Especially when everyone is watching and arrows are $10 each. Also as stated earlier you may need to hold at full draw for quite a while so practice that. Best to draw early and lock in and hold for a shot than trying to draw at the last second and shoot or more than likely spook your game. Lastly practice loading your arrows and clipping on your release without looking. Surprisingly it's not that difficult with practice. You want to get to the point where you don't have to think about fiddling with your gear when you should be focused on your game. Good luck this upcoming season.