Thread: Target Shooting

Originally Posted by Hirlau

this February, I'm going to step up a bit, to a hunting caliber compound bow & leave the boy with the Genesis. We have been shooting the bow for about 8 months & I never knew it would be as fun as it is. It's like straight razors, I wish I discovered bows years ago.

When you look at a hunting bow and you like target shooting don't get all macho and get high draw weight bow. I got a different set of limbs for my bow this fall. I went from 70 to 60 lb limbs. I can pull 70 about 20 times before I start felling it the next day. Ok for hunting but I want to play with my toy the rest of the year! I shot a score with my hunting rig last week at 62 lbs and the first game was a 100/16x. The second was a 99/10x and the third was a 98 12x for a 297 38x. You can see I was getting tired. Not a great target score but I am happy with that for my hunting rig. I got a nice doe this week with a shot that was a little high and to the right for target but still a nice clean kill. Shooting all those dots does pay off.

Tim

I will pull a few at the store first, got a connection.
Then choose one with more power than the Genesis & something I can target shoot regularly.

Another quick thought is to get one with an adjustable draw length without expensive cams etc.

As you get stronger, change releases etc. if you can just loosen a few screws and change the draw length it becomes fiscally responsible.

Tim

Just picked up target shooting with my 6 year old son. We got him a Wal Mart compound bow and I got an inexpensive Martin jaguar recurve...
We have an absolute blast once or twice a week shooting at our targets.

I'm really glad I got the 40 lb model, any heavier draw and it would take the fun out of it for me.

Eric

Good choice on the recurve.....lots of fun to shoot...fingers on the string and shooting by the seat of your pants

I had been out shooting with a friend Friday night. He has a suped up compound and all I can say is Wow! I could hammer a 4" spread from 50 yards easy (I was intimidated even trying to shoot from there)....
Last night I picked up a peep sight and a nock, apparently I was winging it without them. I'm going out this afternoon to try it out
He also had a weight pole (balance pole?) on the front of the bow, do any of you use them?

Eric.

Originally Posted by epd

I had been out shooting with a friend Friday night. He has a suped up compound and all I can say is Wow! I could hammer a 4" spread from 50 yards easy (I was intimidated even trying to shoot from there)....
Last night I picked up a peep sight and a nock, apparently I was winging it without them. I'm going out this afternoon to try it out
He also had a weight pole (balance pole?) on the front of the bow, do any of you use them?

Eric.

A 4" group at 50 yds with someone else's bow?

Peep sights and stabilizers will both improve accuracy. The peep will improve your group much more. Going to the extreme, the peeps I like have inserts to change the diameter and/or to use lenses.

Along with balance a stabilizer will help prevent torquing of the bow. If you get to long of a front one you then need one or 2 to the back to balance that one. My regular setup has one to the back on the opposite side from the sight. Many stabilizers also have dampeners built in to prevent vibration. That is not very high on my personal list.

Tim

I picked up a mostly SA Garand at the CMP this past fall. At the range, I dialed the rear sight up 9 clicks, and checked the POI by starting at 50 yards off of a bench with sandbags. I shot a single chambered round then a full 8-round clip at 50 yards (next pic). These I put all into the black of an 8 inch circle. Finally, I shot two full clips at 100 yards. For my old eyes through open sights, I was satisfied.

Nice Garand! That is Greek ammo too? Gotta love the CMP!

Originally Posted by 32t

A 4" group at 50 yds with someone else's bow?

Peep sights and stabilizers will both improve accuracy. The peep will improve your group much more. Going to the extreme, the peeps I like have inserts to change the diameter and/or to use lenses.

Along with balance a stabilizer will help prevent torquing of the bow. If you get to long of a front one you then need one or 2 to the back to balance that one. My regular setup has one to the back on the opposite side from the sight. Many stabilizers also have dampeners built in to prevent vibration. That is not very high on my personal list.

Tim

Well today I measured it out to be 35 yards, far from 50... Suppose it was my enthusiasm adding the extra 15 lol, please excuse my newness.
It was 3 arrows 4" apart, I suppose worst case you would/could call it an 8".... Regardless, yes with someone else's bow, and first time on a compound.
I know it was beginners luck because I am in no was an experienced or skilled archer. :screwy:

That being said I was having a lot of trouble tonight being accurate at 35 yards with my recurve. At 20 yards I am very accurate but at 35 I'm just glad to hit the bag. Im now wishing I bought a heavier draw bow, the compound bow has almost no fall at 35 yards where mine has 5-10 inches (again, no expert)
The new peep sight is a pain in the ass, however it improved my accuracy a lot.
One more dilemma I have is I bought two different types of arrows and im pretty sure I bought different grain fieldpoints aswell. One arrow hits centre the next flys 5" higher.
As much as I think that a compound is "cheating" I am going to keep as eye out for a good used unit, they are just so much easier to hold still while aiming.

Any tips for keeping the string away from your arm? I have a welt for the first time, I guess I should pickup an arm guard after all.

Thanks,
Eric.