With Eyes Closed

[Button Nubbs]

Good lookin bow. crx? 32 or 35?

[bloodhound]

32!!

[bloodhound]

its by far the quietest bow i have ever shot or heard. super smooth and absolutely shock free. i'm super happy with it. it was between that and the z7 and i just don't like how the z7 is so top heavy and how the grip feels. but the mathews is a great bow nothin against it just personal preference

[Button Nubbs]

It ok you can let the mathews hate out I'm a hoyt guy too!

[bloodhound]

get serious get hoyt!!

[Todd_ID]

Some good advice thrown out here for you.  My thoughts on it are that what you have is way better than most of us started with years ago, and it'll work for you just fine until you decide you WANT to change something.  As for the hand shock that you're talking about, I think time and repetition will get you more in tune with what the shot sequence feels like, and you'll be better able to feel the small differences the guys are talking about when you do decide to try other equipment.  The wrist sling is there simply as a "feel good" aid to reassure yourself that you are not going to drop that expensive piece of equipment if you don't put a death grip on it as the shot goes off; you can prove this to yourself by shooting 4 or 5 shots at 5 yards without holding on at all: let the bow jump out of your hand and let the wrist strap catch it.  That'll show you the extent of how bad it can get in a worst case scenario.  You'll find that it's a relatively tame experience, and you'll start gripping the bow more consistently with less hand-pressure-changes as the arrow is leaving, and that will lead to much better and more consistent shooting.

As for the eye closing, I would focus your first few practice sessions on that alone and not worrying about accuracy at all.  The blank bale practice the guys are talking about is pretty much essential in curing form problems like that.  You can try moving your anchor point a little so the string hits your face in a different spot if you need to, but I think your case is needing more repetitions rather than changes just to get used to the whole concept of the shot.

One thing about your practice sessions that might help a bunch is to try to develop a shot sequence that you repeat every shot exactly the same.  You'll have to think the words in your head the first 100 shots over a week, but your subconscious mind will pick it up to where you don't think about it any more.  A good sequence to start with would be: stance, grip, clip on release, finger off trigger, draw, anchor, settle in, finger on trigger, aim, slow squeeze.  Archery is all about doing a few things exactly the same every time.

Keep on asking questions: there's a ton of knowledge locked in this forum, and only questions can get it pried out.

[sebek556]

closing your eyes is typically shot anticipation, to ease this I trick I used to have soldiers do which seem to work well is distraction, if you have a mouth guard for sports or anything( they are like 5 bucks if not) put it in your mouth when shooting(bonus it also helps to work on controlling  breathing and breathing properly), so for bow application draw your bow, aim, then bite down hard on the mouth guard and slowly press trigger, the shot should suprise you. this does not work for everyone but did work on allot of the new soldiers I worked with for rifles.

[buckfvr]

Your bow is somewhere between reflex and parallel limb design, but closer to reflex. Reflex limbs energy at release is generated forward, thus resulting in the forward motion of the bow, or the juming out of your hand.  A parallel limb design, the energy is generated in the up and down directions, the limbs actually canceling each other out, and there for no jumping out of the hand, as there is no forward energy release. 

No amount of vibration dampening products will change your bows inherent  design nuances.  Going to a parallel limb design will give you the dead in the hand shot.  Vibration dampening products are made to screw into your stabilizer mounting hole, as are actual stabilizers.  One dampens vibration for say,  a  hunting bow.  The stabilizer actually changes the balance of a bow and  depending on design, deaden the shot.  If noise and vibration is your concern,  Id us Limbsaver products, and I do on my hunting bows....for other types of shooting, I use true stabilizers, or hybrids, actual products with vibration dampening qualities and added weight.   As with most things in archery/bow hunting, it usually breaks down to individual preference and experience.  Try as much stuff as you can, but decide for yourself what you like....alot of opinions here, and thats all mine is too.  Good luck,  R

[JLS]

I put a Norway String Tamer on my Mathews Q2.  It made a huge difference in getting rid of hand shock (which there was very little before, none now).  Cost me about $40 including shipping.

[muley210]

Try shooting with both eyes open.

[total_intent2kill]

Wow Muley210 I dont know what I would do with out your help!  Thank you all for the advise.
I am hoping to go shooting with my hubby soon. . .and I will let you know how it turns out. We were going to shoot with DBzona last weekend but plans fell through. . . But Thank you again alot! If I have any other questions I will be sure to ask!