I've been shooting most days for the last couple months since getting the Toelke longbow.

Today was going pretty good at 20 yards, so I lased out 30 yards and gave it a go. I kept them somewhat near the middle of the target. Seems 30 yards is about point-on for my bow/arrow setup.

30 yards,

I just use a 30x30" Morrell bag cover. We have some llamas and I had a bunch of old fleeces on hand so I stuffed it full of fleece. That works great. I've never had an arrow come out the back and if a spot gets soft, I just kick it a few times to resettle the hair. I shoot down my driveway. I have marks out to 60 yds and could shoot to nearly 100 there if there was a need.

60 yards....wow that seems so far in my mind right now.

I'm at the point where 30 yards feels like 1000 yards with the rifle. I'm really enjoying it.

Well, sights and a release do increase range over a longbow. I practice quite a bit at 50 to 60. Then 30 or 40 seems like a piece of cake.

I can see where the sights/release make a real difference.

I used to shoot a recurve but never got even remotely competent. I have lousy eye-hand coordination. I can stand and throw balls at a fruit basket for hours on end and never sink one. My arm doesn't go where I'm looking. Sights made the difference for me.

I've been working on the fundamentals of aiming using the gap method. My arrow/tip combo seems to be flying pretty straight (32" shaft, 400 spine, 250gr tip). So using the arrow tip as a front sight of sorts, and working on the gap.

The real accuracy killer for me right now is consistency on the full draw, and the release. But I'm improving.

Bought a new bag target.
Aint poked the first hole in it.
97 degrees today.
Maybe tomorrow.

Been wondering how the shooting has been going - thanks for the update! I've bounced back and forth between hay bales and plastic stuffed burlap bag targets over the years. Last few years have been hay bales but it's time to replace them and just may go back to a bag due to convenience/portability.

I was able to salvage one bale so no need to replace targets yet. I haven't shot much this year so drug out the bow and did some shooting at 20 - 25 yards. Now if I can get to where I can do this consistently

Nice shooting!

Ya got me. I never shot a 300-60x
Ran a single spot and hung mid 90s w around 30x.
Started low target too back in the overdraw days.
Practice for 3D.
82#

Never considered shooting indoors serious.
Didnt like the crowd.

3D got a bunch of pricks in it and wasnt worth it either.

With excruciating pain and giving up recurve i got wheels and tried to keep score.......this after years of just recurve and hunting. Struggle due to pain......wanted to see how bad i had gotten. 270s. Pathetic. Was soon after the pain so bad i couldnt shoot 60 arrows. Fought to do 30

Wrong Thread, but I am tracking you. Not trying to get you. Mid 90's 30X's is far above an average archery hunter. Provided you are speaking wheels and release it would be lower to middle end of competition. If speaking wheels and fingers that would be stellar shooting. But nobody shoots wheels and fingers anymore. Well I do but very few of us left. Funny how archery was the game hunters wanted to get into to hunt up close and personal and now it has become how far of a shot can I get off on game. The archery hunters haven't become better shooters and in my opinion have become lesser hunters.

As for shooting league, tournaments, 3D There are Ahole's in everything. I know a lot of great guys that shoot leagues and tournaments. Guys that want to see you succeed and want to help the new guy or guy struggling. I think the Ahole's go with every sport, it is a mindset of I am not supposed to like my competition. I grew up shooting around some of the best and one that got caught cheating! A few of those can be Ahole's and I see it when they are out and about, but there are a bunch that are just good guys if you take the time to get to now them. I have never let bad people stop me from doing something I want to do. Anyways it is winder then all hell out today my targets weren't looking pretty.

Windy here too. I did some 15 to 20 yard practice with a full value 20-27 mph....grin. All my arrows hit with the shaft angled off about 30 degrees downwind.

Being lefty, with wind coming from the left, it was tough keeping an arrow on the shelf. Shot a few putting some tilt on the bow just to keep that arrow on the shelf.

Good practice though, never know the limits without testing them.

Bought a PSE infinity as backup to my Blackwidow HS. And yeah.......fixed yardage it was boring to shoot decent. I forget what Tru Peep size i got.....same as had on my Mathews. Great for in the woods to legal light but limiting to 30 yards. Groups got bigger at 40 on targets in good light. Had the smaller on my Hoyt and crunched arrows at 40...and 50.

Know this much.... I hate a string loop as it moves my anchor back. But you need one w a drop away. I also like bows w 37 or more ATA.
And i prefer 65% letoff.

With my spine issues and eyes no longer 20/15......its a joke for me to invest in ANY high dollar archery gear. Hell i cant sleep more than an hr or so at a stretch due to pain. Takes me 8 hrs to get 3 or 4 of sleep.

What really sucks.....is i can buy whatever i want now $ wise. Just cant use it like I want and maybe wont be able to use it al all.

Buds and I used to hit our club and shoot all day.....nevrr set down.....forget to eat. Just shooting idiots.

Man those were the days.

Obe bud is doing 2 trad 3d events now....think final one is ETAR. Be nice if i could go.

Body not ib good enough shape. Car ride might cripple me to unable to shoot.

Talked guns/ bows and hunting at work. Dweeb EE ibdont even remember the name of, told the new tech i was FOS.
So when i went bowfishing one day he asked to come along.

That and spotting deer way out on the trip home.....he marched right to the dweeb and said " hes legit".

Funny how those that cant......say others are not capable.
Usually insecurity issues. Working in engineering......major corporation......surrounded by such A holes. Think most just pissed i had a hot wife too.

Full head of hair.....and damn good at my job.

Lot of hate. Fugg em

Did have sone cool bow and gun folks i worked with
Good times w them.

I built a big target, about 4x4, a couple years back.It stands against the barn,with a little roof over it. Its faced with carpet and stuffed full of rags,chicken wire on the back.Works really well, been stopping arrows for a few years now with no problem. I topped it up a few times as it settled, never get close to shooting through it.

I don't shoot recurve much since moving out of range of my old club. I shot an old Bear, neat bow but nowhere near as nice as some of the newer stuff. I shot ok at the range, 20-25 yards I was pretty deadly, beyond that was iffy. I used to shoot gophers with it almost every weekend during the summer, and did surprisingly well...I think I actually shot significantly better on gophers than I did at the range. I really miss that. I didn't use the gap method, as I'd have to close one eye due to being cross dominant, so just shot instinctively. Another shooter at the club used the gap method and string walking, he outshot me handily.

Stopped by shop yesterday.
Old Browning Cobra in decent shape.
Behind counter a B handle new style Bear Takedown.

I asked who that belonged to.
Employee said it belonged to an old timer that worked there.
Got the Bear is the best nonsense.

Just smiled and said I've shot Blackwidows for 30 years. It did not register.
LOL

Is your top limb a lot longer than the bottom one, or is it just the angle?

Just the angle - same length top and bottom. Sun was going down and light was fading so had to hold camera wonky to get decent light. What's the length on your Toelke? This one is 60" and I have a new design similer to this one that I will make at 64".

Mine is 64".

OK, I had seen some Japanese bows with an upper limb roughly twice as long as the lower limb, so I wasn't too sure.

I've seen those Japanese bows also but have never handled one - always wondered how they'd shoot. In a more traditional straight grip longbow, I do make the upper limb a little longer than the lower due to the position of the grip, but only a 1" difference. Here is an undistorted pic of the same bow:

That looks great.

Thanks! I've always shot recurves better than longbows but really prefer shooting the longbow. When I started making them like this with more of a recurve style grip, I seldom shoot recurves any more. I do have a couple of recurves I've been trying to warm up to, but keep going back to my home made contraptions

That's quite a skill to put something like that together. Looks like a great melding of form and function.

Well I'm getting the 'new' knocked off this bag target.

First day, June 8, distance 6 yards,




After 55 days, Aug 3, 26 yards,


Guess I'll have to flip it around soon.


This the 'walk of shame' today......looking for the arrow that missed completely and went over the hill.

Yard deer unconcerned...lol

Put some wood around my new bag target to snag some that don't behave.
Mowed the yard after, didn't shoot. Been under the weather.
Allergies slammin me. Mowing was brutal.

I take that same walk almost every time I shoot - feel kind of silly when I have to hop the fence and poke around on the neighbors place.

I set my target in front of my shed.
Eh, it needs new doors anyway.

I should pick up a few bales of straw or hay, and make a better backstop.

That's the ticket. ^^^

Today I was doing some walk-back practice. One arrow at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 yards.

One of the better targets, threw the 20 yard low and right.....

Finally got my patio cleaned off (painted stand and climbing sticks- plus the kids had junk in the way).
Weeded flower bed beside house (the ol lady wanted to do it tomorrow.....I did it for her so I can go to the big archery shop hehehehe).

Put some holes in my bag target.

Only 7 yards, light almost gone. Dozen shots.
All in the small bull, crashing shafts (so shot four groups of three).

The odd thing was...........I went to my old anchor and 3 under.
Not the high anchor where arrow is used as sight.

Been sick, doc said virus.............weak, fugged w my asthma..............been pretty wiped out.
Arthritis and injuries too.

Figured at worst I'd just spray a few shots to get the muscles warmed up.
Nope..........bullseyes, all of em.

Maybe not a big deal.
But as bad as I've felt, I thought it kind of encouraging.
And odd I went to my old anchor from years ago.

Last 2 yrs has been higher and aiming w arrow.
It's not as fluid and doesn't feel as good to me, prefer the old anchor.

Hope I stay healthy enough to go instinctive and not conscious gap.

I do know that in 12 shots I was cussing a blue streak for my belt quiver. Tubes in pouch, friggin' hate that thing.
Much prefer the back angle shorter "field quiver".
Off to Ebay to find an old King like I had.

Give that Hoyt target type to some kid.

If you find one of the quivers you're looking for, could you provide a link so I can see if it might fit my needs.

I like a belt/hip quiver myself.

Thanks in advance.

Geno

I shot 3D for years and ran a PSE "King" softer Nylon old school green camo quiver. Part of it was black leather.
It was lighter than some.
Hasn't been made for a long while.
Belt slid through, did not have snap over for easier off and on.

Nothing on Fleabay.
They pop up time to time though.

Am in my chair, and pain is shooting through my spine.
Gonna be rough night.

Bending over pulling weeds did it I think, not bow. Is low.
Waves of intense electricity.

At least it aint bow related. But damn. No sleep is gonna suck.
Pizza and beer and Youtube rally saves/crashes on Roku.................all night LOL

I've tried the bigger hip quivers w plastic tubes and pouches and they're just too much.
So I got a single pocket w 4 tubes, shorter........and the thing flops too much, plus arrow rattle in tubes just drives me nuts.
My old King field quiver was perfect.

Neet/Bear makes leather ones, some on 3Rivers too.
Might be too stiff.

The kind was flexible enough for kneeling shots.
Back when folks shot 3D and got dirty LOL

Thanks.

Kneeling shots? What a concept, eh?

Geno

I dont shoot off one knee. If i gotta go low i go real low and plant both knees, sit on my heels.