Archery Blog

Bow tuning update

2012-01-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

I have been reading and watching some articles about nocking point height, d-loop length, peep height etc, by Alistair Whittingham and John Dudley.

One of the things I suffer from is holding low on the target, and the sight bobbing up and down, which invariable causes me to fight it, and hence introduces tension into the shot. Up until now, I have put this down to me alone. I have even thought it could be a mild form of target panic.

So I read and acted upon a couple of things. First, I am happy that my draw length is OK, so that has remained untouched. But I have played with the peep sight height, nocking point height and d-loop length.

The peep sight height was easy. I moved it down just a mm or so to get a more comfortable view of the scope, especially at the longer distances. In fact all distances feel a little more comfortable.

Next was the d-loop length. This has been shortened by maybe 2 to 3mm. The suggestion was, making the d-loop shorter (if your DL looks OK), would help lock in the drawing arm at anchor. My d-loop was a little long and it caused the arm to floating around a bit, and most likely causing small movements that meant the bow bobbed up and down.

The final and probably most compelling change is the nocking point height, or position, on the string. This is in effect good old fashioned tiller tuning, but instead of leaving an uneven tiller (I shoot a single cam bow, so the tiller is uneven anyway, so in this case, it would mean the limb bolts simply being unwound a different number of turns), the position of the nock point is moved up and down until the aim steadies.As it turns out, my nocking point was about 3mm too high, and after some experimentation, the aim has locked into place. This has also meant the pressure on the bow hand has changed, moving it lower towards the wrist joint, so the pressure of the bow is directly over the bone. Before, it was a little high in the grip.All of these changes together have had a remarkable affect.

For the first time in a long time my aim (when the form is correct) is much steadier, where as before I seemed to always be fighting it. I have only moved things by a couple of mm, but it has been worth the effort.

The video/article in question can be found @ Performance-Archery.tv | Episode 24 | Dot Holding Low and Tiller tuning and holding steady

Yet another year gone and another to look forward to...

2012-01-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

So 2011 is over. It has been my best year yet outdoors, making MB for the second time and edging closer to GMB. However I am mindful that my biggest failing is not my technique or equipment, but falling short in the mental application department. Don't get me wrong, I have had a very good year, but I want more, and want to be better, and this is the area I have to now improve.

This year I embark on another trail of competitions, trying to get to GMB. This year I have to do things differently, change something, otherwise it becomes yet another year of going through the motions.

What's been going on lately? Well I have been shooting outdoors almost every week, shooting the big distances, and getting stuck into some Field by shooting in the Winter Field Archery League. This has been a welcome distraction, but at the same time it has been very useful. I have now started shooting timed rounds at the club in preparation for competitions that will start in April. It gets too easy banging in the big scores at the club with no pressure.

Indoors has once again been difficult. I do shoot every week indoors, but I have struggled to muster any enthusiasm for indoor rounds. I have a dedicated indoor bow, that I am still to get set-up properly. I tend to just practice form and technique @ 18m instead. Not a bad thing, but I wish I could be better indoors and learn to like it. That gap has been filled with the Field shoots however, so that is likely to be the direction I take in future years in the winter.

In the last three months or so I have been working on my physical strength, and have been doing weights most days. This has helped with aiming and will no doubt be worth points in the coming season. I will see if I can fit in some running as well to improve my general fitness for the outdoor season.

Trigger thumb position

2011-11-11T13:49:00.001-08:00

Been thinking and working on my thumb position on the trigger for a while now. I purchased my new release aid a few months back and have been able to get a much more positive position, but its still not perfect.

The problem has been that I have come to full draw, anchored and settled into the aim, and then move my thumb onto the trigger. This has then caused my aim to become unsettled because I have had to move to get into position. Also I have not been able to really get the right part of the thumb on the trigger, and generally its too far forward towards the pad of the thumb. This has left no potential movement left in the hand to activate the trigger. Having it further back allows the back of the hand to relaxed and act against the trigger.

This has resulted in me changing my shot sequence to position my thumb after I have drawn the bow but before I have anchored and settled on the aim. This has allowed me to get the right position. I have been practising today, and once I had got into the rhythm of doing this every time I was able to shoot some really good shots back to back.

It will take a while to build this into my sequence sub-consciously (got 4 years of shooting to change!), but I am looking forward to this improving my shooting that little bit more.

2011 Surrey Field Champs

2011-11-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

I attended my first ever National Animal round shoot at the Surrey Field Champs; no practice, no estimating system; and shot a respectable 575 out of 640.

It was the three misses in the morning session that stopped it being a far better score. I was fooled totally by the long range targets, all about 45m plus, and I was 5m out on all of them. The morning session finished on 280. The afternoon session was much better, no misses and I ended on 295 out of 320. If I had converted the misses to tens, I could have had 605 and joint 3rd.

The rest of the round was well shot.But, that is something I can sort out with practice and by developing a ranging system, rather than just ground walking by eye and guesswork. What I am really pleased with was my shot execution. It was a top notch performance in that respect, even with difficult slopes (well, the most difficult I have ever shot!), and my pre-shot sequence was good; ensuring the bubble was level, alignment, trigger placement and pressure etc.

I feel that with field I am far more relaxed than when shooting at a target competition, and as a result shoot my natural shot. With field, there are so many other variables to consider that shooing the shot is just one part of that. Target is much more focused on score and outcome.

So, having done this, I am more convinced than ever that field is something I want to not only do more of, but excel at as well. But I need to make a decision as to whether I still give target shooting priority as I chase GMB. I have been told that field will improve my target shooting and so could compliment it well, but I need to ensure I practice the 90m/70m targets every week to keep that skill level up.GMB is my ultimate goal in target, and having spent the last three years slogging away and getting ever closer, I cant afford to throw that work away now.

When I get to GMB, I will then switch completely to field and see how far I can get with it. But I do think that field archery will make me in the long run more relaxed generally, and this will transfer to target shooting. I know when I am on form I can put in GMB level scores no problem (I do it in practice, so that proves it to me!).

Some field action!

2011-10-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a while, deliberately as I try an focus more on shooting than writing.As its Winter, time for shooting is a little sparse, and I am only getting about 150 to 200 arrows per week. I am not that worried too much yet, as I am continuing the weights and this is keeping me strong.I have decided to take part in the Winter Field Archery League (WFAL). I have always fancied doing some field shoots, and having done two Foresters rounds, I have got the bug and want to have a crack at FITA Field. Why? Well to keep things interesting rather than spend all Winter shooting at 18m indoors or 90m outside.My priority is still target, so I will not sacrifice the long distances too much, but I believe in doing something different to keep the motivation levels up, and to continue with a level of competition other than just indoor comps.I shot my first FITA Field on Sunday, shooting two 12 target marked rounds (WFAL rules). I put in two solid scores of 181 and 189, not too bad for my first go. I was pleased with my form on the second circuit, and some great shots.I must however ensure I have a coherent plan for the Winter, so I don't drift around and not make progress. I have rested a little over the path two months, but its now time to start ramping things up a little.

Release aid update and weight training

2011-09-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Release aid really going well. My shots have been very strong now that I can get the thumb trigger in the same place each time.Also, I have been doing weights for the last four weeks, only dropping two nights as I had shot a lot on those days. Upper body looking and feeling really strong and powerful. This has translated into rock solid aiming and has built my confidence up.I have a week off due to holiday, but will be thinking about what I want to do over the winter (indoor and/or field). My indoor arrows and bow are coming together nicely now and an keen to get shooting with it very soon.

Friars Gate Archers Summer Field Shoot

2011-09-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

Took part in only my second field shoot ever, which was a Foresters round. I had shot the FGA Spring shoot earlier in the year, and had shot a half reasonable score back then for my first ever field shoot.I went into this just wanting to relax and enjoy myself, and I did, adding 90 points to my previous score, to bag 900 for a 28 target round. This landed me a close second place behind a top score of 940.This was the first round I had shot with my new release aid, a Stan SX2. I had swapped this for the Carter JbC, simply because the Stan allows me to get the thumb position I want. I can naturally place the bone of the thumb on the trigger, without having to hunt for the position like on the JbC. I often ended up putting the fleshly part of the thumb on the trigger and this lead to lots of inconsistencies.It worked! Once I had got into the groove I was really drilling the shots home, and with some good distance estimation not missing much in the middle. Looking back I didn't really think much whilst shooting, just got on with it and my technique took over and got the job done.The indoor season is now starting, and I am close to completing my indoor set-up, which is my old C3. Looking forward to it.

End of season and a new beginning

2011-09-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted, and that has been deliberate. I have cut short my last outdoor comps and have tried to cut away all the archery "fluff" around the edges to firstly give myself a bit if a break and to try and focus on the core aspects of this sport that matters. At the end of the day its a hobby, not life and death.

My last comps were the Andover FITA Star and the Kent County Champs. I put in two solid MB scores of 1332 and 1339, but left the KCC halfway through the round as my mind was not in the right place. I have worked hard this season and needed some down time.

Looking back I have had a really good season, my best ever. Eight MB scores on the trot, some in difficult conditions (weather has been rubbish this year). The highlight for me is my 1350 FITA at the UK Masters, which was a competition PB and I finally got my 1350 Star. Just the 1400 Star to go...

I am now looking forward to the winter season with confidence and enthusiasm. My C3 is being converted to a dedicated indoor bow with 50lbs limbs so I can focus on technique. I am also doing the FGA field shoot and hope to do some more field over the winter to keep things interesting and fresh, ready for next year.

First real low and some lessons learnt

2011-07-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

I shot another practice FITA this weekend in preparation for next weekend's FITA Star. It was a little windy and I knew shooting the hinge would cause some mis-aimed shots.

However, I allowed the breeze to affect the shot too much; becoming tense whilst I fought the dot into the middle which made things worse and I really did not shoot as well as I could, and should.

In the end I put in 1330 (313/339/329/349). The 70m distance was pretty good, as was 90m considering, but 50m and especially 30m was not well shot. I forgot the basic principles of shooting.

In fact I was so unhappy with 30m I shot a dozen @ 30m again, this time really applying myself, and put in 120. It proves that regardless of the weather, being relaxed but strong in the shot will return a good score.

However in hindsight this was a good lesson. It proves that even when I really do not shoot my best, and the weather is not great, I can still shoot a solid MB level score. However I am lacking a bit of confidence and need a good solid FITA Star to settle any doubts that I can shoot good scores with the hinge under competition pressures. Lets hope for good weather this weekend.

Shooting the hinge; more practice PB's and my first competition

2011-07-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Have shot a new practice PB of 686 for a 70m 720. Some really great shots, some mistakes still but it felt really good. Also coupled with a slight tweak to my stabilisation to move the COG forward a little.

I shot the hinge on the first day of the Surrey FITA weekend, on the 70m 720. Conditions were far from ideal, and got blow off for a 4 and 6 on two ends. However, it showed real promise in hard conditions, and without those gusts I would have been close the to leaders.

Unfortunately the first day was abandoned due to the weather, and was unable to make the FITA due to family issues. I now look forward to the Andover FITA Star, hopefully the weather will be calm and I can really test my progress at competition level.

Practice FITA

2011-07-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Shot a 1359 (324/337/343/355) FITA in practice today. Was nervous, stupid really in practice, but I guess its the anticipation of shooting so well with the hinge recently I am getting ahead of myself. I didn't shoot that well, far too much tension but when I did force myself to relax the shots were great.

50m was brilliant, putting in a practice PB of 343; shot when relaxed and letting the dot float around the gold. This distance has really improved for me over the last 6 months, and has been really strong.

The Surrey Champs are this weekend. I have two days before hand to practice and get together my form. I know if I shoot my best, and am not nervous I can put in a big score. Even today, with nerves and not so good form I can still shoot a good score, so I have nothing to be nervous about! All I need to think about is the 1350 I shot at the UK Masters and draw on that confidence.

Another PB...

2011-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Shot a 680 FITA 720 @ 70m. A PB by one point. Again shot the hinge. Some iffy ends and about seven 8's shot in total, but they were made up by some blistering ends of 60, 59's, 58's.

I know the poorer ends are just getting to grips with shooting the hinge properly, but already I am putting in better groups and scores after just a few hours using it. I know I will get better with it and am excited about using it. I just need to relax and keep pulling and it will dump them in the X.

My aim is a little steadier than when using the trigger release. I may also set the hinge a little faster as well. But overall, progress is good.

Finished the night with two 10 arrow ends @ 70m. Put 16 in the 10, 4 in the 9.

Practice update...

2011-07-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Shot a 662 Long Metric during the week, which is a new county record. Shot OK but struggling a little with the trigger release, so after the round I got the hinge release out and shot three ends of 11 arrows @ 70m. I put in 32 golds out of 33 arrows. I don't get the hinge out that often but this really felt good.

So tonight I shot a Short Metric with it and scored 694, a practice PB by one point (and would have been a county record, but no witnesses...). Dropped some silly shots but overall most of the shots were fantastic, really committed and explosive.

After the Short Metric, I shot an 11 arrow end at 90m, and again the shots were really nice, a couple of reds but put in X X X X X 10 10 10 9 8 8.

This leaves me with a dilemma. I have the Surrey County Champs in a few weeks, and if I can shoot this well with the hinge, do I ditch the trigger release? I will practice more with it in weeks leading up to it and see how I get on, but its looking pretty good.

2011 Allington Castle "Sir Thomas Wyatt" Double York

2011-06-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

This was a tough shoot, windy on the first day and blisteringly hot on the second day. I shot 1224 and 1222 with a total for the double of 2446 (which increased my county record by 42 points). Two more solid MB scores.

I was very confident going into this shoot of winning both days, which I did but was pushed hard all the way. However what won the event was consistent shooting. Much of it was not pretty due to the conditions, but my game has developed a much tougher mental attitude now. Even when I am nervous (which I always am, something to work on still), or the conditions are not good, I am making myself hard to beat. On the day I made less mistakes than the following pack. Over the 288 arrows, I only had 3 outside the red (one at 100yards, and two at 80 yards - one being totally down to me).

I now have three weeks until the Surrey County Champs. My goal is to win those champs, so I can put the York rounds aside now and focus on the FITA distances, hope for good weather on the day and push onto GMB.

But, I must get over the nerves. I have no need to be. Nerve free I can shoot huge scores (i.e. at the club), but this is still holding me back in competition. I have shot 6 comfortable MB scores this year under pressure so I can do it. But it will happen, I am sure.

I am now halfway through the outdoor season and delighted with my progress. I am much better than last year, far more consistent and shooting high level MB scores. Last year was more high and lows. Even if GMB does not happen this year, I am patient and will strive hard until I do.

2011 Essex County Champs

2011-06-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Not a good day for weather but a good days shooting overall. I won the visitors award (and overall, winning by 32 clear points) with a 1234 York. A comfortable MB score in difficult conditions. It rained most of the day, and down range had a nasty changing tail wind that pushed groups left and right at 100 yards.

The 100 yards distance was a solid 598. 80 yards was excellent, and I put down a distance PB of 424, shooting four 106 dozens.

60 yards was a little disappointing, losing focus and putting in two reds, so this is something to work on. Just because its 60 yards and near the end of the round, I still need to attack the distance and make sure of each arrow.

My frame of mind going into this was its was down to the other competitors to beat me, and I was sure of the win before I started because I was confident of my form and technique. There is still a lot of work to do, but I feel I am going in the right direction.

One area that has improved is my mental approach. Bad shots are followed by going through the shot process step by step to ensure the next shot is as good as it can be, and I have clear goals and objectives each time I shoot.

UK Masters practice video

2011-06-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Just a short video of me practising the day before the UK Masters on the range at Lilleshall.

More PB's and re-gained my MB

2011-06-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the last week. I shot the Middlesex County Champs, the SCAS FITA Star and this week end at the UK Masters.

Middlesex was interesting weather, with really tricky winds. I was not at my best but shot a 1210 York and 1324 FITA to put in two early MB scores. Both rounds had bad patches but I went back to basics and really pulled them around. Whilst I was disappointed with shooting badly at times, I am really pleased with my mental strength and application to not let it affect me and work the problem. The highlight of the weekend was my 342 @ 50 on the FITA which is a competition PB. With both scores I finished 1st in the Middlesex champs (as visitor but also overall for the gents compound), and 2nd in the FITA.

This weekend was the UK Masters, and I was hoping for a comfortable MB score to complete the three scores needed, and I did that, just missing out on a GMB score by two points (1350). I started nervously, but shot 323 @ 90m. 70m was still a little nervy, but finished on 336 for a competition PB. 50m started well with a 114 and 113 dozen, but a sloppy 108 left a lot to do to hit GMB. I needed 358 to get GMB on the nose. I started with a 119 and 120 dozen, but then a sloppy 117 meant I was short. However, I did get to claim my 1350 Star badge. I finished 30m on 356, still a competition PB. Overall I am very pleased with my performance but there are still a lot of avoidable points being dropped.

The Saturday was the 50m 720 and H2H. I was very windy and I struggled with a 651. The H2H went OK, winning my first round and then narrowly missing out in the next round to a GB Squad member, which I pushed hard until the last three arrows were the wind ended my chances of an upset.

So overall, its been a good week, but there is still room for improvement and I am sure it will come.

A windy day but a well shot York

2011-05-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Had a club trophy shoot today, shot a York and put in 1244. Down range was very very windy, but the shooting line was quite calm for some reason.

Had a plan, tried to execute each shot as a single arrow, and generally shot well. Just need to take that into this weeks York/FITA at Middlesex. Stick to the plan, and most will land in the middle.

I feel very strong at the moment, and have the basis of a good technique for this season. I just need to have confidence in that technique and my system.

New arrows, my first field shoot and some PB's

2011-05-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Been a little while since I posted, so a quick update.

I shot my first ever field shoot at Friars Gate Archers, shooting a Foresters round. I had some practice a few days before (am some a few weeks before that) with some distance estimation. I shot a respectable 810 points, didn't come last! Distance estimating is a really hard skill. I got it right on most, but badly wrong on others.

However I have got to say I really enjoyed it and will definitely do some more field once the target season is done and dusted.

I have also got hold of some Easton Carbon One arrows, 450 spine. I got these as a backup and straw target alternative to my Protours. I have to say they are a really very good arrow for little over £100 all in. I shot these at the field shoot and was very pleased with them. I have also since shot two new practice PB's with them; 679 70m and 359, 3 dozen @ 30m.

I am now working hard to get ready for the Middlesex County Champs (York), SCAS FITA Star and the UK Masters. Overall I feel my best form is coming back week by week. My shot execution is OK, and the C3 is shooting well (have since got a new C4 though!).

2011 Andover Saxon

2011-04-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Had high hopes for this shoot, but ended up with a poor 1186 (York). Struggled to read a tricky left/right head wind and C3 cannot deliver arrows fast enough to minimise wind drift. The Monster would have eaten the wind for breakfast! I also shot with 110gn points to get a decent sigh-mark which didn't help, although all my sight-marks for the three distances where way down.

I had also identified that my draw length is too short, and had a longer cam but no time to fit it before the shoot, which would have helped.

On the plus side, the C3 is a sweet bow to shoot, just need learn the art of reading the conditions.

Mixed weekend of shooting

2011-04-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent time at two clubs, with the hope that getting out from the comfort of my own range would help with competition preparation. It was a very useful exercise. On Saturday I shot at Swan Archers, and attempted a York (which I abandoned after 100 yards on 584 points).

Lesson number one, trust your bubble. I levelled up the bow with the slope, not looking at the bubble and promptly sent several arrows off to the left.

Lesson number two, bloody keep pulling! Some of ends were very poor, so pre-occupied getting to grips with the new surroundings I forgot to shoot properly. Other than that, the good ends were fantastic, but I must keep my focus and discipline.

Lesson number three, when the sight marks are wildly out check the nocking point. The serving had separated and slipped. Consequently at all distances my sight marks were junked. I must check the basics when things go wrong.

On Sunday I shot at Worthing Archery Club, and shot the new 50m FITA compound round, and put in a respectable 663. This was despite some sloppy (again!) ends and a 5 when a fletching came off.

At the moment my focus is poor. I have the ability and the technique, I don't have the mental game sorted at all. I really need to get this nailed. I am hoping that once the real comps start this will be the boost and motivation I need. I am not too worried yet, there is plenty of the year left.

Double Portsmouth, and finally my 'A' classification!

2011-04-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

After two years of trying, and always getting two of the three scores needed, I have finally gained my 'A' indoor classification. I shot two back to back 581 Portsmouth rounds to night.

There were some really nice spells and some great shots, but still littered with sloppy and avoidable shots. However the lighter trigger is starting to make sense now, and I am able to relax more and allow the shot to go off with little concious effort.

I attempted to talk to myself in my head during the aiming phase, but this proved a little harder, and kept switching back to consciously trying to put the dot in the middle. But this is a hard skill to learn, and it will take time and practice to get the mental routine ingrained.

Arrow tuning and testing from the Monster

2011-04-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

I headed down to the field today to get sight marks and attempt a paper tune from the Monster with my 420 PT's and some 380 PT's that I have (just fitted a new string). I originally got the 420's for the C3, but I am going back to the Monster as I suffer badly form sight marks (strange shape head). The arrows are configured thus:

420
27.5" shaft length (all cut from the front)
120 gn Tungsten points

380
27" shaft length (I believe these are all cut from the front, as they are second hand)
120 gn Tungsten points

All arrows have the same pins, nocks (solid green Bohning Blazer) and vanes (1.5" X-Vanes, hot pink of course!). The vanes are fletched the same distance from the end of the shafts.

The 420's according to the charts and AA are marginally weak. The 380's in this configuration are spot on. The bow is setup as:

60lbs
27.75" DL
24 strand string (452X)
28 strand cables
Monster 7 modules (this is an M6).

The paper tune showed up the same 1.5" left hand tear for both sets of arrows. Also slightly high (~5mm) but that is through choice. Moving the rest further out to the left did decrease the tear but both arrows continued to shoot with the same left hand tear consistently over and over again.

I then shot 30m and 50m with both sets of arrows and couldn't spot any difference. The good shots landed in the 10. The bad ones, well no arrow is going to save me! After that I shot just the 420's. Even at 90m, the good shots all landed in 10 size groups. The bad shots, again fizzed off.

So what does this tell me? Stop worrying about bloody spine and get one with shooting! As long as I don't start shooting Easton Jazz arrows or something stupid like that, then it does not really matter. The good shots from the M result in awesome groups. Its down to me to sort out the bad ones and build some consistency.

So there we go, some real world testing, hope that's useful.

Coaching session with Liam Grimwood

2011-03-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Had a good session with Liam on Tuesday. We worked on some mental aspects, which is the area I need to really focus on now. My technique and form has nowhere to really go now, he said it looks good and wouldn't change anything.

To progress I have to get my head sorted out. The main on is around aiming. I have a tendency to wrestle the dot into the middle. So to combat this, we tried a technique he uses, which is to talk out loud in his mind to pre-occupy the concious mind to take it away from aiming.

During the session we worked on this, and it seemed to work quite well. It got to the stage were I wasn't really concious where the dot was on the target, but the arrows pretty much always landed in the gold @ 70m every time, other than the odd stray when I lapsed a bit.

We also tried a lighter trigger, because it was evident that a stiff trigger was causing me to also fight the bow a little as well. A light trigger is a bit hairy at first, but soon forgot about it (tried it again to night and its feeling pretty nice).

One quantifiable outcome of this was my shot execution timing was like clockwork; it felt really consistent every time, and had sped up by a few seconds.

So, the coming season's focus has now switched to really working on mental strategies, moving away from pure technique.

At last, some decent weather and a good days shooting

2011-03-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today was a really great day for shooting, and I spent about 7 hours down at the range getting the Monster tuned in and sight marks for all the FITA/York distances.

After attempting a paper tune, I promptly gave up. The Monster never paper tunes that well, and settled for a 1" left, but level tear and got on with getting sight marks and ensuring that centre shot was was good. The centre shot at all distances was spot on after setting it at about 3/4".

I was shooting my 420 Protours, and wondered if they would be too weak for the Monster (originally bought for the C3). Nothing to worry about here. The good shots (and I had a fair few today) drilled the gold at all distances. Some of the groups were fantastic. The speed I am getting from the Monster @ 60lbs is blistering. I would love to be able to chrono the Monster, maybe I will try and borrow one some time.

I focused on a straight, but relaxed bow arm, and pulling hard into the stops, and when executed right, resulted in some great, explosive shots.

The only scary moment was an exploding nock. I had fitted Beiter Pinout nocks to my Protours, because I can use these with the same nocking point setup with my indoor arrows. This was only an issue with my C3 but kept the nocks. It seems these cannot take the brute force of the Monster. I had also shot another arrow that on release sounded OK, but I found it had the nock distorted (it had not been hit by another arrow either). I have now gone back to the Bohning Blazer nocks. These are the only ones that can withstand the Monsters high energy.

All in all, very pleased. The Monster does demand a good technique, otherwise it can punish you, but on the good shots there is no bow I would rather shoot. Having tried out the C3, I am now sold on speed bows. I do suffer with sight marks and the C3 is just too slow. It will be used for a dedicated indoor bow from now on.

Back to the Monster for this year

2011-03-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

So after much deliberation I have decided to go back to the Monster for this year. Having shot the C3 for a number of weeks, its clear it simply does not have the speed needed for the big distances. Shame because its a really lovely bow to shoot. However I have always struggled for sight marks (shape of my head!) and I am on the very limit with the C3.

I will put it aside and use it as an indoor bow for next years indoor season, where it will no doubt be a fantastic rig.

I shot the Monster indoors tonight to bed in a new set of strings/cables. I have got to say I love shooting it. The speed of it, and it holds so steady. The draw length feels a little short but then I am going from a 41" ATA to 33".

So the next stage is to get the cams fully timed, and the Pro Tours paper tuned and centre shot sorted. I may have to cut some off the PT's, but nothing too drastic to stiffen them up a bit.

I am sure this is the right choice. I shot it last year and put in some good scores, and it will be good to shoot the same bow for two years running (which will be a first).

Its coming together bit by bit

2011-03-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

Shot yet another Portsmouth tonight, and I followed on from Sunday, ensuring that I got the alignment correct and maintained the back tension, and put in a 580.

Still some sloppy shots, but these are easily avoidable and just need to find the consistency again, but its coming together slowly.

SCAS Indoor Champs 2011

2011-03-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

After several weeks of struggling I came out of this quite pleased. I ended up with 579, and 6th place out of 38 compounds, in a very strong field. It was also a competition PB as well.

It was not a perfect round and finished weakly, shooting only 115 for the last dozen, but the middle section was very strong, really hammering home those 10's with some very strong shots. My form was excellent, pulling through the shot.

Considering this was competition conditions, under time control, with the pressures that come with that, I feel it was in the right direction.

I shot in the team event, but by this time I was dead on my feet, having out so much into the first session, and shot a rather poor 560 for a FITA 18, but that is just a stamina issue that I know will be sorted in the peak of the season.

Re-occurring theme...

2011-03-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

Again, a Portsmouth round shot, some good ends, some sloppy ones, ended on 577.

I had increased my draw length by about 1/6" and this bought my alignment in, but I am losing back tension on some shots and collapsing.

However, looking at the positives, my trigger pressure was good and positive for most of the evening, which resulted in some great shots.

Got to work on consistency. The SCAS indoor championships are on Sunday, and is another chance to work on ironing out my current form issues.

I have also booked a coaching session with Liam Grimwood for a couple of weeks time, and am looking forward to this, as I think this will give me some much needed direction and focus.

A bit of a low

2011-02-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

Shot a 574 Portsmouth Wednesday night, started so badly, its a wonder I made it over 570. Put in a miserable 111 dozen to start. Was then followed by some reasonable dozens, but I shot badly and my confidence is a bit shot as well.

Really need a pick-me-up. Thinking of getting some coaching again to refocus and get myself back on track.

First York of the year, and some new arrows

2011-02-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

Finally, got the chance to go out and shoot a full 12 dozen practice round! I shot a York today, and it was a mixed bag of really good shots and some pretty poor ones.

Its clear I am struggling with cramping up on some shots. When I lower the shoulder and open the body out, the shots are great. At least I have a clear set of things to work on and correct. In the end I shot 1238. Some way off my practice PB, but at this time of year and so little practice, its not to bad, and its a good base to work from.

I also tried out the new Protours (420's). I had a quick paper tune to get a level nocking point, and the tried them out at 100, 80 and 60 yards. The groups were great, visibly better than any other arrow I have shot from the C3. The tungsten points make a difference, pushing all the mass up front, making for a better shot than the steel points of the same weight.

Not so good...

2011-02-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday evening I shot a Stafford round indoors. I didn't shoot well, struggling with the distance under indoor light. My form was wrong and spent too long trying to wrestle the bow into the middle.

I finished on 678 (a county record - although I am not going to claim it). If it were two back to back FITA 30m distances, it would have been 355 and 356.

Point testing and shooting with the hinge release

2011-02-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

Bit of a mixed bag on Saturday. Tried out the X10's with 120gn points to see if the C3 could reach 100 yards, and it can, with some room to spare on the sight. Means when my 120gn tungsten points arrive with my new Protours, I will be able to get sight marks without having to cut off 10gn's.

Some ends @ 100yards were great, some tight groups, but also some strange left/rights. Could well be me, but some unexplained. I still think it's me, not shot that distance for a few weeks so a bit rusty.

I got out my hinge release, which I have not shot for a while and it felt really good shooting back tension. Got it set at the right speed and the best shots felt awesome, so I might stick with it for a few weeks. Just need to relax!

Shot 3 doz @ 30m with it, using my FMJ's, and put in 356, not to bad, could have been better.

Next week, I am going to shoot a full round (York). I have really got to start practising full rounds now. My first outdoor comp is at the end of April and now's the time to start ramping up the practice and start testing myself, if I am going to make the most of this season.

Mixed night of shooting

2011-02-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Shot another Portsmouth round tonight, and finished on 577. A little disappointing, and I some how managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After a poor start (113), I went on the rampage and shot 119 and 117. A shaky 115 still left a 580+ on if I had a strong last dozen. I ended up on 113.

I only had 3 arrows all night out of the outer ten ring. Many of them stuck in no-mans land between the inner and out ten.

However, I had some really good positive shots, and I tried to pay attention to the front shoulder position, and I feel I shot better than the score.

Damn those pesky 4's!

2011-02-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

Shot at Nonsuch Bowmen tonight, and shot a Worcester round. I had a pretty clean round, nothing too close to the edge of the white, some nice groups, other than one crappy shot that was a big fat 4! Ended on 299/300.

Looking back it was a bit of alignment and hand position. Oh well, shot some great shots and had some awesome groups so not a wasted evening.

Will be looking to improve my front shoulder position which maybe I have neglected a bit, which will help with alignment issues. I will work on that Wednesday nights Portsmouth round.

Arundown Triple Worcester 2011

2011-02-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

Today I shot all three sessions at Arundown and scored 298, 299 and the magic 300.

The first session wasn't great with a slow start. The second session I really started to motor and was putting in some really powerful shots. The alignment and positive trigger pre-load was becoming as it should be.

The third session was excellent. Really strong shots, and towards the end of the day I felt like I really could not miss. Even the last 5 arrows where I knew I could get the 300 for the first time ever, I just shot one arrow at a time. I knew all I had to do was align, pre-load, and the shot would drill into the middle, and it did. No nerves to get in the way as I was so confident in my shot routine and technique. Really pleased.

I beat my previous triple county record which is now at 897/900. I equalled the current county double round score of 597/600.

This was as much a mental as well as technical battle, and I feel I have made one step upwards.

Season PB and some positive shooting

2011-02-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Shot a 581 Portsmouth tonight, and was pleased with the positive shooting, particularly with the pre-load on the trigger. Whilst I had a slow start (114/114 dozens), I once again finished the round strongly, shooting 117/119 dozens, and got better as the round progressed. This is a season PB and just a few off my all time PB.

This has been a feature of my indoor shooting so far this year. I just need to get out of the blocks quicker to really rack up the points.

Now that I have had a run of indoor rounds with scoring and putting myself under pressure (in a good way), I can feel the competitive edge coming back. Now looking forward to taking this into the Worcester competition on Sunday.

CBE Elite 3D sight review

2011-01-31T04:56:00.000-08:00

I have had my CBE Elite 3D sight for a while now, so here is a quick review and photos.Overall this is a very solid, workman like sight that has a real feel of quality to it. Its built like a tank. The vertical track adjustment feels really nice, there is zero play in it. There is no quick release to change distances but to be honest you dont need it.The vertical track has 1 7/8" inches of travel. The C3 the sight is currently on needs about 1.5" and my Monster 6 about 1.2" for 30m to 90m of sightmarks. I struggle for sight marks normally due to my strange head, so normal people should be fine with the amount of adjustment.The vertical block's height relative to the extension bar can also be adjusted as it has two sets of holes that the 3rd Axis block bolts onto. Mine (see photos) is set to the highest, to push the vertical block downwards. Also, the 3rd Axis block can be turned around and then upside down to push the vertical block even further down (again, this is how mine is set). So wherever your sight mark range falls, you should be able to find a position that fits.All of the axes are adjusted by slackening bolts, moving the parts around then tightening the bolts backup. I little fiddly but once done, its done.The windage adjustment is nice and positive, and is locked at the front using a small lever. There is a really wide range of windage adjustment so there is no danger of running out.A word of warning about using MAC scopes with this sight. The scope thread is too big, despite being a standard 10/32 thread. Either the MAC thread is too big or the sight is made too small. I use a Beiter scope thread that screws in perfectly to the scope and the sight with no problems.The sight overall is quite heavy, but is down to the build quality and I don't mind that.Overall, I am very pleased with it and can't see my self moving away from CBE sights in the future.

Practice update and things to work on

2011-01-30T14:37:00.000-08:00

Have shot an indoor Portsmouth for the second time this indoor season, and put in a 579. It was OK, but got stuck with repeated 10,10,9 sequences and could not find the level of consistency to get over the 580 mark. However, like the FITA 18 round the previous week, I finished strongly, with really good, positive trigger usage.

Shot a little on Saturday morning, but again the weather was freezing, and my hands froze after each end. I decided to practice a 3 doz @ 30m, and put in a tidy 357, one off my practice PB, so was pleased considering my hand were like blocks of ice. Again, the very best shots were those where I was positive with the pre-load on the trigger, and allowing the scope to float around the gold without trying to over aim.

Later in the week I will be shooting another Portsmouth round, and hope to get my first 580+ for this years indoor season. Next weekend I have the traditional trip down to the south-coast for the Arundown Triple Worcester. I normally do well in this, but the competition this year is going to be fierce, but I am really looking forward to the challenge, and will look to be mentally strong and shoot without fear.

So my goal over the coming weeks is to remain strong and positive throughout the shot, and not try and control the shot or wrestle the dot in the X ring. Relax, let it float!

Relax and try not to think!

2011-01-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

Shot a FITA 18 for the first time in a while on Wednesday night. I had high hopes of a good score, and wanted to hit a 575. However, the indoor range was freezing and I could not relax and remove the tension in my bow arm. It was only the last dozen that I forced myself to relax that I shot well, and put in a 117 dozen, to finish on an average 565.

The positive from this was that when relaxed, this has a direct correlation to shooting well.

Today I shot some 90m outdoors, and again, I was cold, damp and generally fed-up of the crappy weather at the moment. I had the worse practice 90m for a long time, shooting two 306 and 310, 3 dozen practice ends. I normally hit 320+ almost every time.

Any positives? Yes, had some great shots, but some strange ones as well, where the shots felt on the money but ended up in the red. There was a variable wind down range so maybe this was the reason. But generally I think my shot sequence slowed down causing tensions and bad shots.

A day to forget and look forward to the next indoor session.

Happy New Year 2011, and time to set new goals

2011-01-06T06:58:00.001-08:00

Well its 2011, and now time to really look forward to the outdoor season. Having looked back at 2010, I achieved all my goals, mainly getting to MB, with some bonuses on the way.

Another feature of 2010 was despite doing well, I was still negative about my achievements. My train of thought up until now has been to never be happy with anything so that I will never stop trying. This is wrong, and only reinforces negative thoughts. I will try and focus on the positives only, and there is no reason why this will stop be from trying. If I set goals, and reach these, then I can set more to keep up the motivation.

Here are my goals for 2011:

Win the Triple Worcester in February (my only indoor comp this year)
Win the Surrey County Champs in July
Gain GMB status by October
Be selected for the Surrey County team at the Intercounties
Win the Surrey Indoor Champs in November
Shoot the highest score for the County team in each match I attend
Try and win every competition event I attend
Always complete every round and attend every shoot I apply for, and not give up when things are not going well

OK, some of these goals are very high (i.e. winning WRS comps), but at least go into each one with the attitude that I have the ability to push myself further up the leader board.

I have now got my Mathews C3, and coupled with some second hand X10's, its looking promising. I have decided that this year I am going to invest in some X10 Protour's. Having shot with Cartel Triples pretty much all my compound career, its time to see what the best money can buy can do.

Not much to say really!

2010-12-05T15:27:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-10-31T12:25:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-05T04:22:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-09-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-15T11:11:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-07-27T10:36:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-07-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-04T14:32:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-05T14:15:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-03-04T15:40:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-31T07:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-22T14:46:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

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.

Lessons learnt in 2009 and looking forward to 2010...

2009-12-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

So, its New Years Eve 2009, and I am sitting here wondering about 2010, and what I have learnt from my first full season shooting compound.

I attended plenty of competitions this year with the aim of getting competition experience. I did not know what to expect in terms of scores, but overall I think I can be pleased with what I have achieved. I have got into the Surrey County Team and have shot a couple of FITA 1300's.

It has been difficult with the travelling and the cost of accommodation (Lilleshall being one such venue), and next year I intend to travel to those that are no more than 1.5 hours drive away. I might treat myself to one overnight stay; the Meriden FITA Star being one that I really liked.

As for my shooting, there are plenty of things I have taken from this year, some large, some small niggly things, but they all add up. Here is a run down of the main things I have noted and will carry into 2010, hopefully a better archer.

Relax, and not worry about the score. When I do relax, my shooting improves. I have to learn to trust my technique.
Keep pulling until the shot goes off. This results in far better and accurate shots, but I get sloppy sometimes.
Write down my shot sequence and attach it to my quiver. That way I can remind myself of what to do when my form starts to suffer.
Practice 90m/50m much more, and make this a priority every week.
Don't keep changing my set-up, give changes a chance. I did this far too much and it set me back on several occasions. If something works well then don't change, even if my form suffers. It wont be a fault with the bow or the set-up.
Try and space out the competitions to allow me to practice effectively between each one.
Have a competition set of arrows separate from my practice set, and only use them to confirm sight marks. Maybe treat myself to some X10's or ProTours!
Carry on with the weight training as this worked well and meant I was able to hold the bow steadier.

For next year, my goal is to shoot PB's, and not have any expectations. I will continue to set goals for scores as this has worked for the indoor rounds, but I must learn to not get down hearted if a round is not going so good. These things happen.

I will also not give up any rounds that are not going well. I should just use it as practice and remove all score expectations and relax and enjoy it.

I am having some coaching on the 4th of January with Liam Grimwood, and I am looking forward to this being a spring board into 2010.

Give it a rest!

2009-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened over the last few weeks so nothing to really report. I shot a Portsmouth last night, and set my self a target of 575, and shot 573, so again, goal setting is still working and I am hitting 570+ regularly now.

However, I am still having issues with my rest and the large arrows. Due to the weight of the arrow, it bounces off the rest when drawing. You have to **really** steady. It was noted by another archer that the long rod was really wobbling and could be the cause. I have extended the long rod and it does flex a lot, although it shoots well. I have to get this sorted, either by changing the long rod (don't want to do that), get a stiffer blade or maybe open up the blade a bit so the arrow sits deeper down.

Oh well, no more shooting for a few days now due to Christmas, but it will soon be the new year and I really look forward to ramping up the practice ready for the outdoor season next year.

Need for concentration

2009-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

I shot a Portsmouth round last night, and probably shot the best round I had ever shot in terms of shot execution, and it was really nice to follow up on the second session from the Surrey Indoor in Sunday. At one stage I shot 14 consecutive 10's and simply could not miss (have never done that before).

However, I blew my chance of a PB (OK, its only a club night shoot) because I shot one arrow on the wrong three spot face. Granted it was a 10 and a great shot (that's all that matters ;-)), but I should have been paying attention more. Even during the aiming process something felt a little odd, but the shot process had started and I didn't think it was because I was aiming at the wrong spot!

That cost me 10 points, and I finished with 568, it could have been 578.

I need to learn to pay attention, get my alignment right and come down if something it not right.

Other than that, I am delighted with how I shot, and I feel now I have stepped up a level and look forward to building on that over the coming weeks and months. The bow is shooting unbelievably well and am delighted with it and its set-up at the moment.

I should have been a weight lifter!

2009-11-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

So, today I shot in the Surrey Indoor Champs. I had high hopes going into this completion having won it last year.

I started the first 6 arrows very well, having shot a 59. The next 6 turned out a 57, so 116 for the first dozen, a nice start. Thats when the problem started. I started getting really pumped up to the point that I got the shakes. This meant I could not draw the bow without the arrow jumping off the rest. If I was weightlifting it would have been ideal with all that adrenaline flowing! When this happens I get really stressed. So, I swapped my thin blade for the wide one normally used for my fat alloys (I was shooting my outdoor arrows). The problem is that this altered my sight marks significantly in that I had gone from the middle to bottom right on the 9/8 scoring zone. I then spent the next 18 arrows or so getting back into the middle. The rest of the round was pretty good but the damage was done. I finished up with 565, not so good.

The next session was far better, and I shot 572, a competition PB. I did not punch any shots and pretty much all of the shots were executed as explosive surprise shots. The only down side was not relaxing some time so the aim was not quite steady so some were a bit off. However, its probably the best indoor round I have ever shot and am very pleased.

I am also very pleased with the Mathews, it is shooting very well, especially with the draw length reduced down. I had changed the stabilisation the day before and took off 500 grams of weight from the bow. I lengthened and but lightened the long rod and just left one side rod to balance out the sight. This seems to be working really well and I am able to aim much better. The extra weight I did have meant I was tensing up if the shot did not go off in time. I look forward to shooting this setup outside at distance.

Using a hinge release

2009-11-26T04:40:00.001-08:00

Last night I got out my new Scott Longhorn hinge release and tried to shoot a complete round with it (although I did not score). So far I have only shot random ends of practice with it.

The biggest problem I have is learning to relax, and it is critical when shooting a hinge style release. The other issue is how do you activate it?

I started the evening trying to relax the index finger and pull with the rest, which works sometimes but it is a form of punching. I then tried to make a relaxed fist around the handle and actively pull around the elbow off the back. This seemed to yield the best results. In some ends the shots were fantastic, but others were not as I did not get the hand pressure on the handle right, or my bow arm was too tense and the aim was erratic.

The other issue I need to address is after drawing the bow with the release aid in a forward position, I need to gain confidence I can grab the rest of the handle without it going off. I has not so far but this just needs more practice to gain that confidence. I am happy with the speed the release aid is set to.

So, what do I think? I think that practising with the hinge release and mastering it will eventually pay off, but like anything, it needs time and patience.

Also, I shot with my new cam that has reduced the draw length down to 27" from 28". It feels a little cramped and I need to increase the length of the D-loop to help bring the elbow round and correct the anchor point which is a little too far forward. However it does mean I have much less facial contact from the bow string itself.

A lesson in compound archery

2009-11-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Braden Gellenthien shooting a world record 120/120 with 8X's. If ever there was an inspiration and something to aim for, this is it. He demonstrates great alignment and follow through on the shot.

Tension is bad

2009-11-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

I shot tonight indoors and it was good, as well as bad. The good was I shot using my trigger release and did not have a single punch. It was bad because I could not get the shot off sometimes. I did not get enough pre-load on the trigger with my thumb and despite pulling the shot would not go. This caused tension and the collapse of my shot.

It was only after driving home that I realised that a lot of this was down to my release hand having too much tension, therefore pulling did not allow the hand to contract and activate the trigger during back tension.

When I have relaxed my release hand before it has had a remarkable effect, so I need to get this into me shot routine and work on it.

However it was not all lost, there where some fantastic shots tonight that nailed the X, and no punches (came down instead which is good). It seems that in the last few weeks the punching has subsided, although definitely not cured, yet.

Shooting at distance after long break

2009-11-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

Due to the weather being much better today, I managed to find some time to get down to the range before it got dark to get back into shooting the maximum distances, in this case 100 yards. Its not since the Inter Counties match back in September that I have shot 100 yards, although I have shot a few 70m ends at the club since.

After getting a sight mark I was pleasantly surprised at shooting some good ends, with a solid 50/50 split of arrows in the gold and red. OK, not earth shattering, but considering I have been focusing on indoors the last 5 - 6 weeks I proved that from a standing start I can still get good groups at 100 yards.

I followed on from Saturday's shooting, ensuring that my draw elbow was round and in line, and this had the expected affect of rooting the aiming dot on the gold. When the shots were executed cleanly the arrows landed (mostly) in the gold.

I am very pleased with how this went, and am looking forward to the outdoor season already. If I can get a good run of distance practice over the winter, and get the niggles sorted with my bow and setup, I should be in for some good scores next year.

Alignment is critical

2009-11-15T03:08:00.000-08:00

I spent a few hours at the Quicks indoor range on Saturday due to the poor outside weather. After a few ends my aim was not as it should be, with the dot moving around to much. Whilst it was pretty much in the gold, something was not quite right.

Then I discovered that my alignment was wrong, in that the line from the tip of my elbow, through the arrow and through the bow hand wrist and finally the grip was not a straight line. This was simply down to my draw elbow not being pulled round onto the back muscles. It only took about 1/2" of movement to bring it in line, and suddenly my aim steadied to the point it was locked on the X ring most of the time.

I also shot my trigger release and managed to shoot most of the shots without punching the trigger. Out of the 70 or so shots only about 3 were punched. I still have issues with not pre-loading the trigger enough, so this needs some more work. When I did pre-load properly, the arrows nailed the X ring with surprise shots, with the shots going off within the optimal time frame of about 2 - 3 seconds.

I was also pointed out to me that whilst my elbow alignment was good, my front shoulder is not pointing towards the target enough. When doing this properly, it makes my draw length correct. No need for that new cam! By not having the front shoulder set properly I am shooting from a slightly collapsed position.

So the moral of the story is that alignment is crucial. Just a small amount to extra movement can make a huge difference to the steadiness of the aim because the body is using the bone structure to support the weight of the bow, and not the muscles.

Coaching

2009-11-10T13:11:00.001-08:00

At the weekend I had some coaching from a club member and former England archer Tim Roberts.

Tim shot for England many years back and was kind enough to spend some time with me to go over some issues I am having, mostly around target panic.

When in front of a blank boss, like a lot of archers, I have no trouble at all executing a good shot, repeatedly, over and over again. Other than a few minor issues, my basic form is good and everything looks right. It certainly feels right. The feeling I get when shooting at 90m when a perfect shot is executed (the ones that land in the 10/x and you know it before its even hit) is the same that happens in front of a blank boss. So I know the technique is there.

However, as soon as there is a target then the fear of missing is over powering, and the more you fear it the more chance you will miss!

I think that having coaching will help. Having somebody there to tell you what needs work but most of all what is good will help with my confidence and ultimately help me overcome my target panic. If I am confident then I will be relaxed and this helps.

Goal setting

2009-11-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

I shot a Portsmouth round at Friars Gate Archers tonight and before I set out I said to myself I wanted to shoot a 570. So, I shot the round and shot a 570 dead! I did this at the FITA 18 competition at the weekend where I said I wanted to shoot 560. In the end I shot 557 and 563, so an average of 560.

I recently watched the excellent Performance Archery videos by Alistair Whittingham, and he said you should set goals and look to achieve them, and only be a few points above or below. It maybe a coincidence but it seems to work. Choose a goal that is achievable and go for it. Once you are comfortable with setting goals and they can be achieved, raise the bar a bit and try and hit it. There was a time when I did not like setting goals because I feared that I would put pressure on myself and therefore fall short. Now I can and its starting to pay off.

As for the round tonight, I shot OK, but I am still punching a few shots but it was much better and came down a lot more when the shot was not right. Some of the shots were fantastic and nailed the X. I have not shot my hinge release with the Drenalin in a round because the trigger feels right with the bow and as soon as I get the draw length sorted I will do so. I am shooting the hinge in practice because the end result does not matter.

As a final note, shooting the Drenalin is a real pleasure. The Guardian is definitely going.

2nd Stag Hill Archers Indoor Tournament

2009-11-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my first ever blog! I am going to record all of my archery notes here in the hope that it helps me to refine my archery technique and preparation in the future.

Anyway, I have just shot a double FITA 18 at the 2nd Stag Hill Archers Indoor tournament. I shot 557 and 563 and won the double compound round.

I felt I shot OK but am still punching the trigger on occasions. I can get away with it 7/10 times, but my best shots are the surprise ones without doubt. All I need to do is wrap my thumb around the trigger and pull against the wall. I do this with a very heavy trigger and it works well when I am patient and allow the shot to go off sub consciously.

I shot for the first time with a large black dot on the scope. I have tried this before and I never liked it, and have always shot with a large ring. However, my aim was steady with the dot just bouncing around inside the gold and when the shot was executed properly this was an X every time. Just got to trust my technique and good scores will follow. The dot I think has helped to improve the aim overall so I will stick with it for now.

I also dumped the Bowtech Guardian for my Mathews Drenalin LD. I got this around July, second hand from Liam Grimwood on eBay. The draw length is too long (by about 1"), but it shoots so well compared to the Guardian. The feel and balance is far better and I am able to add stabilisation to better effect. The Guardian is too top heavy and can kick badly during the shot. I had to add a ton of weight just to get a reasonable feel from the Guardian.

I am really looking forward to shooting the DLD over the next year, especially when I get my new cam through to bring the draw length down.