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.