Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting What is your average

How many days a week do you shoot your bow?

How many arrows do you shoot?

What do you feel your biggest problem is?

What time of day do you shoot?

Do you practice Indoors/ Outdoors/ Both?

What is your max comfort range on a target?

what is your max hunting shoot range?

Do you accurately know the vitals of all the animals your hunt and from all the angles?

almost every

200 average per day

each style I shoot has different issues. Release I focus way to much on the release from drawing to just before touch off, Fingers keeping my string hand totally relaxed without thinking about it.

I try to shoot both in the morning and evening to get the lighting as close to hunting as possible.

Both

100 yards

70 yards compound but really that is more of a max in the perfect scenario. 50 yards compound in most scenarios, 30 yards recurve or long bow.

Yes

I shoot 5-6 days a week, year round. Out doors 90%, indoors 10%.
I shoot 20-30 shots a day, some field points, some broad heads.
Biggest problem is punching the trigger on my release.
I shoot any time of the day, depending on weather and my schedule.
I practice 20, 30, and 40 yards and am comfortable on big game at a maximum of 40 yards, but in 42 years and well over 100 animals, I’ve only shot at and killed 2-3 animals over 30 yards.
Yes I know the vital zone of the critters I hunt.

You would be surprised how many don't know the vitals. Lots of guys only know the vitals of 3D targets. Lots of guys don't know angles. I have seen so many bad shots on bears, and Deer from tree stands.

Add that most guys hunting from tree stands don't get their sights on target by bending at the waist!

Used to belong to three clubs at same time. Shot 3-7 days a week. All yr long. 100-200 arrows a day. Sometimes more.

I was young, energetic....and stupid.

I now shoot two months before season. Couple times a week....maybe as much as every other day if things go well.
Can be injured any time.

Let my practice these days be limited by brain farts. Two and im done for the day.

This recurve.

Compound i can set one up and be good yo 40 yards. Solid...in a weekend. Its a yawner.

When running wheels i like practicing at 50 and 60. Anything less is boring. You can be sloppy and shoot pretty good to 30 or so. IMHO

Hunting....eastern whitetails....i limit myself to 50 w wheels and 30 w trad

Id be happy to kill everything at 15 though

My biggest problem is a Fd up spine from old age and shooting high poundage .....several hundred arrows a week for a decade or two.

Big bow shop about an hr away.....has indoors to 50 yards. No skeeters and air conditioned. My old indoors club 15 mins away is only 20. My old outdoor clubs no longer exist. About all 3d ranges gone too.

Works for me. I dunno how in the hell i spent all those summers in the damn woods. Proly why i cant take rhe heat or bugspray now

Probably 80% of people try to draw too much weight. I see it everyday and at every shoot.

That can be good, but hard to work on a specific if you only allow yourself two mistakes.

Yawner? So you are shooting perfect scores all X's?????? If accuracy is boring to you then shooting isn't the sport for you.

Pretty good? That is the mentality of too many archery hunters. One is never too good.

In my honest opinion we owe it to each other and the animals we pursue to be the best we can. Sure not everyone has the time to shoot hundreds of arrows everyday. But I see way too many guys that honestly have no right to be archery hunting. Your opinion may differ!

I've been shooting most days, unless t-storms firing off.

I'm up to 50-60 arrows before I feel sloppiness from fatigue starting to show.

I'm working on everything, forward hand, full draw, foot placement for good NPA, release.....you name it.

Typically afternoon and/or evening.

Outdoors, backyard.

No comfort range, but I'm practicing mostly around 20 yards, but throw in a little 10 yard, and 30 yard.

Hunting isn't even on my radar screen right now.

Yes, but N/A.

You are doing great MM keep it up!

I start about two months before season starts, shoot about 25 times most everyday

i don`t practice much now days since my shoulders are no longer good.but with my compound bows i take a few shoots a week in my basement ,i have my own 20 yard range in my basement so its very easy. been bowhunting now 55 + years and i know i won`t hunt the early bug season and bigger bucks in Minnesota don`t seem to move much in daylight tell it gets cooler ,so really serious bowhunting for whitetail bucks isn`t that good tell mid october or later so i stay out of the woods tell then. but when the bucks start moving i start shooting my bow then every day tell the end of December or if and when i tag a decent buck. i have shot so much archery in those 55 + years its very routine now days but the thrill of drawing a bow back and shooting at a big buck is still there. i am not trying to start a argument and with respect to others i just don`t like to use a x-bow ,i have drawn a bow so many years and hunted with long bow,recurves and now days a compound bow i just won`t ,its my own personal pride thing for me and if my shoulders were better i would go back to a long bow,2219 arrows and continue using Zwickey broadheads too ! wish all a great fun-safe bow season,Pete53

I try to shoot daily starting in mid June.

When I shot a recurve more often. I have a dog that would go stump shooting and bring back the arrow after I shot it.

The compound not much stump shooting due to carbon arrows.

The crossbow even less.......as in hardly ever.

70 yards........I usually practice at 40 to 50. 50 yards deer, 60 yards ELK. It better be a nessacary deal to shoot 50 at a whitetail, they are skittish.

Mostly outdoors I shoot.

Targiet panic with the recurve, range estimation, pin selection in the compound, the trigger and rest with the crossbow are my biggest challenges.

Anatomy is very important, I don't feel that versed in shooting bear, never done it. I guess turkeys can be hard also.

I shoot year round, Indoors in the winter shooting target leagues. In the spring I move outside shooting the occasional 3D, or just shooting. At least once per week ~ 100 arrows, for a couple months prior to hunting season I'll bump that up to 3 times per week. In the fall Elk is priority 1, then maybe a Mule Deer if I find a decent one. If I get an elk early I'll sometimes work on the antelope. I shoot to 60-70 yards but shoot mainly around 40. Far enough to find any form flaws yet not a long hike to pull arrows. When hunting I like to keep shots under 40-50 yards. It just takes too long for the arrow to travel much farther than that (even at 270-280fps) to be sure the animal will still be in the same spot when the arrow arrives.

My background. Traditional archer here, 45 and 55 draw longbows, wood arrows, fingertip glove on string hand.

Answers:

Right now nearly every day

One -two dozen at a time.

Bow hand steadiness and follow through. My release is getting better every day.

Try to get in a morning session, then a sundown session when I can.

Outdoors only.

Practicing at ranges between 10 and 20 yards right now. Just started shooting again recently. Never have been good much past 25.

Have never been lucky enough to get a shot at an animal in my comfort range. Had a chance I later paced off at 28 yards or so on an antelope. I only felt confident to 20 so passed on the shot.

Don't hunt from above, will likely pass on any shot other than quartering away or broadside, so those are pretty standard vital shots on deer.

MCH, thanks for starting this one.

Geno

I shoot about 20 arrows a day nearly every day of the year... BUT never more than 2 at a time and never at the same distance. I keep my shots regardless of hunting or practice under 45 yards an shoot stick, compound and crossbows. I've been shooting a bow for almost 55 years now hunting only with archery gear for 40 and killed my 40th archery buck this past season in Pa., I have taken elk,caribou, moose, black bear,antelope and mule deer besides the whitetails.
Poking holes one after another does nothing but teach you bad habits. Learn to judge distance an put each arrow where you are looking . Shooting several times a day a single shot or two will teach you a heck of alot more about your equipment than making adjustments for range after the first shot.

This has got to be one of the dumbest statements ever. I am sure Brady, Butch, Reo, Dave, Jesse, and add any other great archers to the list would agree with you, NOT!

You don't become great not shooting a lot of arrows constantly.

Poking holes one after another does nothing but teach you bad habits. Learn to judge distance an put each arrow where you are looking . Shooting several times a day a single shot or two will teach you a heck of alot more about your equipment than making adjustments for range after the first shot. [/quote]

>>do you really believe your statement ? consistency comes from practice -practice-practice and most of the time with paper targets. i wish i was still had healthy shoulders because i would be still pound`n a 1 inch bull`s-eye everyday !

Hectorwsp does have a good point!

The first shot is the most important! And variation and distance judging are paramount.

However muscle memory, form, and actual mastering archery so you dont have to " overthink " things takes practice and deliberate repetition.

So a mixture of traditional practice and " stump " shooting is what I try for.

Ha!! you can bet good $ I believe my own statement! There are few and I repeat darn few archers among the world's best whom benefit from repetative shooting be it gun or bow. Ask them yourself, the easiest way to pick up a bad habit is to become too repetitive in your mechanics your brain will soon become bored forcing you make mental shortcuts whether you acknowledge them or not ( recall that "flyer" you made for no apparent good reason in your last outing?). i.e., snipers train with one or two shots at a time. I taught archery, most likely prior to your birth for 25 years to some well accomplished archers an the equipment we used then was not nearly as critical as today's
Hey I too enjoy pounding the backstop into weak spots but that is not a productive way to practice. Facts prove 85% of practice should be done prior to actually picking up a bow with a false draw system and a back tension release practicing your form...poor form is the result of repetitive movements...muscle memory is formed easily as it os much easier to train your muscles than train your brain.
But why try to elighten those whom seem to know all the answers?

A lot of what you say is true IMO.

As I side note watching TV shows and range shooters , most people are over bowed , so repition will at least get them stronger.

with respect and honor for the bucks i hunt and kill with my bow ,i have pride in drawing my bow and putting that hand sharpened broadhead - arrow thru that bucks chest and then watch that old buck make his death run. that`s why i practice for insurance that i kill that buck quickly with my arrow ! Bowhunting bigger whitetail bucks is very difficult most of the time , you don`t get many close shots with a bow in a person`s life time that`s why i practice as much as i can and have.

Pete53: I do not know where you hunt but I will assure you I've never drawn my bow on ANY game animal ,sans a bull moose in BC that stood broadside at 45 yds,over 30 yds. I've killed some darn nice bucks in my life 40 in a row as a matter of fact that score over 125" my largest a 193"+ was shot at 12 yds. How did I accomplish that? By learning to hunt from a treestand that is placed at the proper spot. I used to stillhunt an still do a little of it today but after I learned where to place a stand when to hunt it without over hunting it my success rate went up.
No disrespect meant or intended what is an accepted hunting style in one area may not be in another. On one of my 5 caribou hunts to northern Quebec the guide insisted I take a 70 yd shot at a monster bull after we could not stalk any closer in the tundra after I rfused to do so he cussed a blue streak and headed back to camp without me. Later that day I killed a bigger bull by myself at 25 yds with a double lung shot....needless to say he got no tip from me.

I would say 90% of bowhunters are over bowed, and I think I am being very conservative on that number.

If you can not hold your bow hand out straight with your sight on the target and draw your bow EVERYTIME, than you are over bowed PERIOD!

I will also add that if you feel the need or desire to shoot 60+ yard shots you may as well rifle hunt. Bowhunting is about close shots.

Personally I think releases should be illegal. We need to get archery back to reality.

You are either dumb as a box of rocks, or are just trying to stir the pot. Either way I stand by my statement "This has got to be one of the dumbest statements ever!" I have asked them and they all say the same thing, shooting everyday and lots of arrows per day.

Well this box of rocks got you figured out. 1 question I have an I would imagine many others have is: If you got this archery thing figured out so well that you seem to have all the answers why isn't your name common place among archers? Could it be you're a star in your own mind or just not good enough to compete except with the local boys at 3D shoots? Either way I have no interest in this conversation anymore.

I have a thing called a JOB, I prefer hunting, I have a lot of other activities that I partake in. To shoot on that level takes a lot of time and commitment. I don't shoot very much 3D and the ones I do are just for fun. I do compete locally in target archery but haven't in a few years. Again so many other things going on it's hard to fit everything in. We can shoot head to head if you would like.

See Samick makes a 17" ILF.
W shorts that'd be 58" (my fave).
Hmmmmm, that would be a fun rig to try fixed crawl.
Might get one for X mas and play w that indoors.
Buddy went to ETAR, have not got a report back yet.
He said go low# and join him next yr.

Just might.

Kept my old 35/55's from my lower # Widow.
Good enough reason to buy a new bow (don't let old arrows go to waste).

Might get me to actually shoot more, something new to mess with.

Am sick right now, doc on Mon. Hopefully start shooting by end of the week.
Not much, have to work into it.
Normally do, but am weaker due to some virus going around.

the shoulder surgeon told me this; limit your archery practice and decide rather you want to bowhunt or try to shoot target archery somehow,i decided to bowhunt with a 50 lb. bow and cut on impact broadheads on my arrows i make.so i look at my archery equipment and can`t hardly wait to start shooting my bow again around September,the wait is only because of my very poor shoulders that both have been operated on. i am not a rich man who travels the world to bowhunt or go on fence bowhunts, but do just fine on decent whitetail bucks, nor do i put my antlers in a book or have them scored to impress the world, but believe me,my son and myself have done ok bowhunting. and i still like to practice shooting my bow.Pete53

If your shoulders are so bad why are you shooting 50lb? Do yourself a huge favor and drop the weight. And strengthen those shoulders, it's never to late to get them strong. Lots of great PT's out there that could get you back to at least 75-80%.

the pt`s have got me back to 50 lbs. with the use of the green rubber bands every 3 days , my surgeon wants to replace my left shoulder,if i did that my limit with that shoulder would be 15 lbs. and can do 60 lbs.if i wanted too. but i could also damage my shoulder some more so i stay around 50lbs. that is all i have ever needed for big whitetails with a Zwickey broadhead in December.

All I hear is excuses. If you are not going to fix the shoulder than its super simple drop the weight. But it is your pity party so have at it.

yes we have a winner,when you understand shoulder problems get back to me ,i have had the surgeries. there will be no excuses i will bowhunt this fall with a drawn bow again for only a decent whitetail buck.

I am well aware of shoulder problems. If you really have/had a shoulder problem why in the world are you pulling a 50lb bow? You are either just stupid or full of [bleep]. Take your pick.

not all of us are so full of ourselves as you are, nor do we post like some Macho Bowhunter who thinks he`s some kind of a archery GOD -hero from bum duck Egypt. ITS OVER YOU HAVE WON IN YOUR OWN MIND.

Yeah I am smart enough to know that if I have a bad shoulder I am not going to be pulling more weight then I actually need to to cleanly and humanly kill the animal. Which 40lbs will do all day everyday. Which in turns means I can practice more and that in turn will help build whatever is left there of the shoulder to build. I know that is so hard to comprehend for you. Or is it just to hard for you to take solid advice from others? Either way it is your loss.

“Peak”by Anders Ericsson and the role of deliberate practice.