Not much to say really!

Been practising a lot lately, today 90m was good, 70m was a horror show!

Been trying some 420 X10's, and they group very well. Have 7 borrowed ones to see how they go, may well buy some for next season over my usual Cartel Triples.

Also have a Mathews Conquest 3 off eBay on its way. Really looking forward to shooting a pure target bow. The Monster is great but today I shot badly @ 70m and it punished me.

New sight and practice PB

Got my new CBE sight sorted out and on my Monster. Its really solid and looks the business. Need to get the 1st/2nd/3rd Axes sorted out.

Shot a lot of arrows at the weekend. Shot a timed 3 doz @ 30m and put in a paltry 353. Was not happy so did at again, this time 358.

Discovered that due to the heavier sight, the bow was dragging down a bit, so a small amount of extra weight will be needed on the backrod to get the balance back.

Pics of the new sight to be posted soon!

String suppressors - remove and improve your score!

I was given some advice (thanks Ben) about removing the string suppressor off my Monster. I got it second hand and the suppressor came with it, and had been shooting OK with it so never bothered trying without it.

Tried this morning, and after shooting some ends, it looked like the groups had come in a bit. So I shot a timed, 3 doz @ 70m, and stuck in 347 (59/57/59/56/58/58), about 8/9 points over my usual practice scores at this distance, therefore a practice PB.

Apparently these things can affect arrow flight, certainly more than I ever expected.

I also gained some sight mark as well, and no arm slappage which is what I was expecting.

The down side is that there was much more vibration, mainly my knackered old Sureloc rattling away (new sight this week though!).

I wish I had more time...

Despite being very busy of late, I have managed to steal some time to shoot. Wednesday evenings I shoot at Friars Gate Archers, and my form indoors has been really good. I am not scoring but shooting at a single spot to mimic outdoors.

I got some time to go outdoors today and shot about 70 arrows @ 100yards. Despite a couple a stray ones, more form is still good. If I had the means to shoot a lot more I could really do something, but other things are getting in the way.

What is pleasing is that I have not lost the skill level that took me to MB and almost GMB this year, its just the consistency level has suffered a little bit. That is just something that more practice will bring back, nowt to worry about at the moment.

Hopefully soon I can really get back into it and get ready for next year.

Cant wait to get back into it...

Not much to say, not shot that much in the last few weeks. Preparing to move house lately, but once that is out the way then I want to start ramping up the practice.

The last months low key practice has been OK, had some great shots but consistency is lacking a bit, but that is to be expected. Last Sunday had some awesome shots followed by some poor ones.

I am starting to look at how I want to tackle next year already. I have already decided to shoot only FITA and Yorks (no 720's or H2H's), and I want to really prepare and be ready for the UK Masters in June. Don't want to be last!!!

Practice after my holidays

Last week I came back from a two week break (to Scotland and watch the Archery World Cup), and have managed to steal some time to shoot some arrows.

The day I came back I shot 30 arrows in a terrible wind, but was happy to just pick up a bow again.

Today, I intended to shoot a full York, but time meant I could only shoot 6 doz @ 100 yards. Its was again a horrible day with driving rain and wind, but finished with a 594. Not bad considering the weather, but about 20 points down from my usual practice distance score. Some ends not too good, but some really great ends, and gave me good encouragement that I have not lost it whilst being away!

With more practice and better weather, then I will be back to where I was a few months ago.

SCAS Intercounties

This was my last competition of 2010, but it could have not turned out worse.

On the Saturday I put a hole in the engine of my car and have probably written it off. The stress of this, and having to sort out an last minute issue with my sight meant that I was not in the right frame of mind for shooting. However I had to attend because the team would be short of numbers.

100 yards was a disaster, and I ended up with 566, about 30-40 points short of my normal standard. I simply could not shoot properly. Thinking about it later, the issue was the classic lack of alignment.

After a pep talk I had a reasonable 80 yards, 410, and 60 yards was good, despite dropping one red (dropped bow arm on release). I was really getting the alignment issues sorted at this stage and the shots were really crisp.

In the end I ended up with 1190, not bad considering I was not in any frame of mind to shoot. One positive out of this is that I was able to turn it around and grind out a result which I did @ 80 yards.

Well that's if for 2010. I am off for a holiday, and then I will come back, get the bow rebuilt and start my training regime of one full 12 doz round per week. I will not be shooting any indoor competitions in the indoor season as I am going to be as ready as possible for next years out door, where my target is GMB.

Meriden FITA Star

I shot a new competition PB of 1344 (327/329/334/354), but could have had more.

This round was a mix of brilliant shooting coupled with very poor shooting. 70m was a mixture of 57/58's and 51/53's.

Looking through my score card I chucked away at least 25 easy points.

But, on the positive side, my 90m was great, and a new competition distance PB and 50m was new competition distance PB, as well as being a very comfortable MB score.

I have my last outdoor shoot of the year next week at the Inter-counties, and I hope to bring it all together and shoot well. Just need to concentrate and focus harder.

Allington Castle York "White Friars"

After the KAA Champs I was determined to shoot better, and I did, but the weather put a stop to any high scores. The wind was so bad that the shoot was stopped twice. However, my 100 yards was fantastic, I really shot well and finished on 598. On a calm day it could have been a lot higher.

80 yards was a lottery, and anything inside the red was good. Brute force won the day here but was well down on my usual score at this distance. However, at the end of this I was still on for an MB score if I maxed 60 yards.

Alas, the wind did not relent, and with really low sight marks (terrain on the range was uphill with lumps and bumps coupled with a head wind), 60 yards was poor and I finished on 1196, still 50 points ahead of second place.

I feel now I can battle the wind with ease, both mentally and by choosing the right moment to shoot. Also, my reading of the conditions down range was good, using the bubble to steer arrows into the gold. Although I lost a few points by reading it incorrectly, I gained far more by making decisions on canting the bow to guide the arrows in.

I am very pleased with how I shot in terms of my alignment, and some of the shots were as good as I have ever shot, and to come away with a convincing 1st place in very difficult conditions was pleasing.

KAA County and Open Champsionships

After last week ends poor practice I went into this determined to do well, and I did, of sorts.

I didn't shoot well at all and it was only the last third of the round did I start to get my arse in gear and shoot properly, and salvaged a reasonably comfortable MB score of 1214. Should have been a lot more. The weather was a little tricky but it was 1250 territory easily.

I did win the visitors trophy and came top overall in the compound, but I am disappointed and am determined that next weeks York will be very different.

I suppose I should be pleased that I can now shoot badly and still get MB scores and be in contention for medals, but its no real consolation.

Must and will do better!!!

Back to earth with a bump

Once again I headed out to the range to shoot another York as part of my pledge to shoot a 12 doz round every week. However, I really could not get into gear and shot poorly compared to recent practice and competition standards.

100 yards was poor, shooting two 46 and one 48 end, and I ended up with 598, about 20+ points from my normal practice score.

80 yards was solid, but I still struggled, but got back some consistent form, being strong in the shot towards the end of the distance.

60 yards was clean with a few dodgy shots.

The problem was I was not strong in the shot and my alignment was poor. I was not in the right mind and struggled to focus fully.

Having said that I shot 1234. In competition this would be a very solid MB score, so to shoot badly and still hit this level is a positive. I think I need to be mindful that I have set a high standard in the last few months and have not had many blips. I have to expect to have a few lows.

Next week is the Kent Target Champs, so I need to clear the mind and go back to basics.

New practice regime and York practice PB

I have now made up my mind that my whole practice regime is going to be focused around shooting timed FITA's and Yorks. Out goes changing to indoor competition mode or shooting other rounds (unless they can be done alongside). Before I would immerse myself in indoor competitions without really enjoying them and then it takes a lot of effort to get back into outdoor mode just before the season start.

Up until now I have had too many other distractions that have hampered progress in shooting/practising FITA's and Yorks. Whilst it will be nice to do something different occasionally, I am now fully focused on these. Its these rounds that will give me GMB scores which is what I want. I want to now make shooting a 12 doz round per week normal, and shooting them to a high standard normal as well.

My plan is to shoot a FITA or York per week. I will shoot the round that is appropriate to any competitions coming up, and over the Winter I will alternate between the two.

For the indoor season, I will shoot indoors on club night simply for practise, but this will be done with my outdoor set-up and on 40cm target faces to replicate outdoor rounds as much as possible. I might even print off some scale targets to replicate the different distances over 20 yards.

So, last Saturday, I was up at 6:30am and down the range by 8am, and shot a York practise PB of 1268.

The 100 yards started slowly with a 100 dozen, but I steadily built up and finished on 622. This distance included four 6 gold ends.

Apart from one red on the first dozen @ 80 yards, I maxed out the rest of the last 6 dozen. Not all the shots were pretty, but each was strong and positive. It seems that I can stop the bad shots being so bad by being positive.

This was probably the first round for a while that I had aligned everything during each shot, pulling hard on the wall and bring the draw elbow round. This resulted in a rock steady aim, and with good timing the shot executed with guaranteed golds.

Surrey vs Kent county match and my first GMB score!

This weekend I shot for Surrey in a friendly against Kent. I was hoping for good weather and got it and my chance to prove the GMB level scores I have shot in practice could be transferred to competition.

I practised a timed York on Saturday morning and blew away my previous practice PB of 1226 with a 1262.

The 100 yard distance was end after end of 52's and 54's, with some sloppy shots towards the end, but I ended with 624. I also made a note of the FITA score equivalent, and the first three dozen was 342, smashing my previous 330.

At 80 yards I maxed out the first 2 1/2 dozen, but my 60 yards was poor dropping 2 into the red.

However, I went into the county match on Sunday with a target of 1230 in mind. I ended up with 1250, which is GMB by 1 point.

The 100 yards was very nice, finishing on 616, but I had very poor 46 and 48 ends, but each dozen was 100+.

80 yards was steady, and averaged 52 per end, and 60 yards, whilst a bit nervy, was maxed out, which is a first in competition for me.

Overall I am pleased and am now progressing nicely. At least I can now say I have earned my MB and have improved on the 1206 York I shot in May. The only downer is that this was not a UK status shoot (not applied for in time), so I cant use the score.

I have 5 shoots left and hope to get good weather and go all out to see if I can get three GMB scores before the end of the year.

Andover Double FITA Star - Got my MB!

I went into this shoot knowing if the weather was good I could get my MB for the first time ever. My practice scores up until now had been huge (GMB level), so I had it in me for a good competition score.

Whilst the weather was not ideal, I shot 1330 and 1321 over the two days. Coupled with my 1206 York earlier in the season I had got the three scores I needed. However with the 1206 York it was on the nose, so I want to get a few more comfortable ones to really feel I have earn't it.

Over the two days I also shot three distance PB's; 320 @ 90m, 332 @ 50m and 354 @ 30m. The 50m and 30m were especially pleasing as I have struggled of late (although I shot a PB @ 50m last week). The 30m is probably my best moment. The wind really started to get up but I was really strong in the shot and focused hard and it got me through a very tricky wind.

Overall I am pleased. I have my MB with 5 shoots to spare left this year. It was my goal two years ago when I started compound to get to MB this year, and I have worked hard and its paid off.

My next goal is to try and get as close to GMB as possible, as I have been shooting GMB level scores at the club. I know I can technically do it and that the bow can deliver the arrows where they are aimed. I have not set a goal for GMB, it has always been something I felt was two years away from this season. We will see...!

SCAS/Bedford Double FITA Star

A week after shooting a 1361 in practice, I went into this confident, if the weather was good I could shoot a good score. However, again I was faced with very strong winds and things could not have started worse.

The first end at 90m was a 43. This has to be the worst end I have ever shot. A combination of gusts and simply forgetting how to shoot meant I was facing a real battle. However, I dug deep and managed to get to 302 for the 90m distance. Anything over 300 is very important and gets you on your way to at least 1300.

70m started fantastically. I drilled in a 58, including three x's. Each shot was almost perfect, timed wonderfully. The rest of the distance was OK, but I shot a disappointing 51 to bring in a reasonable 328. At this stage, surprisingly I was third.

I shot a competition PB of 328 for the 50m distance, and this was solid but with two very poor 7's.

By the time the 30m distance started the wind was very strong and this started badly, with a 56. I dropped points throughout most of the ends, until the last nine arrows. The second to last end I shot a 10, 9 and 8, and this frankly angered me, and so I really went for it and tried to almost pull the bow in half and smashed in nine consecutive 10's to finish on a below par 347, with an overall score of 1305.

This was a frustrating day. When the wind died down I shot some awesome shots, but as soon as the wind got up I fought it and shot poorly.

To take some positives from this I would say the bad start at 90m could have really killed my confidence. However I dug deep and hauled it back. Also I did shoot some great shots, and the finish at 30m was one of the best I have had in such conditions. I suppose to get over 1300 is good considering the weather.

However, I did get sloppy and could have had more points, and my second MB. I look forward to the day when I actually get to shoot in calm conditions!

I was due to shoot the second day, but after getting up at 5:15am, I really didn't feel that great and so opted to stay in bed and rest. Shame as I was in third but a rest hopefully will set me up for the Andover FITA Star next week.

New practice FITA PB

Just got back from the club where I shot a complete practice FITA for the first time on over a year (very poor going). I have shot plenty of Long/Short Metric rounds and 3 doz at each distance but have never found the time to bring them all together.

I ended up shooting 1361 (330/338/339/354) under timed conditions, in very hot weather with a light to medium breeze.

I didn't have my counter to do the good shot percentage, but I would estimate it would have been around 50% to 60%.

So, I know I can shoot well within competition time constraints. Its all down to having the right conditions on the day and getting into the right frame of mind, i.e. shooting good shots and not worrying about the score.

If I continue to shoot under timed conditions, then I am sure I will convince myself that I can do it at competition.

New PB but not happy!

Tonight I shot a Long Metric to follow on from the Short Metric I shot a few nights back. This round was timed to FITA timing.

Despite shooting a PB by 1 point (659), I didn't not shoot really that well, especially @ 70m, where I posted a distinctly average 333, which is below my usual practice scores.

At 90m, the score was 326, not bad (equal PB), despite starting slowly, I ended up with a 113 last dozen.

I didn't feel that great tonight physically and mentally, and almost didn't go to the range, but I forced myself. As a result my form was poor. I worked out why towards the end of the round. I was not pulling the elbow round and getting everything in line. At least I discovered the problem!

As for my good shot percentage, this ended up at 25%, very poor indeed.

Quality practice is key

Tonight I decided to practice with more structure and purpose and came away really pleased with my approach.

I really needed to practice the short distances and I feel I struggle with these, so I shot a Short Metric, and came away with a PB of 693 out of 720 (338 @ 50m, 355 @ 30m). Both the distance scores were equal to my current PB.

This round was shot under FITA style time control, and despite a couple of silly shots, I shot well and proved that under pressure of time I can rattle in a good score. This has hopefully proved to me that under competition conditions there is plenty of time and no need to put myself under pressure.

I also took Liam's advice and kept a tally of good shots to get a percentage of good shots over the round. I ended up with 40%. This sounds low, but I only counted the really good ones, not the OK ones. This gives me a target to beat, rather than a really high, false first score.

Once thing I have noticed is that for the shorter distances, the stabilisation needs a bit more at the back of the bow. Because of the Monsters really good sight-marks, I am not leaning back slightly like I do at the long distances therefore the bow gets dragged down a little bit. I shot @ 70m tonight and had no problem, so a bit of tweaking is needed, to get a balance for all distances.

I also noticed that even if the aim was not right on the middle, as long as I pulled the arrow would often hit the middle no problem. Just got to keep pulling!!

Coaching and stabilisation

Last week a friend (hello Dave!) and I saw Liam Grimwood again for some outdoor coaching. I am pleased to say there was little wrong with either of us, but I spent a lot of time looking at the stabilisation of my bow.

As a result I have ditched the Fuse long rod and Doinker side rod in favour of a Doinker Fatty 33" and B-Stinger 10" side rod, with lots more weight.

The old set-up had too much rubber between the rods and weights, and this reduced the effectiveness of the stabilisation. This mean that the end weights were moving independently of the bow, therefore the weight was not acting against the movements of the bow.

This has resulted in a far superior hold, and the extra weight is not noticeable due to the better balance. In fact I could add more weight, and will play around with this when I can get hold of some more.

We also worked in a paper tune and the big left tear has been reduced by moving the rest a little more and tweaking the hand position, so its a little nearer the middle of the hand, but still not touching the life line.

We also discussed mental approaches, and Liam gave some tips about shooting, such as using music or commands in your head to distract the concious mind, and keeping a "Good Shot" percentage tally to focus the mind on the shot and not the score (more on that later).

Monster paper tuning results

Since I got the Monster, I have shot some good scores, nearly all PB's. All of these have been built on really good long distance scores. The shorter distances have been disappointing at times, and its only now I have realised this has been a re-occurring theme.

Sometimes when shooting I catch a glimpse of the arrow and sometimes it kicks out wildly, so I decided to paper tune at 3m (at home, its all I can get), and the results have been consistent.

Each time, after trying different things, I have always ended up with a high-left, 3.5cm to 4cm tear. The high I can explain, but its the left tear. It maybe that I am torquing the bow, even consistently, but I really don't think so, not that badly. Hand placement is always critical in my shot routine, across the pad of the thumb.

I tried the following, with no difference in the results:

• Centre shot 11/16" from the riser, a figure used by many Mathews shooters. The string and arrow is in line with the centre of the grip.
• Shooting @ 59lbs, 56lbs and 52lbs to see if the arrow was too weak (normally shoot @ 59.5lbs).
• Added extra weights on the end of the long rod and side rods to see if this would reduce torque.
• Tried my new Brite Sight rest (arrived today) to see if it would reduce torque.
• Set the nock point from 2mm to 8mm, and upto almost level.
• Shot holding bow deliberately not have ANY string contact with the face.

None of these had any noticeable affect on the tear size.

Now I do need to go out and do a walk back tune, but this has been done in the past and I got the same kick out (although not confirmed with a paper tune).

The next chance I get to shoot in good weather, I am going to perform a walk back test to confirm my centre shot and re-paper tune. Watch this space for the results...

Practice FITA 720 and a new PB

Tonight I shot a FITA 720 to get the Southampton nightmare out of my system, and shot 676, a new practice PB. Even then, I did not feel I shot very well, and shot three 8's and a 7 along the way.

The bow feels good but is now bobbing up and down on the aim. Could be the draw length is still too long. This has go worse since sorting out the cam timing which has meant the tiller is not quite even.

This could also be solved potentially by changing the nock and d-loop position to alter the pulling point of the bow.

Monster tiller and cam timing sorted

Since I have been shooting the Monster, it has been set with an even tiller but the limb bolts have been wound out a different number of turns to achieve this.

I have since found out that the limb bolts should be wound out the same, even if it means the tiller is not even. In this case, the tiller is about 3 - 4mm difference.

Tonight I changed the set-up to this configuration, and also got the cams back in time (back wall has been a bit spongy but I have been a bit lazy in sorting it out!). I then shot 3 dozen @ 90m and shot a practice PB of 326. The included a couple of sloppy 8's, so it could have been better.

The bow feels really nice now with a solid back wall and the valley doesn't feel so shallow either, so I am able to be at full draw without creeping off the wall.

The moral of the story is, get your bow in tune, its worth the effort!

Practice update

After the struggle at the weekend in Southampton, I was keen to get out and build some confidence in my shooting. Tonight at the club was flat calm, with zero wind, not even a breeze. I just wanted to get back to 90m and be hitting the gold, and I did just that.

My release aid usage and alignment was excellent, and this resulted in some great groups, which helped build my confidence back up.

I also changed my stabilisation set-up as well. The old set-up was great when things were going well, but in windy conditions or when I am not shooting so well, it was not as forgiving. It did not have much torque resistance for those not so good shots.

The changed set-up has an extra long rod weight, but I have gone back to two side rods, both extended so they are now 14" each with several end weights. Both of them are very splayed out and pointing down to lower the bows CoG. The bow is much harder to torque, and this showed up on my groups. The balance is not perfect yet, but I will work on this over the coming weeks. I plan to change my long rod to a longer, lighter and stiffer version as well.

Southampton 720 & H2H

I went into this wondering what was going to happen. If it was flat calm I felt I could be on for a 670+, but if the weather lived up to its forecast then how would I deal with it? Well, the weather certainly lived up to it, and I really struggled over the two days. In the end I shot 617 and 614, about 50 points down on my previous competition PB's.

The first day was a very strong left to right wind and driving rain. On some ends I was being blow across 3 targets. I didn't help that being soaked through I was very cold and wet, and I found it hard to concentrate.

The H2H was the new set system, and despite getting knocked out in the first round, I took it too a one arrow shoot-off with the archer who ended up in third place, with him hitting the X and my shot just below the 10.

I felt that my draw length was still too long, so I took the opportunity after the first day's shooting to shorten my d-loop (easier than changing actual draw length) just to see what affect it would have. I was hoping that it would allow me to brace myself a bit more and prevent me coming off the back wall which happened a few times when I was fighting the wind.

The second day started like the first. Whilst no rain, the wind was just as strong but this time it was the worst kind of swirling wind that changed in all directions. On a few occasions the flags were pointing in one direction but the groups went the other way. The first 3 dozen arrows went very badly, I shot 299, with one end a 42, where I was blown from side to side and shot a 4 and a 5.

The second 3 doz was better and I put in a 313. The big difference was I added an extra long rod weight and this seemed to stabilise things up a bit (although it was a little front heavy). By this time I had also really opened up my stance to about 45 degrees to help stabilise against the wind.

In the second H2H, I went out again, losing 4-2 (two draws and one loss). However, by this time I started to get to grips with the wind and just fully relaxed and I shot some really nice groups and some good end scores.

Over the two days, when the wind died down, I was shooting some really great groups. However, I really am now motivated to learn to be a good windy shooter, and will now practice whenever I can in bad conditions because I can't rely on good weather.

My trigger usage was good throughout the weekend. I have ensured that the placement of the release aid is more consistent in my hand and because of this I have been able to wrap my thumb around the trigger. The release now sits firmly on the middle pads of my fingers, rather than in the first crease. Apart from a couple of half-punches on the first day, I shot pretty clean shots.

One thing about shooting the Monster is that it is very easy to creep off the back wall, and when fighting the wind and tensing up, this happens a lot. This is something I will be working hard on over the coming weeks.

Salisbury FITA

I have just arrived home from a very wet and windy FITA down in Salisbury. The round was dogged with blustery winds and torrential rain at some points, so much so that the shoot was stopped for 10 minutes at one point.

I finished on a respectable 1305, and came second overall, behind the winner who shot an outstanding 1362.

When the wind was not blowing, I was hooting some fantastic ends. At 90m, I shot ends of 56, 55, 54, but when the wind blew I was down to 48's, 47's. At the end of 90m I had 310 points.

70m was poor, and finished on 321, again fighting the wind on the first dozen to only score 104. 50m was no better, and I finished on 324, despite opening with a 5 where the wind blew me off the gold when the shot went off.

30m was OK, but by this time the rain was relentless, and I posted a 350.

It was pleasing to hit over 1300 in such conditions, but a few of the shots were snatched at due to the wind, which is not a good situation to be in. Its also a good score as its the first FITA I have shot since September last year, so in good conditions I think a 1320/1330 would be achievable given the form I showed today.

Southern Counties Championships

I went into these championships hopeful of getting my first MB (Master Bowman) score, and I came away with one, just about.

The first day started very well, finishing the 100 yard distance on 596. The previous week I had shot a 1226 York in practice which also started with a 596. However, the 80 yards was awful. I started OK, but the more I dropped points the harder I tried and the worse I got! I finished the round on 1198, enough to win the first day but it should have been far far better.

The second day was better. The 100 yards was a little down on day one, finishing on 588. However, 80 yards was a lot better. Whilst it was not spectacular, I put in a steady performance and made sure of each shot as best I could. The wind was not helping, with a changeable tail win pushing groups to the left and right of the target.

I went into the last distance knowing I was on for an MB score. I could afford to drop 4 points and still hit it dead. I dropped those 4 points on the first dozen which made for a very nervy last dozen arrows, but they ended up being good shots, and I finished on 1206. This was good enough to come second overall in the competition over the two days (although I became champion as the winner was a SCAS visitor).

It was pleasing to come away with an MB score, and even win the event, but the most pleasing thing was that I ground out a result on the second day despite having a poor first day, which could have easily have knocked my confidence.

Stabilisation improvements

In the last week I have played around with the stabilisation on the Monster to see if I could cure the top heavyness and improve the aim. I had just slapped on some rods just to get me going for the Andover shoot a week or so ago, but it still wasn't quite right.

I wanted to try and achieve the level of balance I had with my Drenalin LD with as minimum mass as possible. To my surprise I did manage to get the Monster to balance really well and really steady on the aim, which is something I didn't think I could achieve.

Its essentially my long rod with a small amount of weight on the end, and a long side rod with weight right at the back and low down to balance it out. The side rod is tucked right in to ensure the bow doesn't cant to one side.

Having played around I decided to shoot a York at the club at the weekend to see what affect it would have. It was a flat calm day so conditions were good for a controlled test run. I ended up scoring 1226, well into MB territory (if I was in competition), and it proved the set-up was good.

Tonight I visited a friend who has been playing with stabilisation and his set-up is really nice. I tried to torque the bow in my hand and it really resisted, as it had more weight on the side rods and a longer long rod, but the balance was so good it felt like the same weight as mine although it had more mass weight. Whilst this might not improve the aim of my bow which is really good at the moment, it will certainly help with those more dodgy left/right shots when the hand position is not so good, so I will play around with it further over the next few weeks to see if I can achieve the same results.

Here are some pictures of the set-up.

Andover Saxon Shoot

The weekend before last I did my first outdoor competition of the year, at the Andover Saxon Shoot (York round). I went into this just wanting to get a feel for shooting the new Monster in competitive conditions, and maybe a PB as well.

The final result was a PB of 1196 was pleasing considering there was a very nasty wind halfway up the range that resulted in arrows being swept to the right. In the end I ran out of windage and had to move the scope across.

The 100 yards started badly, and I opened up with a 40 end. However I picked up and finished on 300 for the first 3 dozen at 100 yards. The second 3 dozen was not so good and finished on 588 for the 100 yard distance.

The 80 yards started badly as well with the wind on the shooting line making it difficult to hold still, but again I picked up to break even at the 80 yard distance.

The 60 yards distance went as expected, with all but one (there is always one!) in the gold.

Overall I finished 4th in the Gent compound line-up out of 30 odd which is OK.

The Monster has again delivered the goods, and I feel like I have been shooting this bow for years.

I have just got to stop snatching at shots when the pressure is on, but overall a reasonable days shooting.

I shot the Monster and a County record

Today was our club's first outdoor trophy shoot, and the first round outdoors I have shot with the new Mathews Monster since I got it on Wednesday.

We shot a St.George round (9 doz arrows over 100/80/60 yards) and shot a total of 932 out of 972 points which is a Surrey county record.

My first impressions of the Monster is what a fantastic shooting machine. The good shots are rewarded with lovely groups, but bad shots can be punished. But it is so fast, quiet and shock free on release.

I have fitted Monster 7 modules to smooth out the draw (same cams), so its not so harsh, but 55lbs does feel quite heavy but that will ease over time.

My draw length is a little long but I will make these adjustments on the cables rather than new modules, and the overall mass weight is a little heavy, so I need to pay around with the stabilisation. These are tweaks that can be made over the coming weeks.

The Cartel Triple 300 arrows (130gn points) are a great match for this bow, nice and heavy and stable in flight. They work out at about 380gns in total. Even at 55lbs, the Monster has no trouble getting them to 100yards.

I have my first outdoor external competition on Sunday next week (York round @ Andover) and look forward to unleashing the beast!

Practice update and a new bow on the horizon...

I have started to ramp up the shooting a bit now and am looking to perfect my shot execution, looking at the technical aspects in much more detail.

On Wednesday I shot a Worcester round, and apart from one horrible punch (that occurred because I spent so long aiming my brain decided to just let go), I shot well and finished on my usual 298 (I'll get that pesky 300!).

Over the Easter weekend I have spent outdoors shooting @ 70m, and despite not feeling 100% (Kidney stone and stomach bug), and the wind being really tricky I shot some great shots. One one end of 9 arrows I planted 8 of them in the 10, with one just outside in the 9.

This was possible because I relaxed the bow hand, had good thumb pressure on the trigger. All that was needed was a steady aim and the shot was there. My aim was very steady, hardly moving off the centre, and with good timing it was generally a 10/9 or at worst an 8 with the wind blasting through halfway up the range.

I was shooting my old Cartel Triple 300's, with 130gn points. I cant reach 90m with these, but at 70m I can and I was pleased I got them back out. Despite the wind, they tracked very straight with the heavy points.

I have noticed that to get good thumb contact on the trigger, I need to move my hand forward a bit, and I cant get the back of the hand to fully relax. I am going to order the Carter trigger extension piece, that will bring the trigger back to a more natural position, where I can wrap my thumb around the trigger without "searching" for it.

Finally, there is a new bow arriving, hopefully next week. I love the Drenalin, but it only punches out 260fps with a 325gn arrow. With my anchor point and shooting style, I can only just get 90m, with the sight fully in and down. This leaves me with no room to spare, and I am very close to the fletchings hitting the scope.

The Monster (6" brace height version), will mean I will have plenty to spare with my sight marks and hopefully about 30fps extra.

The only question is arrows. I am going to see if the Easton Axis FMJ's perform (got three already to test), as well as seeing if the Cartel 300's work. I do have my eye on Easton's new ACG's as well, which is my likely choice to be honest.

As for my Drenalin, I am keeping this for indoors. Its a great bow, and I would be stupid to let this go.

Switching to my second Drenalin

Tonight I shot my second Drenalin that has a 1" longer draw length (28" cam, although the real DL is longer).

This bow feels really nice and smooth, more so than my other Drenalin, with a solid backstop to pull into. Also pulling 59lbs did not feel like 59lbs, more like 56/57.

The draw length is a little long but it felt good and allowed me to align better. I think if I can get 1/4" off then it will be spot on.

As for the shooting, I shot a 298/300 Worcester round. The shots overall were pretty goodand solid, with only a few iffy ones.

Other observations were that the grip needs to be swapped from the other bow, and I could do with more weight on the side rod to balance out the long rod, which I added a bit more weight to to stop the bow kicking upwards on the iffy shots.

Sunday I get a chance to use a chronograph to see what speed I am getting out of each bow, as I am struggling with 90m. I am right on the limit of my sight, and maybe the second bow will give me a bit more zip.

The next week or so will be used to see which Drenalin will be used for outdoors (depending on whether the DL can be set correctly) and then the fine tuning process can start.

Getting ready for outdoors

I have now started to set-up my bow for the outdoors, having completed my last indoor competition of the year. I still have some indoor sessions left but these will now be shot on single spot faces with carbon arrows.

For the first time ever, I will be spending time on trying out different configurations and documenting them so see what the best set-up is for my bow and my new arrows (Pro Tour 470's). Before it was a case of a rough tune and away I go, but now I am chasing valuable points needed for my County rankings and my target of Master Bowman, its going to be worth the effort.

I will look at the following:

• Paper tune: As it stands I always get a consistent left tear, which is an indication of bow torque. My hand position feels good, so it may just need a tweak with the left yoke cable on the top limb to track the string back to compensate. I have tried an extra twist and it seems to make a difference, but too much will mean the top wheel will lean too much. This needs distance shooting to see what affect it will have. This was done with good affect with my indoor setup, and was suggested by Liam Grimwood. It enabled me to get perfect bullet holes and my indoor scores have increased dramatically this year.

• Rest position: There has been much said about the horizontal position of the rest and its ability to reduce left/right torque. Some top shooters shoot with the rest over the bow hand wrist (not as an overdraw though). I will test this up to 50m, with the rest at different positions to see if it has any impact.

• Blade angle: To ensure good clearance, the blade angle of the rest can be moved. However, making the angle shallower will weaken the blade and could affect the vertical support of the arrow as it passes over it. This will need to be tested to see if it affects groups.

• Nocking point height: Again, moving this may affect groups so I will test this from zero to no more than 5mm to see what impact this has.

• Walk back test: This test will be done to check the centre shot and arrow spine.

Of course, any change you make has an impact on the other parameters of the bow, so its going to be a case of trying, testing and documenting the impact and understanding how the bow reacts. I also need to decide which I am going to try first.

Its important now to start to really understand bow tuning and how my bow reacts to changes. I need to become a professional with my own bow to maximise scores.

SCAS indoor championships

This competition turned out to be tough physically, with me shooting three rounds (192 arrows including practice ends) over 11 hours (yes, started at 9:30 am and finished at 8:45!).

I shot 572 for both the individual Portsmouth rounds and 561 for the FITA 18, with 572 matching my current competition PB. I started the Portsmouth rounds slowly, had very strong middle sections but drifted at the end, so I need to attack the round mentally throughout. I also need to ensure that I stand up straight to allow the shot to be executed off the back muscles. When I did this I was nailing the 10's.

With a high quality line up, including a former GB Field member and a current GB Para-Olympian (John Stubbs), I missed out on an individual medal but won the County Team award for Surrey, being paired with John Stubbs as the two highest scores by Surrey archers.

However, lessons learnt for next time:

• Shoot a low poundage bow indoors so I can shoot multiple rounds, maybe around 50 to 52 lbs.
  
• Make use of the seating to rest between ends. I stood for over 12 hours and this took its toll.
• Drink more water. I did'nt take any water and dehydration made it harder to concentrate.
  

Another indoor PB

I shot an indoor Portsmouth round at Friars Gate Archers on Wednesday and despite a small wobble mid round (56/60), I posted a new practice PB of 583. I had set a goal to shoot 585 so I came pretty close. Most of the shot were really, maintaining back tension and pulling through the shot with good trigger pressure. What was most pleasing is that I shot 119/120 on the last dozen with really strong shots.

This was off the back of a previous session practising on a FITA 18 face where I allowed the shot to execute automatically by staying relaxed and focusing on aiming. This worked so well I shot a personal best of 16 consecutive 10's, something I have never achieved before, even on a practise round.

It's off to the SCAS and Sussex indoor championships on Sunday, so I look forward to carrying this form into the event.

Allington Castle Worcester/Portsmouth Open

On Sunday I shot an unusual Worcester/Portsmouth double round at Allington Castle Archers.

Well, I shot the Worcester round, and despite coming second in the first session, I shot a disappointing 296 out of 300. My form was terrible and my frame of mind was not right, so I packed up and did not bother with the second session.

Looking back I wish I had, if I had sorted my self out for the session I could have won the double round, and I don't like to give up at competitions.

After thinking about why I had issues with my form, its just down to posture and alignment and how shooting indoor can make you feel a bit cramped up, compared to shooting out doors where the style is much more natural and relaxed (due to the increase elevation of the bow).

After some practice tonight, it maybe that I need to lengthen my draw length by about 1/4". I was trying to touch the tip of my nose with the string but this meant collapsing slightly to do so. However when I shot without trying to do this, the alignment felt OK, and I was able to bring the elbow round in line and the aim steadied.

Arundown Triple Worcester

On Sunday I shot a triple Worcester round at Arundown, and came 2nd, 1st and 1st for the single, double and triple respectively.

I am happy with the placings, OK with the scores (298, 296 and 298) but not that pleased with how I shot. However, this was the first competition since having the coaching session, but I did not shoot as well as I have been in practice. The main factor was not being able to relax. If I relax then there are more points to be had, and a perfect 300 is on.

More PB's tumble

I shot a partial FITA (90m,70m and 50m) and a Long Metric this weekend and have once again wiped away my old practice PB's.

If I had completed the partially shot FITA with just an average 30m score, I could have been on for a 1320+ FITA. If I was to shoot 50m and 30m and plug in the Long Metric, I could have had around 1340+.

It seems unbelievable I am talking about this level of scoring, even in practice. Even taking into account tournament conditions, I will still be looking at comfortable MB scores. If I add up all my practice PB distance scores that works out at 1352, on the dot for GMB.

Todays Long Metric of 658, is about 20+ points ahead of my usual practice scores. This was all down to relaxing fully the bow arm and had, maintaining back tension and being confident on the trigger. I had also sorted out some travel issues on my release aid.

It seems that the coaching I had had a few weeks ago from Liam Grimwwod has once again contributed fully to my scores increasing.

More PB's broken, all down to coaching

Today I shot a 30m Frostbite round and 3 doz @ 90m. After last Wednesdays Portsmouth PB I was feeling confident, and despite a few dodgy shots at 30m, I shot a practice PB of 355/360.

With this I decided to score a 3 doz @ 90m, and shot a 325. This was totally unexpected, and have never got near this in practice or competition. In practice I have shot 315 but this was a one off, I am typcially around 300 - 305 on average.

The 90m was achieved by relaxing and expanding the top half and chest. This had a great affect on alignment (not in a collapsed position) and really steadied the aim to the point where there was almost no movement on the scope's dot on the gold at times.

So thats three relevant distances shot in 5 days, all PB's by some margin, and all down to applying the principles that Liam has shown in my coaching session.

Finally break the 580 mark

I shot a Portsmouth round for the first time since getting coaching from Liam. Due to the weather shooting has been limited. However, taking into account all I was taught and trying to apply that to my shooting, I broke the 580 point barrier by shooting a 581.

Lately my average Portsmouth scores have been low to mid 570's, but hitting 581 was no fluke. I could feel the changes working and apart from a few dodgy shots, it felt good.

The biggest change was making the release aid trigger a little lighter and allowing the relaxation to execute the shot, rather than pulling on a heavy trigger like I have done in the past.

The other change was to really focus on aiming, and getting that dot locked onto the X. I am really looking forward to the indoor competitions with confidence.

Coaching from Liam Grimwood

I had a 3 hour coaching session with Liam Grimwood and it proved to be very useful and a good confidence builder.

Liam identified a few areas with me and the bow that needed tweaking, but thankfully nothing major. This included adding about 1/8th inch on my draw length so that the string just touched the tip of my nose, opening my stance and moving the grip onto the correct part of my bow hand (was just touching the life line).

As for the bow, we paper tuned my indoor setup and got the arrows flying straight at about 1m. This was achieved by bringing in the centre shot and tweaking one of the yoke cables to just lean the top wheel a bit. This meant that the string will track a bit to one side during the shot (only a minute amount).

We also looked at my stabilisation, and added some weights to the bottom of the riser to stop the riser waggling at full draw (riser is top heavy). All of this had a remarkable affect on my aim which was rock steady, but the biggest affect was using Liam's release aid.

My Choc Addiction release is on its last legs, and has up till now had a very heavy trigger. I tried Liam's Just'B'Cuz release with a lighter trigger (but not a hair trigger). This was far better, alowing me to just rest my thumb on the trigger and just relax, without having to pull hard, which meant my front shoulder would rise the more I pulled. This really steadied my aim, and I was drilling the X on the FITA 18 target I was shooting at.

Liam was very pleased with my release technique, and said this was a good as it could be, with no issues. This has given me real confidence.

Overall I am delighted and really look forward to training hard with this new set-up, and would suggest to anybody to book a session with a top pro, its money well worth spent.