Practice update

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

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

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

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

Southampton 720 & H2H

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Salisbury FITA

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

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

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

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

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

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

Southern Counties Championships

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

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

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

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

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

Stabilisation improvements

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some pictures of the set-up.

Andover Saxon Shoot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I shot the Monster and a County record

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Switching to my second Drenalin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting ready for outdoors

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

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

I will look at the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCAS indoor championships

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

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

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

However, lessons learnt for next time:

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

Another indoor PB

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

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

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

Allington Castle Worcester/Portsmouth Open

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

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

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

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

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

Arundown Triple Worcester

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

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

More PB's tumble

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

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

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

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

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

More PB's broken, all down to coaching

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

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

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

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

Finally break the 580 mark

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

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

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

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

Coaching from Liam Grimwood

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.