u/tognor

Hey! Empty Quiver! My favorite range. I recognized it right away. I miss that place since I moved away.

My GF and I started at the top of the pandemic. We knew we were going to be laid off for a while, and we needed something that got us outside. I picked up a bow, and she was skeptical about it. Neither of us were gun people, and our prior sport of choice was hockey. Her skepticism turned to enjoyment as we spent the next 16 months getting out to the range at a state park about 3 times a week.

Since then, we found a great place to shoot in one city, one place I won’t go back to any more to shoot in another, and finally a club that is great to shoot at with a bunch of nice people. I’m currently changing up my styles to get a little closer to what I want out of archery again.

It’s a great hobby and you can take it at any level of intensity you want. Want to be a casual shooter? Have fun. Want to compete at the higher levels? Great, get to work. I like going to competitions and trying to improve my own scores, but don’t take it seriously the way others around me do.

Also, considering your individual sports that are more competitive (playing against someone) and kind of reactionary (probably not the right way to say that you are reacting to someone else’s play), an accuracy sport that is mostly bettering your ability against yourself might be interesting to you.

If you go with archery, find the style and ‘investment’ that speaks to you. Pay attention to how you feel about it and what you want.

I’m sorry you had that experience with your club. As one person I shoot around regularly told me, everyone is on their own archery journey. Glad you found yours.

I’m kind of going through a similar thing. For being an individual sport, it can have a lot of negative outside input. I’m changing styles to get away from some of those same experiences and so far, I’m enjoying it.

Which Alibow models do you have? Which do you recommend?

I took your advice on the handle and built it up a bit. Put some leather tape on top of the existing handle and wrapped that with hockey grip tape. I don’t love the feel of the grip tape, but the handle is way better.

I doubt I’d be drawing back more than 32-33. My regular draw length is just over 28”, so 32 feels pretty comfortable. I’ll stick with the Si Cai for a bit. See where it takes me.

As an aside, I shot my outdoor barebow today and it’s the last time for a while. As well as being a crummy experience, a heavy door closed on it and it dropped to the floor. The lower limb is damaged enough that I think they need to be retired.

Is your main bow the same style? How did you choose this bow maker?

Is this your regular daily shooter? What made you choose this bow?

I understand all of that. I just heat so much more about grains per pound for asiatic bows than compound or Barebow. My Barebow has dry-fired a few times due to cracked nocks (the serving on my string was too big and spread the cheap carbon express nocks I was using).

Thanks. I believe I am in that range, as these arrows are 10.2 gpi, and I am almost full length with them. Add on the point weight and it should be enough.

Is the importance of arrow weight because of taking on the inertia from the bow as it shoots? Yeah, I’m probably asking that poorly.

Agreed. The first thing I figured out was I have been pushing the arrow into the bow with my draw hand grip. I don’t one anyone here (Minnesota) that shoots thumb draw and could give me some coaching on it. It’s videos and research for me. :-/

It’s in storage right now. Next time I’m there, will dig it out.

I still have my plushie. So awkward. Got it from the Flint Generals game. Hang on to all your hockey memorabilia, folks! You never know when it’s going to come up… on Reddit.

I have no opinion about which body is better for what you want to shoot, but you can always rent the A9iii before you decide to trade up. See what you think before you make a choice you may regret later.

Gotcha. I’m thinking about getting one, but it does look a bit slapdash. Thanks for the quick response. You’re the first I’ve seen in the wild.

How do you like the mod saw?

If you don’t want all the Olympic recurve accessories and want to stay with a Barebow, try slowly and gradually adding a little weigh to your bow. A little more mass on the bow can help stabilize and keep your shake down. It helped me a lot. You may feel it in your bow shoulder, but if you add a few ozs, the. A few more a week later, you can build up.

If you prefer going the Olympic recurve route, enjoy! It’s all about what style speaks to you.

One or two.

https://preview.redd.it/x2i76dkpf6sg1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e670729f0813367791a13044f5f9acea792cc033

Why stop there?

https://preview.redd.it/2su0n9h720sg1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c22793a23baf5cad426ef5a2a13d56e70a4eb66

Two things that have helped me and shown me some things (even as I continue to work through it):

Shoot alone. Yeah, that isn’t always possible. I don’t mean all the time, maybe just a session or two. Does your shooting improve? Is your target panic related to other people and expectations? Is your environment contributing to your target panic?

Explain your entire shot cycle to someone as you shoot. Tell them the entire thing as you do it. I’m bewildered at how I can do this and my shot is absolutely what I want it to be, step by step, then try to do the same thing in my head and I snap shoot as soon as I get on target. It it proves that I have the ability to do it.

Mostly, these two things are to prove to yourself that you can do it. But it helps me a lot. Sometimes, when there aren’t many people around, I mutter as I shoot, saying the words of my shot cycle to myself. It helps, but it isn’t the same as getting over the target panic.

Just know you aren’t alone in this. It’s frustrating, but you will beat it if you keep working on it. It’s easy to get down on yourself and mad at yourself about it. That’s never helpful. Just shoot this one arrow. Then shoot the next. Then the next. You can only shoot one arrow at a time - this arrow.

At the 2003 SCF game 7 in New Jersey against the Ducks, a fan a few rows over yelled at Kieth Carney, “hey Carney, guess my weight!” Still a favorite of mine.

Has always been my favorite movie of all time.