If you have any helpful hints you
would like to add please E-mail them to us along with
your name and state to
info@spot-hogg.com.
Hold Steady
This is a hint that was sent to us from Dustin Steiger -
Warren, PA: In order to hold steadier, open you stance slightly
and try to "lower" your bow arm shoulder. It helps to point your
bow arm elbow toward the ground as much as possible -- if you
open your stance a little you shouldn't twang your arm. Try to
relax your shoulder as much as possible letting it seat back
against your body. Let your skeleton do most of the holding if
you can instead of you muscles -- YOUR SKELETON IS MUCH
STRONGER! Relax your muscles as much as possible while still
keeping the bow up -- you WILL hold steadier!!!
Mental
Attitude
After thoroughly developing your shot sequence, you should
associate a positive or good feeling about it. Since our
conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time we want our
subconscious mind to run our shot sequence for us. Our
subconscious wants to please us, so by associating a good
feeling with the perfect shot sequence, it reinforces our
subconscious.
Level Out
Consistent left and right problems and inconsistent arrow
flight, often can be traced back to inconsistent vertical
alignment of the bow (canting the bow varying amounts). Having a
level on you sight, that is part of your sight picture through
the peep on every shot is the best way to practice and shoot.
This is the only way consistent vertical alignment can be
accomplished.
Target Panic
Target Panic is not just a sickness its a disease! A disease
of which flinching and all the mistakes of a shot are only
symptoms. It can only be cured by getting to the root of the
disease, not just by curing the symptoms.
Nail Polish for
Your Rest
This is a hint that was sent to us from Chuck Schwarz:
"Before you go out on opening day take some of your wife's
colored fingernail polish (colored is used so you know how much
you have put on) and paint a small layer of it onto your arrow
rest. This will allow you to draw your bow in complete silence.
There will be no metal to metal contact to make any noise, and
no stupid shrink to fit stuff that is bothersome to use. You can
get about 15 shots before you will need to repeat this. I've
been doing this for years and have had great success. Try
it.....it works."
Broadhead Accuracy
Hunting season is almost here and it is time to get some
practice in with the broadheads. As bow hunters, we should be
more accurate with broadheads than with field points. This,
however, requires that we do a considerable amount of practicing
using broadheads. Try using a sand pile as your backstop and use
cotton balls thrown on the sand pile as targets. Make sure there
are no rocks in the sand pile. You'll have no problem pulling
your arrows. You can shoot the sand pile with broadheads until
you can't pull your bow back anymore and it still won't wear
out. If you can hit the cotton balls, you'll have a great amount
of confidence when in the field, pursuing game. Be sure to
either sharpen or replace your blades before your hunt. The sand
will dull them, but it's the easiest way to practice with
broadheads and well worth the effort it takes to replace or
sharpen blades.
The Hunters and the Hunted
When in the woods hunting, be very cautious of wild animals
that may be hunting you. Especially cougars, they are extremely
dangerous and do not make a sound when they are stalking you. Be
aware of your surroundings!
Nocks
Avoid using arrows that use a taper for installing the nock.
Use arrows where the nock is inserted. Like Easton's UniNock.
Your arrow grouping will be a lot better.
Warm-ups
When warming up for a practice session shoot your first
couple of ends standing just a few feet away from the target
buts so that you can hit them with your eyes closed. Close your
eyes to shoot these arrows and feel your form. This will help
build muscle memory so you can execute the shot the same every
time.
Better Accuracy
You can increase the accuracy of your shot by having the bow
sit on your thumb pad rather than running down the middle of
your hand. There are many tendons in the middle of your hand
that can affect your shot. Your thumb pad has very few tendons,
therefore increasing your accuracy.
You should also have your fingers loosely curved around your
bow; any stiffness in your fingers can also affect the shot.
Draw Length
Proper draw length is extremely important when it comes to
precision shooting. 1/4 even 1/8 of and inch can make a big
difference in your form. To find the exact draw length that is
right for you, you will have to shoot several practice sessions
using different draw lengths. By recording the results of these
practice sessions, you will find a draw length that is not only
comfortable but one that produces the tightest groups. An
easy way to vary the draw length of your bow without having to
retune your bow each time is to use a "D loop". They are easy to
replace and by varying the length of the "D loop" you can
effectively change the draw length or your bow up to 1 1/2
inches.
Lock the Guard
Putting a 5/16 serrated washer where your cable guard
attaches to your bow, helps to keep your cable guard from coming
loose and moving on you.
Don't Blink
Don't blink your eye's when you shoot. Blinking is a form of
flinching and it will cause you to miss the spot
Focus on
the Target
When aiming take note of what your eye is focusing on. The
target? Your pin or scope? Try to teach your eye to stay focused
on one thing throughout the shot. The eye has a tendency to
change what it focus's on through the course of the shot. This
can confuse our brain and subconscious. The result being no
clear message sent to our shooting muscles, which can turn into
what is commonly called, "TARGET PANIC"!
Nock Height
Monitor your nocking point height, by measuring from your
nock to you peep sight. This will give you a reference point to
check, if your bow changes, also lets you know if you nocking
point has moved.
Here at Spot~Hogg we have just experienced
some Carbon extreme 3-d arrows from Game tracker Archery. We
fletched up a 1/2 dozen and came to the conclusion that, so far,
these are the best arrows we've tested. They are grouping in
sizes of nickels and pennies. These arrows are wonderful!
If you find that your arrows are not grouping, try rotating the
nock so that your next vane or feather becomes your cock vane or
feather. Shoot the arrow again and see if it groups better. It
is possible that the seam of the arrow or high spine of the
arrow is the cause.
Year-Round Practice
Find or organize an indoor league to participate in during
the winter months. You'll have fun with other archers and
improve your shooting skills.
Don't Be Touchy
Touching your face with the bowstring can cause string
deflection, which in turn can cause inaccuracy depending on the
amount of applied pressure. It is best not to touch the string
to any part of your body.
Arrow Consistency
The indoor season is upon us. If you want to shoot a 300 on a
Vegas face, or 60 X's on the NFAA indoor round, then you need to
find out if every arrow you are using will hit the exact same
hole. One arrow, which may be only 1/2" off, will cost you
points in this kind of precision shooting. Find a dealer near
you with a Hooter Shooter and shoot all your arrows through it.
Tune your arrows so they all use the same arrow hole at 20 yards
or 18 meters. If an arrow can not be tuned to hit the same hole
as your other arrows, set it aside and use only the ones that
use the exact same hole.
Sandbag Practice at Camp
Take a couple of bags of sand, which come in bags made of
paper, to your hunting camp. These make an excellent practice
target for broadheads. As your broadheads cut the paper of the
bag you are left with a pile of sand to shoot into. This will
stop your broadheads and the arrow can be easily removed. This
will dull the blades on your broadheads so replace or sharpen
the blades on the arrow or arrows you will be using to shoot
animals. Leave the blades on the rest of your arrows so you can
shoot a few shots each day at camp to stay tuned up.